Theory of Knowledge (Tok) - Language
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TOK Essay - Language
“Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?”
Language, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way”. However, in Theory of Knowledge we see that it is so much more than that, as the Oxford Dictionary limits language to “the use of words in a structured and conventional way”, whereas we see that words do not have to be used to communicate something to another being, as we are often able to communicate to animals which do not understand our system of communicating, as well as in body language, where we even subconsciously convey to others. However one may question whether language plays roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge, especially in the four most contrasting areas: history, art and mathematics. Language as a concept is abstract, as we as humans have named something that was not invented; it simply exists as part of the many laws of nature. Organisms need to communicate with one another in order to qualify as being alive. Language is a method of communicating with other organisms. It is not only a very specific concept, as it has one and only direct purpose, but also a vague one as there are almost infinite methods of communication. In history, language is used to preserve facts concerning past events and to then communicate these events to organisms present and/or in the future. In art, the purpose of language is a complex concept due to the great variety of the techniques of applying language in each of the sub-components of this Area of Knowledge; including visual arts, performing arts, music, literature and many others. In the scientific area of knowledge language is used to describe, communicate and analyse empirical data. In mathematics, the sole role of language is to convey the logic of the laws of the universe to us as humans. Language is used to a...
“Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?”
Language, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way”. However, in Theory of Knowledge we see that it is so much more than that, as the Oxford Dictionary limits language to “the use of words in a structured and conventional way”, whereas we see that words do not have to be used to communicate something to another being, as we are often able to communicate to animals which do not understand our system of communicating, as well as in body language, where we even subconsciously convey to others. However one may question whether language plays roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge, especially in the four most contrasting areas: history, art and mathematics. Language as a concept is abstract, as we as humans have named something that was not invented; it simply exists as part of the many laws of nature. Organisms need to communicate with one another in order to qualify as being alive. Language is a method of communicating with other organisms. It is not only a very specific concept, as it has one and only direct purpose, but also a vague one as there are almost infinite methods of communication. In history, language is used to preserve facts concerning past events and to then communicate these events to organisms present and/or in the future. In art, the purpose of language is a complex concept due to the great variety of the techniques of applying language in each of the sub-components of this Area of Knowledge; including visual arts, performing arts, music, literature and many others. In the scientific area of knowledge language is used to describe, communicate and analyse empirical data. In mathematics, the sole role of language is to convey the logic of the laws of the universe to us as humans. Language is used to a...