TOK ESSAY
Question 6
“PRESENT KNOWLEDGE IS WHOLLY DEPENDENT ON PAST KNOWLEDGE.” DISCUSS
THIS CLAIM WITH REFERENCE TO TWO AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE.
Word count: 1590
Many people tried to answer the notion of knowledge and its definition.The basic definition of Knowledge
is an awareness and familiarity with different objects, ideas or ways of doing things. To further understand
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this concept we can refer back to different philosophical ideas and perceptions. According to Bertrand
Russell, a British philosopher, knowledge can be divided into 2 distinct categories: Knowledge by
acquaintance and knowledge by description. Knowledge by acquaintance consists of knowledge entirely
based on personal experience, acquired through our existence. Examples include places we have visited
and experiences we had done. On the other hand, knowledge by description, is knowledge we have not
directly experienced, such as autobiography. It is also important to underline a border between present
knowledge and past knowledge. Present knowledge is the knowledge that we are experiencing in the
present, today and what exists now. While past knowledge is all the knowledge acquired before this exact
moment. But how can we answer the question “How is knowledge created?”, personal experience and
perception, are the two key features in creating knowledge.
Many people stated that, to further expand our knowledge we require a pre-existing awareness of the
subject. Although in particular situations, past knowledge can either be irrelevant or unhelpful, resulting in
the subjectiveness in the relation of present and past knowledge.
To further discuss the notion “Present knowledge is wholly dependent on past knowledge,” I am going to
