What is Knowledge?

Learning activity: on a large sheet of paper, brainstorm all concepts that come to mind when you hear the word "knowledge". Then, try to use some of these concepts to come up with your own definition of knowledge. You can do this activity as a group, or individually.

Theory of Knowledge https://youtu.be/r_Y3utIeTPg

It is tempting to grab a dictionary and use the first convenient definition of knowledge. However, in TOK we will not do that. Let's try to think about the idea of knowledge first. If you struggle to define knowledge, do not worry. It is a concept great thinkers have discussed for thousands of years. You don't necessarily need to understand philosophical interpretations of what knowledge is to be successful at TOK.

The Meaning of Knowledge https://youtu.be/kXhJ3hHK9hQ

Traditionally, knowledge has often been defined as justified true belief. This definition is worth unpacking, because of the emphasis it places on belief. The discussion of the role of "belief" in our understanding knowledge has stirred debates amongst some great thinkers. This discussion is particularly relevant now that AI ventures into new territories. Intelligent machines seem to create new knowledge and are now able to learn, without ever being able to genuinely believe in the knowledge they embody. This is interesting stuff for TOK discussions. In TOK, you should avoid using the definition of knowledge as "justified true belief" as a catch-all concept without considering further explanations or implications. However, unpacking the elements of the definition can lead to some interesting explorations. We could wonder, for example, what constitutes a good justification in terms of knowledge, how important belief is when we claim to know something, and how we might define "true" when we discuss the relationship between knowledge and truth.

The definition of knowledge as justified true belief may be difficult to grasp. In addition, some aspects of this definition are debatable. This is why the IBO has introduced another "definition." We can also try to understand the concept of knowledge through a metaphor. The TOK guide (both 2015 and 2022 specification) suggests that you could consider the metaphor of "knowledge as a map". This metaphor may not be a perfect "definition" of knowledge, but it can help you understand what knowledge is about. The map metaphor is a little less abstract, perhaps, than the definition of "justified true belief," and in this sense you may "get it" better.

"A map is a representation, or picture, of the world. It is necessarily simplified—indeed its power derives from this fact. Items not relevant to the particular purpose of the map are omitted. For example, one would not expect to see every tree and bush faithfully represented on a street map designed to aid navigation around a city—just the basic street plan will do. A city street map, however, is quite a different thing to a building plan of a house or the picture of a continent in an atlas. So knowledge intended to explain one aspect of the world, say, its physical nature, might look really quite different to knowledge that is designed to explain, for example, the way human beings interact." (p.16, TOK Guide, First Assessment 2015). "A metaphor such as this can support rich discussions about knowledge and accuracy, about how knowledge grows and changes, and about the difference between producing and using knowledge. It can also prompt interesting wider reflections on the cultural assumptions behind our understanding of what maps are or should be, or the way that the cartographer’s perspective is reflected in a map. Maps and knowledge are produced by, and in turn produce, a particular perspective." (TOK guide, First assessment 2022).

The Nature of Reality https://youtu.be/IV-8YsyghbU

Problems with Maps Old maps represent that sometimes (knowledge) maps are incorrect or incomplete. Sometimes maps have to be re-written and some old representations might get discarded. The same happens with knowledge and how we map what "is out there".