TOK Essay Titles

The deadline to TOK essay submission is coming up very soon. For those who left it to the last minute (and we hope there are not that many of you), here's a reminder of the question titles once again:

1. Consider the extent to which knowledge issues in ethics are similar to those in at least one other area of knowledge.
2. How important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge?
3. “Doubt is the key to knowledge” (Persian Proverb). To what extent is this true in two areas of knowledge?
4. To what extent do we need evidence to support our beliefs in different areas of knowledge?
5. To what extent are the various areas of knowledge defined by their methodologies rather than their content?
6. “There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false”. Discuss this claim.
7. How can we recognise when we have made progress in the search for knowledge? Consider two contrasting areas of knowledge.
8. “Art is a lie that brings us nearer to the truth” (Pablo Picasso). Evaluate this claim in relation to a specific art form (for example, visual arts, literature, theatre).
9. Discuss the roles of language and reason in history.
10. A model is a simplified representation of some aspect of the world. In what ways may models help or hinder the search for knowledge?

Your essay will be marked according to the assessment criteria. Remember to centre your essay on knowledge issues and, where appropriate, refer to other parts of your IB programme and to your experiences as a knower. Always justify your statements and provide relevant examples to illustrate your arguments. Pay attention to the implications of your arguments, and remember to consider what can be said against them. Include a word count and your list of references using the same citation method.

Examiners mark essays against the title as set, using the TOK essay criteria. Please make sure you are familiar with the criteria before starting your essay. Respond to the title exactly as given; do not alter it in any way. Your essay must be between 1200 and 1600 words in length. Remember also that your TOK presentation and essay must be submitted in the same language.


Good luck! (even though by now you don't deserve it) 


Are you struggling with your TOK studies? Just can't make head or tail of what TOK is all about? Worried sick about ever being able to write that essay or stand up in front of the whole group and do a presentation?

We are here to help all you IB students out there with your TOK essays and presentations and other related issues regarding your IB studies.


This is what this site is about, so feel free to make comments etc.

Note of clarification

This is the updated version of our Wordpress blog with the same name. We've chosen to move our site to blogger for many reasons, but as a note of gratitude to all those who follow our site, here is a sample TOK essay for you from the May 2011 list of questions. Enjoy!

Question 6: “There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false’. Discuss this claim.

True and false are binary opposites, two notions that are constantly used to differentiate statements or theories that are believed to be correct from those that are incorrect. Their definitions already seem to suggest that there is a fundamental distinction between truth and falseness. Nonetheless, I plan to consider the implications of determining something as true or false, and whether distinctions between these two notions are objective or subjective. The differences between true and false in several areas of knowledge – natural sciences, ethics and history – will also be evaluated, taking into account the ways of knowing utilized. I intend to argue that there are no discernable absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false, because they are notions that are relative to a person.

In natural sciences, theories are investigated so that they can be deemed true or false. This is accomplished through the scientific method, which relies on experimenting and analyzing results. Since this is a structured process, a theory can be proven multiple times by different people to consolidate its validity. The use of sense perception in this case is quite reliable, as the experiment is repeated. Another important way of knowing applied is reasoning, through induction and deduction. Deduction involves applying general rules to a specific situation. On the other hand, induction involves moving from specific examples to a general rule; for example, in physics I completed an experiment during which I investigated the correlation between the height a ball bounced and the temperature the ball was at. Since everybody in the class got the same trend, we concluded that in general, the hotter a ball is, the higher it would bounce. Because this rule was proven by the entire class, it is difficult to argue that this is not an absolutely true theory, distinctive from a false theory, such as ‘the hotter a ball is, the lower it would bounce’. Therefore, it appears that in natural sciences, because an objective truth exists, there are absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false.

However, the flaws in the methodology of science must be noted. Many problems may occur as a result of using inductive reasoning. Twenty students in the same room using the same apparatus proved the aforementioned correlation between temperature and height reached; this is a very limited sample. Similarly, since it is impossible to test every possible situation, scientific theories are only true to some extent. Furthermore, confirmation bias may also influence people to ignore anomalies, as the desire to prove a theory may affect one’s rationality. The way of knowing used to collect data, sense perception, is also flawed. Though people must rely on their senses for everyday life in order to function, what each individual perceives may not be reality. Phenomenalists would argue that what we observe is an interpretation of the truth and never the truth itself. Hence, in terms of our own knowledge, we can never be certain about anything that we perceive. For example, my red is different from the red of a red-green colour blind person. In fact, there might not be an absolute colour at all, since how can we know if our perception is the same as another person’s? Hence, even if there are actually absolute distinctions, it is impossible to be sure if the distinctions we perceive are real or altered by our perception.

In history, the truth is determined through collecting myriad sources which prove that a certain event happened in a particular way. Thus, the absolute distinction between what is true and what is false appears to be obvious – what actually occurred is true and all other accounts are false. The methodology of history is very thorough, taking into account the reliability of sources and using a wide variety of evidence to support a theory. Hence, historical claims are generally viewed as accurate. Though some may argue that historical claims are vague since not every detail of an event can be determined, it is indeed difficult to assert that certain events occurred. For example, how can anyone say that nuclear bombs didn’t fall on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when there is radioactive residue in those areas, American and Japanese eye witnesses and written accounts of what happened? Additionally, the conditions that a historical argument must fulfill, such as those set out by C. Behan McCullagh, assures that it would be the most plausible hypothesis that fits in with the majority of sources, and is ‘implied less strongly’ than other possible hypotheses.

However, the logic used to determine how an event occurred is problematic as it can be influenced by one’s nationality or culture. A clear example of this is the recent debate over whether the Diaoyutai, or Sentaku, Islands belong to Taiwan or Japan. Whilst some would argue that there should be an absolute truth underlying the issue, I believe that both sides have valid reasons to believe that the islands belong to them. The Japanese government declared that the islands are intrinsically part of Japan, as the islands have been historically used by the Japanese. On the other hand, the Chinese government argues that when the Japanese signed the Potsdam Declaration, the ownership reverts back to Taiwan. Both are correct in their own ways, since the nations are simply interpreting events from different perspectives. Depending on the individual, and which side he or she supports, a viewpoint would be distinctively true; hence, in general there is no absolute truth. Moreover, even the conditions set out for historical reasoning are redundant, since it still allows a person to think that a claim is more plausible than another because of bias. Thus, the existence of absolute distinctions between true and false historical claims is questionable.

The concepts of truth and falsity are also present in ethics, as different ethical theories attempt to define when a statement regarding morality is true or false. The divine command theory states that God dictates morality; in other words, what God commands is good, and what he prohibits is bad. This is usually based on the teachings of the Bible, such as the Ten Commandments. Since God’s will is objective, there must thus be absolute distinctions between true statements and false statements regarding morality. Another ethical theory that can be considered is utilitarianism, in which happiness is the indicator of morality, aiming for the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Consider the statement ‘nuclear bombs are beneficial for the world’; this could be determined as true because the existence of nuclear weapons has been a factor that has prevented nations from raging war on each other. Since people are happy as there is stability, according to utilitarianism this would be a truthful statement. Again, there appears to be an absolute truth that is distinguished from falseness.

Divine command theory has been criticized heavily, and is opposed by the Euthyphro dilemma. Essentially, this dilemma is a question: ‘Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?’. If the answer is the first part, then morality would be independent of God; since God is the creator of the Universe, surely he should be responsible for creating morality as well? Thus, the answer must be the second part. Yet, if the second part is the answer, does that mean if God commanded murder, it would be a morally righteous act? These questions are difficult, if not impossible, to answer, suggesting that divine command theory is flawed and cannot be used. Utilitarianism has similar problems: since happiness is an emotion, which is subjective, moral statements can only be deemed true or false by an individual. The opposite of the aforementioned statement, ‘nuclear bombs are not beneficial for the world’, can also be logically said to be true according to utilitarianism. I could argue that since there is a risk of accidental detonation, people’s lives are at risk. Hence, they are unhappy with the existence of nuclear bombs, which renders the statement true. If this is the case, utilitarianism does not provide an absolute truth, which means that there are no absolute distinctions either.

In order to be functional, anything that has sufficient evidence to prove it correct is deemed true, and is distinguished from false notions. This occurs in the natural science, as scientific theories are proven to be true through extensive experimentation. Although this suggests that there should be absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false, the flaws in sense perception and reasoning reflect the limited accuracy of scientific theories. On the other hand, historical claims, especially statements simply declaring that an event had happened, are much harder to debunk. Yet, the validity of such claims is also questionable because of the effect of emotion, such as bias, on logic. Finally, though divine command theory and utilitarianism seem to be objective in determining what moral statements are truths, true and false in ethics is actually dependent on subjective judgment. I believe that though an individual may perceive there to be absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false, these distinctions cannot be translated into reality. 

Thanks for following this site once again!

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EXAM TIME

During the Exam





Taking the exam:

• Once you have taken all the materials you need out of your bag, you have received your exam paper, put your name on it, read over it quickly and planned your time (as explained on the previous page), you are ready to start!


• Pick up your pen and jump ahead to all the questions that you know the answers to right away - the ones you find easy and the ones you can answer quickly. If you hesitate on a question, skip ahead to find another one you can answer quickly. Then when all the easy questions are answered, go back and try to answer the ones you hesitated on.


• If you are answering on a separate sheet, be sure to mark the number of the question clearly on your answer sheet.



• Read the questions carefully.  Only answer what the question is asking for.  Do not waste your time writing superfluous information.


• Make sure you answer all the parts of all the questions.  Some questions will have several sub-questions in them.


• Be sure to write your text in ink but any drawing, tables or graphs must be done in pencil.

Behavior during the exam:

• No talking. You may not ask any questions, you may not talk to your classmates or to the teacher at any time once the exam begins.  Do not even ask what time it is (that's why you are supposed to bring a watch!)  There is no communication of any kind during the exam. The only things you can raise your hand for are 1) to ask for more paper or 2) to go to the toilet (but this is only granted exceptionally).


• No passing papers, pencils, erasers, calculators or anything between students.  You must come prepared.  If you forgot something, you may not have people passing things to you during the exam.  The only time you may borrow something is before the exam begins.  Whatever you borrowed, give it back only at the end when you are being dismissed.



• Keep your eyes on your own paper. Even if you are not cheating but simply "checking" what your neighbor is doing, your paper can be confiscated.  If there is reason to believe that you were getting answers from your neighbor, the maximum sanction is a zero for the exam and an avertissement for cheating.

Q:  Who is at fault in this picture?
A:  Both students are doing something wrong:  he's looking at
her paper and she's not hiding her answers.



Completing and handing in the exam:

• When you are done, proof read your exam.  Take the time to read over what you have written.  Try to imagine that you are the teacher reading it.  Is it easy to read?  Do the sentences and paragraphs make sense?  Are all the questions answered completely?  If you planned your time correctly, you should have time to do this at the end.  It should not take any more than 5 or 7 minutes.


• Before you hand in your paper, make sure your name is on it.  If there are several pages, number them and put your name on all of them just in case they get separated.


• Good students walk a way with a pretty good impression of how they did.  You should know your limits, your strong points and the things you need to work on.  When you get the grade back, it should not be a big surprise.

This student did not know
his strengths and weaknesses.
To summarize: come prepared (mentally, physically and material-wise), plan your time, take good care of your body and your brain, express yourself clearly, work independently, proof read your work and, in general, do the best you can!  Good luck! If you put your mind to it, you can do it!

//

The last few minutes before you enter

In the Last Few Minutes Before the Exam:



When you sit down for the exam:

• Being good at taking an exam is a real art. You have to master your knowledge of the subject, your ability to express yourself clearly and your mental anxiety all in the restricted time frame you are given. It is something which takes practice.


• Before you receive the exam paper, sit down and take out anything you might need for the exam. It will be difficult to convince the teacher later that you need to open your bag in the middle of the exam to get your ruler or calculator or pencil.



• Put your bag at the front of the room.  You will not have access to it during the exam.

When you receive the exam paper:

• Put your name on it but then put down your pen for the first 5 minutes.


• Carefully read the instructions for each part of the exam.


• Quickly read over the entire exam from start to finish so you have an idea of what the questions are asking and you know what to expect.

Plan your time. Look at the parts of the exam which you will probably spend the most time on (essays or maps or graphs) and figure out how many minutes you will spend making an outline or rough draft and then how much time you will spend actually doing the final copy.

 

The day before each exam

Several weeks before the exams...

Don't relax and bury your head under a pile of sand thinking that its still in the distant future; this is the time to start getting organised!



Get organized:

 

1. Organize your TIME - look at your weekly time table.  Planning your time now will reduce stress in the future.  Look at the number of hours of homework you do each day (6 days a week - leave one day to relax!).  Make a new schedule just for revision.
   
   
   
   • To start with, add 1 hour per evening just for exam revision.  This hour is in addition to the normal homework you do.  Pick a subject which you will study for that hour that day.  For example Monday - Math, Tuesday - History, etc.
   
   
   • A week or two before the exam, increase it to 2 hours of revision each day.
   
   
   • DO NOT plan to study all weekend or during vacation time.  Neurobiological experiments show that the human brain does not work like that.  The brain works better (and you feel less stressed) if you study information a little bit at a time over several weeks rather than asking your brain to 'cram' information in during marathon study sessions a few days before the exam.  It's like not eating anything for 3 weeks and then suddenly eating 30 kilos of food in one day!   Your stomach, like your brain, likes things in reasonable quantities.
   
   
   • Where will you find the time?  The revision hours will probably have to come out of hours you spend playing video games, watching TV, talking on the phone or going to the movies.  This having been said, though, planning your time means that you plan not only the time to work but also the time to have fun.  And when you are having fun you can really enjoy yourself knowing that you did the studying you said you would do and you don't have to worry about it!
   
   
   • Why not make up your schedule with a friend?  Pick the same hours and the same subjects for each night.  That will not only push you do stick to the schedule, it will also mean that if you have a question about history, you can call your friend knowing that s/he is studying the same thing.  Also plan to go out and have fun on the same night with that friend.  That way, one of you won't say "Let's go to the movies tonight!" while the other one says "Oh, sorry, I planned to study French tonight."
   
   
   
   


2. Organize your PAPERS - get your folders and notebooks in order.  Make sure they are complete.  Put the homework assignments, tests and quizzes, worksheets and notes together by chapter or topic.  If you realize the day before the exam that you missed a chapter of notes or you do not have a copy of your last homework to study from, it will be too late to ask the teacher or go find it in your locker.  Start now to avoid problems later.  When you are leaving school, look at the revision schedule you made to see which books or folders you need for that night's revision.

What to study:

Ask each of your teachers what you should study and write down what they say. Start asking several weeks in advance so that if you find something which you do not understand, you have time to ask the teacher about it.

Some teachers just say "study everything since the beginning of the year" or later in the year they might say "everything since the last exam."  If that is the case, make a list by yourself and show the teacher what he or she thinks.  There might be some things on the list the teacher will say, "spend more time on this part here" or "don't worry about this section - that's not important."  Or you could show the teacher your folder, notebook or textbook and flip through the pages asking which things had more importance.  Other things which could give you hints about what is important is to look back at the homework or quizzes and tests.  Were there certain themes which came up frequently?  Can you see a pattern?



How to study:

First of all, studying is a solitary act.  You must choose a place where you can concentrate and where you will not be interrupted by family, friends or pets.  There is no such thing as 'studying' with a friend.  Yes, you can work with a friend helping each other to explain things or you can quiz each other but revision or learning is not something you can do with someone else.

Only you have access to your brain, no one else can do the learning  for you.

What about techniques for learning?  There is no one method which is 'right' or 'wrong' because each person's brain works a little differently.  Some people are visual and need to see a diagram or a graph to understand ideas.  Other people are more number-oriented and things need to be logical in order to be clear.  Other people are better at remembering things which they hear rather than see.  Some people need to write something down before it really sinks into their memory.  Knowing which method is best for you means trying different techniques and seeing which one works best.

You need to find what works for you.  Here are some ideas:

• Flashcards help to remember both by writing and by seeing.  Just making them helps to get ideas into your brain.  Using them frequently helps you to remember.


• Outlines ("des fiches") - are a good way to summarize what you have been learning and helps you concentrate on only the most important bits of information.  Making them takes a long time but in the process of writing and thinking about what is important to write helps you to remember.


• Audio recordings - read your notes or chapters aloud into an audio recorder and then put on your headphones and listen.  This is a good way to study while walking to school, waiting for a bus or just giving your eyes a rest during those study sessions.  Don't spend all your time making the recordings and when you listen, really listen - don't daydream!


• Mnemonics - little "tricks" to help you remember things.  For example, in biology, "KingPhilip Came Over For Good Soup" is one way to remember the classification system ofKingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and species. You can invent your own. For example, to remember numbers, you could associate each number with a letter A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.  Sometimes there are little rhymes to help you remember a date:  "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."  Doctors often say that mnemonics were the only way to remember the hundreds of names of muscles, nerves and bones in anatomy class at medical school!

Whichever method you use, make sure that you stick to your list of what to study.  As you progress, check off what you have done and make sure you have planned enough hours to be able to study everything for that subject.

To find out if your studying is productive and useful, test yourself.  Cover up words and dates and names and see if you know them without looking.  Use flashcards to see if you know the information without turning each one over.  Ask a friend or family member to give you a quiz.  Make it fun.  Keep score for yourself.  When you get tired and nothing makes sense, take a 10 minute break - have a glass of milk - open the window and get some fresh air.  Look at your favorite cartoon book and have a good laugh - then get back to the studying.  All the hard work will pay off and you'll feel better about yourself.  Exam week will be over soon and you'll be able to relax again!

Don't Stress Out!

Exam time is often thought of as stress time.  The definition of stress is asking your body to do things above and beyond its normal capacities.  Stress can be good - pushing you to perform better and increasing your abilities.  Like the muscles in your body, sometimes your brain has to hurt a little to grow and become more powerful.  But stress can be managed.  The best way to manage stress is to get organized (that's why I put it first in this section).  Prepare your time so that you don't run into endless hours of worry and panic.  Plan your weeks so that you know when you will be studying hard and when you will be rollerblading or going to the movies. Another way to reduce stress is to make sure that your body is operating at 100% potential:

• Did you ever wonder why your parents made you eat your vegetables?  One reason is that they help reduce stress by helping your body to operate at optimum levels.  Take a look at the table below showing different ways of eating and of spending your time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  	Tired / stressed-out / poor results	Energetic / optimum performance
  Snacks	junk food: potato chips, chocolate bars	real food:  bananas, apples, carrots
  Free Time Activities	time wasters:  watching TV, surfing the web	energy-boosters:  rollerblading, walking the dog, laughing with a friend
  Habits	bad habits: smoking, alcohol, all-nighters (staying up all night)	good habits:  reasonable sleep patterns,  read the newspaper, drink lots of water

  
  


• It should be clear that if you want your brain to do its best, you have to treat it well.  Taking care of your body, too, means that the brain will focus better.


• Just as a mobile phone won't work unless you recharge the battery, you need to recharge your body by eating well, sleeping well and getting some exercise.  Stay away from the things that drain your batteries.


• Screen time (time in front of a TV, a video game or Internet) is fine for a little while - helping you to escape and relax after a busy day.  After more than about half an hour, though, these activities numb you into a state of total breakdown of creativity and interaction.  You become a zombie drained of motivation and inspiration.   Turn it off, get up, go for a walk, get some air.  Get your blood flowing and wake up your brain.  (Well, finish reading this page, first, then get up).


• Do you smoke?  Smoking introduces carbon monoxide into your blood.  This molecule takes the place of oxygen in your body.  As a result, your cells (including the ones which make your brain work) are literally gasping for air - they are suffocating.  Brain cells which are not getting enough oxygen cannot process information correctly.  Also, if all you can think about during the exam is when you are going to get out of there and be able to light up a cigarette, it is clear that your brain is wasting a lot of neurons on that thought rather than on thinking about the exam.  Personally, I never understood why people say "Cigarettes help me to relax," because the main active ingredient in them is nicotine, which is a stimulant, a type of drug which actually makes you more stressed-out and nervous.

Life is kind of like an exam.  Every day.  Those who have developed strong positive habits have rewarding, successful lives.  They never seem to run out of energy because they are constantly recharging their batteries.  And then there are those who always waited until the last minute to study.  They may still have those bad habits today in their adult lives - paying their bills after the deadlines - always running late - always stressed out.  Look around.  Do you know anyone in each of these categories?  Among your friends?  Your family?  Your teachers?