“In gaining knowledge, each area of knowledge uses a network of ways of
knowing.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge
Thesis
Ways of knowing are what
provide us with the necessary
information and understanding in
order to develop knowledge
within an area of knowledge.
Ways of knowing interact with
each other to a very high extent;
therefore each area of knowledge
uses a network of ways of
knowing in gaining knowledge.
One way of Knowing is not enough to get
the necessary information and
understanding to gain knowledge.
By using different ways of knowing, a deeper
understading within an area is gained. this is because
they provided different perspectives and methods to
understand and gain knowlegde
Ways of knowing need eachother. They become stroger, more
reliable and effective when linked with one another. This means
that, for example, intuition alone is not as effective in gaining
knowledgeas intuiton and reason together
Central knowledge question
To what extent do ways of knowing
interact with eachother in order to build up
knowledge?
To what extent is a way of knowing more
important than the others to gain knowledge within an area?
To what extent is the knowledge obtained
through different ways more relevant than
that obtained by one way of knowing?
Reasons i'm interested in the title
The title makes me analyze and
reflect the ways in which we gain
knowledge within specific areas
of knowledge. This is interesting
as many questios arise: do WoK’s
really interact with eachother? Is
there any AoK that uses only one
WoK to gain knowledge?...
The title allows me to show my
understanding of TOK and explore
knowledge through various perspectives
and lenses. As it asks me to focus in 2
specific areas of knowledge, it allows me to
be specific and evaluate each one of them
thoroughly
This title is interesting as it is asking us to link together
important aspects of TOK (ways of knowing) in order to
show their importance within an area of knowledge. I
think it is very interesting to think about ways of knowing;
their relationship with each other and with the different
areas. This is because when we understand this we can
understand how is it that we gain knowledge.
Areas of knowledge
The Arts
The arts are an area of knowledge based on creative skill.
This suggests that it is a more subjective area of
knowledge; that knowledge for the arts is not very specific
and cannot be classified as right or wrong. This means that
the arts use emotion and imagination as directly
influential ways of knowing. However, reason is also
essential for an artwork to be effective, due to the fact that
an artist needs to support his creative process. Moreover,
language is used in the arts to communicate ideas and
concepts. Having this said, the arts are an area of
knowledge that uses a network of different ways of
knowing in order to gain knowledge.
Natural Sciences
Science is a very rational area of knowledge. It
is based on objectivity, accepting knowledge
tentatively after the proposed theory has been
put through the Scientific Method. While
reason plays a key role in this, using logic to
ascertain whether a theory is correct. As the
natural sciences are applicable in a wide range
of fields, reason alone is not enough to gain
sufficient knowledge within this area. Sense
perception, intuition, memory, language also
play key roles in gaining knowledge.
Ways of Knowing
Reason
Intuition
Emotion
Language
Memory
Sense Perception
Possible counter arguments
It is possible to say that emotion and
imagination are enough ways to gain
knowledge in the arts. This depends no
only on the artwork created, but on the
type of art (i.e. Music, visual arts,
drama). It is possible that one art needs
more WoK’s than the other, depending
on their different aims. It is not
necessary to have historical knowledge
or knowledge of the artistic techniques
in a piece (using reason) to understand
and connect with it. This suggests that a
network of ways of knowing is not
completely necessary in order to gain
knowledge within the arts.
Arguing that a network of ways of knowing is
needed in mathematics can be wrong.
Sometimes, reason is enough to get the
necessary information and understanding to
gain knowledge. If a lot of logic and reasoning
is applied, an individual can connect with and
understand mathematics. It is also important
to question if humans created mathematics or
if they existed and were discovered. This is
because if they existed, it was by reasoning
that humans discovered them and developed
them. In mathematics, things are right or
wrong; black or white; there are no gray
spaces. This suggests that some WoKs don’t
apply here, such as emotion.
Ways of knowing interact with each other
only to a certain extent. -They don't all
interact with each other. -sometimes it is
possible to gain knowledge only with one
WoK. -Sometimes it it not necessary to
gain a deep knowledge, hence one WoK is
enough