ToK Essay 6 Nov 23: Selection & Significance.
ToK Essay 6 Nov 23: With a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant when acquiring knowledge?
Refer to natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
Significance and selection are important concepts in this prescribed title. Factors that attribute significance could include the intended purpose of the knowledge, the pre-existing knowledge frameworks pertaining to the information, the pre-existing knowledge of the knower, and a wide range of contextual factors such as culture. How we select information will very much depend upon a range of factors including the area of knowledge under consideration, the type of information being selected, and the intended use of that information.
It should become immediately clear that this prescribed title offers a wide range of routes that students can take in answering the question. We are asked to discuss the title "with reference to Natural Sciences and one other area of knowledge". As usual, students may want to consider choosing an area of knowledge which provides a good contrast in the knowledge argument that they are making. for example, if the key knowledge arguments concern the methodology of knowledge production then human Sciences may not provide a good contrast with the natural sciences.
ToK Essay 6 Nov 23: Selection
The selection part of this essay could be considered in terms of the 5 W's:
Who is selecting the knowledge and attributing significance?
What type of information is being selected / available to the selector (knower) ?
Why is the selector (knower) selecting information for the acquisition of knowledge ?
What is the intended purpose of the information being selected ?
A range of knowledge arguments could be developed under each of these questions, and linked into any of the areas of knowledge. there are obvious clear real life examples arising from each of these questions. The detailed essay notes “10 Arguments for PT#6 Nov 23” goes into this in a lot more detail, unpacks each argument, includes evaluation points and suggestions for RLS .
ToK Essay 6 Nov 23: Significance
The significance element of the question is more sophisticated, and will probably be the aspect which differentiates high-marked essays from those given more modest marks. The significance of knowledge can be considered in many ways including:
Purpose
influence on the development of the discipline / area of knowledge
contextual or cultural attribution
pre-existing knowledge / perspectives / paradigm of the discipline / AoK
pre-existing knowledge framework of the knower
Many knowledge arguments could be developed under any of those headings, all of which would be appropriate for any area of knowledge. The discussion around Significance takes us into some really interesting areas such as the causal direction of the influence of knowledge, hierarchies of knowledge ,and classification / categorisation of knowledge (including the boundaries of disciplines / AoK).
There is a wonderfully wide, and rich, range of ToK discussions to be had arising from this essay. We go into these in far more detail in the essay notes “10 Arguments for PT#6”, those notes are over 8,300 words long, and include evaluation points, real life situations and the implications of knowledge arguments.
We also have 25 Questions for AI for ToK Essay 6 Nov 23. These questions are designed to get specific responses from AI in order to give you more relevant content for your essay. Remember to check the content that AI gives you (it is not always accurate), and cite it as you would cite any other secondary source.