Lesson 2: Does it Matter if what we

Believe is True?

Context
This lesson works well as one of the opening classes for the TOK course.

Aims
y To give an initial thrust of purpose to TOK by considering the consequences of belief.
y To introduce an approach to reading critically.
y To introduce truth tests as applicable to everyday thinking.

Class Management
Keep articles short and read them together in class. The Harem Hell article included as a student
handout could be used. The lesson requires one hour of discussion time, not necessarily
distributed evenly across articles. The follow-up discussion needs roughly half an hour.

Focus Activity
Give each student photocopies of three short articles, chosen with a range of credibility.
y An absurd newspaper article, to provoke disbelief, eg tabloid articles such as Elvis on Moon or
Sunbather Bursts into Flames on Beach.
y A newspaper article which mixes facts and values, especially in treating negatively a cultural
or national group, such as a US treatment of Arab terrorism, or an Islamic treatment of US
decadence.
y An article which is more dependable, but is still selective and interpretative, such as a passage
from a history or science textbook.
Read the articles together and discuss each one in turn.

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Lesson 2: Does it Matter if what we Believe is True?

Discussion Questions
Central Questions
1 Do you believe this article? Why, or why not?
2 Does it matter if what you believe is true?
All other questions are preliminary questions towards a fuller consideration of these two.

Preliminary Questions
y Are you familiar with the newspaper, the journal, or the author from which the articles are
taken? If so, do you consider the source to be reliable? Why, or why not?
y Are there any features of visual presentation which incline you to accept or reject before you
even read the article (eg size of headlines and typeface, accompanying photographs or
advertisements)?
y Are there any features of the language used which influence your judgment (eg sensational
phrasing, value-laden language, use of statistics, direct quotation of experts)?
y Does the article seem plausible—that is, does it make sense in terms of what you already
know?
y Does the article present any evidence that could be checked or tested?
y If you are wrong in your judgment—rejecting something that is true or accepting something
that is false—does it matter? Is your own mind or conception of reality damaged? Is anyone
hurt? What are the possible consequences of false beliefs about other national, cultural or
religious groups?

Follow-up Discussion
After the students have discussed the articles using their own vocabulary and critical response to
your questions, introduce the following general approach to assessing the credibility of the
articles. The approach should summarize points already discussed and provide a framework to be
used at other points in the course.
The Three Ss: Source, Statements, Self
1 Source: What are the characteristics of a reliable source? What are the characteristics of an
unreliable source? Does an apparently reliable source necessarily give true statements?
(Consider: reputation, qualifications, accountability.)
2 Statements: What clues to reliability are provided by the text itself? What clues to
unreliability are provided by the text itself?
3 Self: What inclination to accept or reject what you read do you notice in yourself? Are you
more inclined to read critically if something does not fit your beliefs?
Similarly, point out to students that they have used, without realizing it, philosophical tests for
truth. If this lesson is used as an opening to the course, introduce the tests lightly, to be picked up
in many other contexts later.
y Does it make sense? Is it plausible? Does it hang together?
The Coherence Test evaluates the truth of each new statement in the context of the body of
statements already accepted as true. It involves looking within the text, analytically, and
seeking rational consistency.

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Lesson 2: Does it Matter if what we Believe is True?

y Where is the evidence?

The Correspondence Test evaluates the truth of a statement on the evidence. It involves
looking outward, and checking or testing.
y What difference does it make? So what?
The Pragmatic Test evaluates the truth of a statement on the basis of its usefulness—the
workability of predictions based on it, or the practicality of its consequences. (You may wish
to distinguish between practically useful, as in science, and psychologically useful, as in the
benefit of believing self-flattering statements. The latter is not a convincing test for truth!)
You may wish to round off the lesson with a discussion of an ethical dimension to belief—that valuing
the truth and seeking to avoid harmful consequences are moral values significant in TOK discussions.

Links to Other Areas of TOK

Assessment of credibility is relevant to all areas of TOK.

From Other Times and Places

There is room for discussing national or cultural or historical points of view throughout the
lesson, depending on the discussion provoked by your choice of articles.

Quotations

One who learns without thinking is lost; one who thinks without learning is in great danger.
Confucius

Human beings are never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that
they are right.
Laurens van der Post, on Apartheid

References
A sample article, Harem Hell, is attached.

Questions
y How is the article written? Does it seem reliable?
y Exactly where does the action in this article take place? Is it geographically specific?
y Who is reported as doing the actions? Arabs? Moslems? Specific nationalities? Nomads or
urban dwellers?
y When do these practices take place? (Islam forbade the burying of babies, a practice reported
as carried on ‘until recently’. When did Islam begin?)
y What claims are made about women’s lives? Are all the examples given accurate? How might
you check? Are they all shocking?
y So what? Does it matter whether or not you believe the claims in this article? Does it matter
if you frequently encounter similar attitudes?

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Lesson 2: Does it Matter if what we Believe is True?

Student Handout

Teacher Support Material—Theory of Knowledge Lessons from Around the World © IBO, August 2000 Lesson 2—page 4
 Lesson 3: Letters from an Indian Judge
to an English Gentlewoman

Context
This lesson is useful after the introduction of the course. It shows that knowledge claims may be
heavily reliant on culture and social perspective. Because the lesson has wide application it may be
referred to throughout the course.
The lesson could also serve to consider the multiple meanings of the word culture, so relevant in
discussions of knowledge, and to consider the differences between members of any designated
group. Causes of cultural cohesion or bias can arise from a combination of geography, ethnicity,
gender, academic training and many other factors.

Aims
y To consider knowledge within a cultural context.
y To expand the concept of culture beyond the categories of race, language and nationality.
y To account for the variety of knowledge claims.
y To note the power of belief systems.

Class Management
This lesson is easily done in 45 minutes, with a reading aloud of the handout in class followed by
a discussion.

Teacher Support Material—Theory of Knowledge Lessons from Around the World © IBO, August 2000 Lesson 3—page 1