tok essay 2023 may

May 2023 TOK essay prescribed titles

The prescribed titles for the May 2023 TOK essay have been released. Check with your TOK coordinator / teacher for the official document.

Resources for the May 2023 TOK essay prescribed titles will be published shortly.

• Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.
• Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.
• To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

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TOK DISCUSSIONS

Theory of knowledge prescribed titles

May 2023 examination session

Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.

Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.

To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

May 2023 Title #1

Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge?

Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

“Replicability” means the quality of being able to replicate in general. And specifically, it applies to scientific experiments that need to be replicated. In simple words, a scientific experiment must be able to be done multiple times, under the same conditions, and produce the same results every single time.

As you noticed, “scientific experiment” is constantly being used. And this is a hint for you to know that if you want to choose this title for your TOK essay, you will have The Natural and Human Sciences as your AOKs. The other three remaining AOKs can be somehow chosen but without any amazing results. In the Arts, replicating an artwork makes it “fake,” “unauthentic,” and “worthless.” And if you think of the scientific process of authenticating an artwork by performing a scientific test, well, then firstly, it is science and not art anymore; secondly, that would be a one-time process, nothing to be replicated. In History, no experiments can be done, due to the nonexistence of “material;” and in Mathematics, this is out of the question.

Now that you know what your AOKs are you can think about the rest. The main keyword is “replicability,” which we already explained. However, there is another one crucial to the discussion; “necessary.” The title question asks whether replicability is “necessary” or “complementary?” Can a scientist conclude the results of an experiment after one or two times, and is the experiment being able to be replicated only an “extra mile?” Or is this a vital feature of any scientific experiment that cannot be avoided?

You know how things go in a biology lab. The results come out every time. And you are eager to want to see the same results regardless of the process and conditions. This is called “confirmation bias,” one of the biggest enemies of scientists.

You should introduce “replicability,” talk about its necessity and discuss the obstacles in the way; biases, hard-to-replicate conditions, price or scarcity of materials, and many more.

Things to avoid:

The usages of natural sciences in the process of knowledge production, or authentication in arts and history.

Over explanation of the scientific experiment rather the reason for the necessity of replicability.

Long introduction and conclusion parts.

Briefly introduce a scientific experiment and how scientists replicate it. Bring a personal example from your biology or chemistry lab experience. Find two contrasting real-life examples; one that the scientist replicated the experiment many times and produced solid scientific knowledge, and one that the scientist rushed the experiment or was biased toward their hypothesis/prediction and as a result, produced insufficient knowledge, one in human sciences and one in natural sciences (or if you have time and motivation, two for each). And compare those experiments and conclude that replicability is “necessary” (crucial) in natural sciences, and necessary but harder to achieve in human sciences.

May 2022 Title #2

Artists “explain” through expression, and natural scientists “explain” through words, charts, diagrams, etc. What the title question actually asks is not whether something can be explained or not, but the methods of explanation.

In the theme of “knowledge and language,” we learn that all ways of communication can be considered language, which is also used to explain. Artists “explain” their feelings, emotions, concepts, social issues, and many more concepts in their artworks. Song lyrics, as a form of literature, explain what artists went through during a period of their life. A painting explains beauty, horror, dignity, or poverty. Installations mostly explain the perception of space, and performance art tries to picture a social phenomenon. All these are artists’ attempts to “explain” something that cannot (easily) be explained through words, charts, numbers, or in any other “scientific” way. Therefore, artists choose to “express” rather than “explain.”

On the other than, scientists who are not dealing with creativity, choose more direct and evidential ways of communication. They try to bring facts and put them in numeral, statistical, and visual representations to “explain” a phenomenon.

And sometimes, a concept cannot be explained in any way, like love, faith, and emotional pain. This is artists’ call for action in knowledge production. In your personal life, many times you tried to explain a situation by hand gesture instead of talking. In team sports and army missions, the team leader explains the tactics or situation by gestures, as they cannot communicate with words.

Another big difference between artists’ and scientists’ ways of communication is in the consumption of knowledge. Artworks are usually open to interpretation. The audience understands the art in different ways based on how they interpret the “explanation” of the artist. Contrary to that, the results of scientists’ works, which are scientific publications, are rarely open to interpretations, at least not by ordinary people.

Discussing the arts and the natural sciences instead of artists and scientists. (Do not discuss the areas of knowledge. Discuss the expert knowers in these AOKs, who are artists and scientists.)

Over explanation of the story behind an artwork or a scientific process. (Focus your discussion on how the artist or the scientist “explained” in expressive or evidential ways.)

Introduce the “explained” and “unexplainable.” Bring a personal example from your life when you expressed with (or without) words, and compare it with the time you wrote a long explanation for a physics question. Find one real-life example from the arts, where the artistic expression was their way of explaining. And then find a real-life example in science, where the scientist extensively explains a phenomenon or a solution to a problem. If you have time and enthusiasm, you can bring two RLEs for each area of knowledge. In the end, conclude, by comparing your RLEs, that artists tend to find the “unexplained” more important, and for scientists, “explainables” are more important.

May 2023 Title #3

The answer is, “of course, it does.” However, this is not enough for a TOK essay.

In the core theme of “knowledge and the knower,” we learn about filter bubbles as one of the drawbacks of the Internet. But, what are filter “bubbles?”

Nowadays, the majority of people acquire knowledge (or better say information) from social media and internet websites. Social media distribute knowledge based on their algorithms to their subscribers. However, this distribution is only based on what the subscriber “likes” or what they might like. Imagine offering a range of snacks to a group of kids. Each kid chooses one; candy, snack bar, dried fruits, gummy bears, or chips. You continue giving each kid only the type of candy that they initially chose. In this way, they stay unaware of other snacks, and each kid continues to “believe” that his/her type of snack exists. Kids live in their own “snack bubble.”

The same thing happens when social media algorithms filter the information (knowledge) that we consume and keep us unaware of other things that happen in the world. You should also know that these “bubbles” are not a new phenomenon. For millennia rulers, governments, and people themselves kept individuals in information/knowledge bubbles for a variety of purposes.

Within the area of knowledge of history, the knower remains unaware of events and perspectives outside their “bubble.” They may even develop a misunderstanding about the scope of their history and culture, concluding that their culture is the most important or dominant one.

In The Human Sciences, the same bubble is formed around the knowledge of economics, anthropology, and human behavior.

In The Natural Sciences, filter bubbles make the person believe that the entire world suffers or deals with a pandemic the same way as their country (or their bubble).

Within The Arts, a knower inside a bubble shares the same values for artistic beauty without knowing that there are varieties of other values among other nations or groups.

And in Mathematics, you may think that all the advancements in this area of knowledge were the results of “your” mathematicians.

Gender equality, gender identity, religion, and diversity are the most common and controversial issues these days. Filter bubbles force an individual to believe that “everyone” on earth shares the same values and perspectives on a topic as theirs, and whoever thinks otherwise is “wrong” and should be “corrected” or “silenced.”

Confirmation bias is the basis for designing these bubbles. When “acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices” (perspectives) “are excluded,” the knower acquires “selective knowledge” that feeds their confirmation bias and continue to search for more information that they find appropriate.

This way of knowledge acquisition creates self-serving bias. The knower only accepts the knowledge in their favor and rejects any opposing view, as they feel entitled to their points of view.

Attribution bias is another byproduct of “bubbles.” Assumptions, judgments, and labeling are the results of such bias that make the person attributes a presumed characteristic to a member of a group based on their mere association with that group.

You can also study more about conformity bias, gender bias, and response bias (social-desirability bias) to have a better understating of the effects of bubbles on research in different areas of knowledge.

Focusing on knowledge production. (You may find several examples of bubbles and biases in research studies. However, these examples can be discussed under the production of knowledge and not knowledge acquisition.)

Over explanation of a bubble instead of how the bubble affects our acquisition of knowledge.

Taking a side in your discussion pro or against a point of view. (Your language for your arguments should be as neutral as possible and shows your awareness of different points of view.)

Introduce and explain bubbles and how they form during our acquisition of knowledge (mostly by social media). Continue to briefly explain how bubbles affect our knowledge acquisition and perspectives. Choose a discipline from human sciences, and natural sciences or arts. History and mathematics can also be chosen as AOKs; however, developing arguments in these areas of knowledge needs vast knowledge and interest to masterfully discuss your real-life examples. Find one RLE for each AOK (or two for each if you have time and interest) and discuss “how” bubbles affected the way the knowers acquired knowledge. Conclude your essay by comparing real-life examples and conclude that while “it matters” if we acquire knowledge inside bubbles, the effects and consequences are different (less or more severe) in different areas of knowledge.

May 2023 Title #4

“We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power,” is the complete quote.

Bertrand Russel was astonished by the contradictory nature of human knowledge and the disproportionate power that our little knowledge brings us. The title question, however, is focused on astonishment. Therefore, I must warn you from the beginning not to think about assessing the “correctness” of Russell’s perspective on knowledge. You may have different points of view on knowledge, power, and their relationship. But, I suggest you keep them to yourself.

It might be a stupid question to ask from a generation that was born into technology, which is one of the main symbols of the power of knowledge. Is it astonishing to you? Can anything astonish you? What do you find astonishing when it comes to human achievements? This is the question that guides you write your TOK essay.

The Natural Sciences is already chosen as one of the AOKs, and the reason is obvious; no other area of knowledge demonstrates the power of human knowledge like this one. It also makes your job easier. Based on the assumption you are astonished by human sciences (and all its glory), you can find another area of knowledge that is less, or more, astonishing and compare it with the first one.

Writing a TOK essay on this prescribed title is less challenging but personal. Because different people are amazed by different things and to different degrees. And as you will explore whether this disproportionate power comes from little knowledge, and the fact that we know a lot, yet still very little astonishes you or not, you have the right only to talk on your behalf; not any group or the entire human race. Therefore, it is a personal matter.

Some may suggest describing the power of knowledge and different “good” and “bad” applications of such power. It is highly recommended that you stick to the fact that knowledge gives us power and only focus on the level of fascination with such power.

Analyzing the quote. (Just accept the quote as true and discuss whether you can relate to it.)

Discussing in general, on behalf of your generation, or the human race.

Discussing Bertrand Russell’s background or his philosophy. (Stick to the point.)

Over explanation of technical details of a real-life example.

Start by directly talking about your relation to the quote. Choose your approach in choosing the second AOK; more or less astonishing. Find one real-life example for each AOK (or two for each if you have time and interest) that you really find interesting and mesmerizes you about how humanity could achieve such power (advancements). Conclude, based on your preference, whether you find these advancements astonishing. If so, which area of knowledge has been more successful? And if you find all the power that knowledge gives you “normal,” then explain the reason.

May 2023 Title #5

Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge?

Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.

When you see the adverb “always” in a title question, you should know that’s the first keyword. And the closest explanatory word is most probably the second one.

You must focus your discussions on whether something is always helpful or not. Therefore, discussing that “something” takes you off the path and you won’t receive a high mark.

What are “visual representations?” In the human sciences and mathematics, as the title demands, visual representations are images, charts, diagrams, graphs, shapes, lines, etc. These representations complement the knowledge that is being communicated. Are they “always” helpful in the communication of knowledge? This is the questions you should explore.

You can find real-life examples that support the (always) usefulness of visual representations in these two areas of knowledge. Or contrasting RLEs that show they are “sometimes” (or most of the time) useful. You do not want to bring all evidence against the usefulness of visual representations in the communication of knowledge because that is not true.

Using these representations has different degrees of importance in different disciplines of human sciences (whichever you are interested in). In psychology, usually, brain illustrations are used to help the audience understand how the brain functions. In social sciences, charts and graphs are commonly used as visual representations for the results of statistics and surveys alongside diagrams.

In economics, visual representation is a crucial element in the communication of knowledge. You can find many more examples in other disciplines of human sciences. In mathematics, most of the time, mathematicians only communicate knowledge through numbers, especially in pure mathematics. However, in applied mathematics images and diagrams are often used. Remember, some branches of applied mathematics are cross-disciplinary and enter the realm of human sciences, like mathematical finance, probability, risk, and statistics.

Discussing visual representations in other areas of knowledge; history, the arts, and the natural sciences. (Focus your discussion only on the human sciences and mathematics.)

Over explaining the method of communication of knowledge instead of its usefulness.

Introduce your discussion by explaining/defining visual representation, focused on the demanded areas of knowledge. Find one RLE for each AOK (and two if you have time and interest for each) and explore the helpfulness of visual representations in the communication of knowledge. It is better for one of your RLEs to “prove” the helpfulness of these representations and the other to show that they are a necessity. If you intend to find four real-life examples (two for each AOK), you can use a combination of examples with or without visual representations to guide your discussion toward one area of knowledge. Conclude based on your chosen real-life examples, that visual representations are “always” helpful in one AOK and not “always” necessary in the other. Or it is “always” helpful in both areas of knowledge. This is your essay, after all, and you can decide on the degree of the helpfulness of these representations in the communication of knowledge in the AOKs of the human sciences and mathematics.

May 2023 Title #6

To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use?

Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

Many would immediately jump into the comparison between “methodology” and “method.” Don’t do that!

One of the four elements of the TOK knowledge framework is “methods and tools.” The IB guide describes this element, “This element focuses on exploring the methods, tools and practices that we use to produce knowledge… as well as the methodologies employed by formal disciplines.” As you can see, methods and methodologies are covered by this element of the knowledge framework. It means that although there are differences between the method and the methodology that you should be aware of, and you must explore the methodologies of your real-life examples, not the methods, there is no need to explain the differences in your essay.

One of the areas of knowledge is already determined; history. A historian may interview a source as a “method” of gathering evidence. Whether the historian should interview or not is a “methodology.” Basically, in any area of knowledge, there are many methods and tools for research. Should the expert use these methods or not, or which combination of methods is better, is the methodology the expert uses to produce knowledge. Again, you do not need to explain this difference. You should only know the difference not to make a mistake and to focus your discussion on exploring the methodology used in any real-life example.

For this prescribed title, you can choose any of the other four AOKs alongside history. This is an advantage that students can choose (at least one AOK) based on their interests. Therefore, choose the area of knowledge you know well and have mastered discussing.

You intend to write your TOK essay. Which prescribed title should you choose? You can ask your TOK teacher to assign a title to you. You can brainstorm with your classmate to choose the easiest title. You can read the explanations and suggestions on the TOK website and forums. You can analyze each title yourself. Or you can choose a title randomly. These are different methods. Which methods you choose is your methodology. This is an oversimplified example for you to understand the difference between a method and methodology.

In the human sciences, surveys, interviews, analyzing past papers, observations (and many more) are research methods. Applied research, problem-oriented research, problem-solving research, qualitative research, etc., are the methodologies human scientists use. Each of these methodologies includes a combination of methods to reach the best results.

In the natural sciences, the scientific method is “the methodology;” however, scientists devise their methodologies mostly in the experiment stage of the scientific method. A scientist chooses how to perform an experiment. For example, in biology, experimental biology is opposed to theoretical biology; manipulate and observe the experiment or use mathematical modeling. There are several other methodologies that scientists use in natural sciences that you learn in your subject courses, or you can find out about them with some research.

In the arts, examining the techniques and tools that the artist use in comparison with the movement that they follow is an example of choosing different methodologies in knowledge production in arts.

In mathematics, mathematicians may choose different approaches to solve a problem; verbally, graphically, by example, etc.

Defining and comparing methods and methodologies.

Over explaining the methodology used in knowledge production. (Mention the methodology and explore “how” the usage of that methodology helped the expert produce knowledge.)

Focusing on the methods and tools, instead of the methodology.

Exploring cross-discipline studies between two (or more) areas of knowledge.

Introduce your approach to writing your TOK essay and bring a personal example (of your methodology) in studying chemistry, biology, history, etc. Choose the second AOK. Find one RLE for each AOK (and two for each if you have time and interest). Mention the methodology that the expert used in producing knowledge in that example. Explore and explain how they reached the results based on their chosen methodology. Analyze the pros and cons of using that methodology. (If possible) Anticipate what would have happened if they had chosen a different methodology. Conclude your essay by comparing different methodologies in your examples, and express “to what extent” methodologies affect the knowledge that is produced. In some areas of knowledge, methodologies do not make a big difference in the produced knowledge, and in some AOKs different methodologies result in different (or contrasting) results.

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