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Maninder Sachdeva
Mrs. V Singh
IB Theory of Knowledge
13th September 2014

Theory of Knowledge Workshop SESSIONWISE REVIEW

Session 1: Language as a WOK

Summary:
This was out first session of the two days an taught us about language. The first
thing that we learnt was that language was relative, no language who
universally accepted in that they do not have the same meanings or connotations
of words, therefore outlining the notion of linguistic relativity.
Additionally, we came to understand that language does not portray reality, it
merely points to it. In itself, language is nothing; it is only a mutually understood
sign that allows us to understand something close to reality, but not reality itself.
Moreover, language rather than transcending barriers, builds them.
When we state something as beautiful, we are involuntarily defining ugly, this
phenomenon is known as binary opposition.

Personally:
What really intrigued me about this session was the concept of binary
opposition, almost how, people like us, by defining what is, obligatorily define
what isnt. Additionally, I realised how bilingual people or multilingual people

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have a much more rounded view of the world, relative to those who are not, as
we can see exactly how specific words in cultures indicate the practices and
traditions of their culture.

Questions:
Does language create the idea or is the idea always there, just no describable?
Does language hinder or support us in our pursuit for knowledge?
How does language shape our attitudes to certain ideas and customs?

Session 2: Faith as a WOK

Summary:
We learned that faith is one of the Ways of Knowing that is based on absolutely
no proof at all. Also, faith by many of us students was seen as a way to explain
things science cannot. We discussed to what extent faith is advantageous, and
also whether it is beneficial to belief in ideas like God than too not.
Additionally, we discussed the element of doubt and how it plays a part in faith.
We mutually came to the agreement that faith is like a vulnerable, delicate
bubble, that when even a speck of dust (in this case is the doubt) falls on it, it is
popped. The base of faith is that there is no doubt, because as one starts to doubt
faith it has unconsciously shifted itself from faith.

Personally:
I really enjoyed our conversations about how the world began, how we came to
existence, whether or not we believed in God. Through such discussions, I was

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able to come to the conclusion that the beauty of faith lies in the fact that it does
not require evidence, this in itself shows the strength of faith, and that it can
drive us as humans to do incredible things.

Questions:
If faith requires no proof, how do we know that the knowledge it provides us is
absolute?
Can faith involve any doubts?

Session 3: Intuition & Reason as WOK

Summary:
Through certain exercises, we were able to see exactly how our minds reacted to
certain stimuli. This helped us understand that Intuition results from the
subconscious reflex that gives us a quick, initial impression of a given idea or
topic. Your intuition is you gut feeling, your natural instincts. However, Reason
comes into the picture when we think about something with a conscious thought
process. Therefore, we are trying to understand a given idea or topic with
rationally and logic to reach a coherent judgement.

Personally:
I feel that through this session, I learnt the vital difference between reason and
intuition and how my brain reacts to idea that are presented with time to think
and ideas that are presented with no time to think. The conscious thought
process itself changes intuition to reason, making your choice a much safer bet.

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Many times, your choices for an idea are very differently when looking at them
intuitively and with reason.

Questions:
How reliable is intuition?
Does reason always show us the best possible option?
Why are some people more intuitive than others?

Session 4: Mathematics as an AOK

Summary:
We learnt that mathematics is based on some fundamental axioms, which form
the base of all other mathematical discoveries. Again mathematics is seen to be a
language that points to reality but is not reality itself. For example, we all know
what infinity means, but nobody knows the end to it; moreover, that other
infinities are larger than some other infinities.
Additionally, we discussed how proof in math is only valid if the claim holds true
for every single possible value, even one undefined value can obliterate the
entire theorem.

Personally:
Personally, through discussion I gaged the idea that mathematics is a bridge
between nature and humans, allowing us to make sense of the world around us.
We can using maths communicate the ideals upon which our world is based to

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each other. Also, I began to understand that Mathematics is not heredity; it can
be acquired through passion and interest.

Questions:
Is mathematics invented or discovered?
Is mathematics a language?

Session 5: Emotion & Memory as a WOK

Summary:
We learnt that nothing can be done in isolation of emotion; that it exists in
everything. We discussed how emotion can help us reason, moreover, how it can
coincidentally blur our sense perception too. Therefore it become quite
interesting as it has its disadvantages as well as advantages.
Additionally, we looked at how important memory is in our live; how very few
tasks in our life are completed without memory. Moreover, that memory is not
exactly an initial way of knowledge, as it stores knowledge that we gained
through other ways such as sense perception. It is only stored to use again later,
rather than acquire it in the first place.

Personally:
In my opinion emotion is one of the most detrimental Ways of Knowing as it has
the power to change any knowledge acquired by the other Ways of Knowledge.

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Emotion is very hard to control, thus it can be hard to control the reliability of
any other ours WOK then.
Additionally, Memory seems to be quite controversial in the sense that it
provides an image of the past, but its precision and accuracy is that of one to
question.

Questions:
Is memory reliable? Is it susceptible to change?
Can emotion cloud our senses?

Session 6: Sense Perception & Imagination as a WOK

Summary:
This was our last workshop and turned out to be very interesting. We were
explained the absolute importance and value of our senses and how they are a
window to the soul. Senses can fail and deceive us. When senses fail we call that
being disabled, however we sense deceive us, it is simply sense deception.
Ideas like this are demonstrated in optical illusions, awareness tests etc. and aim
to highlight that one cannot find what they arent looking for.

Additionally, Imagination was quite interesting, in which we argued whether or

not we could imagine things that are not possible. This lead us to think about
how powerful imagination is in making us think of things other than ourselves.

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Personally:
I feel like sense perception is very very important because it shows our brain the
world for what it really is. It is a direct source of information that can be stored
for later uses, however it is important to remember, sense perception can be
clouded by other Ways of Knowing such as emotion.
Additionally, Imagination helps us be more sympathetic towards other people
and society, a quality that the IB learner profile expects of all diploma candidates.

Questions:
Is sense perception 100% in showing us reality?
Does sense perception aid reason?
Is imagination a useless ability?