Ways+of+Knowing

Knowing by way of our senses

 * **Sense** || **Times when my senses were reliable** || **Times when my senses were "off"** ||
 * Visual || When I see smoke then I know that that thing is hot || When I get a head rush, I can't see anything. Everything is a complete blur. ||
 * Olfactory || When I smell something burning || When I have a cold, my nose can barely smell anything ||
 * Touch || When I'm blindfolded, I put my hands in front of me so I know if I'm going to walk into something || When my feet fall asleep, I can't feel anything ||
 * Auditory || When I hear the fire alarm, I immediately know we have to get out of the room || When someone calls out my name, sometimes I don't hear it ||
 * Taste || When I eat something with a weird taste, then I know it's rotten || When I eat something right after I brush my teeth, sometimes I can't really taste anything but the toothpaste ||

Biological Constitution
In what ways does the biological constitution of a living organism determine, influence or limit its perception? -Each living organism has it's own significant sense perception. The biological constitution of a living thing can make one sense perception the most dominant one among the others and make the others the alternative for when you can't rely on the other one.

If humans are sensitive only to certain ranges of stimuli, what consequences, including positive attributes and limitations, might this have for the acquisition of knowledge? Provide examples.

How does technology extend and modify the capabilities of the senses? -Technology has tremendously helped in enhancing the capabilities of our senses. It has greatly influenced our senses that we tend to rely on it most of the time.

For example, the microscope. A microscope lets us see things that are too small for our naked eyes.

Another example is a hearing aid, some people use it because their sense of hearing are weaker compared to some human beings. A hearing aid can amplify or make the noise around them sound a bit louder than what they can hear without it.

Perception
What are the primary ways in which we know the world around us?

Are there stages to perception?
Here are some recognized stages. Define them and find examples:

 -Filtering

Filtering is when we focus on one thing and ignoring everything else that's going on around us. Example: When I'm listening to my Ipod, I ignore all of the noise around me

 -Halo and horn effect

When you differentiate what could happen either it's good or bad Example: When you're in the middle of a dark highway and your car broke down and you see a guy knock on you're window. You'll think that he might help you fix your car or maybe he's a robber.

-Organizing

When you plan out or map out things inside your head to make it better for you to understand or to remember Example: My folders are inside the cabinet in my room

 -Stereotyping

When you judge someone or something by its appearance Example: When you see a person wearing black clothes and black eyeliner and is always quiet, you assume that s/he is emo :)

 -Filling in information

When you see something and you don't know what it is and you think or assume what it is even though you are not sure with your answer. Example:

 -Interpretation

Perceptual Illusions
Is your perception always accurate? Provide examples of when it is trustworthy, and when it might not be.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, Our perception is not always accurate (Examples- Refer to the table above: Knowing by way of our senses)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are people’s perceptions the same? How do you know this? Does this invalidate your or another person’s experience?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, people's perceptions are not always the same because we have our own interpretation of certain things and we all think differently. Each person has their own significant sense perception, for example when one person is blind and the other person can see clearly, then the blind one has a weaker eyesight than the other person, but the blind person's sense of hearing can be sharper or stronger than the other person. There are also times when we can have the same perception with one other, and when this happens we can be more sure and accurate with our interpretation or understanding.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why might misperceptions occur?

Misperceptions might occur when our senses can't be trusted and when we have a different perspective than other people.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Selectivity of Perception
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do we validate our perceptions? Do we ignore some and rely more heavily on others? Why?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We can validate our perceptions by considering our commonalities between another person. Like when I touch something and I'm not sure what it is and then I ask another person and they have the same answer as the one I'm thinking of, then we'll most likely have the right answer. We tend to rely more on one particular sense perception depending on what situation we are on. For example, when I'm in the dark and I try to walk, I would put my hands in front of me so that I wouldn't walk into anything. In that particular situation, I was not able to rely on my sense of sight and instead relied on my sense of touch.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What things might affect how you interpret your perceptions? Is this selectivity conscious or unconscious?

There are many things that can affect how we interpret our perceptions like our environment/surroundings, culture, family background, emotions/mood, experiences, etc. It depends on the situation whether a person can be conscious or unconscious with what is happening.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can you provide reasons why people perceive things differently? Explain

Like I said, each person has their own opinion and interpretation on certain things. A person can be affected or influenced by their environment/surroundings, culture, family background, emotions/mood, experiences, etc.

Some examples: Environment/Surroundings- Culture- If you grow up in a tribe where they put rings of metal around your neck and you add one every year until you have a really long neck, people on your tribe might find that attractive and beautiful while other people who grew up in the city might see it as weird tradition. Family Background- When your parents raised you where people do everything for you and you go camping, you would probably be Emotions/Mood- When you are feeling blue and you look at an abstract painting, you will most probably see a sad and gloomy painting, but when you are happy, you will see a more playful and joyful painting. Experiences-

Seeing and Believing
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you create from your perceptions?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our perceptions can change our outlook in life and how we see things. As we grow older and encounter things over and over again we get used to it, and when we come across it another time we automatically know what it is. For example, when you see a long, narrow piece of wood with one pointy/sharp tip and the other one is soft with a rubber-like material. You automatically and unconsciously know that it is a pencil, but how do you know it's a pencil? This example explains how one perception can add to our knowledge on certain things which eventually builds up over the years.

In this case, one could ask, what belief or models affect our perception?

Emotions
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Write wiki entry on perceptions and truth: If you left the planet and had to explain to an alien what life was like on our planet, what would you say? What might be some of the problems associated with your perceptions? What things would you highlight, what would you not highlight and why? How would you explain that you knew your description was the truth? Provide examples.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To know how you will be graded, please see the TOK Essay page.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emotions
Please don't cry....

The nature of emotions
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is the underlying nature of our emotions?

Our perception can affect our emotions. It

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you feel an emotion, how do you know you are feeling that way? Can you explain why you are having this emotion?

You can identify/recognize your emotions with your movements. Like if you're feeling really mad or you feel irritable and your mom asks you to do something, you'd probably stomp your feet while walking and do the favor like you're forced to and then your mom would ask you what the problem is. In that situation someone was able to tell how you are feeling. There are also times when you won't notice what emotion you are feeling or maybe you're trying to hide it from others, then your friends is most likely going to recognize that something is wrong with you because your acting odd.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the process by which you develop an emotion. In what ways do we describe emotions through language?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We can express our emotions through language. If we are mad, we say bad words; If we are happy, we'd probably be very enthusiastic while talking to someone ; If we're sad, we'd be mumbling or be talking quietly. In this way, people are able to determine your emotions.

You develop emotions by what's happening around you, the way people act, on what situation you are on, and your past experiences.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can you reason about emotions?

No, because emotions comes naturally, you're unconscious when you start feeling your emotions. You can't force yourself to be happy when you're sad, be mad when you're happy, and so on.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What things influence your emotions?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our surroundings

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are controlling emotions a good or a bad thing? Explain with examples.

It depends on what situation you are on. If you are feeling really sad that you are thinking of committing suicide then I think it is the right time to force yourself to be happy and seek some help from people. But if you're feeling happy or sad or angry inside of you then you should let out your emotions to get everything out and so you would feel relieved.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do emotions change as you get older? Why does this happen?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As we get older, we can learn more to control our emotions. We learn to consider other people's emotions, we start to think about the consequences of the things we do. We become more mindful of our actions.

Are emotions influenced by culture?

Yes

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emotions as obstacle
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can emotions affect the way we understand something?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, when we are empathetic or sympathetic to other people's feelings, we are able to feel how they are feeling, we put ourselves in their position and feel the emotions they have, it makes us understand what their situation is. Like when we're watching a movie and there is a dramatic scene, we suddenly start crying because we understand their emotions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can emotions limit the reliability or even the validity of a knowledge claim? Provide examples.

Yes, because your emotions can affect or influence the way or how you think of something.

Can emotional responses be misunderstood by others? How do you get around that?

Yes, because people have different interpretations of things and may feel an emotion that is different from others. People tend to assume what others feel and therefore may lead to misunderstanding.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emotions as source
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can emotions be an important aspect of creating knowledge? Provide examples.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is emotional intelligence?

Is there such a thing as Intuition? Would you rely on it as a reliable way of knowing? Provide examples.

Yes, intuition is the ability of a person to understand based on their instincts. It is more of an unconscious type of thinking rather than conscious reasoning.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Can you classify emotions? What categories could you create?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What role does emotion play in some of the different areas of knowledge? <span style="color: #ff7000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are some answers that are good, but many need explication or completion. This last one for example, is very important.

Reason
Are you always reasonable in your reasoning? What does that mean?

Yes, because when you are reasoning you are trying to prove and justify something especially when you are stating your own opinion. People may vary and differ with their own thoughts but we all have our own reasoning behind it. When we are reasoning, we try to interpret and explain our thoughts and make it understandable to make others see things in our own perspective.

The Nature of Reasoning
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What exactly is reasoning?

Reasoning is when you justify something to prove its validity.

What does the process of reasoning entail?

Is there good and bad reasoning?

Yes, good reasoning is when you are able to express your reasoning with sufficient and valid information. You should also take into consideration the consequences that might happen if you are going to say your opinion on something, think first before judging. Bad reasoning is when you are biased in your opinions and when you do not take into consideration other things that are important.

Is there a history of reasoning?

For me, I think that there is a history of reasoning because without it everything would be confusing and we wouldn't know why things are the way they are. Reasoning has always existed even in the earlier days, people just didn't realize that until the years has progressed. Like what my parents say, "There is always a reason for everything".

Types of Reasoning
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are inductive and deductive processes of reasoning? What is informal reasoning? @http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php

Inductive- Experience -> to generalization Deductive- General idea -> specific experience

Inductive reasoning is when you base your knowledge from your experiences. Deductive reasoning is when you make assumptions and try to prove whether it is right or wrong.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is reasoning done to produce knowledge about something specific, or something in general? How is this done? Provide examples of each.

I think it depends on what situation you are on but basically reasoning helps us distinguish a true statement from a false one, without reasoning we would have less knowledge and we would be unsure on certain things.An example for inductive reasoning is, when you see two girls who always eat, talk, walk around together and then you would assume that they are best friends. An example for deductive reasoning is when you think that all people with big muscles always go to the gym, then one day when you see a buff guy walking around you would think that he goes to the gym regularly, and finally you would see him walk towards the gym and you would think that your assumption is right.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What role does time play in judging the truth value of your reasoning, whether inductive or deductive?

Time plays a big role in judging the truth value of our reasoning. As we get older, we encounter more experiences which helps us prove and validate our reasons. While were young we learn the fundamental things we need in life like knowing that we need to eat and everything. In this stage, we use deductive reasoning

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do you know if you are doing it correctly or not? When is it valid or invalid? When is it true or false? Does it always lead to truth? Create syllogisms and let's see - visit @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllogism for examples.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are all types of reasoning reliable? How do you know this? Check these fallacies: let's find examples in your life of when they occur - @http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/toc.htm

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is the relationship of reasoning to knowledge, the creation or discovery of knowledge, and ultimately, to truth?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is the difference between empiricism and rationalism? Which do you think explains reality with greater accuracy? Provide examples of each. Visit: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What sorts of things might influence reasoning?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What is the relationship of the other WOKs to reasoning?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Possible Activity: Logic formulations – use Oxford text p. 68-72 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Also do activity p. 73: find an editorial article and identify the premise and conclusion. Share and compare.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Truth requires an examination of content and meaning

Syllogisms
A is B B is C A is C

All candies are sweet All sweet things are fatty All candies are fatty

All pearls are shiny All shiny things are expensive All pearls are expensive

All papers are made from trees All trees are green Your paper is green

All bears are hairy You're hairy You're a bear

All dancers are flexible All flexible people are skinny All dancers are skinny

Logical Fallacies
1) Fallacies of Ambiguity:
 * Equivocation- the same term is used with two different meanings

Cold- Can refer to something that has a low temperature like ice cream, but it can also refer to someone that is sick and has a cold.



In this photo, 'evolution' was used in 2 ways.

-The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth

-The gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form

2) Category Errors
 * Composition- Because the parts of a whole have a certain property, it is argued that the whole has that property. That whole may be either an object composed of different parts, or it may be a collection or set of individual members.



Trees
<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">10 points: <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -It depends on the situation, whether a person is being serious or sarcastic <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Confusion between literal and figurative can lead to misconceptions <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Can be literal or figurative depending on how people would interpret it <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -People sometimes misunderstand what you say and take it literally <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -We use figurative to add humor <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -For figurative, we play with words <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Literal is the way you describe what it is <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Figurative is when you play with words by creating metaphors <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Examples: <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> *Spill the beans <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -When you spill a bag of beans <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -When you tell someone the full details of a story <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> *Black eye <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Someone's eyes (iris) are black <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -A person was punched in the face and has a black eye <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> *Blue Monday <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -The sky is blue on a Monday <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -A sad monday <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> *Rabbit's foot <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -A rabbit's foot <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Can also mean luck

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Is this idea clearly true, or false, or where between the two?

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -True

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> What makes it so certain or uncertain? (or almost certainly true or false)

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -Because people use both literal and figurative on a daily basis

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> How important is it? What makes it important? (important or not so important)

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> -There is a big difference between literal and figurative language. I think people should be able to differentiate the two, and use it on the right time. Like if your on an important meeting, you would use literal and not figurative because you are meant to be serious.

Is language play? In what ways? Provide examples. PLUS SUNS -Language is the way we convey our perception, emotion and reason (P.E.R) to other people. -Individuals have their own language P.E.R. -“Hang on”, someone could wait or jump on you. -“I’m going to kill you!!”, the person saying it is either angry or a serial killer. -All words can be used as play or plain communication. -There is a difference between written and spoken. -Verbal language tends to be more playful while sign language is usually used as plain communication.

Do words represent images in our minds or some idea out there, or do they refer to real things? MOONS - Most of the words can be imagined as pictures or ideas in most of people's minds, and then refer into real things.

- Words that are about real things in life that we can touch, see, hear, taste or smell, are represented in our minds as images or pictures of the thing, though the pictures can be different, but they'll talk about one thing, as long as it's about one specific meaning of the word.

- Most of the words that are imaginable refer to real things. eg.: when someone says there is a dog outside, then most of people will have the idea or the picture "Dog" in their minds, so this helps knowing the word and what does it refer to.

- Words that are about feelings or things that are not touchable or visual are usually unimaginable as pictures, and even if they are, they may not refer to real things directly. eg.: the word "Life" doesn't refer for something real by saying it just like that, but it may make some individual mean or picture for some people.

- Some people make images or ideas for different words, even if they're not real things, to help remember them or make them easier to understand, and that helps a lot building the brain and the memory, and helps making them stronger.

- Usually, words have different images inside each one's mind, so they may have the same meaning or different meanings, depends of the way the person sees or understands the word. This is very similar to the Homonym, which means words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. eg: the word "Heart", for some people it may be pictured as a human heart, others may imagine it as a love heart, and some may imagine it as the center of something.

- Words that are universal sometimes have the same picture in our minds, so the whole word will have the same picture when they hear a word like that. eg.: the word "Nine" have a picture of the number nine for most of the people. Some words may have the same picture in specific situations. eg.: the word "Sun" will have the same picture of a sun, when talking about weather or a twilight or something.

- Names that are unique, which means they're not similar to another word, are the words that have only one picture or very similar pictures in people minds, and this is for the situation when talking about a specific known person, and everyone knows that the topic is about him. eg.: "Ludacris" is a common words that will have the same picture for the same person in our mind, or similar pictures, which is the singer.

- Words that are not imaginable are understood by experience and repetition, so people also may make picture which refer to the experiment or the action, and then relate it to the word, so this type also can refer to real things, but indirectly.

- From the previous point above, we notice that the two types of words, words which can be imagined, and words which cannot, can refer to real things for most of us, but the difference is how does it refer, directly or indirectly.

Is language be personal/individual or is it part of a shared community? STARS - If you think about each word carefully, it is able to fit in to each category of meanings of words, which are Individual, Shared and Common. - For some words, there is a cultural meaning that comes up first before the individual meaning. For example, “Cinema” in Saudi, in this culture, it is considered wrong and so, for this reason, there are no cinemas in this country. - The inventing of words are individual at the beginning, but common when shared. For example, Shakespeare and Newspeak in 1984. Some of their words are in the dictionary and are used in everyday language. - Language is a strong aspect of WOK because it gives meaning to the words and how they are viewed differently. - Language has both advantage and disadvantage to globalization, for example, for example when people communicate, they have different views on how companies should be developed.

Is there a difference between the written word and speaking or dialogue? Provide examples. SATURN
 * 1) Content makes a difference
 * 2) You can incorporate emotions into words
 * 3) Words have different meanings (literal/figurative)
 * 4) The method of how words are expressed (Tone/Volume)
 * 5) Fonts reflect different styles (bold, italics, small, big)
 * 6) Spelling and Capitalization - (Thanks vs. Thnx) (march vs. March)
 * 7) Different cultures may have different meanings to specific words

Does language change? How, when, and why? PINKIES How: - Formal language can change to Slang as in when speaking to a teacher or someone older, you use respect, but when you use slang you are mainly speaking to a friend or someone you are close with. - Translation can change when we speak in one language, and then change to another language, say one person has 2 first languages they are able to change from Arabic to English at one time whilst speaking to someone else. - Interpretation of definition within words can be seen as a change in language as one thing can mean something to someone and it can mean something else to another person. - Time is a large factor of change in language as it can mean language changes through symbols. For example if we take Chinese characters there is a history saying that they used to be actual pictures of the word they are drawing (character for a bird would be a picture of a bird) and through time is has developed into simpler characters and not an actual picture. When: - Migration can change language depending on where you live and who you live around. Why: - Easy (language change has become a lot simpler and more efficient for people to use) - Coolness (can be a factor of how language changes because it identifies their personality - Personal codes can be a factor of change as it can show differential relationships with people - Changes according to stuff changing (possibly technology, as in a word such as 'phonograph' would not be used anymore as nowadays people don't use them. - Influence (can affect the way people talk within their language as it can be changed on a daily basis by the people around you.)