2.       Examine the ways empirical evidence should be used to make progress in different areas of knowledge.

The different areas of knowledge are as stated: mathematics, natural sciences, human sciences, history, the arts and ethics. To answer this question, we must define empirical, the word denotes information gained by means of observation, experience or experiment, any empirical evidence is gained from, predominantly, two ways of knowing: sense perception and reasoning.

In each of the areas of knowing, empirical evidence is used to make progress to develop our knowledge. Other areas of knowing rely more heavily on empirical evidence to make judgments and progress, areas such as natural sciences, human sciences and the arts rely more heavily on empirical evidence than ethics and mathematics.

 To answer this question, I will outline how empirical evidence is currently being used to progress in each of the areas of knowledge such as how observation and experimenting are critical in natural and human sciences and how it can be used in certain methods to advance mathematics.

Matthew Scott Christensen

IBDP Class of 2011

New International School of Thailand

1.       How can the different ways of knowing help us to distinguish between something that is true and something that is believed to be true?

In order to answer this question, we must first define the word truth in terms of TOK. In TOK, "Truth" is anything that can be proven and explained thoroughly through any of the ways of knowing: Sense Perception, Emotion, Language and Reasoning. A belief is defined as an opinion, a faith or something that a person wishes to be true which cannot be proven to be a truth using any of the ways of knowing, a belief is a form or a personal truth which remains true until disproven or proven by any of the Ways of Knowing.

Things that we know to be truths are known as absolute truths as they are indisputably true and have been proven in at least one of the ways of knowing, events are a good example as we know most modern events to be true as they are absolute truths, proven by at least one way of knowing and are universally independent in location in time. Another form of truths are scientific truths which have been proven though proofs using the "scientific method". Any other forms of truths such as personal truths can be disproven by the ways of knowing once more information is given. An example of this is something as simple as a lie, if you believe a lie which has been told to you, you take it as a personal truth until the information has been given to you in which you now know that your personal truth was false information which has been disproven using the ways of knowing, i.e. emotion, language and reasoning.

Matthew Scott Christensen

IBDP Class of 2011

New International School of Thailand

Is Math a Language?

Probably but I don’t know, because while using mathematics you are able to communicate in written forms, not in spoken forms, using mathematics you are able to communicate things such as areas of tables, diameters of planets, distances and so on, but you are not able to communicate other things which in languages is used daily, such as I don’t want to go to TOK class or, TOK class is awesome, etc.

Mathematics does include rules, grammar, syntax, axioms, which bind the whole idea together such as the syntax of your equations and so forth providing structure. Axioms of arithmetic such as the commutativity of addition form a foundation or a basis for the rest of mathematics.

So in conclusion, my final opinion is I don’t know, however I think it probably is.

Matthew Scott Christensen

IBDP Class of 2011

New International School of Thailand

If people speak more than one language, is what they know different in each language?

Yes, this is often true, I personally know three languages, mandarin, English and Thai, and there are difficulties when attempting to translate a meaning from one language to another because of differences in definitions. Different languages have words that mean similar things but are not necessarily the same. If one was to use two languages to come up with the same meaning in a sentence using the languages respective words, the grammar and sentence structure in both languages would be different.

If you’re trying to say “yours” in English, a possessive term, then in Chinese it would have to be “(你/您)” and “(的)” to become “你/您的” meaning you/you(respective) and (possessive) in Chinese. In Thai it would be “Kong Pi/Nong/etc.” depending on the different person you are addressing.

And this is only a basic term, as words become more complicated, the terms in each language become more complicated and each dialect of each language could have different terms that mean the same thing.

Matthew Scott Christensen

IBDP Class of 2011

New International School of Thailand

I believe that…

I believe that what happens is what happens, what is is what is, people make decisions on what they base is the most right choice to them, I don’t know if there is a higher power im not sure if I believe in one either but I don’t not acknowledge the fact that there could be and that there also could be an afterlife. I’m not sure if I believe that the universe started with a bang or whether some deity created the universe or it always was,  days come and days go “and the wheels on the bus go round’ and round’ and round’.”

I know that…

I know that I am alive. I know this because I am active, awake and thinking. I know this because I have made friends over the course of my life and see them frequently. I know this because I am constantly learning. I know this because I feel emotions and human desires. I know this because I have human senses and interact with objects and people with them. I know this because I have memories of many different events in my life, and if my memory fails me, I always have photos.