Knowledge questions are important in ToK because they enable students to explore the nature, scope, and limit of knowledge. By studying and understanding knowledge questions, you’ll be able to:
- Reflect on how we know what we know.
- Understand how we acquire knowledge.
- Determine how humans interpret or justify knowledge across different context.
This guide covers the overview, characteristics, types, and elements of knowledge questions.
Additionally, we look at how to write knowledge questions, relevant examples, applications, and how KQ relate to the Theory of Knowledge course.
What is a Knowledge Question?
A knowledge question is a question that requires you to explore the nature, scope, and limits of knowledge. It may raise concerns about what constitutes knowledge, who possesses knowledge, and circumstances under which to accept something as knowledge.
Knowledge questions direct you to focus on Theory of Knowledge concepts rather than on topics often discussed in subject lectures.
A knowledge question might suggest connection between domains of knowledge, themes, and the course’s scope, viewpoint, ethics, and tools and techniques. Additionally, the question can explain the advantages and disadvantages of ways and instruments available to us in pursuit of knowledge and truth.
While concerns about knowledge are philosophical, you have to relate the issues to real-life situations and provide evidence and instances from the real world.
Note that any question that requires a YES or NO response doesn’t count as knowledge questions in ToK. Moreover, specific questions, such as the ones you expect to get in an exam, don’t qualify to be KQ.
What Are Characteristics of Knowledge Questions?
Something counts as knowledge question if it’s open-ended, conceptual, universal, and exploratory.
- Open-ended: There are no simple yes or no answers. The questions provoke discussion and analysis instead.
- Conceptual: The focus is on concepts such as certainty, evidence, interpretation, perspective, and truth.
- Universal: KQs aren’t particular to any context or discipline. Rather, they’re applicable across different AOKs.
- Exploratory: Each question requires challenging assumptions, critical thinking, and questions the construction and validation of knowledge.
Every KQ addresses how we understand the world, ourselves, and other people in connection to how we acquire, generate, seek, and influence knowledge.
What Are The Different Types of Knowledge Questions?
There are two types of knowledge questions in ToK: first and second order knowledge questions.
First-order KQs
First-order KQs are narrower in scope. They relate to a specific field within individual AOKs. As for what they ask, first-order KQs are about the world, they question what we know, and they fit within the context of IB diploma subjects.
Second-order KQs
Second-order KQs are winder in scope, often encompassing one or more AOKs. The questions apply mostly to Theory of Knowledge, mostly because they question how we acquire and use knowledge.
Components of Knowledge Questions in ToK
The elements of knowledge questions are scope, perspective, methods and tools, and ethics.
Scope
Scope examines the nature and extent of various fields and subjects of knowledge.
Scope examines the relationship between each areas of knowledge, the entirety of human knowledge, and the challenges each AOK confronts and attempts to answer.
Perspective
Perspective focuses on the nature and significance of circumstances and viewpoints. It requires a reflection of a student’s personal views, information sources, and the way in which different groups or persons see and approach knowledge.
Additionally, perspective includes reflection on historical views and the evolution of knowledge across time.
Methods and Tools
Methods and tools focus on practices, techniques, and tools through which we generate knowledge.
At its core, methods and tools encompass the methodology used by formal disciplines, the development of conceptual framework, and the establishment of traditions and practices.
Furthermore, methods and tools account for cognitive and material tools available to help us in the pursuit of knowledge and the ways these tools have evolved because of technological advancements.
Ethics
Ethics focuses on moral issues that influence investigation across different topics and domains of knowledge. The consideration is on the link between facts and values and the way ethical and epistemic values relate in the pursuits of knowledge.
Furthermore, ethics addresses the issues of inequality, injustice, and knowledge. In ToK, discussion about ethics should emphasize the knowledge questions entwined with and applied by moral issues under discussion rather than on debating the ethical issues themselves.
How to Write Knowledge Questions
Knowledge questions in ToK usually begin with the following phrases:
- How do we know
- What constitutes knowledge in
- To what extent
The questions may also include terms such as They may also include terms such as 'belief', 'evidence', 'justification', 'certainty', 'culture', 'evidence', 'explanation', 'interpretation', 'truth', 'values', or 'experience.
Additionally, the questions may delve into the concept of what constitutes knowledge and what doesn’t, as well as what counts as a fact and what doesn’t.
It’s important to use knowledge theory principles and terms when presenting a knowledge question. Examples of terminologies you can use include justification, knowledge, judgment, evidence, interpretation, explanation, coherence, theory, implications, reason, assumptions, language, paradigm, and emotion.
Additionally, ensure you highlight the phrases in bold to make them stand out.
Examples of Knowledge Questions in ToK
The following are examples of KQs in Theory of Knowledge:
| AOKs | Knowledge Question |
1. | Mathematics | In what manner does mathematics serve as a descriptor for our physical reality? |
2. | History | How is our understanding of the past distinct from other forms of knowledge? |
3. | Arts | Is it necessary for specialists to identify and acknowledge works of art? |
4. | Human Sciences | How dependable are statistics in shaping business and economic choices? |
5. | Natural Sciences | Do similarities exist between knowledge in literature and that in natural science? |
Where Do Knowledge Questions Apply?
Knowledge questions mainly apply to ToK assessments, which are ToK essay and ToK exhibition.
IBO requires you to explore these questions through AOKs, such as Natural Sciences, Human Sciences, and Arts, and WOKs, such as Sense Perception, Reason, Language, and Emotion.
Because knowledge questions apply across various disciplines, students can easily explore the different means of knowledge construction and understanding in different fields.
How Do Knowledge Questions Relate to ToK as a Course?
Knowledge questions mostly relate to areas of knowledge, ethics and personal knowledge, and ways of knowing.
- Areas of Knowledge: Knowledge questions tend to come from very specific areas of knowledge. For example, we can question the objectivity of scientific truth in Natural Sciences and the way perspectives and biases shape historical knowledge in History.
- Ethics and personal knowledge: Some knowledge questions in Theory of Knowledge consider how social factors, personal beliefs, and ethical consideration shape the way we acquire and evaluate knowledge.
- Ways of Knowing: The questions consider ways through which we acquire knowledge. For example, your question might examine the impact of emotion on moral knowledge or the role of reason in mathematical truths.