Theory of knowledge

Theory of Knowledge2. Maps and certainty

Maps and certainty

Theory of knowledge

Key questions• How do we form concepts and ideas

of the world?• What do we need to be aware of?• Of what do we feel certain in life?• How sure can we be that any

knowledge is certain?

TOK

Theory of knowledge

Our mental maps…• What is a mental map?• An idea of what is true and false, right

and wrong – the way in which we understand the world and our place in it.

• Often called a ‘paradigm’ or system of thought/belief

• But how accurate/truthful are these maps? Should we rely on them completely? And what is truth anyway…?

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Theory of knowledge

How ‘true’ is this map?

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Theory of knowledge

Some ‘truths’…• On the map, Greenland and Africa are the

same size. In reality, Africa is fourteen times bigger than Greenland

• It is based on the convention that the northern hemisphere is at the top, and the southern hemisphere is at the bottom – but how accurate is this?

• Who is to say that Europe is in the centre of the world… and why has it been shown as such?

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Theory of knowledge

Hobo Dryer projection

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Theory of knowledge

By population…

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From the top?

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Theory of knowledge

• What does this tell us about how we should approach TOK?

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Theory of knowledge

• If our ideas and beliefs come from our family, friends, teachers, books and the media, and because we don’t have time to check that everything they tell us is true, there are bound to be lots of inaccuracies woven into our mental mapsTOK: Mr Coxon

Theory of knowledge

• It is hard for us to think outside of our customs and conventions

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• We can never fully map our experiences and understandings – maps are always representations – never complete in themselves

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What does this have to do with our discussion?

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Theory of knowledge

Certainty• List in order the five things in life that

you are the most certain of• Now, compare your list with someone

else. Can you come to any agreement?

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Theory of knowledge

How do you know that the below are true?

1. ‘I know that the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11 2001’

2. ‘I know that oranges are orange’3. ‘I know that if a is bigger than b, and

b is bigger than c, then a is bigger than c’

4. ‘I know that murder is wrong’

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Theory of knowledge

How do you know that the below are true?

1. ‘I know that the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11 2001’

– Were you there?2. ‘I know that oranges are orange’

– But what if you are colour blind?3. ‘I know that if a is bigger than b, and b is

bigger than c, then a is bigger than c’– So if some dentists are drunkards and no cyclists

are drunkards, are some cyclists dentists?4. ‘I know that murder is wrong’

– Perhaps you do, but do others? Are you right? Can you be sure?

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Theory of knowledge

The ultimate truth• ‘I know that I exist’

– How do you know?– If you cannot get outside of your own

existence, how do you know that you or others exist at all?

– Perhaps we are in a dream, and our dreams are our reality…

• Is the fact that we can think about it proof that we are thinking beings, and therefore exist?

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Theory of knowledge

In pairs...• Reflect on what we have been talking

about this session. What will you take away from this session, and what do you need more time on?

• What one question would you like to bring to next lesson, based on what we have been talking about today?

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Theory of knowledge

In conclusion• Our mental maps might not be as

accurate or truthful as we might think…• What we think is undoubtedly true

might not be…• TOK lessons explore these ideas and the

problems that stem from them • However – we need to maintain some

perspective… or we might all go mad!!!

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