TOKAcross

the Curriculum

Knower(s)

Groups 1 and 2

Can translations ever be trusted to carry the original intent?

Do people who speak different languages live in different worlds?

How is communication affected when older generations do not know modern meanings?

2009 GOP mantra: “We are going to do lots of tea bagging!”

Through literature, how can we gain understanding of different cultures?

vs.vs.

Can you have a thought if you do not have a word for it?

Group 3

Since history is always being rewritten, can it ever be trusted as absolute truth?

Should history be held to the same investigative requirements as science?

In the soft sciences (psychology, sociology, etc.) do we ever actually get closer to the “truth,” or do we just establish new paradigms?

Group 4

How reliable is the scientific method?

Knowledge Issues:

- data collection

- emotional interference

- manipulation of statistics

Is inductive reasoning in science (particular to general) more reliable than deductive reasoning in mathematics (general to particular)?

Could Science exist independent from mathematics?

Group 5

Are the formulas on which math depend always absolute? Can they undergo change?

Since math and God are the only absolutes, is math synonymous with God, as Bertrand Russell suggested?

Beauty in Mathematics?

Group 6

Can “the beautiful” be defined by an expert?

What is the nature of the beautiful?

• Full nudity has gained much wider acceptance in European cinema and television, where in contrast to their US counterparts the audience perceive nudity and sexuality in general as less objectionable than the depiction of violence

Ethics

Ought ethical standards be relative or absolute?

Ethics:

Ought man guide his life by the common good or personal satisfaction?

- falsify statistics

- use data from the Holocaust

- give placebo

Ethics:

Should we judge actions by the motive or the consequence?

- Hiroshima

- Obama’s bailouts

Sense Perception:

Perception:

Perception:Pirana- Brazil, One-Two-Many

Emotion:

Emotion:

Reason: Can a person logically be anti-abortion and pro-death penalty?

Reason:Cost of death penalty vs. life in prison?

Language:Invasion or defense?

Language: - word play? Isn’t everyone pro-life?

Language

• To Kiss

une bise (kiss on cheek)

un bisou (smooch/peck)

un baiser (kiss, but as verb to f---)

un palot (French kiss)

Can we

separate

the knower

from

the known?