4 TOK Essay Exemplar 
“There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false”. Discuss this claim.
Theory of Knowledge
Name: XXXXXXX
Instructor: XXXXXXX
IB Candidate Number: XXXX-XXX
May 2011
Word count: 1407
There is a small shudder that crawls through my spine whenever someone claims that they are in the search of an “absolute truth”; If the claim is not confined within the realm of mathematics, it makes even less sense to be able to claim such truth. An absolute is a statement that claims to hold true as a universal, that is, in every situation, circumstance and point in time. It is only within mathematics, wherein a binary truth-false system holds that we are able to discern a true from a false. This essay will argue that, within mathematics, the claim to an absolute truth is warped and self-contradicting, and as a result, processes that search for truths outside mathematics are to be contained within their respective realms of applicability. In other words, the soundness of a truth should not be based on an absolute dichotomy, but rather as a spectrum of validity where locality and scope are cornerstones of validity. Let us however, allow this essay to begin the discussion by assuming that such absolute distinctions are plausible. In mathematics, a truth is defined as any statement that can be deduced from a logical, valid, sound process with the respective given assumptions. In other words, a truth is something that, assuming the same axioms, should follow directly with the irrefutable laws of logic. A falsehood must therefore be any statement or claim that cannot be sustained by a valid logical process with the given assumptions. Let’s take the example of Pythagoras, whose famous theorem is ubiquitous to this day. Pythagoras assumed a Euclidean plane system and used past theorems to prove his own. It is not his proof that will be the focus of this essay, but the process. Pythagoras developed his proof through the method of abstraction, that is,
Theory of Knowledge
Name: XXXXXXX
Instructor: XXXXXXX
IB Candidate Number: XXXX-XXX
May 2011
Word count: 1407
There is a small shudder that crawls through my spine whenever someone claims that they are in the search of an “absolute truth”; If the claim is not confined within the realm of mathematics, it makes even less sense to be able to claim such truth. An absolute is a statement that claims to hold true as a universal, that is, in every situation, circumstance and point in time. It is only within mathematics, wherein a binary truth-false system holds that we are able to discern a true from a false. This essay will argue that, within mathematics, the claim to an absolute truth is warped and self-contradicting, and as a result, processes that search for truths outside mathematics are to be contained within their respective realms of applicability. In other words, the soundness of a truth should not be based on an absolute dichotomy, but rather as a spectrum of validity where locality and scope are cornerstones of validity. Let us however, allow this essay to begin the discussion by assuming that such absolute distinctions are plausible. In mathematics, a truth is defined as any statement that can be deduced from a logical, valid, sound process with the respective given assumptions. In other words, a truth is something that, assuming the same axioms, should follow directly with the irrefutable laws of logic. A falsehood must therefore be any statement or claim that cannot be sustained by a valid logical process with the given assumptions. Let’s take the example of Pythagoras, whose famous theorem is ubiquitous to this day. Pythagoras assumed a Euclidean plane system and used past theorems to prove his own. It is not his proof that will be the focus of this essay, but the process. Pythagoras developed his proof through the method of abstraction, that is,
Cited: Eugene Wigner, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences,” in Communications in Pure and Applied Mathematics, vol. 13, No. I (February 1960). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright 1960 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Singh,Simon. Fermat’s Engima: The Quest to Solve the World’s Greatest Mathematical Problem. Walker & Co., 1997. The New York Times on the Web Books. 1997. 14 May 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/singh-fermat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>. Reflection Questions This essay scored a 38/40. Why did it do so well? Using good example to explain his idea What could it improve upon? What do you understand better about a TOK essay now that you have seen this example?