Week 3 - M&T: Knowledge claims & justifications

• 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 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). 

*K 2.2.1

What did you find out?

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
Types of knowledge claims and justifications	Evaluating justifications

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Essential understandings week 2:

• Explain what is meant by the core concept ‘justification’ in TOK and why it matters to knowledge.
• Identify different types of knowledge claims and know their names.
• Recognise connections between the different types of knowledge claims and the different kinds of justifications that are appropriate.
• Evaluate sources of information used as justification, including authority, expert opinion and consensus.
• Explain why knowledge of knowledge is a form of self-defense against manipulation and makes us less vulnerable 
• Reflect on the justifications used for knowledge claims in your own IB subjects.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Dr. Mike vs 20 anti-vaxxers 

What kind of justifications do they give? Who do you find more persuasive and why?

*K 2.3.0

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Being open-minded and seeing the benefits of multiple perspectives, doesn't mean every perspective is equally true and truth is relative. You have to team up your open mind with its essential companion: 

critical thinking. 

*K 2.3.0

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Being open-minded and seeing the benefits of multiple perspectives, doesn't mean every perspective is equally true and truth is relative. You have to team up your open mind with its essential companion: 

critical thinking. 

this means being thoughtful, balanced and analytical with the aim of evaluating information and ideas accurately and fairly. 

*K 2.3.0

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

In order to think critically and pursue reliable knowledge, there are methods & tools that you can learn.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Evaluating information and ideas accurately and fairly

Step 1:

Learn to identify different types of knowledge claims

Methods and tools

*K 2.3.2

*K 2.3.2

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Quick task

Categorize these examples

Methods and tools

*K 2.3.2

a) Human beings have immortal souls. 

b) It's better to lose playing attacking, than it is to win playing defensive. 

c) The Netherlands has 18 million inhabitants.

d) Global temperatures will rise the next decades.

e) According to a medical website hepatitis A is an inflammatory condition of the liver. 

f) She will help me if I get in trouble.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Quick task

Now give an example in each category yourself. 

Done? Pass the list and repeat.

Methods and tools

*K 2.3.2

Can you think of an example that falls into more than one category?&nbsp;<div>Do you think these categories are complete?<div>Could you improve these categories by specifying them?&nbsp;</div></div>

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

A type of explanation.

Justifying a knowledge claim means providing good reasons for accepting and asserting it. What qualifies as a good reason depends on the nature of the knowledge claim, its context, and the people doing the evaluating.

Justification

What 'things' could count as justification?

Faith, intuition, dreams and visions, emotion, observation, memory, reasoning, authority, evidence, consensus, personal experience, ...&nbsp;

*K 2.3.3

However..

Not every justification would be accepted as convincing in all contexts or in all areas of knowledge.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Learning experience

Appropriate justifications

Complete in the table. You can work together. 

What 'things' could count as justification?

Faith, intuition, dreams and visions, emotion, observation, memory, reasoning, authority, evidence, consensus, personal experience, ...&nbsp;

However..

Not every justification would be accepted as convincing in all contexts or in all areas of knowledge.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Essential understandings week 2:

• Explain what is meant by the core concept ‘justification’ in TOK and why it matters to knowledge.
• Identify different types of knowledge claims and know their names.
• Recognise connections between the different types of knowledge claims and the different kinds of justifications that are appropriate.
• Evaluate sources of information used as justification, including authority, expert opinion and consensus.
• Explain why knowledge of knowledge is a form of self-defense against manipulation and makes us less vulnerable 
• Reflect on the justifications used for knowledge claims in your own IB subjects.

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

Evaluating information and ideas accurately and fairly

Step 2:

Recognise connections between the different types of knowledge claims and the different kinds of justifications that are appropriate.

Methods and tools

*K 2.3.3

What will we be doing?

The plan

Unit 1 - Unravelling knowledge

       Journal activity week 3:

In your own IB subjects, what justifies the conclusions being taught? Choose two subjects to reflect on in your journal. Use these questions:

*K 2.2.1

• In your mathematics class, what makes an answer right or wrong?
• In your science class, what makes current explanations more convincing than discarded ones?
• In your literature class, how do you examine and evaluate works? Why are some interpretations considered better than others?
• In your history class, why are some interpretations taken more seriously than others?
• In economics, or psychology, or anthropology, how do the justifications and explanations differ from those in your natural science class?