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THEORYOF KNOWLEDGE

STUDENTS’ GUIDE

2023-2025
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Dear Knower,

You have lived in this world for some time now. Your life has been shaped by many unique
experiences and interactions. You believe many things about yourself, the way the world works,
and the values that guide your own life. But have you asked yourself: How do I know what I know?
Why do I believe what I believe? How sure am I about it all? Why do others believe different things?

Welcome to a process that begins today. It will be one that will intrigue you, and give you a
chance to reflect on how belief and knowledge come together not only for you, but also for
others in the class. You will have the opportunity to examine knowledge claims about both the
world and knowledge itself. You will also consider knowledge questions which are general, open-
ended questions about knowledge itself, rather than subject specific material. For example, “How
does language shape knowledge” or “How can we know if our senses are reliable?”

Bring an open and inquisitive mind that is ready to explore. By examining ideas and arguments
put forth by yourself and others, we will reflect on how knowledge is constructed.

At the center of TOK is you, the knower. You are invited to think critically about how you know
anything at all. How do you know what you know? Did your senses tell you? Did you read or hear
it somewhere? Is it because others tell you? Have you reasoned it out? Do you feel it? Do you
remember it? Did you imagine it? Do you have faith in something? Or does your intuition tell you,
but you can’t explain how?

We will work together to consider what knowledge is, how we can approach finding the truth,
and the problems involved in doing so. You will examine major Areas of knowledge such as:
Human Sciences, Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Art, History. By understanding and comparing
these areas, we will try to develop a more holistic picture of knowing. However, we must also
consider the burdens and responsibilities of having and pursuing knowledge.

Your assessment will involve a TOK Exhibition and a 1600-word essay. This will demonstrate your
development as a knower, an IB student, a learner and a human. You will have many formative
assessments throughout the course to help you build the critical thinking skills needed to be
successful in your exhibition commentary and essay.

This is a course unlike any other you have encountered. The experiences you have and skills you
gain will make a lasting difference in your life. You may feel like a new person when you’re
through!

Welcome to Theory of Knowledge!

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THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

The overall aim of TOK is to encourage students to formulate answers to the question
“how do you know?” in a variety of contexts.

The aims of the TOK course are:

• To encourage students to reflect on the central question, “How do we know

that?”, and to recognize the value of asking that question

• To expose students to ambiguity, uncertainty and questions with multiple plausible

answers

• To equip students to effectively navigate and make sense of the world, and help
prepare them to encounter novel and complex situations

• To encourage students to be more aware of their own perspectives and to reflect

critically on their own beliefs and assumptions

• To engage students with multiple perspectives, foster open-mindedness and

develop intercultural understanding

• To encourage students to make connections between academic disciplines by

exploring underlying concepts and by identifying similarities and differences in
the methods of inquiry used in different areas of knowledge

• To prompt students to consider the importance of values, responsibilities and

ethical concerns relating to the production, acquisition, application and
communication of knowledge.
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NATURE OF TOK

The TOK course plays a special role in the DP by providing an opportunity for
students to reflect on the nature, scope and limitations of knowledge and the
process of knowing. In this way, the main focus of TOK is not on students acquiring
new knowledge but on helping students to reflect on, and put into perspective, what
they already know. TOK underpins and helps to unite the subjects that students
encounter in the rest of their DP studies. It engages students in explicit reflection on
how knowledge is arrived at in different disciplines and areas of knowledge, on
what these areas have in common and the differences between them. It is
intended that through this holistic approach, discussions in one area will help to
enrich and deepen discussions in other areas.

The following 12 concepts have particular prominence within, and thread

throughout, the TOK course: evidence, certainty, truth, interpretation, power,
justification, explanation, objectivity, perspective, culture, values and
responsibility. Exploration of the relationship between knowledge and these
concepts can help students to deepen their understanding, as well as facilitating
the transfer of their learning to new and different contexts. Discussion forms the
backbone of the TOK course.
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The TOK course “At a glance”

The TOK curriculum is made up of three deeply interconnected parts.

• The core theme—Knowledge and the knower: This theme encourages students to
reflect on themselves as knowers and thinkers, and to consider the different
communities of knowers to which we belong.

• Optional themes: This element provides an opportunity to take a more in-depth

look at two themes of particular interest to teachers and students. The given themes
all have a significant impact on the world today and play a key role in shaping
people’s perspectives and identities. Teachers select two optional themes from a
choice of five: knowledge and technology; knowledge and language; knowledge
and politics; knowledge and religion; and knowledge and indigenous societies.

• Areas of knowledge: The areas of knowledge (AOK) are specific branches of

knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct nature and sometimes
use different methods of gaining knowledge. In TOK, students explore five
compulsory areas of knowledge: history; the human sciences; the natural sciences;
mathematics; and the arts.
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Assessment Objectives:

Having completed the TOK course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate TOK thinking through the critical examination of knowledge

questions

• Identify and explore links between knowledge questions and the world around us

• Identify and explore links between knowledge questions and areas of knowledge

• Develop relevant, clear and coherent arguments

• Use examples and evidence effectively to support a discussion

• Demonstrate awareness and evaluation of different points of view

•Consider the implications of arguments and conclusions.

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TOK Assessment Outline

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The TOK Exhibition (10 marks)

The TOK exhibition is an internal assessment component—it is marked by the teacher

and is externally moderated by the IB.
For this task, students are required to create an exhibition of three objects that
connect to one of the 35 “IA prompts” provided in the guide. Students must select
just one IA prompt on which to base their exhibition, and all three objects must be
linked to the same IA prompt. Students are required to create an exhibition
comprising three objects, or images of objects, and an accompanying written
commentary on each object.

To enable their exhibition to be marked by their TOK teacher, students are required
to produce a single file containing:

• A title clearly indicating their selected IA prompt

• Images of their three objects
• A typed commentary on each object that identifies each object and its specific
real-world context, justifies its inclusion in the exhibition and links to the IA prompt
(maximum 950 words)
• Appropriate citations and references.

Each student must create an individual exhibition. Group work may not be
undertaken by students. Multiple students in the same TOK class are permitted to
create exhibitions on the same IA prompt. However, students in the same class are
not permitted to use any of the same objects. The TOK exhibition task has been
explicitly designed to be completed during the first year of the DP.
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TOK Essay on a prescribed title

The TOK essay engages students in a formal, sustained piece of writing in response
to one of the six titles that are prescribed by the IB for each examination session.
These titles take the form of knowledge questions that are focused on the areas of
knowledge.

The TOK essay is an external assessment component. Each student’s essay is

submitted to the IB to be marked by IB examiners. The TOK Essay must be written in
standard 12 type size and be double spaced. It is not primarily a research paper,
but it is expected that specific sources will be used, and these must be
acknowledged.

The IB releases a set of six prescribed titles for each examination session. These titles
are published on the programme resource centre, six months before the submission
deadline.

The maximum length of the essay is 1,600 words.

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Sample Essay Titles:

1. "Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why
not" (Pablo Picasso). Explore this distinction with reference to two areas of
knowledge.

2. "There is a sharp line between describing something and offering an explanation of

it." To what extent do you agree with this claim?

3. Does it matter that your personal circumstances influence how seriously your
knowledge is taken?

4. "The role of analogy is to aid understanding rather than to provide justification." To

what extent do you agree with this statement?

5. "Given that every theory has its limitations, we need to retain a multiplicity of
theories to understand the world." Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of
knowledge.

6. "Present knowledge is wholly dependent on past knowledge." Discuss this claim

with reference to two areas of knowledge.
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Recommendations to TOK students

The TOK course places a great deal of emphasis on elements that are central to the
development of international-mindedness. For example, it encourages students to consider
the diversity and richness of different perspectives, as well as exploring the interdependent
influence of knowledge and culture.

The course encourages students to be curious about, and to think deeply and carefully
about, complicated issues. It encourages students to avoid shallow and polarized thinking,
and to avoid making quick judgments. It highlights that sometimes there really are no simple
answers, and “that tensions between conflicting points of view have to be lived with,
argued about and frequently left unresolved” (Walker 2004: 135).

Through their explorations in TOK, students are encouraged to discover and articulate their
own views on knowledge. They are encouraged to share their ideas with others, and to
listen to and learn from what others think. Through this process of dialogue and discussion,
their own understanding is enriched and deepened as they become more engaged with
different beliefs, values and experiences, as well as with alternative ways of answering
questions.