1.

Define neutral question

o Cant be rhetorical
o dont you agree Iran should face economic sanctions
until it makes more transparent its nuclear programme?
o Unbiased/no hidden assumptions in the question
Cannot be loaded
o Have you stopped cheating on test?
o Open ended/ permits a variety responses
Avoids value laden adjectives
Cannot lead or direct the respondent
A question can be neutral even if it does not permit a neutral
answer
o Eg. Should abortion be legal?
o Factual questions
One what date did WW2 end?
o Mathematical questions
Square root of nine
o Question of measurement
How many electrons does that atom have?
o Questions about personal experience, emotions, and
opinion
What do you think of this art work?
o Questions about ways of knowing (Sense perception)
AOK
o History
Historical process is one of selecting info
To select, we ask questions first
What long-lasting effects has stalins reign
had on Russia today
o Loaded
How tall was Abraham Lincoln?
o Presupposes this is a relevant
historical inquiry
To get interesting answers, we have to do more
than ask neutral questions: we must recognize our
biases and account for them.
Historical method.
o Mathematics
Textbook full of neutral maths questions
But
o Word problems
I have 3 pounds and 12 pence
How many shillings do I have in
total?
Contextual information needed
o Cultural bias

Mathematical questions that have real world

application
o Ethical problems: train problem
Neutral questions do exist, but it is difficult to develop them.
We need to be constantly aware, even in supposedly objective
areas of knowledge like maths, of leading, influencing or
boxing in our respondent if we want to avoid confirming our
own biases.

2.

What about other ways? (Reason, intuition, revelation,

introspection, meditation)
Observation, experiment: (Radical) empiricism
Very much a modern notion: scientific method, we know
something when we have quantitative evidence of it. (A good
student a good teacher)
Passive observation: Socrates Slave?

3.

Define
o Facts and theories
Fact a proposition commonly accepted as true
Theory A system of ideas that seeks to explain
those propositions
o Disciplines AOK
o Common groundwork of explanation
Consensus
Framework for understanding a complex body of
knowledge
Means different things in different AOK
Instinctive response: YES
Common groundwork of explanation
o Interdisciplinary units MYP
o Mathematics and arts
Golden ratio aesthetics
o Economics and geography
Poverty, inequality of wealth
o Biology, psychology, chemistry
Love
o SHC context literature and history
Macbeth
Reasons why we cant create a common groundwork of
explanation
o Mathematics and arts
Neglects emotional aspects, other complex
cultural variables
o Economics and geography

Presumes that geographical framework for

economics is appropriate assumptions about
national boundaries
There is no reason why we cant link facts and theories across
disciplines, but we may be restricting our understand or
obscuring our vision of one of the disciplines if we are not
critical of the limitations of an interdisciplinary approach.

4.

Shared knowledge There are socially established methods

for producing knowledge of this sort, norms for what counts as
a fact or a good explanation, concepts and language
appropriate to each area and standards of rationality highly
structured, is systematic in its nature and the product of more
than one individual
Personal knowledge
o Personal experiences
Examples of shared knowledge: Physics
o Knowing about the electromagnetic spectrum can
inform my caution about perception
o Knowing Heisenbergs uncertainty principle can inform
my view that science is not suitable as the only tool to
answer questions.

5. ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgment. To

what extent do you agree with this statement?
Key words to define
o Ways of knowing reason, emotion, language, sense
perception
Memory, intuition, faith, imagination)
o Check
Curb? Restraint? Control system?
Active
Something that provides an overview? Monitoring
system?
Passive
o Instinctive judgments
Instinct - breathing, blushing, vomiting, poisons
Reflex
Innate
Uncontrolled
Instinctive judgment a conclusion we reach
Rewarding the question

o Our ways of known allow us to monitor and control the

innate, untaught conclusions we would otherwise be
inclined to draw.
o Counter arguments: they might inhibit us from
controlling monitoring our instinctive judgments.
6. the whole point the knowledge is to produce both meaning and
purpose in our personal lives to what extent do you agree with this
statement

Two ways
o What is the point of knowledge
o What produces meaning and purpose
If the point of knowledge is something else , then
If what produces meaning in not knowledge, then
So how might this work>
o Fact: human try to put meaning into our lives (except
perhaps atheists?) myths, legends, religious, yoga,
sport, money
o These contribute either ways of explaining the world, or
require knowledge as a mean to achieve them.
o Try it other way round: knowledge meaning; eg.
Causes of WW1 disaster of war strive for
interpersonal harmony; non-violence.

1. There is no such things as a neutral question. Evaluate this

statement with reference to two areas of knowledge
* Define key words: Neutral question
*
* Easier to define by what it is not:
*
* Cannot be rhetorical
*
*
* dont you agree iran should face economic sanctions
unitl it makes more transparent its nuclear program me
* Must be unbiased / no hidden assumptions in the question
* Cannot be a loaded question
*
* Logical fallacy
*
* Have you stopped cheating on tests?
* Must be open-ended / permit a variety of responses
* Avoid value-laden adjectives
*
*
* is abortion wrong?
* Question cannot lead or direct the respondent
* Developing neutral questions
*
* its difficult to come up with a neutral question
*
* important: eg. surveys
* A question can be neutral even if it does not permit a neutral
answer
*
* such as: should abortion be legal
*
* answer is not neutral
* Types
*
* Factual questions
History
*
* when did world war 2 end
* Mathematical questions
Math
*
* what is the square root of 9?
* Questions of measurement
Science
*
* how long did that take
* Questions about personal experience, emotions and opinion
*

* What do you think of this art work?

* Question about ways of knowing
TOK
*
* What notes is she signing?
* If A is bigger than B, and B is bigger than C, is A bigger
than C?
* Select contrasting areas of knowledge - do they ask/use/promote
neutral questions?
*
* History
*
* Historical process is one of selecting information
* To select, we ask questions first:
*
* What long-lasting effects has Stalins reign had on Russia
today?
*
* Loaded question
* On what date did World War 2 end?
*
* complex response, ostensibly a neutral question
* How tall was Abraham Lincoln
*
* presupposes this is a relevant historical inquiry and
hence is not neutral
* To get interesting answers, we have to do more than ask
neutral questions: we must recognize our biases and account for
them
* Perhaps we have to accept we cannot ask completely neutral
questions - must scrutinize ourselves as histories and work from
here
* Historical method
* Mathematics
*
* Textbooks full of neutral mathematical questions
* However, there are also word problems
*
* I have 3 pounds and 12 pence - how many shillings do I
have in total?
*
* Contextual information needed
* A baseball diamond has 60 feet between the bases. How
far is it from him plate to 2nd base?
*
* Cultural bias - americans will do better
* Mathematical questions that have real world application
*
* Ethical problems: Trolley problem
*

* Mathematical question, and not neutral at all

* Preliminary thesis
*
* Neutral questions do exist, but it is difficult to develop them.
We need to be constantly aware, even in supposedly objective ares
of knowledge like mathematics, of leading, influencing or boxing in
our respondent if we want to avoid confirming our own biases.
2. There are only two ways in which humankind can produce
knowledge: through passive observation or through active
experiment To what extend do you agree with this statement?

* What about other ways?

*
* Reason, intuition, revelation, introspection, meditation
* Observation - experiment
*
* radical empiricism
*
* Very present in science : Scientific method
* Very much a modern notion: scientific method, we know
something when we have quantitative evidence of it
*
* eg. a good student a good teacher
* Passive observation
*
* Socrates Slave?
*
* Socrates saves slave boy and asks him questions, leading
him to the conclusion of the formula for length of hypotenuse
3. There is no reason why we cannot link facts and theories across
disciplines and create a common groundwork of explanation To
what extend do you agree with this statement?
* Key words to define
*
* Distinguish between facts and theories
*
* Facts - proposition commonly accepted as true
* Theory - system of ideas that seeks to explain those
propositions
* Disciplines - areas of knowledge - tbd
* Common groundwork of explanation
*

* Consensus
* Framework for understanding a complex body of knowledge
* Means different things in different AoKs
* Interdisciplinary
* Instinctive response: yes
*
* must be able to do so, even some can argue we shouldnt
* Common groundwork of explanation
*
* Interdisciplinary units - MYP
* Mathematics and arts
*
* Golden ratio - aesthetics
*
* Neglects emotional aspects, other complex cultural
variables
* Economics and geography
*
* poverty, inequality of wealth
*
* Presumes that geographical framework for economics is
appropriate - assumptions about national boundaries
* Biology, psychology, chemistry
*
* love
*
* bio: procreation
* psychology: explanation
* chemistry: chemicals that create it
* Reductionism - physics
* SHC context - literature and history
*
* Macbeth
*
* Mani critical schools - feminism
* Preliminary thesis
*
* there is no reason why we cant link facts and theories across
disciplines, but we may be restricting our understand or obscuring
our vision of one of the disciplines - if we are not critical of the
limitations of interdisciplinary approach
4. With reference to two areas of knowledge discuss the way in
which shared knowledge can shape personal knowledge
* Shared knowledge
*

* there are socially established methods for producing

knowledge of this sort, norms for what counts as a fact or a good
explanation, concepts and language appropriate to each area and
standards of rationality - highly structured, is systematic in its
nature and the product of more than one individual
* Personal knowledge
*
* depends crucially on the experiences of a particular individual.
It is gained through experience, practice and personal involvement
and is intimately bound up with the particular local circumstances of
the individual such as biography, interest, values and so on. It
contributes to, and is in turn influenced by, and individuals personal
perspective
* Examples of shared knowledge
*
* Physics
*
* knowing about the electromagnetic spectrum can inform my
caution and perception
* Knowing Heisenbergs uncertainty principle can inform my
view that is not suitable as the only tool to answer questions
*
* If I cannot know position and movement with absolute
certainty, how can physics answer everything else with absolute
certainty
5. Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgements to
what extend do you agree with this statement?

* Key words to define:

*
* Ways of knowing - reason emotion language, sense perception
*
* Possibilities outside of IB definitions
* Check
*
* Curb? Restraint? Control system?
*
* Active process
* Something that provides an overview - monitoring system
*
* Passive
* Instinctive judgements
*
* Examples
*
* breathing, blushing, vomiting poisons

* Reflex
*
* Innate
* Uncontrolled
* Instinctive judgment is a conclusion we reach about the
world or ourselves that is innate and untaught
* Rewording the question
*
* Our ways of knowing allow us to monitor and control the
innate, untaught conclusions we would otherwise be inclined to
draw
* Do I agree with this rephrasing?
*
* yes with some qualification
* Our ways of knowing allow us to monitor and control the innate,
untaught conclusions we would otherwise be inclined to draw
*
* counter argument
*
* They inhibit us from controlling and monitoring our
instinctive judgements - they mislead us when our instincts are
accurate
* Examples For Examples Against Human sciences - bias
(average number of years, globally, women are educated for) authority/reason Mathematics - Monty Hall problem - reason (prison
of consistency) Arts - Intuition - Jason Pollock - sense
perception/emotion/language Arts - Blink (Malcom Gladwell) expertsHistory - great man theory of history - underlying
assumption/theoretical framework - Stalin, Hitler, Roosevelt,
Napoleon, Genghis khan - Marxist revisionist history - reason
Emotions - over rule instinctive judgements and place ourselves in
threatening position - getting into a car with a dangerous person
* Preliminary thesis
*
* ways of knowing do allow us to monitor and control our
instinctive judgements, but they can sometimes lead us astray
when we doubt too much
6. The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning and
purpose in our personal lives. To what extent do you agree with this
statement?

* Two ways
*
* What is the point of knowledge?
* What produces meaning and purpose

* If the point of knowledge is something else, then

* If what produces meaning is not knowledge, then

* How might this work/

*
* fact
*
* humans try to put meaning into our lives (except perhaps
atheists)
*
* myths legends, religions, yoga, sport, money
* These constitute either ways of explaining the world, or require
knowledge as a means to achieve them
* Try it the other way around: k