TOK ESSAY EXAMPLE 1
“Accepting knowledge claims always involves an element of trust.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
A knowledge claim is something that we are sure about, and therefore, we believe it to be true. Since truth is subjective, its veracity can be questioned. Hence, the acceptance of a knowledge claim requires reliable sources that are mutually considered trustworthy.
Trust is the willingness to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations about another’s behavior.[1] It is essentially a brain function that begins right from the time of birth.[2] We are far more likely to trust something similar to us in some dimensions. The greater the similarity, the stronger the trust grows.
Trusting knowledge claims requires a conscious awareness of domain knowledge and a broad range of unobstructed cognitive progression. It involves using invisible filters and lenses formed based on our experiences, including ways of knowing.
The acceptance of knowledge claims may have varying degrees as ‘sometimes’ the element of trust may be weak or partially eroded during the acceptance. Hence, the word ‘always’ is debatable. In general, acceptance is a multidimensional approach as it may be out of sheer willingness, authority, evidence, bias, and situations.
The connection between acceptance and trust is not ‘always’ strong because trust develops with time, experiences, relationships, and visibility seen in practice but not invariably mentally interpreted. Therefore, it is cognizant to dissect the acceptance and trust in AOKs, like history and human science, to frame an argument for and against the title.
To what extent is it possible to establish the truth about the past?
Different memories express the result of a person’s trajectory throughout their lives. Memory collectively aggregates many events, facts, and objects with individual witnesses and experiences.