Introduction
Ranking WOKs Although there are eight ways of knowing, they are not necessarily equally important. Many people think that the two key WOKs are reason and sense perception, but opinions differ about the relative merits of all eight. For example, while some people believe that faith is a key source of knowledge, others think that it does not give us knowledge at all. The IB suggests that you study four of the eight WOKs in depth, but it also encourages you to take seriously the idea that every WOK has something to contribute to knowledge.
Schools of thought Historically, there have been different schools of thought associated with different WOKs.You can get a sense of four key movements from the following one-sentence descriptions and quotations. a. Empiricism. Empiricism claims that all knowledge is ultimately based on perceptual experience. ‘No man’s knowledge can go beyond his experience’ (John Locke, 1632–1704). b. Rationalism. Rationalism holds that reason rather than experience is the most important source of knowledge. ‘Reason is an universal instrument that is... available on every occasion’ (René Descartes, 1596–1650). c. Romanticism. Romanticism emphasises the importance of intuitions, emotions and imagination for making sense of the world. ‘Axioms in philosophy are not axioms until they are proved upon our pulses’ (John Keats, 1795–1821). d. Fideism. Fideism holds that knowledge is ultimately based on faith. ‘It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all’ (G. K. Chesterton, 1874–1936). You might be interested to research the above views further online to see if you find any of them plausible.
WOKs and AOKs Since the eight WOKs seemingly cover all sources of knowledge, it follows that the various areas of knowledge are ultimately based on them. However, it would be a mistake to think that each AOK is simply an amalgam of different WOKs; for this overlooks the fact that each one has a distinctive scope, method and history. (We will say more about this when we discuss the Knowledge Framework at the beginning of Part 3.) Nevertheless, you might still think that some WOKs are more closely connected with some AOKs than with others – for example, sense perception with science, reason with mathematics, imagination with the arts, and faith with religion. There may be an element of truth in this, but we should avoid simplistic caricatures. We should, for example, ask ourselves what role imagination and faith might have in the sciences. By thinking in this way we can gain a more sophisticated understanding of the various AOKs.
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