The Problem of Knowledge 2

Pages 9-12

Table of Contents

• Certainty p. 8-10– Radical doubt p. 9-10

• Relativism p. 10-11• What should we believe? p. 11-15– The role of judgment p. 12– The danger of gullibility p. 12

What do we know?

• This is the problem of knowledge we are studying.

• In this presentation we continue to try and answer it.

Certainty – Radical doubt• Rene Descartes was a famous French Mathematician

and Philosopher• He says that NOTHING is certain except the fact that

“I exist.”• Descartes is responsible for the statement “I think

therefore I am.”• However even this idea that “I exist” can be argued!• Example 1: The movie called “The Truman Show.”• Example 2: The movie called “The Matrix.”• Example 3: The movie “Inception.”• Example 4: The doctrine of “no-self” in the Buddhist

religion.

Certainty – Radical doubt (continued)

• How do you know you exist?• Are you 100 percent certain that you are not

dreaming (asleep) right now?

Certainty – Radical doubt (continued 2)

• Therefore one way that some philosophers have thought about knowledge is with a sense of this radical doubt.

• Do you need to always have radical doubt in this class?

• Not really. But you do need to always remain skeptical of what I (or anyone else) teach you.

Certainty – Radical doubt (continued 2)

• Question knowledge! Do not accept it immediately. Use reason, logic, language, perception, and emotion to know if something is true!

• Do not just “believe” what anyone tells you!• That is one of the main reasons you are taking

TOK!

Relativism• This is opposite from radical doubt• It is a way of thinking where there is no absolute

or universal “truth.”• This means that everything is “ok” or “true.”

Relativism (continued)• The main idea from relativism is that something

may be true for you, but it doesn’t have to be true for me.

• This way of thinking is popular because it is hard for anyone to say who or what “truth” is. We have no perfect example to look at.

• All truths are equally valid and important in relativism.

Relativism (continued 2)• It sounds easy because it is easy!• But there are problems.• How can everything be “true?”• Certainly some things must be more true than

others…• For example, what do we say to a person who

believes the world is flat instead of round?• The world cannot be both flat and round!• Example 2: How can Santa Clause both exist and

not exist? One and only one possibility can be correct

Relativism (continued 3)• If we say “all truth is relative” it is a contradiction.”• Look at the diagram on page 11 to understand why

the statement disagrees with itself.• This is the main problem with relativism.• All truth cannot be relative because it uses the

word “all.”• Remember that in relativism there are no

ABSOLUTE or UNIVERSAL truths. Using the word “all” contradicts the definition of relativism itself.

What should we believe?• Remember that the problem of knowledge is the

question: “What do we know?”• Is there a quick solution to this problem of

knowledge? • Common sense does not fully work• Certainty does not fully work• Radical doubt does not fully work• Relativism does not fully work

What should we believe? (continued)

• Well the good news is that in TOK we care more about how you believe something.

• Nobody cares about what you believe. We are not trying to change your beliefs in this class.

• So what is one of the biggest goals in TOK?

What should we believe? (continued 2)

• You must learn to JUSTIFY how it is that you believe something.• Always justify your beliefs with

EVIDENCE in TOK and you will do very well.• For a strong argument, you must

ALWAYS consider criticism and respond to it before it happens.

The role of judgment• Black and white certainties are rare in our world.• This means it is difficult to use words like “always”

and “never.”• There is a big grey area in the world. This means

we need to become used to using words like “sometimes,” “maybe,” “perhaps,” and “occasionally.”

• Some things may be true always, but this is more rare than you may think.

• This is why you must carefully consider things before making a decision or a judgment in TOK.

The role of judgment (continued)• Judgment requires a balance somewhere between

radical doubt and relativism.• You should not think that there are no universal

truths.• However you should not think that it is easy to say

that everything is simply “true” or “false” either.• In TOK it is important to use judgment to

determine when something is ABSOLUTELY TRUE and when something is possibly true or only true in CERTAIN SITUATIONS.

The role of judgment (continued 2)• Balance open-mindedness with skepticism• Don’t believe everything• Don’t disbelieve everything• Don’t agree with everything• Don’t disagree with everything• This will help you navigate the difficult path to true

wisdom that you will hopefully find studying TOK.

The danger of gullibility• Gullibility – easily believing things that others tell you

without questioning the validity (authenticity or truth) of what they are saying.

• A gullible person is easily tricked. It is easy to trick a gullible person into giving you money or doing work for you that you don’t want to do.

• In this world there are many people who will trick you immediately if you don’t have street smarts. (Being “street smart” means you are not gullible. It means you are aware when somebody is trying to lie to you or trick you)

• This is another one of the HUGE REASONS why you are asked to study TOK. We do not want you to be easily tricked by others!

The danger of gullibility• Examples of gullibility:– Somebody who hears an offer on the Internet which

promises to make them rich. Usually these scams or offers promise the person that they will need to do no work and will become rich effortlessly.

– An email telling you that a rich person needs you to hold some of their money