Why did I choose this TOK question?
Personally, “Doubt is the key to knowledge” is a very thought-provoking Persian Proverb. We usually associate knowledge with certainty and belief, which we hold them dearly throughout our whole life. The knowledge could be related to religion, science or even arts. However, is knowledge always true and certain? Could there be error in the knowledge that we know of? I would be exploring how doubt plays imperative role in the field of science to gain the most accurate knowledge.
On the other hand, the proverb brings across the message that doubt is inevitable for knowledge acquisition. However, I would like to challenge the question by exploring infants’ primitive reflexes. How infants acquire certain cognition …show more content…
By claiming that “Doubt is the key to knowledge", there is an assumption that knowledge cannot be automatically known or discovered without the existence of preliminary trigger, which in the case is the presence of substantial doubt. Psychologists state that infant’s possess primitive reflexes that allow them to perform actions critical to their early survival.
Primitive reflexes are reflex actions that originate in the central nervous system. They are exhibited normal infants, but not neurologically intact adults, in response to particular stimuli. For instance, palmer reflex in infants is the automatic flexing of fingers to grab an object and should integrate by six months. Another example would be the rooting reflex, which assists in the act of breastfeeding and is activated by stroking a baby’s cheek, causing her to turn and open her mouth. The infant’s knowledge of when to grab the object and when to open his/her mouth do not derive from doubt. The knowledge has already been implanted in the brain since birth. Hence, through this real-life situation, we can see how doubt is not pivotal for knowledge
Personally, “Doubt is the key to knowledge” is a very thought-provoking Persian Proverb. We usually associate knowledge with certainty and belief, which we hold them dearly throughout our whole life. The knowledge could be related to religion, science or even arts. However, is knowledge always true and certain? Could there be error in the knowledge that we know of? I would be exploring how doubt plays imperative role in the field of science to gain the most accurate knowledge.
On the other hand, the proverb brings across the message that doubt is inevitable for knowledge acquisition. However, I would like to challenge the question by exploring infants’ primitive reflexes. How infants acquire certain cognition …show more content…
By claiming that “Doubt is the key to knowledge", there is an assumption that knowledge cannot be automatically known or discovered without the existence of preliminary trigger, which in the case is the presence of substantial doubt. Psychologists state that infant’s possess primitive reflexes that allow them to perform actions critical to their early survival.
Primitive reflexes are reflex actions that originate in the central nervous system. They are exhibited normal infants, but not neurologically intact adults, in response to particular stimuli. For instance, palmer reflex in infants is the automatic flexing of fingers to grab an object and should integrate by six months. Another example would be the rooting reflex, which assists in the act of breastfeeding and is activated by stroking a baby’s cheek, causing her to turn and open her mouth. The infant’s knowledge of when to grab the object and when to open his/her mouth do not derive from doubt. The knowledge has already been implanted in the brain since birth. Hence, through this real-life situation, we can see how doubt is not pivotal for knowledge