THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

Overview of Course
Theory of Knowledge

What do I know?
HOW DO I KNOW IT?
 TOK = 3 INTERCONNECTED PARTS

1. CORE THEME:
KNOWER AND THE
KNOWER

2. AREAS OF
KNOWLEDGE

3. TOK ASSESSMENTS
 FIVE OPTIONAL THEMES
(two are required to study)
• Knowledge and technology

• Knowledge and language

• Knowledge and politics

• Knowledge and religion

• Knowledge and indigenous

societies
 Knowledge and Technology

• Focus: issues related to impact of tech

on knowledge

• How tech helps/hinders pursuit of

knowledge

• Ways tech can shape knowledge creation

• Ex: Impact of social networks on sharing

knowledge (“echo chamber”)

• KQ: In what sense, if any, can a machine

be said to know something?
 Knowledge and Language

• Role language plays in our lives and

influence on thought and behavior

• Language and power

• Ex: Role language plays in creating

and reinforcing class, ethnicity and
gender distinctions.

• KQ: Is it possible to think or know

without language?
 Knowledge and Politics

• Politics of knowledge and issues around

knowledge, power and oppression

• Control of knowledge

• Persuasion, manipulation,
misinformation and propaganda

• Ex: “fake news” exploration

• KQ: What role do reason and emotion

play in the formation of our political
affinities or in our voting decisions?
 Knowledge and Religion

• Impact religious knowledge has on how we

view the world

• Nature of evidence in knowledge claims

• Relationship between religion and

morality…ethics

• Ex: Role of religion in making ethical

decisions in the natural sciences (cloning)

• KQ: How has our understanding and

perception of religious knowledge changed
over time?
 Knowledge and Indigenous Societies
• Explore knowledge bound to a particular group,
culture or society

• Examine holistic view of knowledge and close

relationship with natural world

• Exploration of how we value/devalue indigenous

knowledge…primacy of science…valuing
written over oral word

• Ex: Impact of colonialism on loss of language

and its impact on knowledge.

• KQ: Is cultural appropriation and example of a

violation of collective intellectual property
rights?
 FIVE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE (AOKs)

• History
• Human Sciences
• Natural Sciences
• Math
• The Arts
 TOK ASSESSMENTS

• EXHIBITION (JUNIOR
YEAR)
• ESSAY (SENIOR YEAR)
 12 Major TOK Concepts

1. Evidence 1. Explanation

2. Truth 2. Objectivity

3. Certainty 3. Perspective

4. Interpretation 4. Culture

5. Power 5. Values

6. Justification 6. Responsibility
 Knowledge Questions (KQ)

•TOK centers
around
exploration of
KQs.
 What is a Knowledge Question?

• KQs are questions about how we know

something.

• How is knowledge…

• produced?

• acquired?

• shared and used?

• What it is and what it is not?

• Who has it and who does not?

• Who decides the answers to these questions?

 Second Order KQs…KOG!

• Knowledge…KQs are about knowledge

itself.

• Open…KQs are open ended (no one

answer).

• General…KQs are not about the real

life situation itself; they can be applied
to several situations.

• Use TOK concepts and terms: evidence,

certainty, values, interpretation.
 Knowledge Framework

Four Common Elements:

1. Scope

2. Perspective

3. Methods and Tools

4. Ethics
 Knowledge Framework: Scope

Scope
• Explores how each theme/AOK fits within
totality of human knowledge.
• Considers and addresses nature of
problems each theme/AOK faces and
tries to solve.

• KQ Example:
• What practical problems can be solved
through knowledge gained from a
theme/AOK?
 Knowledge Framework: Perspectives

Perspectives

• What shapes your perspective on

knowledge in the themes/AOKs?
• How do different groups approach
knowledge in the themes/AOKs?
• What shaped perspectives in the past and how
does knowledge change over time?

• Example KQ:
• What is the significance of key historical
developments within these themes/AOKs?
 Knowledge Framework: Methods and Tools

Methods and Tools

• What methods, tools and practices

are used to produce knowledge in
the themes/AOKs?

• KQ Example:
• Does what is seen to constitute
“good evidence” vary from
discipline to discipline and culture
to culture?
 Knowledge Framework: Ethics

Ethics

• What impact do ethical considerations

have on knowledge exploration in the
themes/AOKs?

• What is the relationship between

facts and values?
• KQ Example:

• What responsibilities rest on the

knower as a result of their knowledge
in these themes/AOKs?
 Information given in this presentation was taken
directly from the IB TOK Guide and Teacher Support
Material

“Theory of Knowledge Teacher Support Material, First Assessment 2022.” International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020.

Theory of Knowledge Guide, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020.