Knowledge Issues

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

To what extent can human sciences use mathematical techniques to make accurate predictions?

How can we use models to predict crime waves?

Will police crime predictions turn out to be correct?

How can we prevent crime?

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

Should we believe paranormal claims?

Does the paranormal exist?

The Sixth Sense

?

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

Why is Utilitarianism appealing?

Utilitarianism

?

?

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

Is swine flu likely to kill millions?

What do we mean by an‘epidemic’?

?

?

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values..

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

?

?

The credit crisis

?

Good KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

OK KI

An open question, explicitly about Knowledge.

Poor KI

A closed question, implicitly about Knowledge

Not a KI

A statement or a closed question, about a subject specific issue rather than about Knowledge per se

Your own ideas?

Good Knowledge Issues are:

• Open questions explicitly about Knowledge per se and not about subject-specific claims

• Couched in terms of relations between concepts from AoK, WoK and belief, certainty, culture, evidence, experience, explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth, values.

Real-Life Situation

Knowledge Issue(recognized)

extraction

Theory of Knowledge: Presentation Structure

Real-Life Situation

Knowledge Issue(recognized)

Knowledge Issue(s)(developed)

extraction

progression

Theory of Knowledge: Presentation Structure

Real-Life Situation

Knowledge Issue(recognized)

Knowledge Issue(s)(developed)

extraction

progression

Theory of Knowledge: Presentation Structure

application

Real-Life Situation

Other Real-LifeSituation

Other Real-LifeSituation

Knowledge Issue(recognized)

Knowledge Issue(s)(developed)

extraction

progression

application

Theory of Knowledge: Presentation Structure

Example 1

Conspiracy Theories

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this structure?

Why do conspiracytheories exist?

Conspiracy

Da VinciCode

Why do conspiracytheories exist?

People believewhat’s

most appealing

Conspiracy

DifferentInterpretations ofthe same facts

Biases affectingconclusions

drawn

Da VinciCode

Why do conspiracytheories exist?

People believewhat’s

most appealing

Conspiracy

DifferentInterpretations ofthe same facts

Biases affectingconclusions

drawn

Death ofBenazir Bhutto

Death of JFKDa Vinci

Code

Example 2

Limits of Science

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this structure?

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Definitions ofscience

Definition ofreality

Nature ofscientificmethod

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Definitions ofscience

Definition ofreality

Nature ofscientificmethod

Role oftechnology in

science

Limits of humansensory perception

Colourillusions

Problems ofinductive reasoning

Differencesbetween ‘how’ and ‘why’

questions

Incompatibilitybetween scientificand moral claims

Situations notamenable to experimentation

Astronomy

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Definitions ofscience

Definition ofreality

Nature ofscientificmethod

Role oftechnology in

science

Limits of humansensory perception

Colourillusions

Problems ofinductive reasoning

Differencesbetween ‘how’ and ‘why’

questions

Incompatibilitybetween scientificand moral claims

Situations notamenable to experimentation

Astronomy

Historythe past is

beyond our grasp

MathematicsAxioms must betaken for granted

Human sciencesHuman behaviouris unpredictable

Gödel’stheorem

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Definitions ofscience

Definition ofreality

Nature ofscientificmethod

Role oftechnology in

science

Limits of humansensory perception

Colourillusions

Problems ofinductive reasoning

Differencesbetween ‘how’ and ‘why’

questions

Incompatibilitybetween scientificand moral claims

Situations notamenable to experimentation

Astronomy

Historythe past is

beyond our grasp

MathematicsAxioms must betaken for granted

Human sciencesHuman behaviouris unpredictable

Gödel’stheorem

Successesof science?

MedicineHIV treatment

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Documentary onthe Large

Hadron Collider

Limits of Science

Definitions ofscience

Definition ofreality

Nature ofscientificmethod

Role oftechnology in

science

Limits of humansensory perception

Colourillusions

Problems ofinductive reasoning

Differencesbetween ‘how’ and ‘why’

questions

Incompatibilitybetween scientificand moral claims

Situations notamenable to experimentation

Astronomy

Historythe past is

beyond our grasp

MathematicsAxioms must betaken for granted

Human sciencesHuman behaviouris unpredictable

Gödel’stheorem

Successesof science?

MedicineHIV treatment

How far is sciencelimited in finding

out the truth about reality?

Example 3

Claims in History

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this structure?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz

Under whatcircumstances can a

historical claim beconsidered valid?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz

Under whatcircumstances can a

historical claim beconsidered certain?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Explanation ofthe concept of

validity in relationto historical evidence

Why should we careabout historical truth?

Importance of historyUnderstanding the present

Predicting the futureKnowing identity

Role of bias andInterpretation in history:

emotion, culture, etc.

Other problems:gaps, language issues,

past interpreted in termsof present, etc.

Is there aTrue history?

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz

Under whatcircumstances can a

historical claim beconsidered valid?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Explanation ofthe concept of

validity in relationto historical evidence

Why should we careabout historical truth?

Importance of historyUnderstanding the present

Predicting the futureKnowing identity

Wall Street crash

Role of bias andInterpretation in history:

emotion, culture, etc.

Other problems:gaps, language issues,

past interpreted in termsof present, etc.

Phlogiston

“Witchhunt” ofcommunists in USA

Is there aTrue history?

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz

Under whatcircumstances can a

historical claim beconsidered valid?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Explanation ofthe concept of

validity in relationto historical evidence

Why should we careabout historical truth?

Importance of historyUnderstanding the present

Predicting the futureKnowing identity

Role of bias andInterpretation in history:

emotion, culture, etc.

Other problems:gaps, language issues,

past interpreted in termsof present, etc.

Phlogiston

“Witchhunt” ofcommunists in USA

Is there aTrue history?

Wall Street crash

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz

Validity of claims inMathematics and

Science…

Validity of claims in Art…

Validity of claims in Ethics…

Under whatcircumstances can a

historical claim beconsidered valid?

PresidentAhmedinejad’sdenial of the

Jewish Holocaust

Claims in History

Explanation ofthe concept of

validity in relationto historical evidence

Why should we careabout historical truth?

Importance of historyUnderstanding the present

Predicting the futureKnowing identity

Role of bias andInterpretation in history:

emotion, culture, etc.

Other problems:gaps, language issues,

past interpreted in termsof present, etc.

Phlogiston

“Witchhunt” ofcommunists in USA

Is there aTrue history?

Validity of claims inMathematics and

Science…

Validity of claims in Art…

Validity of claims in Ethics…

Wall Street crash

Descriptionof Holocaust

Auschwitz ???