To what extent do animals have language?

Language - is a system that helps one to express thoughts and feelings by sounds and signs and form relationship with other language. Language is not always verbal, some animals communicate using sign language. It is also helps the animals to detect danger or  warn other animals of the danger. Principles for combining words into meaningful sentences. It is also a combination of different sounds and collection of words. 

I think that animals have language, because without language they couldn't express their feelings and emotions, communicate with other animals by movement and sounds, form relationships or protect themselves and their families. 

Animals can't speak because they don't have physical ability, however animals like parrots can imitate sounds that they remember.

Language and Sense Perception

How do language and sense perception connect?

It is clear that somehow language and sense perception is connected. Usually when we perceive information through our senses, when can describe it or when someone describes something we can easily imagine it. Therefore, language is usually the tool with witch the sense perception is described. In order to better understand the sense perception and convey it to others, language is needed.

Metaphors for Sense Perception

Temperature (touch):

• He has a hot date tonight 
• An icy stare

Touch and Texture:

• Things are going smoothly 
• A painful lesson in life

Light (sight)

• Deep dark secret
• A rainbow of flavours 

Taste:

• Bittersweet memories 
• Ain't she sweet

Smell:

• The sweet smell of success 
• I smell a rat 

What is the Role of Sense Perception in Science

How is sense perception used in your science class?

• Smell
• Smell of different chemicals; iodine, sulphur
• Burning chemicals
• Sight 
• Observing a colour change; when observing the rate of the enzyme activity
• Touching
• Feeling different surfaces
• Temperature
• Feeling different temperatures; cold or hot water in the beaker 
• Sound
• Speed of sound in the experiment 

Perception problems: 

• Capgras Syndrome 
• E.g When a man says that his mom looks like his mom but isn't his mom (there's something wrong with the connection between face recognition and the amygdala) 
• Blindsight 
• A person can't say what he she sees, but can guess and 60% could recognise Emotional expressions 
• Asymbolia 
• Accurate report, quality, location, relative severity of pain 
• No emotional connection to pain 

Response to pain is emotional and psychological

Natural and Human sciences are not as related

Theory of Perception

What is theory of perception?

Guess: Statement that proves that the things we see, smell, taste and hear is the way that they are.

Standard theories of perception:




Direct realism: things we see, smell, taste and hear is the way that they are.
Problem: variation among individual and in self

Indirect realism: there's a real world, there are mind-independent objects, mediated (to connect, dispute) through senses, artificial stimulus of brain produces 'real' sensation 

Veil of perception: All we actually receive is the veil that cover the world, a veil that consists go our sense data.





Idealism: Inventor - Berkley;The not-so-naive but totally crazy theory of perception. God is the immediate cause of all perceptions.

Sense perception

To What Degree Should We Trust Our Senses?

Sense Perceptions:

• Goosebumps
• sweat
• tears
• feeling
• cramps
• blinking
• pain
• nausea
• shock
• adrenaline
• shivering
• soreness
• numbness
• stiffness
• balance
• proprioception

To what extent is the sense perception reliable?

First of all sense perception is selective. As a human being we choose what we want to explore and then our senses do all the work. For example in the class, our teacher made us look around the room and find all red coloured objects. Then he made us close our eyes and tell him what blue objects does he have in his classroom. By this exercise he explained how sense perception is selective.

Sense perception is selective, biological, limited and is important because without sense perception a human being couldn't move around the world or even live because he wouldn't know what's happening around him and what is dangerous and can affect his health.

Thus sense perception alone is not trustworthy, however in combination with other parts of knowing can be useful.

Ways of Knowing and the Areas of Knowledge:

Ways of Knowing (flimsier)

• Faith
• Language
• Imagination
• Memory
• Sense Perception
• Intuition
• Emotion
• Reason

Areas of Knowledge (HH Marine)

• History
• Human Science
• Math
• Arts
• Religious Knowledge
• Indigenous Knowledge
• Natural Science
• Ethics

Profile

Profile of You as a Knower

1. How old are you? How might your age affect both what you know and your attitude toward gaining knowledge?
   
   
   I am 17 years old and I think that makes a big effect on what I know and on my attitude toward gaining knowledge. My knowledge is very limited compared to my parents and grandparents. I think my attitude toward gaining knowledge is not as strong either because nowadays most of the education is free and it's really easy to just apply to a school you want to go to whereas my grandparents didn't valued the knowledge and opportunity to gain it in school more than I do now.

2. What is your mother tongue? What other languages do you speak? How might your particular language(s) affect your knowledge?
   
   
   My mother tongue is Lithuanian. I also speak English and a little bit German. The ability to speak more than one language helps me to understand and communicate with people around the world not only in one country, especially English. It also helps me understand and get to know cultures of other countries, because I can listen to different music and read books in other languages like English.

3. What sex are you? Does your gender role affect how you see the world? Does it influence your expectations of what knowledge you should gain in your education?
   
   I'm a fermale and I think it does affect how I see the world. I feel like woman in general see the world in more colours than men and see the world from more emotional perspective. However, in schools education is the same for both genders and there's much more equality in the world, not like in the past so I don't think it influences my expectations of that knowledge I should gain in my education.

4. Did you grow up in an urban area or a rural one? How might living in the countryside affect what and how you know?
   I grew up in an urban area. I think living in the countryside would help you understand more about nature and how people should treat the world because I feel like nowadays most of the people live in the cities and don't really know that they are constantly polluting the Earth by doing simple things. I also think that the countryside would also help me relax and don't feel as much stress as I do now, living in the city.

5. Have you always had enough to eat, felt safe and been able to get an education? How do you think that having these needs met – or not met – affect your present knowledge?
   
   I had always had enough to eat and I felt safe and been able to get an education. I think by having that my whole life affected my present knowledge in many different ways. Because my parents provided me with all of the aspects above and because I'm able to go to an international school that offers me cultural education, I think my knowledge is continuously increasing.

6. How would you describe your spiritual worldview? How might following a religion, or not doing so, affect your knowledge?

   
   My religion is Christianity and I was baptised and also took part in communion. However, now my religion doesn't affect my life now and it doesn't influence it as much. Therefore I don't think it affects my knowledge.

7. How do cultural influences affect how you see the world? Do you identify with a particular culture?
   
   Culture can influence the way you see the world due to different restrictions, traditions and rules different cultures have. Culture can affect your beliefs and the way you understand the world around you. My culture is Lithuanian, because I was born in Lithuania and both of my parents are Lithuanians. However I don't think my culture influenced the way I see the world because our culture is very open and we don't really have any restrictions or rules that would affect my thinking.

8. Are there any particular field of knowledge appeal to you strongly? Does your interest affect your current knowledge and your knowledge goals for the future?
   
   I'm interested in music, theatre and dance. I think it affects my knowledge about those things because I like the subjects and I want to know more about them so I read a lot about current events involving dance, music and theatre. I think it also affects my knowledge goals for the future, due to my passion for these subjects and I want to do something that involves them in the future.

What is the Theory of Knowledge?

What is TOK?

• TOK, which is an abbreviation for theory of knowledge, is a class which is based on philosophical concepts and which looks at the world in a philosophical way. 
• The class encourages students to think outside the box. 
• Students in this class not only learn how to accept certain concepts, but think about the theory of the concept and how it can be either improved or how it came about initially.
• This class also prepares students for the extended essay, which contributes towards the end IB grade.

In this class, students will probably attempt to answer philosophical questions and how they apply to daily life. Therefore students are required to participate and contribute in order to make this class an unforgettable, life-changing, and educational experience.

Epistemology - http://www.iep.utm.edu/epistemo/

Socrates