2011 - 2012 Reflections 1

August 10, 2011

Today we started on the first Area of Knowledge - natural science. We mostly talked about the benefits and weaknesses of science. It strikes me that there are so many weaknesses with science, especially its reliability. How much can I trust things that are supposed to be facts?

August 12, 2011

Today we continued to talk about natural science and began talking about social science. I realized that humans are very complex, mainly because of ability to think. We have hidden emotions, thoughts, and intentions. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm thinking is truly what I think. Isn't that scary?

August 16, 2011

Today we continued to talk about social science and started on history. In ToK, we almost always discuss about reliability, and most of the things in the world, even certain facts, are not absolutely reliable because information can be deceiving and manipulated. What is true, then? What is the point in believing when we know what we believe is not true?

August 18, 2011

We started to talk about art. I rarely think of art as a type of knowledge. I see art as a form of expression (does this sentence contradict my previous sentence?). My art is playing on the piano and singing. Can my art be knowledge when I'm just playing or singing without involving any emotions?

August 22, 2011

We talked about math in class today. In my opinion, math doesn't seem like an independent area of knowledge because math is used to support other disciplines. For example, math is used in natural science and social science, but 2+2=4 doesnt' really tell us anything. 

August 24, 2011

Ethics could possibly be the most controversial Areas of Knowledge (did I use the term controversial correctly?). Ethics isn't as universal as other Areas of Knowledge and two people could disagree on one thing because they each have a different set of principles of what's right or wrong. Sometimes I think it's amazing that people can live peacefully with each other when there is so much diversity.

August 26, 2011

I think I live by ethical egoism and I'm wondering if that's ethically right or wrong. I think it's right because that's how I mostly live (sometimes I still do sacrifice my personal interests  or maximize the overall benefits but depending on the situation). Does ethical egoism mean selfishness?

August 30, 2011

Today we mostly talked about ToK presentations. The only thing that stroke me is how general and broad knowledge issues should be and they are surprisingly difficult to think of!

September 1, 2011

We continued talking about ToK presentations. Nothing really stroke me but I'm a little worried because I'm not sure if I'll do well in my presentation.

September 6, 2011

Pseudoscience! Pseudoscience actually plays an important role in my life, because to a certain extent, I believe in things that are considered as pseudoscience. After today, my beliefs are still the same, no matter what we talked about in class today.

September 8, 2011

The article regarding the Korean scientist was interesting, especially when we have a high population of Korean students in class. I think what Phil said is plausible, who knows what happens behind the scenes. Is reputation or moral duty more important? The first answer that usually comes to our mind is moral duty, but do we always do what we should do when we are thrown into a dilemma? 

Source of Image: http://alxa.ru/file/wallpaper/night_reflection.jpg

Surveys

Out of Class

One of my CAS projects is the recycle project. This year, my aim is to improve the recycling system in the high school because I know that there are flaws in it. In order to do this, I decided to conduct a survey that will be answered by high school students and the high school faculty. 


Although a survey may be the fastest way to find out people's opinions, there are some problems with surveys. For example, people might lie, answer wrongly without knowing, misunderstand the questions, or the answers on the survey are limited and do not apply and represent what people think. In addition, some people may not even bother to answer the survey, which could possibly affect the accuracy of the results.


I know that I have to be very careful in producing my survey so that the questions are not ambiguous and that there are enough options so that the people have freedom to answer that they really think. Unfortunately, I know that my data will still not be absolutely accurate. 


This relates to some knowledge issues: How do we know the answers are true when people could possibly make mistakes or have other intentions? (I'm trying to apply this to the real world) How do we know whether people truly understand what they are asked? How much can we trust data? 

Source of image: http://www.emmagem.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/survey.jpg

Theory of Motivation

In Class

Ethics, is a system of principles for what's right and wrong. In ethics, there are four theories of motivation - ethical egoism, altruism, utilitarianism, and moral duty. 


Definitions:
(a) Ethical Egoism
We should behave in a way that promotes our personal happiness in the long run.
(b) Altruism
We should sacrifice our personal interests for those of others.
(c) Utilitarianism
We should maximize the overall benefit for everyone involved.
(d) Moral Duty
We do something because we know we should do it.


I think it's difficult to decide on our motivations to do things, because [KI] how do we know what's right or wrong? Can we act on purely one type of motivation? Does acting on one type of motivation determines whether we are right or wrong? How can we decide what we should or shouldn't do? Who is to say about what's right or wrong?


I personally don't believe in constant pure altruism, and I don't think it's the right way to live. Yes, there are moments when we should sacrifice our personal interests for those of others, like giving help or volunteering for charity purposes. However, what is the point of living if you always live for other people? If so, your life doesn't belong to you. I think of utilitarianism similarly. We cannot always maximize the overall benefit for everyone involved because there will be times when we want benefits ourselves more than others. I'm not saying that we should be selfish, but I believe that we live for ourselves and help others when we are willing and able to. 


I think that ethics is a difficult discipline to discuss because everyone, due to culture, background, and living environment, has a different set of principles of what's right or wrong. For me, I decide on whether what I'm doing is right or wrong by guilt. If I feel guilty or afraid, then I need to stop myself from doing what I'm doing. 

Source of image: http://andyjenness.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/ethics.jpg

Pseudoscience

In Class

Currently we're learning about one of the six Areas of Knowledge - natural science. We compared natural science with pseudoscience. The definition of pseudoscience is this: A practice that is claimed to be scientific, or is made to appear to be scientific, but does not adhere to an appropriate scientific methodology.


The following are the topics that we listed as pseudoscience in class:
1 Astrology
2 Divination
3 Witchcraft
4 Feng Shui
5 Traditional Chinese Medicine
6 Crystology


Two of the topics above are related to my culture - Feng Shui and traditional Chinese medicine. I wasn't surprised to see Feng Shui in the list, because I don't really believe in it myself. Traditional Chinese Medicine, however, I find it a little disturbing and shocking to see it in the list.


I guess my feelings are due to the fact that I do seek for medical help from the traditional Chinese way. If traditional Chinese medicine is truly pseudoscience, then my beliefs would be false for the past 18 years. To acknowledge that is very, very disturbing. 


To be honest, other than witchcraft, my life has been more or less influenced by the topics mentioned above. To a certain extent, I believe in astrology and has even asked my friends' advice about it. My mum goes to a fortune teller at least once a year to find out what we need to be caution of every year. I have a few things that are said to improve my life quality by Feng Shui. I have a crystal in my apartment, also supposed to improve my life quality.


What can I say? Maybe Chinese are superstitious or we just hold many pragmatic truths to make us feel safe. By holding our beliefs in pseudoscience, we feel safe because we made some effort to make our life better.


Knowledge issues: Is it wrong to believe in pragmatic truths? How do we know that pseudoscience isn't true because no one has yet been able to prove them to be true? 


Source of image: http://www.phy.syr.edu/courses/modules/PSEUDO/wiz2.gif

2011 - 2012 Terminology 1

1 Discipline
An established branch of knowledge with its own subject area and way of approaching it.


2 Natural Science
The study of science that relates to the physical world, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science.


3 Scientific Method
A system of experimentation to test scientific theories: Aim - Observation - Hypothesis - Experiment - Data Analysis - Conclusion


4 Scientific Law
A scientific theory that has been tested many times and is generally accepted as true.


5 Paradigm
A accepted set of natural laws that forms our world view about science.


6 Social Science
The study of human life and activities, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and linguistics.


7 Positive Statements
Statements if facts/how things are.


8 Normative Statements
Statements of how things should be (values and opinions).


9 Determinism versus Free Will 
Determinism is the concept in which all events are inevitable and decided by causes external to the will. Free will is the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies. 

10 Nature versus Nurture 
Nature is features that are born or embedded into ourselves while nurture is features that are taught to us.


11 History
The study of past events.


12 Art
The expression of human creativity and imagination, such as music, theater, visual art, architecture, fashion, and dance.


13 Mathematics
The abstract science of number, quantity, and space, and their relationship with each other.


14 Ethics
A system of principles for what's right and wrong.


15 Theory of Motivation
How do people get motivation about what's best for themselves?
(a) Ethical Egoism
We should behave in a way that promotes our personal happiness in the long run.
(b) Altruism
We should sacrifice our personal interests for those of others.
(c) Utilitarianism
We should maximize the overall benefit for everyone involved.
(d) Moral Duty
We do something because we know we should do it.


16 Pseudoscience 
A practice that is claimed to be scientific, or is made to appear to be scientific, but does not adhere to an appropriate scientific methodology.


17 Robert Merton's Norms
The contribution to scientific work should:
(a) Communalism
Become part of public knowledge by full disclosure
(b) Universalism
Be judged independently of personal traits of the contributor
(c) Disinterestedness
Be made neutrally, impersonally, and without regard for personal gain
(d) Originality
Offer something new to the existing body of knowledge
(e) Skepticism
Be subjected to systematic doubt by the scientific community


Works Consulted
1 Google Dictionary 
2 Notes in Class