GHS IB World School Garland High School
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Unlike standard academic disciplines, the Theory of Knowledge course uses a process of discovering and sharing students' views on "knowledge questions" (an umbrella term for everything that can be approached from a TOK point of view"), so there is no end to the valid questions that may arise, there are many different ways to approach TOK. , Teachers have the task of teaching the theoretical foundation of essential concepts, and provide an environment in which these concepts can be discussed and debated. The focus of the discussion should not be the differentiation between "right" and "wrong" ideas, but on the quality of justification and a balanced approach to the knowledge claim in question.
A small sample of TOK questions are listed below:
1. In what ways does the biological constitution of a living organism determine, influence or limit its sense perception? If humans are sensitive only to certain ranges of stimuli, what consequences or limitations might this have for the acquisition of knowledge? How does technology extend, modify, improve or restrict the capabilities of the senses?
2. What possibilities for knowledge are opened to us by our senses as they are? What limitations?
3. What is the role of sense perception in the various areas of knowledge, for example, history or ethics? How does it differ across the disciplines? Is it more important in relation to some disciplines than others? Is there any knowledge that is completely independent of sense perception?
　4. Does sense perception perform fundamentally distinct functions in the arts and the sciences? To what extent does the artist make an advantage out of the subjective nature of sense perception, while the scientist regards it as an obstacle to be overcome?
5. What did Aldous Huxley (1947) mean when he observed that ―Words form the thread on which we string our experiences‖? To what extent is it possible to separate our experience of the world from the narratives we construct of them?
6. In what ways does written language differ from spoken language in its relationship to knowledge?
7. Is it reasonable to argue for the preservation of established forms of language, for example, as concerns grammar, spelling, syntax, meaning or use? Is one language common to the whole world a defensible project?