“The possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility.” Everyday we gain knowledge, either on purpose or by accident. Every time we acquire some new information we are left with the thought of whether we should express it with others of not. I believe that the possession of knowledge does carry an ethical responsibility when presented in certain situations. Nevertheless, this claim also brings certain knowledge issues. Why should knowing something lead to ethical responsibility? Is it an ethical responsibility to impart that knowledge? In the world of science the issue of having ethical responsibility with the gain of knowledge always presents itself an issue. We ask the scientist who do this research and acquire this new knowledge if they in fact have an ethical responsibility? In some perspectives, some say that it is the ethical responsibility of these scientist to keep withheld their knowledge. For example, Albert Einstein had knowledge of nuclear physics. With this new knowledge Einstein found no reason from keeping it form the world. As a result, the production of nuclear warfare began, and the first atomic bomb was dropped in World War II on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Did Einstein have an ethical responsibility to proclaim his knowledge? At the time Einstein had no idea that his discovery would lead to the unwisely use of others. He just believed it to be his ethical responsibility to share his knowledge with the world as he found no reason to keep it from them. Nowadays, further knowledge of any nuclear or cosmological power is kept from society in order to maintain peace and cause no harm to anyone. Since the problem began with the research of nuclear energy by these scientists, it would be their ethical responsibility to consider if the research can benefit or harm humanity in any way. This side also argues, not only in the scientific world but also in everyday life, that the knowledge obtained by someone should be shared is it has potential to bring happiness to another person. This idea, therefore, gives scientists an ethical responsibility to bring happiness to society by withholding information that can potentially be harmful, as stated before in the example of researching nuclear energy. Another exciting research is that of evolution. After the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection not only did it bring scientific credibility to evolution but it brought dispute about the origins of Earth, life, and the universe. Some say the knowledge from this research is priceless but this may be because of their own emotional attachments and they way they perceive life. For example, Christians believe that God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. To them this research is a defiance to their ideals and so we ask if these scientists have an ethical obligation to secure this knowledge because if they do not it can cause a lot of controversy and anger amongst different groups of people that reason differently? As long as the knowledge gained by scientists doesn’t affect society then it shouldn’t be exposed to us, but if it is something that can be potentially harmful or beneficial to us in any way then there is an ethical responsibility to express this knowledge to us. Likewise, with new knowledge comes creativity in ideas. Over the last couple decades artists have taken a toll for new media and interpretations in their artwork. To what extent do these artists have a moral and ethical obligation in the creation of their work? For example, today, Pablo Picasso’s cubist pictures to African art are no longer seen as shocking. However, in 1907 his piece called the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon outraged the public. The way in which he distorted the human figure became a large controversy at the time. The work was criticized as crude, unfinished, and incredibly unsettling. With Picasso’s knowledge and expression of this new form of art came an ethical
wrote it as their point of view that implicated lots of hidden information. Historians must search different archives in order to verify if this information given was true or false. The same thing happened to me when I’m researching to do my Extended Essay, when a certain topic is Googled, we tend to always search for the top three pages. There must be verification, because to state important facts, there has to be a use of minimum of six different sites so that this information can be declared as something…
To what extent do personal attributes affect Ways of Knowing, and why, if at all, does answering this question matter in the first place? It is known that there are four means through which human beings acquire knowledge of their surroundings; the ways of reason, emotion, sense perception and language. However, are these entirely reliable? Different individuals possess different opinions of concepts and ideas, and this has not only been the reason of many conflicts and wars but has aided…
Topic: Reason is no more universal than any other way of knowing. They are different kinds of rationalities, all of which are equal value. Reason is traditionally portrayed as the opposite of emotion in terms of the acquisition of knowledge; it is the cause, the explanation, or justification for an action or event. Reason is no more universal than any other way of knowing. There are more ways of knowing, beyond only reason. The different ways of knowing that are of equal value in the universe…
Distinguishing what is real and what is not is a part of life. But to distinguish one from the other, one must choose how. This choice is based on whether that person relies more heavily on their senses like George Berkeley, or their mind, like Descartes. Despite the differences, each way of knowing reaches a common goal, discerning the truth and what is believed to be true. The senses cannot give us a true representation of truth, so reason should be used. Using the knowledge issues to what extent…
FINDING EXAMPLES FOR YOUR TOK ESSAY The search for "real, specific and detailed examples" To summarise, your examples should be: real, specific, detailed, individual, accurate, referenced, analysed, relevant There are also things to avoid. See THINGS TO AVOID. (below) These include: meaningless statements, generalisations, pseudo-examples, stereotypes, dictionary definitions, cliches, ToK textbooks, extreme statements, relativism ACTIVITY PART 1 That which can be asserted without evidence…
Morales, Alejandra Period1 TOK “My autobiography as a thinker” Do you ever wonder what type of knower you are visual, kinesthetic, or logical? Are you judgmental, extrovert, perceiving, introvert, intra-personal or interpersonal? Well, I tend to be a visual, interpersonal knower, which I think, is beneficial because you really visually see everything in the world and you learn about something specifically by actually seeing it and by communicating with others because in reality you don’t know everything…
Alex Garcia Mr. Mallerne Marijuana should be Legal In the year 2013 it had been a highly successful year for legalizing marijuana within the United States. Now that Colorado and Washington have accepted the drug 58 percent of American citizens are now accepting the drug as well. There are countless of reasons as to why marijuana should be legalized in all states. Marijuana should be legal in all states because it is much safer than other legalized drugs, can be used as a sleep aid, and can be used…
about a proposition (Statement that is true/false): -The cat is on the mat - it is raining - Every event has a cause - So, someone says P is true, someone else disagrees We need a way to test/verify various knowledge claims Possible essay topic: Discuss the characteristics and the merits of the three different truth tests and how they might intertwine in some way. Correspondence- Empiricism (observation/experience) Coherence- Rationalism (only reason/consistency) Pragmatism- (true…
IB Skills Final Assessment – Anti-Procrastination Alex Foxe 22nd June 2012 “You may delay, but time will not” ~Benjamin Franklin Background: Procrastination is generally defined as the act of replacing high priority actions with those that have less priority. In psychology, procrastination is the temporal gap between intended behavior and enacted behavior. (Mind tools) This psychological behaviour is widely associated with adolescents, especially those in college where homework and…
whether there are other forms of acquiring knowledge besides the two listed above. This will be accomplished using reason and perception. I will use the human sciences to go with reason and intuition in order to bring in a different perspective into my essay. My main argument that experiments require both experimentation and observation in order to find a solution to the problem. There is a correlation to both, but what other factors can be considered for learning new information. My real life situation…