What+are+Knowledge+Issues?

= __Knowledge Issues should be central to your presentation.__ = Knowledge issues are issues about knowledge. They can apply to any aspect of knowledge and may refer to the **acquisition, production, shaping, classification, status, and acceptance or rejection**  **of knowledge**. Knowledge issues range from the extremely general (“Can a fact exist without a context?”, “What constitutes good evidence?”) to the specific (“How can we distinguish between valid and invalid deductive arguments?”, “What should the role of emotion be in the justification of ethical decisions?”). Both extremes are appropriate focuses for TOK discussions and both can and should be explored in a TOK course. However, not all knowledge issues are equally appropriate for assessment purposes.

It may also a good idea to examine which kinds of knowledge words may be applicable to your topic. Is it something we **//know//** about or just **//believe//**? Can we be **//certain//** or sure? What **//justification//** do we have for this **//certainty//**?
 * KNOWLEDGE Words: **

You should be aware that simply including the words ‘bias’ or ‘limitations’ in your presentation does not mean that you are exploring these knowledge issues. To explore them you need to point out how exactly bias is working here, why exactly it is a problem, you need to assess whether there are any ways to limit this problem of bias and, if we can’t, how serious this problem of bias is overall.

** Bias: ** What possible biases and motivations does the person responsible for producing a source of information have? Are personal interests involved? Is there a conflict of interests between a person’s role in the issue and the benefit to that person? What does a person stand to gain by acceptance of his ideas? Is this bias evident in the choice of language used? Is the vocabulary selected because of its connotations to appeal to emotions, prejudices and biases? How may this create problems? Is there any way around it? If the information has not come to you first hand, what about the biases of the various stages in the chain before the information reaches you (is their bias in the results that Google tends to turn up)? What about your own personal biases?
 * Limitations : ** Most obviously this works in scientific studies where you can consider the limitations of sample size, the number of times an experiment has been replicated, how plausible the extrapolations are from that experiment to a general claim about ‘All things of class x’. However, you should also consider whether there aspects of this area of knowledge which it is impossible to know? Are these things impossible to observe or measure because “at the moment” we don’t have the instruments or access to the facts?
 * Uncertainties : ** What uncertainties are involved here? What evidence is there to justify one point of view as opposed to another? Is it reliable, perceptual, statistical, reasonable or just a matter of opinion? Are there any ambiguities in the language used to claim or justify something?
 * Reasoning : ** What kind of reasoning is involved in justifying the various points of view: deductive or inductive? Is the logic involved valid, reliable, based on empirical evidence or is it an appeal to emotions?
 * Subjectivity : ** What elements of subjectivity are involved? are ? Are various points of view affected by individuals’ beliefs or experience? Is it possible to be completely objective with regard to this issue?