1. TOK The Theory of Knowledge

2. What does the IB say? The Theory of Knowledge encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself, to try to help you make sense of what you encounter. The core content of TOK is not a textbook full of “facts” but questions like these: What counts as knowledge? How does it grow? What are its limits? Who owns knowledge? What is the value of knowledge? What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge? The core content of TOK is not a textbook full of “facts” but questions like these: What counts as knowledge? How does it grow? What are its limits? Who owns knowledge? What is the value of knowledge? What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge? Adapted from the IB TOK subject guide, page 3

3. How do we form knowledge about the world? The world “out there” Our experience of the world out there Our knowledge of the world out there (through perception, language, reason, the emotions...)

4. An old question... If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody there to hear it, is there still a sound?

5. Claim – Yes, there is still a sound Possible reasoning: The tree, forest, atmosphere etc. have no awareness of whether anyone is there or not. Therefore they are unaffected by the presence or absence of an observer. Therefore the environment will behave in exactly the same way, whether it’s being listened to or not listened to.

6. Counterclaim – No, there is no sound Possible reasoning: What is sound anyway? The falling tree simply causes air pressure waves. Our ears detect the air pressure waves and convert them into electrical impulses. Our brain interprets those as sound. We don’t hear sound that comes from the world, we construct sound inside our own heads.

7. Knowledge issue To what extent is the world we experience a reconstruction of the world “out there” and to what extent is it a construction that only exists inside our own heads?

8. Café wall illusion

11. Spirals

14. How do we form knowledge about the world? The world “out there” Our experience of the world out there Our knowledge of the world out there (through perception, language, reason, the emotions...)

15. How do we form knowledge about the world? The world “out there” Our own internal model (map) of the world Our knowledge of the world “out there” is an interpretation of the model world we construct inside our own heads (through perception, language, reason, the emotions...) Biological Filters (the limits of our senses) Cultural and other filters