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

III. Methods and tools
Should we test people’s knowledge before
candidates.
them to participate? I’m not sure. Every person
allowing
but some voices are better informed than
matters,
As a society we all benet by increasing political
others.
But this kind of information faces tough
knowledge.
for people’s attention. The advertising
competition
of consumer goods companies—to sell you a
budgets
of shoes—are vast. Modern consumer capitalism
pair
all your attention. This doesn’t help democracy;
wants
that’s before we talk about money in politics.
and
give democracy a ghting chance, it’s vital that a
To
easy-to-use quick-to-understand service exists
brilliant
on truth—Philippines is
War
zero
patient
terms: Ressa War on
Search
Philippines Al Jazeera
truth
Ressa, journalist and founder of the news
Maria
Rappler, was honoured by TIME magazine
site
has been called a “guardian in the war on
She
(Quinn/Al Jazeera 2019). In the linked
truth”
she speaks about how social media has
video,
weaponized by authoritarian leaders in
been
What can we learn from cases where the same
1.
tools that had potential to be liberating
digital
Knowledge at the intersection of
III.1
subcultures and politics
digital
looks as if 2016 may have been the year when
It
media finally lost the ability to
mainstream
online political dialogue and debates. It
shape
remembered for the rise of post-truth politics,
is
in II.2. A lot has been written about
discussed
the phenomenon of fake news and its
how
on social media co-produced a climate of
spread
politics where the political discourse
post-truth
I came to help set up Democracy Club
Personally,
I think better political decision-making is critical
because
every aspect of our society. It determines if our society
to
better, if we can reduce suering and increase
gets
and whether we make better-evidenced
wellbeing,
In theory, democracy harnesses the ‘wisdom
decisions.
the crowd’, i.e. together we know more than alone.
of
good access to information, a thriving debate, then
With
decision taken after a vote, it seems likely you will get
a
outcomes. So democracy is extrinsically useful.
better
there’s also interesting evidence that suggests it is
But
important too: we literally feel better when
intrinsically
people don’t know what is real and
“When
is fake, when facts don’t matter, then
what
voice with the loudest megaphone
the
more power … . Free speech is being
gains
How are the processes of producing and
3.
disinformation similar to or
disseminating
from how knowledge is produced
different
shared?
and
How has the rise in the power of networks
4.
the influence of individuals over
affected
Is it any more or less possible to
politics?
significant political change as an
create
increasingly disconnected from facts and
become
claims.
evidence-based
increase in fake news is widely viewed as a
The
to democracy. There has been a fast and
threat
response by educators towards equipping
robust
people with the tools for intellectual
young
on the post-truth internet. Studies
self-defence
shown that younger people on average
have
significantly less likely to believe and repost
are
fake news. Indeed, the single most reliable
2
we feel we have a say in issues that are aecting us.”
to provide this information.
For discussion
as Person of the Year in 2018.
used to stifle free speech.” (Ressa 2019)
What kinds of knowledge does Ressa
2.
are required to defend truth and
suggest
democracy against disinformation today?
the Philippines, and her battle against it.
individual?
are instead weakening democracies?
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