Mathematics

"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty - a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture." Bertrand Russell

"From a TOK point of view mathematics is a rather special area of knowledge. On the one hand it seems to supply a certainty often missing in other disciplines. On the other, its methods...suggest a subject matter that is removed from the real world." (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings: Alchin pages 54-58, Halmos Reading

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 5

Journal 6: read the quotation from G.H. Hardy on page 60 in your book and respond to his ideas on mathematics as a creative art

Natural Sciences

"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity." Marie Curie- Sklodowska

 

 

"The natural sciences reflect a concerted effort on the part of humans to search for understanding of the world. Like any other human endeavour, the development of scientific knowledge forms a web with more practical, even everyday, interests and concerns." (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings: Pirsig Excerpt

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 2

Human Sciences

"An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today." Laurence J. Peter

"I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this." Emo Phillips

"It is often said that human behaviour is unpredictable, and that this is what makes it impossible to study humans scientifically. But our everyday interactions depend on the fact that we do, most of the time, think we know how other people will respond to what we say or do. Does the fact that we are sometimes wrong mean that prediction of human behaviour is impossible?" (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings:

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 8

History

" History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity." Cicero

"History reflects an attempt on the part of individuals and communities to understand the temporal nature of human life. 'Remembering the past' is never straightforward." (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings: Loewen Excerpt

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 9

The Arts

" I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration. " Frida Kahlo

"I shut my eyes in order to see." Paul Gauguin

"We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth." John F. Kennedy

"'The arts is a very broad field. It is hard to say clearly what it includes; it is even harder to characterize it simply." (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings: Atwood Reading, Newall Article

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 3

Ethics

"All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God." Voltaire

"'Ethics invovles a discussion of the way we ought to live our lives, the distinctions between right and wrong, the justification of moral judgments, and the implications of moral actions for the individual and the group. " (IBO Theory of Knowledge Guide)

Required Readings: Arab News Articles

Suggested Readings: Alchin Chapter 7