Tok Essay
New TOK Essay
Topic 3: There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false. Discuss this claim.
I’d always believed that the truth was a rather simple idea. To me, it was something that was true or correct or existing in this world. But after all the discussions in TOK, with family and with friends, and after deep rumination on the subject, I’ve realized that’s it’s a much more broad, complex and often mind-boggling concept. However, now I see that there are essentially three main factors that lead us to accepting something as the truth: a strong emotional belief, our senses (particularly sight) and applied logic and reasoning. These are in fact three of the ways of knowing. Language is used to aid the acceptance of a truth but in the end, we only accept it if we emotionally believe in it or if it fits into our logic and reasoning. Throughout the course of this essay, I will analyze whether the truths determined by these factors (or ways of knowing) are absolute (always true, without any conditions) or relative to the circumstances within which they are accepted. If the truths are absolute, that will show that there is an absolute distinction between what is true and what is false.
Let us consider the first factor – emotional belief. As humans, we all have emotions, and so whether we like it or not, our emotions affect our acceptance of ideas or events or any particular subject as a truth. However, sometimes, emotions become the basis for the acceptance of a truth. Perhaps the most common example where this is seen is with the idea of God. Personally, I am still debating the nature and existence of God, but I have seen many people, within my extended family itself, that believe in God (a higher power) solely because of a strong, emotional belief that God exists. I have asked them why they believe in God and most of the time, they are surprised by the question. The answer I quite often get is “if God didn’t exist, then how were we
Topic 3: There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false. Discuss this claim.
I’d always believed that the truth was a rather simple idea. To me, it was something that was true or correct or existing in this world. But after all the discussions in TOK, with family and with friends, and after deep rumination on the subject, I’ve realized that’s it’s a much more broad, complex and often mind-boggling concept. However, now I see that there are essentially three main factors that lead us to accepting something as the truth: a strong emotional belief, our senses (particularly sight) and applied logic and reasoning. These are in fact three of the ways of knowing. Language is used to aid the acceptance of a truth but in the end, we only accept it if we emotionally believe in it or if it fits into our logic and reasoning. Throughout the course of this essay, I will analyze whether the truths determined by these factors (or ways of knowing) are absolute (always true, without any conditions) or relative to the circumstances within which they are accepted. If the truths are absolute, that will show that there is an absolute distinction between what is true and what is false.
Let us consider the first factor – emotional belief. As humans, we all have emotions, and so whether we like it or not, our emotions affect our acceptance of ideas or events or any particular subject as a truth. However, sometimes, emotions become the basis for the acceptance of a truth. Perhaps the most common example where this is seen is with the idea of God. Personally, I am still debating the nature and existence of God, but I have seen many people, within my extended family itself, that believe in God (a higher power) solely because of a strong, emotional belief that God exists. I have asked them why they believe in God and most of the time, they are surprised by the question. The answer I quite often get is “if God didn’t exist, then how were we