Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang
intentions and beliefs of their estimatorsthereality. It is the uncritical acceptance of suchthanthat is problematic. Also problematic,analysesis the disdain for, or distrust in, expertshowever,attempt cost-benefit analyses to the best ofwhoability, and the dismissal of their results intheir11, IV.2, shows that quantitativeChapterfor decisions, opinions and policiesjustificationscarry an aura of authority that is accepted toocanAs we see in that chapter, people havequickly.wrongfully convicted of crimes on the basisbeenfaulty statistics. The old adage, widely citedofoften misattributed to Mark Twain, saysandare three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies,“Thereis the inherent danger of scientific ethics:Thereinclaims to speak for the world and, in soscienceseems to be either all good or all bad. For some,Scienceis a crusading knight beset by simple-mindedscience… . For others it is science which is the enemy;mysticsgentle planet, our feel for the just, the poetic and theourare assailed by a technological bureaucracy—beautiful,antithesis of culture—controlled by capitalists withtheconcern but for prot. For some, science gives usnoself-suciency, cures for the crippled, andagriculturalglobal network of communication; for others it givesaweapons of war, a school teacher’s ery death as theusshuttle falls from grace, and the silent, deceiving,spaceChernobyl.bone-poisoningthese ideas of science are wrong and dangerous.Bothpersonality of science is neither that of a chivalrousTheChapter 4 we explore the power of metaphorInunderstanding complex ideas. Metaphorsforvalues and assumptions of the culturescarryintellectual traditions that use them.andthrough this textbook and the TOKWovenis the map metaphor of knowledge, andcoursealso shapes it. All of us should be awaredoing,the knowledge issues inherent to ethicalofclaims and justifications. Every timescientificread something that quantifies costs andyouor estimates that X number of dollarsbenefits,be saved or lost, remember how wrongwillUS government was, as recently as 2015, inthethe social cost of carbon, one of theestimatingopened this chapter with Bacon’s metaphorsWepushing past the limits of knowledgeforthe metaphorical end of the world. Nowandconsider a more recent metaphor fromlet’sM. Collins and Trevor Pinch. They likenHarryscientific enterprise to a creature fromthenor that of a pitiless juggernaut. What, then, isknightScience is a golem.science?a humanoid made by man from clay and water, with…and spells. It is powerful. It grows a little moreincantationsevery day. It will follow orders, do your work,powerfulprotect you from the ever threatening enemy. But itandclumsy and dangerous. Without control, a golem mayisits masters . . . .destroyis also worth noting that in the mediaeval tradition[I]tcreature of clay was animated by having thethe‘EMETH’, meaning truth, inscribed on itsHebrewis truth that drives it on. But this does notforehead—itit understands the truth—far from it.meanPinch 2012)(Collins,metaphor too is not neutral. In Chapter 1thatbriefly discuss the importance of varyingwemetaphors to gain a more nuanced andourunderstanding of knowledge.deeperlight of this, what can you say about theInrole or power of the golem as ausefulness,IV. EthicsIV. Ethicsthe “post-truth” public sphere.most important numbers of our time.IV.4 The golem that is scienceand statistics”.Jewishmythology.For discussionThe power of metaphormetaphor for science?205
8Human scienceschapter is about the scientific answers to questions about what it is to be human, what humanThisand differences mean, what forces shape our social reality, and what responsibilities wesimilaritiestowards making a better world. There is no single authoritative source or discipline that answershavequestions, but the human sciences do manage to piece together some answers. There is certainlytheseat stake. As a result, this chapter pays particular attention to the consequences of agreementmuchdisagreement in the human sciences.andis not surprising that, of all the AOKs, theItsciences have perhaps the most poroushumandisputed boundaries. Humanity is complexandever-changing, and even if we focus onandsocial and cultural aspects of human life,thea boundary around this AOK is difficultdrawingthe interconnection of our social and physical•environmentsthe kinship and similarities among humans•other animals.andthe boundaries of the human sciencesWithinare many varied disciplines: psychology,thereanthropology, political science and soeconomics,with an even greater number of overlappingon,behavioural psychology,sub-disciplines:economics, political anthropology,behaviouraland ethnomusicology, humanethnobotanyand so the list continues.geography,I . S C O P Ebecause of:• the entanglement of culture and nature206
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8
Human sciences
chapter is about the scientific answers to questions about what it is to be human, what human
This
and differences mean, what forces shape our social reality, and what responsibilities we
similarities
towards making a better world. There is no single authoritative source or discipline that answers
have
questions, but the human sciences do manage to piece together some answers. There is certainly
these
at stake. As a result, this chapter pays particular attention to the consequences of agreement
much
disagreement in the human sciences.
and
is not surprising that, of all the AOKs, the
It
sciences have perhaps the most porous
human
disputed boundaries. Humanity is complex
and
ever-changing, and even if we focus on
and
social and cultural aspects of human life,
the
a boundary around this AOK is difficult
drawing
the interconnection of our social and physical
•
environments
the kinship and similarities among humans
•
other animals.
and
the boundaries of the human sciences
Within
are many varied disciplines: psychology,
there
anthropology, political science and so
economics,
with an even greater number of overlapping
on,
behavioural psychology,
sub-disciplines:
economics, political anthropology,
behavioural
and ethnomusicology, human
ethnobotany
and so the list continues.
geography,
I . S C O P E
because of:
• the entanglement of culture and nature
206
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