Week 2 - Perspectives: pros and cons

• Filosofie
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Welcome to

Theory of Knowledge

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

       Journal activity week 1:

Choose one everyday activity (e.g. cooking, gaming, sport) you are familiar with. Analyse this activity in three steps:

1. Explain how this activity shows how knowledge is vast, interconnected, collectively constructed and cumulative. 
2. Show how the three kinds of knowledge apply to this activity (personal experience, skill, information & ideas) . 
3. Explain a limitation of knowledge that is involved. 
4. Choose one of your DP-subjects and explain how the knowledge in this subject is limited. Discuss at least two limits. 

Before you start

Make a rough draft before you start writing in your journal.

Work neatly

You will need to hand in your journal for assessment.

*K 2.1.2

*K 2.1.3

What will we be doing?

The plan

Week 1: scope	Week 2: perspective	Week 3: methods & tools	Week 4: methods & tools
What counts as knowledge?	How do perspectives shape knowledge?	How do we justify knowledge claims?	How do reasoning and bias affect what we accept as knowledge?

The plan

Unit 1: Unravelling knowledge

Monday	Thursday
Recognising perspectives/pro's and cons	Perspectives as maps

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Essential understandings week 2:

• Explain what is meant by the core concept ‘perspective’ and why it matters to knowledge.
• Recognise the advantages of multiple perspectives in problem-solving, but also some of the difficulties to be overcome.
• Recognizing and identifying different communities of knowers to which the student belongs
• Argue for the importance of keeping an open mind.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Essential understandings week 2:

• Explain what is meant by the core concept ‘perspective’ and why it matters to knowledge.
• Recognise the advantages of multiple perspectives in problem-solving, but also some of the difficulties to be overcome.
• Recognizing and identifying different communities of knowers to which the student belongs
• Argue for the importance of keeping an open mind.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Perspectives

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

*K 2.1.2

*K 2.1.3

j

What will we be doing?

The plan

Perspectives

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

*K 2.1.2

*K 2.1.3

j

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

In the physical world, your ‘perspective’ is the angle from which you see something. Your own eyes give you one set of observations among others possible. 

In metaphor, your ‘perspective’ is what you think about a topic, one set of thoughts among others possible. Perspectives are not static: they can change with knowledge.

Perspective

What will we be doing?

The plan

(perspective is a key concept as well as part of the knowledge framework               )

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

In the physical world, your ‘perspective’ is the angle from which you see something. Your own eyes give you one set of observations among others possible. 

In metaphor, your ‘perspective’ is what you think about a topic, one set of thoughts among others possible. Perspectives are not static: they can change with knowledge.

Perspective

What will we be doing?

The plan

Quick task 1

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Imagine you get to design and build a park next to school for students, which is also accessible for people in the neighbourhood. 

Whose knowledge do you need in order to plan this project, ensure that it is suitable and complete it well? 

Why do you need these different perspectives?<div>Which difficulties need to be overcome when overseeing people with different perspectives?</div>

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Statement:

Putting the smartest people together produces the smartest group.

Do you agree? Why?

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Question:

Which country has the most islands? 

You have to put together a team to answer this question. They are not allowed to look it up. How can you put together a team that is most likely to be right?

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

699 people, groups of 2–5 doing visual puzzles, brainstorming, negotiations,complex problem-solving etc.

Conclusion:

Performance across different tasks was not primarily predicted by the intelligence of the smartest individual in the group.

Instead, collective intelligence was associated with:

• social sensitivity
• relatively equal participation in conversation
• a higher proportion of women in the group.

What does this mean when thinking about good government? About power and democracy?

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

The value of multiple perspectives

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Your perspective

Make a list of things that influence your perspective.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Your perspective

The communities we are in form the perspectives we have. 

You belong to different communities of knowers. 

A community of knowers = a group of people who share similar relationships to a body of knowledge, beliefs, assumptions or opinions.  

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Your perspective

Quick task 1

Make a 'knower identity map'.  Write down 'Me as a knower' in the middle. Link at least five different communities of knowers you are part of. 

Possible influences

<ul><li>Languages I speak/hear</li><li>Countries/cultures connected to me</li><li>Family values</li><li>Schooling/education</li><li>Religion or worldview</li><li>Online spaces/social media</li><li>Music/books/games/media</li><li>Friend groups</li><li>Personal experiences</li><li>Historical events that shaped me</li><li>Gender expectations</li><li>Economic background</li><li>Hobbies/interests</li></ul>

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Your perspective

Quick task 2

Expand your map by showing how these communities influences you as a knower.  

Need help?

<ul><li>“This influences how I see…”</li><li>“This makes me more skeptical of…”</li><li>“This shapes what I trust.”</li><li>“This affects what I consider normal.”</li><li>“This gives me knowledge about…”</li></ul>

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

       Journal activity week 2:

Choose a real-life issue where different communities of knowers have different perspectives. 

• Distinguish two communities involved.
• Analyse what these communities share and how they differ by using the 'guide to examining perspectives' (K.2.2.1). 

Tip

Make a rough draft before you start writing in your journal.

Work neatly

You will need to hand in your journal for assessment.

*K 2.1.2

*K 2.1.3

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Essential understandings week 2:

• Explain what is meant by the core concept ‘perspective’ and why it matters to knowledge.
• Recognise the advantages of multiple perspectives in problem-solving, but also some of the difficulties to be overcome.
• Recognizing and identifying different communities of knowers to which the student belongs
• Argue for the importance of keeping an open mind.