Profile: Hwang Woo-Suk

Title: Profile: Hwang Woo-Suk
Publication Info: BBC News
Date: 11 September 2011
Class: Theory of Knowledge
Category: In Class

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/

         

            In this article, it talks about a Korean scientist, named Hwang Woo-Suk who claimed to have cloned a human embryo for the first time. However, after investigation, it was declared that his results had been changed and that he had used unethical manners to conduct his experiment, violating two of Robert Merton’s scientific norms of disinterestedness and communalism. [Connection] His previous successes had given him authority and trust in the scientific field as he had cloned animals [could have provoked appeal to authority - fallacy], but due to this incident, he was deprived of fame, wealth, and credibility.

            He stated that he had been deceived by his staff members. However, no one believed him and thought he was covering his act up. How do we know that he was lying? [Knowledge Issue] It was said that the female researchers had supplied the eggs for the experiment. Perhaps they were lying about this, but because this seems so horrible and provokes emotion of anger, pity, and shock, the people are more inclined to believe the female researchers rather than Hwang Woo-Suk who may or may not have been telling the truth. If this was the case, then there was a case of [appeal to emotion – another fallacy]. Do people believe this point of view because BBC is a renowned news broadcasting organization? [Appeal to authority –fallacy] If these fallacies were all taken into account, then how guilty is Hwang Woo-Suk? Would he still be punished as he broke the scientific norms? Was he punished because he broke the scientific norms or because he was charged with practicing unethical methods? [Wonderings]

Title: Thought vs. Action
Date: 11 September 2011
Class: IB English HL
Category: Other Classes

http://www.pathguy.com/

            In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Hamlet faces the internal conflict of thought vs. action. He must put on the role of the avenging son, yet his moral values cause him to hesitate and delay action. Because he doesn’t have the personality of an avenging son, Hamlet tries to act like one, thus bringing up the main theme of the play: appearance vs. reality. What is the difference between appearance and reality? Is there a difference? If we start to believe appearance is reality, does appearance really become reality? What is reality? [Wonderings/Knowledge Issue] Perhaps Hamlet is putting on the act of not being courageous and bold because he knows it’s ethically wrong to murder. Can we manipulate our identity to suit our practical needs? [Wonderings] Hamlet may be too religious and too moral-driven that he is mentally unable to perform this revenge. However, Hamlet could think that by killing Claudius, he is obeying his father and thus, is not sinning. If this was the case, Hamlet would be religious and the avenging son. The play brings up the conflict between obligation and moral values. Which is more important? I feel that the person undergoing this struggle is likely to reason out their emotion. With obligation, they may feel fearful by not obeying whereas with moral values, they may feel guilty by going against their ethics. With both having an emotion associated with it, is emotion always a reliable way of knowledge? [Wonderings]

Who Are You?

Title: Who are you?
Date: 11 September 2011
Category: Outside of Class

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/

A couple days ago, I was talking with my close friend, about whether we knew who we were as a person. She claimed she knew who she was, and wasn’t scared to show it. I, on the other hand, told her I still didn’t know who I was and felt lost. How do we know who we are? How do we define ourselves? [Knowledge Issues] Is it based on other people’s perspectives? Is it based on your preferences and dislikes? Is it who you want to be? [Wonderings] People say “High School is really about finding out who we really are”. The question is then, how?

When asked, she stated that it’s obvious when people are acting fake. She reasoned that some people are so caught up with the idea of trying to fit in with the crowd, that they seem unnatural. She claimed that if I wasn’t scared of being different and knew how I was different from other people and wasn’t hiding this, I was comfortable with who I was. By being comfortable with myself meant that I was able to know who I was and just “be me” without acting like anyone else. This reminded me of the popular TV show “Glee”. [Connection] Throughout the episodes, the underdogs of the High School student body try to prove that they are not scared to be themselves. “Being me”. What does this mean? Both my friend and the story behind “Glee” appeared to be telling me basically to act like myself and no one else. However, how can we know whether we are acting or not? [Knowledge Issue] I consider myself to be an outgoing person; however, how do I know that I’m not acting this way? I could believe that I’m outgoing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that I am. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the character O’Brian states that we could believe 2+2 = 5 if we convinced ourselves hard enough. [Connection] If this is true, then everything we believe could just be in our heads, not reality (if there is such thing as “reality” at that). Some may reason that the other people’s perceptions are a reliable way to know who we are. However, how do we know that they are stating the truth? [Wondering] Could it not be that they have also convinced themselves of who we are, and thus created a false image in their heads of who we are? With this said, how reliable are other people’s opinions and thoughts? [Knowledge Issue]

Can we ever know who we really are? Does it even matter who we are, as long as we’re content with how we’re understood by others? Is there such a thing as identity, or is it simply a concept in our minds? [Wonderings] For me, I feel that it doesn’t matter whether we know who we really are, as long as we like who we are, and stay committed to that persona. Perhaps this way, that character can become you, and thus become your identity. [Knower’s perspective]