Knowlege & Doubt
The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge.
What is epistemology?
These are the four main Ways of Knowing in TOK.
What are language, sense perception, reason, and emotion?
This is the hypothetical being Descartes imagined to deceive him.
What is the Evil Demon?
In this movie, a wooden puppet wants to become a real boy similar to how Descartes wants to know what’s really real.
What is Pinnochio?
This term refers to how personal experiences shape how we interpret the world.
What is perspective?
In TOK, this is defined as justified true belief.
What is knowledge?
The Evil Demon mainly undermines this Way of Knowing.
What is sense perception?
The Evil Demon was used by Descartes to question the reliability of these.
What are the senses?
This princess thinks she knows who she is until a magical journey across the ocean helps her discover her true identity.
What is Moana?
Descartes’ skeptical method attempts to remove these from knowledge acquisition.
What are biases?
The Evil Demon creates this kind of doubt about reality.
What is radical (or hyperbolic) doubt?
This WOK is involved when we assess whether the Evil Demon hypothesis is logically possible.
What is reason?
Descartes used this method to arrive at certain knowledge.
What is methodological doubt (or radical doubt)?
In this movie, memories are literally bottled up and erased, raising questions about how memory shapes knowledge.
What is inside out?
This WOK is influenced by our personal and cultural perspectives.
What is emotion?
Descartes’ Evil Demon suggests we may be living in a version of this modern simulation theory.
What is the Matrix?
This WOK is deeply personal and might not be affected by Descartes' Evil Demon.
What is emotion?
What was Descartes trying to find by doubting everything?
What is truth?
This Disney character lives in a simulation run by a powerful being just like Descartes’ Evil Demon
What is Wreck it Ralph?
Thinking that our perspective is the only valid one is an example of this.
What is egocentrism?
This term refers to knowledge that comes from reason alone.
What is a priori knowledge?
When we express doubt, we use this WOK to communicate it.
What is language?
What senses does the Evil Demon make us doubt?
What are sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell?
Who is the rat in Rattatoullie
Remy
The Evil Demon can be a metaphor for this modern concern in TOK: that our worldview is manipulated by external influences like media or algorithms.
What is conformation bias?