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IB ToK Essay Topics: May 2014

Here are links to the full titles of the six May 2014 IB ToK Essay topics:

I briefly mention some points to consider for each title below; however, the personalised service I offer is tailored to each student.

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If you require personal help with any of these May 2014 ToK essay topics, I'd be delighted to receive your email: May 2014 IB ToK Essay Topics Enquiry

Title 1: Ethical judgements limit the methods available in the production of knowledge in both the arts and the natural sciences. Discuss.

Thoughts to consider with essay 1 include:

  • the truth-evaluable nature of judgement
  • the nature of ethical judgement
  • ethical and non-ethical methods of acquiring knowledge
If you require tailored help with topic 1 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then I'd be delighted to receive your email: Topic 1 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry

Title 2: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails" (Abraham Maslow). How might this apply to ways of knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge?

Thoughts to consider with essay 2 include:

  • the role of conceptual schemes in the pursuit of knowledge
  • the distinction between appearance and reality
  • the distinction between ways of knowing and objects of knowledge
If you're considering answering topic 2 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then I'd be delighted to receive your email: Topic 2 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry

Title 3: "Knowledge is nothing more than the systematic organisation of facts." Discuss this statement in relation to two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 3 include:

  • the distinction between theoretical and practical knowledge
  • the relation between theoretical knowledge and the ways of knowing
  • types of knowledge unrelated to prediction and explanation
If you'd like to discuss topic 3 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then I'd be delighted to receive your email: Topic 3 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry

Title 4: "That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow." Consider knowledge issues raised by this statement in two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 4 include:

  • the distinction between knowledge and claims to knowledge
  • the distinction between knowing and being certain
  • the testing and refutation of knowledge claims
If you'd like help with topic 4 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then I'd be delighted to receive your email: Topic 4 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry

Title 5: "The historian's task is to understand the past; the human scientist, by contrast, is looking to change the future." To what extent is this true in these areas of knowledge?

Thoughts to consider with essay 5 include:

  • the purposes of knowledge
  • the relation between understanding and prediction
  • the relation between past and future
If you're considering addressing topic 5 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then by all means email me: Topic 5 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry

Title 6: "A skeptic is one who is willing to question any knowledge claim, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic and adequacy of evidence" (adapted from Paul Kurtz, 1994). Evaluate this approach in two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 6 include:

  • the nature and limits of skepticism
  • the distinction between theoretical and practical knowledge
  • the distinction between Cartesian and scientific skepticism
If you're writing on topic 6 of the May 2014 ToK essay titles, then I'd be happy to receive your email: Topic 6 ToK Essay May 2014 Enquiry
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