IBDP ToK 8 WoKs
In ToK there are 8 Ways of Knowing... (See below)
The TOK Ways of Knowing are how we acquire knowledge about the world around us, and figure out our relationship with it. TOK identifies 8 different ways of knowing, each one involving a different method of gaining knowledge, but just like with the areas of knowledge, they are often intertwined and dependent on each other.
The source of emotion is mysterious, there seem to be a limitless number of them, and their effect is so varied in terms of nature and duration. It’s therefore important to try to get a handle on them as soon as possible. The Oxford English Dictionary says…
1 a strong feeling, such as joy or anger. 2 instinctive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
— DERIVATIVES emotionless adjective.
— ORIGIN originally denoting a public disturbance: from French, from Latin emovere ‘disturb’.
Faith is a ‘new’ way of knowing in TOK, so the fact that it hasn’t previously been included perhaps gives us a clue about its nature. Because it does not rely on proof (indeed, proof not only isn’t required, but often clashes with the knowledge it provides) it isn’t accepted as a valid WOK. For others, it’s the basis of their whole lives. The OED defines it like this…
1 complete trust or confidence in someone or something: this restores one’s faith in politicians; 2 strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof: bereaved people who have shown supreme faith, a particular religion: the Christian faith, a strongly held belief: men with strong political faiths
Imagination permeates all the areas of knowledge, even the ones which are traditionally seen as being based purely on logic and reason, such as mathematics. It can mean something different to different people, so any definition is limited. However, the OED says…
1. the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses: she’d never been blessed with a vivid imagination her story captured the public’s imagination ; 2. the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful: she was set in her ways and lacked imagination ; 3. the part of the mind that imagines things: a girl who existed only in my imagination
Intuition is similar to emotion in that it is something that guides us towards knowledge without conscious reasoning, but unlike emotion, it does not involve us entering another psychological state. It is, then, ‘purer’ than emotion, involving just an immediate awareness of something, often without realising why we have that awareness. The OED says…
intuition
the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning: we shall allow our intuition to guide us, a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning: your insights and intuitions as a native speaker are positively sought
Language is generally where we begin when we try to explain a concept. But it’s hard to know the exact boundaries of the term ‘language’. Is it written, oral, or all forms of communication? Love, for example, is sometimes described as the universal language; music has been described similarly. So what are we actually talking about? The OED says…
language
noun 1 the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. 2 the system of communication used by a particular community or country. 3 the phraseology and vocabulary of a particular group: legal language. 4 the manner or style of a piece of writing or speech. 5 Computing a system of symbols and rules for writing programs or algorithms.
— PHRASES speak the same language understand one another as a result of shared opinions or values.
— ORIGIN Old French langage, from Latin lingua‘tongue’.
It’s perhaps initially surprising that memory – something common to virtually all human beings, regardless of culture, religion, language, or personal background – should only have recently been added to the TOK syllabus. The OED defines it as…
memory
1. the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information: I’ve a great memory forfaces, the brain regions responsible for memory, the mind regarded as a store of things remembered: he searched his memory frantically for an answer; 2. something remembered from the past: one of my earliest memories is of sitting on his knee, the mind can bury all memory of traumatic abuse, the remembering or commemoration of a dead person: clubs devoted to the memory of Sherlock Holmes, the length of time over which a person or event continues to be remembered: the worst slump in recent memory; 3. the part of a computer in which data or program instructions can be stored for retrieval, a computer’s capacity for storing information: the module provides 16Mb of memory
We actually mean a lot of different things when we refer to reason. It is the way in which we try to make sense of the world using logic, rationality, comparison, judgement, and experience, although it is another word that is used in a lot of different ways. The OED gives us…
reason
1 a cause, explanation, or justification. 2 good or obvious cause to do something: we have reason to celebrate. 3 the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements logically. 4 (one’s reason) one’s sanity. 5 what is right, practical, or possible: I’ll answer anything, within reason. 6. think, understand, and form judgements logically. 7 (reason out) find a solution (to a problem) by considering possible options. 8 (reason with) persuade with rational argument.
— PHRASES by reason of formal because of. listen to reason be persuaded to act sensibly. it stands to reason it is obvious or logical.
Our senses are our primary way of interacting with the world. Long before we have learnt how to use language, or reason, or be anything like in control of our emotions, we are able to make use of our senses. The Oxford English dictionary says…
sense [perception]
noun 1 any of the faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, by which the body perceives an external stimulus. 2 a feeling that something is the case. 3 (sense of) awareness or appreciation of or sensitivity to: a sense of direction. 4 a sane and practical attitude to situations. 5 reason or purpose; good judgement: there’s no sense in standing in the rain. 6 a meaning of a word or expression or the way in which a word or expression can be interpreted.
verb 1 perceive by a sense or senses. 2 be vaguely aware of. 3 (of a machine or similar device) detect.
— PHRASES come to one’s senses 1 regain consciousness. 2 regain one’s sound judgement. Make sense be intelligible, justifiable, or practicable. Make sense of find meaning or coherence in.
— ORIGIN Latin sensus ‘faculty of feeling, thought, meaning’, from sentire ‘feel’.