Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

regards to the communication of science
With
the general public, consider two different
to
that the wide dissemination
perspectives:
scientific knowledge supports the public
of
of science, versus the view that
understanding
sciencenegatively affects scientific
popular
first perspective is fairly well established.
The
examples can you recall from your home
What
second perspective may appear more
The
An article published in
counter-intuitive.
journal Public Understanding of Science
the
that popular science communication is
argues
physicist Max Planck once said
Theoretical
thefollowing.
though, science is shaped less by
Perhaps
“series of funerals” than by rows of fresh
a
graduates. For more than 150 years
science
scientists have had to go through some
now,
of formal training, unlike the nature-loving
sort
amateurs of the Early Modern
gentlemen
Indeed, one of the most important tasks
period.
the scientific community at any given time
of
to educate and train the new generation of
is
and to do it well. But what does “well”
scientists,
This process, through which future
mean?
learn what science is and how it is
scientists
defines the character of science for the next
done,
It is also a deeply political task, with
generation.
such as what is included and excluded
questions
the curriculum, which values are passed
from
contributing to overconfidence among non-
in their ability to understand and
scientists
scientific claims, and more critical
evaluate
towards scientific experts (Sharrer et
views
2017). What examples and different kinds
al
evidence have you seen that support this
of
perspective?
exploration of different perspectives
The
central to TOK. Are the perspectives
is
above supported by well-chosen
described
well-explained examples from the real
and
What factors determined whether
world?
scientific communication had a positive
the
negativeeffect? Why is it that in issues of
or
sometimes one thing happens, and
knowledge
and what kind of outlook is cultivated with
on,
to science itself and its wider societal role.
regard
science classes are a way of socializing you
Your
the culture of the scientific community (that
into
enculturating you)—this is where you are
is,
the norms of good science, shown how
taught
properly perform various scientific skills, and
to
the story of how science came to be. Who
told
decided these things for you, and how can
has
exercise agency in the matter?
you
enculturation typically happens within
This
disciplines. You might be learning
scientific
to think like a physicist, biologist, chemist,
how
geographer and so on. Textbooks do
ecologist,
lot of this enculturation work, and they do
a
in part by telling the foundational stories of
it
discipline, about the people and events that
the
the discipline. Let’s look at one such
defined
central to biology classes and textbooks
story,
the world.
around
tension between simplicity and complexity in
The
appears repeatedly in this chapter, and we
science
it further in the context of reductionism
examine
III.5. As you read on, keep this tension in mind.
in
to connect what Mendel’s peas, laboratory
Try
and the relationships between
experiments
II. Perspectives
II. Perspectives
Practising skills: Exploring perspectives
literacy.
context in support of this view?
at other times the opposite happens?
II.5 The student of science
A new scientic truth does not triumph by convincing
its opponents and making them see the light, but
rather because its opponents eventually die, and a
new generation grows up that is familiar with it.
(Planck, translated by Gaynor 1968)
organism and environment have in common.
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