Human Sciences 

To what extent are the human sciences reliable? Can human behavior be subject to laws in the same ways as the material world?
 What constitutes good evidence in the human sciences? 


​The TOK Guide (2015) provides an example of a knowledge framework for Human Sciences. However, we will be creating one that relates to the concepts developed in class.  
human_sciences_knowledge_framework.pdf
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Psychology

​http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154874.php 

Brain - Language - Behavior 

Scope and Application 

Open the Google Doc title HS - KF and start developing the scope and application 
To what extent does languages proficiency influence the way humans behave? 
To what extent does languages proficiency influence the way people think?

To what extent may knowing different languages change our concept of identity?

AD: When the frog gets a kiss and turns into a prince, is it still a frog or a prince?
​Draw from your understanding of the way language and identity works to answer the question.

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 

In which ways may knowing different languages change our concept of the world?

Hypothesis I 
​Language Relativity

What are the colors of the rainbow? 
Structural differences between languages are paralleled by nonlinguistic cognitive differences

Hypothesis II
Linguistic Determinism 

How many words for "snow" do you know? 
The structure of a language can strongly influence or determine someone's world view

DA:
What do you know about the way languages are used/constructed to create meaning/knowledge?  
Translation = What have you learned so far? Are there any questions that you still have? 
Can you transform those questions into knowledge questions? 

More Historical Developments 

Ludwig Wittgenstein

The Language Games

"The meaning of a word is its use"
​

Noam
​Chomsky

Universal Grammar 

"A set of unconscious constraints that let us decide whether a sentence is correctly formed"

Answer this: 

Constructing an Imaginary Language  

Links to Personal Knowledge

Aims:

Develop an awareness of how individuals and communities construct knowledge and how this is critically examined. 

​Develop an interest in the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives and an awareness of personal and ideological assumptions. 

Instructions


Groups of 3


​Deadline: Friday, October 29th. 
1. Think of the sounds of the language (phonetics) 
2. Create the words (semantics)
3. Create the rules and grammar (syntax)
4. Design the alphabet (symbols)
5. Think about the possibility of changing the way you view normal things such as colors, members o a family or other daily concepts and create a proposal for a new way of naming such things with the language that you have created. 
​6. Be ready to present your proposal. 

Rubric