A model is a simplified representation of some aspect of the world. In what ways may models help or hinder the search for knowledge?
The essence of the Q: There are a range of key words here - 'model', 'simplified representation', 'world', 'help', 'hinder' and of course 'knowledge'. If you remember back to the end of your first ever TOK session, we asked you to come back for the next session with a 'model' of knowledge. it could have been any two or three dimensional representation of knowledge; in other words, something that embodied either of the WoKs or AoKs. Some of your 'models' were things like an i-pod or mobile phone or an old photograph - your explanations, as we recall, were splendid. Some of you simply brought yourselves, which was a little lazy, but nevertheless cleverly done. Now try to think further about this analogy of a 'model', for that is the central aspect of the Q. You have to think of other words for 'model' depending on the perspective you're approaching knowledge. What word would an artist use? What about a scientist? A mathematician or historian? Do we have any 'models' in our search for finding answers to what we ought to do in ethical situations? Then you have to think critically about the words 'simplified representation' - this phrase brings in the issue of trust and truth: how far do our 'models' correspond to reality and how can we ensure that they do? Once you have answered these questions, you should be able to decide whether 'models' help or himnder in the search for knowledge.
Knowledge Issues: To what extent is imagination important in the search for knowledge? How far is the attempt to represent the world limited by our perceptions? In what ways can we ensure that our 'models' of the world are reliable? To what extent is language necessary in creating our models? How far is it true to say that there are some aspects of the world that defy representation or modelling? What happens when we accept a distorded model/representation of the world? Why do we need modelsrepresentations at all? How far do cultural issues interfere with the modelling process? How far are the models of the Sciences and Maths more reliable than those of other AoKs?
Approaches: Perhaps Maths and the Natural and Human Science are the AoKs in which modelling takes place the most. Mathematical equations, as you found out recently, explain alot about how the world works but in a way that we can hardly understand. Science, you also realised, never gives 'proof' of anything (at least not 'good' science), but instead produces 'evidence' to support certain hypotheses about the world. These hyptheses often turn out to be wild and outrageous or even wrong. Historians also attempt to model the past, don't they? How? And are these representations reliable? You can make an interesting case for the Arts, after all, 'modelling' is really something with which an artist is familiar. Finally, you might come up against a major problem when it comes to the Ethical issues of right or wrong: do we have a 'model' to which we can turn to decide the outcome of an ethical dilemma? Can you say to someone who asks you if she should go ahead with her abortion: 'Just a minute, here's a model of this situation I created earlier. It'll help you decide.'? Perhaps not. There is no template or guide to tell us how to behave in certain moral situatiosn, or is there?
