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Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of reason as a way of knowing.


mariale.iv

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Can someone please help me in finding efficient examples. If i have this then I can write a paragrah around it...its wierd i know, most have a topic then they find an example..jeje

what i was planning on doing was first define reason, then two paragraphs on strengths then two on weaknesses and finally in my conlusion what i think..how does that sound? can i get a decent grade with this outline?

anything you can tell my will help! thank youu!!

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Can someone please help me in finding efficient examples. If i have this then I can write a paragrah around it...its wierd i know, most have a topic then they find an example..jeje

what i was planning on doing was first define reason, then two paragraphs on strengths then two on weaknesses and finally in my conlusion what i think..how does that sound? can i get a decent grade with this outline?

anything you can tell my will help! thank youu!!

i think its good but it depends on what you write in the paragraphs soo we cant judge unless we see a more detailed outline (i think personally) and i think you shoul try to use examples form your life -- give it a persoal touch!!

hope this helps!!

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

im thinking in doing it on the same topic. my teacher told me it's not as easy as it looks and that i should avoid it and spend my time on another topic in which its supposed to be easier to get a higher grade. anyway, i think its the easiest.

i might do something like;

-introduction

- pro

- against (related to the first pro)

- pro 2

- against 2

and so on

- evaluation

i think i should read, descartes, saint agustin, kant, Dostoevsky, and then ive been told that i should research cristianism and literature s. XX

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Think about what reason makes possible and then think what is only possible when reason is coupled with something else like perception and language.

This topic isn't easy per se, but it is easy to find weaknesses in reason. Take computers for example that run on reason, what can they accomplish that humans can't? What can't they accomplish that humans can?

For example, you cannot use reason to process information if you cannot PERCEIVE it. Furthermore you cannot communicate your results computed with reason to others without language. The point is, reason is only a tool it is practically useless without the other WoK because we cannot share information and knowledge the way we do without perception and language. You wouldn't even want to share information if it weren't for emotion.

The most important thing I would touch on is of course science. Here I would also use another culture that is non-Western that does not rely so heavily on science to contrast the Western world's dependency on science.

helpful?

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thank u a looot

do i have to write or mention any classical philosophers in my tok essay, or it doesnt really matter?

I wouldn't say that you have to. It is of course helpful if you do make claims or assertions that philosophers have made to properly reference them - but certainly not necessary. I'd take a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalism. Kant actually wrote a long Critique of Pure Reason which could be useful. Check the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy too: http://plato.stanford.edu/.

The most important thing is for you to include real-world examples. The best kind of example is one you can use throughout your essay making tiny modifications that completely change the underlying assumptions of the original example, making it easier to bring up counterclaims.

good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

could i do something like empiricism vs. rationalism focusing on the weaknesses of reason compared to perception or experience

i get the fact that its something i cant entirely get on the internet, but im just not able to think all this stuff by myself. ive looked on the websites posted in... general info? but i only found a couple of good ones which clearly state the weaknesses and not just fallacies.

just wanted to make sure im on the right track before i start writing the essay

thanks =)

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  • 3 weeks later...

i like your thoughts about discussing the strengths and weaknesses of reason as it pertains to rationalism, but would you pit rationalism against the strengths and weaknesses of empiricism? i'm not quite clear on that, anuskina.

although not exactly easy, this seems to be the straightforward one of all 10. most of them are quote-based, which i dislike.

the problem i have with this one is i'm not sure how many arguments i should include. i'm currently brainstorming and outlining, but i don't want to come up with too few or too many arguments. if i'm to point out the strengths and weaknesses of reason in the AOK, how many should i discuss? and if i'm to compare its strengths and weaknesses with those of another WOK, how many should i include in my comparison?

tok sucks.

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I would never do more than two AoK or two WoK. In ToK it's quality not quantity ;)

Anuskina - I don't think your job here is to dig up an old debate between empiricism and rationalism - you need to see how reason has weaknesses in the setting of the real world. The major weakness of reason is that on its own it is useless. That should be enough to go on. You'll have to think for yourself, we can only help you open your mind to explore the possibilities.

P.S. You should check the marked essays also to see what scores well and what doesn't.

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  • 2 weeks later...

ok. i think im finally done with the research. ive read quite a lot and even though most of it was interesting, it hasnt really helped me what to a priori knowledge is.

i first started reading about empiricism and rationalism and critiques on both of them. from all that ive found that 15% of it was relevant to my topic, so if u have time and ure willing to spend it infront of a computer go for it

my outline basically contains how emotions and beliefs interfere, sense perceptions and how we are deceived in contrast with reason, experience vs mere reason there i talk about kant and descartes, a little bit about math, science and metaphysics, lots of examples....

the sad thing is that im not able to write the essay cuz i start typing and after a while i realize i lost the point and that what ive been writting has nothing to do with the topic

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Make a web structure of epistemology.

-its position in relation to whole study of philosophy

-understand the position of major theories of and perspectives on -justification, -truth, -belief

-learn about major philosophers and their major viewpoints/theories in relation to epistemological issues

Then write your paper. You'll do better.

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  • 1 month later...

Evaluate the strenghts and weaknesses of reason as a way of knowing?

I think reason has more weaknesses than strenghts but is it true that we have to right 2 paragraphs for pro and 2 for against.

Should we include personal experiences in the essay?

I'll really appreciate you help.

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(Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of reason as a way of knowing)

Hello,

I've decided to base my TOK essay on this topic, because I think its the most straight -forward of the group. But, I'm having some trouble starting my essay. How can I define reason, or reasonable knowledge? What makes something reasonable? I don't know how to begin the essay, but I do have a couple of ideas for the body. Any help for the introduction will be greatly appreciated. I'm having a very hard time. Thanks a lot.

I already have a couple of ideas about the strengths of using reason, but I don't think my ideas are that strong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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(Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of reason as a way of knowing)

Hello,

I've decided to base my TOK essay on this topic, because I think its the most straight -forward of the group. But, I'm having some trouble starting my essay. How can I define reason, or reasonable knowledge? What makes something reasonable? I don't know how to begin the essay, but I do have a couple of ideas for the body. Any help for the introduction will be greatly appreciated. I'm having a very hard time. Thanks a lot.

I already have a couple of ideas about the strengths of using reason, but I don't think my ideas are that strong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

And what are the ideas? Telling us that might make it easier for us to help you

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a separate question, so I apologize for being unable to help with any of yours.

I'm trying to find examples which illustrate confirmation bias in the human and natural sciences, and I seem to have hit a roadblock there.

Do any of you have suggestions for how I could best show how our reasoning is sometimes impaired in these disciplines?

Thanks in advance,

AlphaMagnum

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