
1. Do we gain a better appreciation of the human experience from the artist or the historian?
Discuss with reference to the arts and history.
2. If values change over time, how can they, nevertheless, continue to guide the pursuit of knowledge?
Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
3. In the production of knowledge, how can knowledge be reliable if it is built on assumptions?
Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.
4. To what extent do you agree with the claim that
“any coincidence is worth noticing; you can throw it away later if it is only a coincidence” (Agatha Christie).
Answer with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
5. In the production of knowledge, when choosing one explanation over another, to what extent should simplicity be prioritized?
Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. In the pursuit of knowledge, what value is there in exploring the paradoxical or the counterintuitive?
Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
-
What counts as knowledge?
-
Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?
-
What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?
-
On what grounds might we doubt a claim?
-
What counts as good evidence for a claim?
-
How does the way that we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know?
-
What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?
-
To what extent is certainty attainable?
-
Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?
-
What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?
-
Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?
-
Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge?
-
How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?
-
Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?
-
What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?
-
Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?
-
Why do we seek knowledge?
-
Are some things unknowable?
-
What counts as a good justification for a claim?
-
What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?
-
What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?
-
What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?
-
How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
-
How might the context in which knowledge is presented influence whether it is accepted or rejected?
-
How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?
-
Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
-
Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?
-
To what extent is objectivity possible in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
-
Who owns knowledge?
-
What role does imagination play in producing knowledge about the world?
-
How can we judge when evidence is adequate?
-
What makes a good explanation?
-
How is current knowledge shaped by its historical development?
-
In what ways do our values affect our acquisition of knowledge?
-
In what ways do values affect the production of knowledge?
-
Is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history?
Discuss with reference to the arts and history.
---- -
How can we reconcile the opposing demands for specialization and generalization in the production of knowledge?
Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
---- -
Nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them?
Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.
---- -
Do we underestimate the challenges of taking knowledge out of its original context and transferring it to a different context?
Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
---- -
Do we need custodians of knowledge?
Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
---- -
Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest?
Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
Visitors online