TOK Title 3
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TOK TITLE 3 – “Labels are a necessity in the organization of knowledge, but they also constrain our understanding.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
After a deep reflection on the prescribed TOK essay titles, I chose this topic with the idea that the concept of labeling sounds so realistic that it is going to reach out to the mass readily! Labeling or tagging general things and humans is a common happening in all the arenas of life.
WHAT MAKES YOU LABEL?
Labels are tags guiding our preconceived notions, sense perception, analysis, and interpretation. Our brain images the similarities and dissimilarities of general things and humans under categories or groups. This categorization is a prerequisite to the organization of knowledge where perception, reasoning, understanding, and believing happens through an easy way of generalizing items through the practice of ‘umbrella thinking’.
The ease and the comfort you get in remembering and retaining information on items through this process is quite fascinating and lucid with this social construction. Now, the very pertinent question here is- this process may suffice to the general things, but what is the parameter to label humans and their behavioral outcomes? This question opens up a window of discussion and debate on the degree of homogeneity and uniformity of the parameters of labeling and knowledge gathering.
THE LABELLING DETERMINANTS
The general parameters of labelling items are the similarities and dissimilarities of traits. Having said this, with the practice of umbrella thinking are we categorizing items blanketing them with a warm comfy superficial cover ignoring the subtle differentiating traits? Are the labelling parameters the same for the general things and the intelligent animal, the humans?
Well, what are the parameters of labelling humans? Parameters like skin color, language, accent, dress code, race, naming, and success quotient attached to numerology are labelling determinants. It’s surprising and appalling to realize that identities are perceived based on labelling!
LABELLING BIASES AS INFLUENCERS OF WOKs
The overwhelming habit of attributing or tagging through ‘believing is seeing’ is nothing but stereotyping which leads to dogmatic construction of knowledge through prejudice and conformist outlook. Do you think stereotyping entraps us in the web of ignorance and prejudice?
LABELLING IN ARTS
Why do you think viewers wait for the exhibition of a famous artist than of a young achiever? Achievements are labelled being driven by a natural tendency. Do you think that this kind of labelling has a broad, balanced and open minded outlook
LABELLING IN HUMAN SCIENCES
A food for thought! Why do you think that a behaviour is considered negatively or positively deviant by some people across cultures? Do you see relativism influencing labelling? How is the social labelling for addicts?
Many more questions will baffle you and make you reflect on the pros and cons of labelling. Surely, the deeper the insight you adopt in reflection, the more are the speed breakers you will face.
Related:TOK TITLE 4 ,TOK TITLE 5,TOK TITLE 6,TOK TITLE 2, TOK TITLE 1
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