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This wiki is a repository for notes or ideas related to the Theory of Knowledge class being taught at North Battleford Comprehensive High School during the 2011-2012 school year (and perhaps longer - I haven't decided if I'm going to erase this when we're done, lock it down so it remains preserved for all time, or keep it open to see what happens and make use of it in later years. If you have some thoughts on what I should do at the end of the course, add them to the discussion page.

=About the course=

Theory of Knowledge is a course that is part of the International Baccalaureate Programme. It encompasses a wide range of topics, but they can be gathered into three parts (or layers in some models)
 * 1) Knowing and the knower - what is knowledge? What is meant when we say that we know something?
 * 2) Ways of Knowing - what are the types of justification we can use for our assertions of knowledge? There are 4 primary WoK that are stated in the ToK curriculum - language, logic/reason, and emotion.
 * 3) Areas of Knowledge - What sorts of things can we claim to have knowledge about? In the ToK curriculum, there are 6 AoK - mathematics, natural sciences, human sciences, ethics, the arts and history.

=Course blog=

There is a blog called [|Talk the Tok] for the course written by Mr. Wall (who is a self acclaimed awesome teacher), teacher of the ToK class.

= Students And Blogs =

Alex Norstrum Theory of Knowledge Arsalan Ahmed Anees Analysis of the Theories ⓑⒺⒽⒾⓃⒹ Knowledge Ben Hu Some Writing Brandon Horrell T.O.K Christianne Blais Complicated, twisted reflections on TOK Liam Bassingthwaighte Theory of Knoledge: A Class, A Theory, A Way of Thinking Sam Burns SAM. Sean Newton ….Theory of Knowledge? Taylor Raiche . Reflections on TOK

=**Summaries of Class Discussions**=

Friday, November 18th, 2011
Roles of Language, a WoK, in the AoKs:
 * 1) **Mathematics**- a language of its own; a 'formal' language; set of symbols agreed upon by a large group of people; there is no ambiguity in the meanings of the symbols; not subject to bias/interpretation
 * 2) **The Natural Sciences**- a group of "dialects"; everyday, English words are used in a more formal manner; uses language in descriptions and observations
 * 3) **The Human Sciences**- less "math-y" vocabulary than natural sciences; also uses language as a means of relaying observations & theories
 * 4) **History**- history is created by language; based largely on language to describe events through generations; most subject to bias; primary sources are the only objective form of language in history
 * 5) **Art**- depending on view, it could be a language of its own; most subject to interpretation
 * 6) **Ethics**-

**Monday, November 21st, 2011**
Perception
 * We, as humans, don't tend to see things as their individual parts.
 * we see a word, as opposed to individual letters
 * perhaps this is why people claim to see ghostly apparitions
 * Primary vs. Secondary Characteristics
 * Primary Characteristics: same to everyone as long as we have a standard way to measure
 * mass, dimensions, tactile/state of matter
 * Secondary Characteristics: may vary from person to person based on perceptions
 * colour, smell, taste
 * Can we turn secondary characteristics to primary characteristics?
 * we would have to find a way to measure the characteristics consitently
 * ex. Colour can become primary if we examine the wavelength each colour makes as light, only if the equipment is all calibrated properly and equally.

Friday, November 25th, 2011
Perception; Continued
 * What we reason and what we know from language can affect our perception. Not necessarily the other way around all of the time.
 * People can fall in to the trap of thinking, "If I can't prove it's not, it must be."
 * ex. "You can't prove that there is no ghost in that picture, so there must be a ghost in that picture
 * //watched a video about perception//

**Friday, December 2nd, 2011**
David Hume
 * Impression-initial reaction to a stimulus; immediate and in the moment; sometimes causes involuntary action; irrefutable
 * ex) being burned on a stove
 * Idea- recollection of an impression; never as vivid as impression
 * ex) remembering how it felt to be burned
 * Simple idea- an idea that we've gained from an impression
 * ex) some organisms have wings
 * Complex idea-simple ideas joined together
 * ex) angels- humans and wings are put together
 * If we can't trace an idea back to it's simplest ideas, we must throw it out because it is not applicable to real life.


 * Causality-just because one has observed a repeated action over and over, one can't know that it will happen every time
 * ex) Billiard balls colliding: We have seen two balls collide and the second one begins to move, but we do not know what caused that action.
 * We never have an impression of causality. We one put two ideas together to form a complex idea about causality.
 * Mostly a habit of mind. Babies have no habit of mind, therefore they are not subject to the idea of causality.
 * One can analyze ideas, not impressions.

**Future Class discussions**

 * Does art deal with impressions or ideas?

Deontology: authority-based, moral imperative, rule-based. Utilitarian: "Greatest good for the greatest number", good measured by happiness, outcome based. Virtue-based: do what someone of good character would do (Aristotle), what would the divine being do? Pragmatic: according to societal norms / context, John Devey
 * Ethics**

Would you press a button that would kill one person you didn't know for money? for the cure for cancer? Are there any universal rules/ethics or do ethics always vary by culture or region?

To IB or not to IB, that is the ethical question.