Theory of Knowledge
TOK
Scientific Knowledge
• Acquired by using the scientific method– There is no real sequence of events and often the sequence is
stopped and reevaluated throughout the process– Main Stages
• Ask an interesting question• Formulate a hypothesis• Devise an experiment to test the hypothesis• Perform the experiment• Analyze the results• Publish the results• Wait for peer review
– Once the results are published other scientist repeat the experiments to test the validity
Biology has its unique struggles
• A huge part of gaining a valid TOK is to repeat the experiment multiple times with the same results.
• What inherent problem does experimenting with living organisms create as far as validating experimental results?
Another twist with living subjects
• Living things are variable – No two individuals will
respond identically to the same set of circumstances
– No two individuals have the same exact physiology
• Human beings are suggestible– If a human thinks a
drug is going to heal them they often feel better
– Drug testing often is done with the drug and a placebo – no one but the administers know who gets what drug
Ethical Questions
• Most humans use the principle that living things should be free to continue living unmolested
• With this in mind to what extent and to what end are humans justified in interfering with other living things our search for knowledge?
Discussion Questions• A project to look at the effectiveness of a cure for a cat flu that you
intend to test on cats.• A project to look for the cure for AIDS that initially tests the drug for
toxicity using mice• An experiment to find out how the circulation of a horse works that
involves dissecting a dead horse.• An experiment to find out how the circulation of a horse works that
involves inserting probes into a live horse that might cause some discomfort to the horse.
• An experiment to test the depth at which humans can dive without facing physiological consequences using volunteer divers.
• Exposing people to radiation to see how it effects human health.• Performing scientific experiments on prisoners of war or of the
justice system.
More questions of Moral Acceptability
• Why is genetic engineering worse than selective breeding?• Is it okay to clone an animal but not a human?• Where do we draw the line in genetically altering human fetuses?
– Selecting the sex of the child?– Curing disease?– Enhancing intellect or athletic ability?– Making a carbon copy of yourself?
• Do we have the right to make a species extinct?– Great white sharks?– Death adder snake?– The smallpox virus?
• Does the government have the right to use research to make health decisions for the public?– Seat belt laws?– Immunizations against disease?