Identity and Worldview (DP IB Theory of Knowledge): Revision Note

Identity and worldview

• Acceptance or rejection of knowledge claims can be shaped by someone’s identity and worldview

  • Identify: how a person sees themselves, and is seen by others, in relation to a community

    • This affects how a knowledge claim is evaluated, because listeners may trust or doubt a claim depending on the role of the speaker within the community

  • Worldview: the set of assumptions a community uses to make sense of knowledge and evidence

    • This shapes interpretation because it influences which features are treated as relevant and which are ignored

    • It can also shape standards of evidence because it affects what kinds of support are seen as convincing

Communities of knowers

• The community of knowers you belong to will shape what you accept as knowledge. As DP students, you receive knowledge in a particular way: from an expert (your teacher) and in compartmentalised, specialised subjects

• Cognitive dominance suggests this is the “normal” or “best” way to structure knowledge, creating a hierarchical structure

• However, many Indigenous knowledge traditions acquire knowledge differently: through elders, real-life experience and a holistic understanding of the world

• Globalisation of English means that some languages and knowledge expressed only in those languages are lost or undervalued

• The "Western" scientific method is highly respected, but sustainability and living in harmony with natural resources is one example of an area where Indigenous knowledge traditions offer significant insight

• Power dynamics between those inside and outside communities of knowers may result in one perspective being privileged and respected over another