Sense Perception 

"Two Thirds of what we see is behind our eyes. 

Almost everyone would agree that our senses are important sources of knowledge, thus according to one important school of philosophy ,empiricism, all knowledge is ultimately based on perceptual experience.
The WOK of Sense perception plays a key role in almost all AOK's ranging from observation in sciences, eye witness testimony in history and the ability to see things with a different perspective in visual arts.

The Senses

The traditional five human senses, today however we are not completely restricted by the senses given to us by nature. as well as being able to train our senses, we can also extend their range with the help of technology. The most obvious examples are microscopes and telescopes which enable us to study subatomic particles on the one hand and distant galaxies on the other. 

Perceptual Illusions

Despite the ease with which we perceive the world, perception is a complex process in which many things are going on below the level of conscious awareness. In simple terms, it can be thought of as consisting of two distinct elements: i) sensation(which is provided by the world)  ii) interpretation (which is provided by our mind) 

1. Context 

2. Figure and Ground

3. Visual Grouping 

4. Expectation

Seeing is believing - at the beginning of this post the idea that 'seeing is believing' but, since our beliefs and expectations can affect the way we see things. 

Eye witness testimony is the best example of fallibility of sense perception not only theoretical interest but also has important implications in the real world, eg criminal trials. 

Thus we confirm by other senses, 

The final topic in this chapter is a philosophical one concerning the extent to which perception gives us knowledge of ultimate reality.   

i) common-sense realism - What you see is what is there

ii) scientific realism - Atoms in the void

iii) phenomenalism  - To be is to be perceived

Works Cited

"Clipart Kid." Five Senses Clipart. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.clipartkid.com/five-senses-cliparts/>.

"Cognitive Sciences Beta." Http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/12902/is-there-terminology-for-perceptual-illusions-at-the-moment-that-figure-ground-r>.

Lagemaat, Richard Van De. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. Print.

"LEARNING TO SEE." IA Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://ia.net/de/know-how/learning-to-see>.

"LinKs to Interesting Web Sites." Higher Visual Areas. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.tutis.ca/Senses/L3VisualObjects/LinksL3VisualObjects.htm>.

N.p., n.d. Web.

"Perceptual Illusions." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.pinterest.com/natjeandan/perceptual-illusions/>.

Risset, Jean-Claude. "THE FUTURE OF OUR MUSIC: ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC WORLDS." Roger Reynolds. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.rogerreynolds.com/futureofmusic/risset.html>.

"Selectivity of Perception Edit 0 25…." TOKnow-11. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://toknow-11.wikispaces.com/Selectivity+of+perception>.

Lets talk about TOK !

The Theory of knowledge is a compulsory subject for any student who is planning on undertaking the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. According to me it is in fundamental nature quite parallel to the principles of epistemology courses which are taken up by university students.

Ways of Knowing

While there are arguably many ways of knowing, the TOK course identifies eight specific ways of knowing(WOKs). They are language, sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory. Students must explore a range of ways of knowing, and it is suggested that studying four of these eight in depth would be appropriate.

The WOKs have two roles in TOK:

• they underlie the methodology of the areas of knowledge

• they provide a basis for personal knowledge.

Discussion of WOKs will naturally occur in a TOK course when exploring how areas of knowledge operate. Since they rarely function in isolation, the TOK course should explore how WOKs work, and how they work together, both in the context of different areas of knowledge and in relation to the individual knower. This might be reflected in the way the TOK course is constructed. Teachers should consider the possibility of teaching WOKs in combination or as a natural result of considering the methods of areas of knowledge, rather than as separate units.

Areas of Knowledge

Areas of knowledge are specific branches of knowledge, each of which can be seen to have a distinct

nature and different methods of gaining knowledge. TOK distinguishes between eight areas of knowledge.

They are mathematics, the natural sciences, the human sciences, the arts, history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and indigenous knowledge systems. 

Students must explore a range of areas of knowledge, and it is suggested that studying six of these eight would be appropriate.

Assessment

There are two assessment tasks in the TOK course: an essay and a presentation. 

1. The essay is externally assessed by the IB, and must be on any one of the six prescribed titles issued by the IB for each examination session. The maximum word limit for the essay is 1,600 words.

2. The presentation can be done individually or in a group, with a maximum group size of three. Approximately 10 minutes per presenter should be allowed, up to a maximum of approximately 30 minutes per group. Before the presentation each student must complete and submit a presentation planning document (TK/ PPD) available in the Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme. The TK/PPD is internally assessed alongside the presentation itself, and the form is used for external moderation.

Looking forward to a journey full of insight and wit. 

xoxo

Citations

"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2016.

"Theory of Knowledge Guide." Theory of Knowledge Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2016.