TOK May 2024 Essay Title 5: Do we need custodians of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge

This is an interesting essay because it will give you a chance to discuss whether or not there is a necessity to protect knowledge. This could be from a number of outside influences such as those wanting to disrupt or change knowledge or the methods used to gather knowledge. If we decide that custodians are needed there is also the potential question of who they should be to consider. 

In any good TOK essay there are a number of prerequisites that are important to ensure you have a good basis to your answer. We will look at these with particular reference to this question and consider some ideas and real life situations that you can use to ensure you are maximising your marks from this task. You should use the structure below to shape your essay. Remember the essay is limited to 1600 words so make sure that you use your allocation wisely. There are 8 paragraphs listed below meaning you should write around 200 words for each one. 

The key thing about the TOK essay is that you need to make sure every part of it contributes towards answering the question, whether it is through an example or with direct reference to the question itself. This will give your essay focus and keep you on track. 

You should follow these steps to give your essay the required structure: 

Introduction: Unpack the title and state your opinion on the question. Initially what are your thoughts? 

In your introduction it is essential that you demonstrate that you understand the key terms in the essay and that you outline your answer to the question in the title. This doesn’t mean that you write out a series of key terms and definitions, you should use them in sentences effectively to show your understanding. The discussion of the key terms in this essay in a TOK context are below: 

Key Terms: 

Custodian: I like to imagine a custodian of knowledge as someone who guards knowledge to preserve it the way it is “supposed” to be viewed or used. This can be considered on a number of levels in different Areas of Knowledge. For example a custodian of knowledge in the natural sciences may be a person who is protective of the scientific method, ensuring consistency in the way information is gathered. On another  level they may be University academics who are peer reviewing work to assess whether or not it should be accepted in their field. Lastly a more radical version of a custodian of knowledge could be a person who is protecting knowledge so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands- a method for creating a harmful weapon for example. It is up to you to decide how to define a custodian, encompassing these ideas above. 

Need: Is there a need to protect the generation and use of knowledge? In many ways the answer to this question is yes. Ensuring there is order in knowledge creation means there is a structure to how people understand knowledge and what is accepted or rejected. Can you imagine what would happen if there was no overarching guidance on what should be accepted as a cure for a virus for example? Conversely are there any instances when we should share knowledge without question? 

This question gives you the opportunity to choose two of your own areas of knowledge here. I am going to choose Natural Sciences and History. I Did consider using the Arts and you could too. This could be centred around questions such as who gets to decide what is art? Do not forget to include your real world examples. 

Body paragraph 1: Claim 1 linked to Natural Sciences

It is imperative that there are custodians of knowledge in the Natural Sciences to protect the scientific method and the generation of new treatments for medical issues. 

The idea of peer review- essentially checking and ensuring new ideas in medicine (and all science) is very important. Ultimately, the more people that have checked and verified treatment, the more likely it is to be safe for use with patients. The concept of the custodians here are the people carrying out the peer reviews and checks of the treatment or drug. Many similar examples could be used across Physics as well- how easy is it to get a new theory accepted by an academic community? Why is this the case? Do they take too long to get accepted because the custodians are too strict?

Body paragraph 2: Counterclaim 1 linked to Natural Sciences. 

It could be argued that it is essential that vaccinations, once accepted and proven to be medically sound, are shared freely and are not subject to monetary restrictions. The custodian in this example is essentially the pharmaceutical company who has produced the vaccine for sale. Do they have the right to keep these vaccines from others, restricting their sharing by putting an extra cost on their distribution? In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic you could investigate how the vaccines were shared- were they shared fairly? What was the outcome of the COVID-19 patent waiver? 

Body paragraph 3: Implications on the Natural Sciences. 

Here you should consider what would happen if there were no custodians in the Natural Sciences and outline to what extent you think they are needed in the AOK. In the examples above (particularly the first one) they are very much needed to ensure the right treatments reach the right people. You could mention the idea that laws are in place to ensure that vaccines are peer reviewed and therefore governments place a role in ensuring peer review, and therefore custodians of knowledge play a role in protecting the distribution of knowledge. 

IF YOU DO USE HISTORY FOR THIS NEXT AOK ENSURE THAT YOU ARE CONSIDERING HOW KNOWLEDGE IS GATHERED IN HISTORY, NOT JUST THE FACTS THEMSELVES.  

Body paragraph 4: Claim 2 linked to History 

Official secrets (or in this case knowledge) should be guarded carefully as the implications of the use of this knowledge can be devastating. There are any number of secrets that are kept in government archives from the past or present that could have huge consequences on the public if they are released. They could range from weapons designs to the existence of aliens. It is important though that if you go down this route that you don’t get sidetracked by conspiracy theory and that you still answer the question- Is there a need for the custodian? How are they protecting the public/people by keeping things hidden? What would be the consequences if this information was released? How could new information have an impact on the knowledge of certain events and the way information is gathered about that event? 

Body paragraph 5: Counterclaim 2 linked to History 

Custodians have sometimes failed to share knowledge that would have a positive impact. The judgments people make on whether to share knowledge or not may result in negative consequences. This paragraph would argue that it is important to ensure the custodians are the correct people to guard the knowledge. An example of this can be found by searching for Katharine Gun, she was working for the British government and leaked information about the US spying on the United Nations before a key vote on the Iraq war. 

This example raises some great ideas and questions but do make sure you are answering the essay question here. Focus on the idea of the impact that this information would have on the historical analysis/investigation of the Iraq war. How would this impact perceptions and interpretations of the event? 

Body paragraph 6: Implications on History 

There is a need for custodians of knowledge in History, clearly illustrated by the examples above. You must focus on the methods of gathering knowledge in this AOK though and how knowledge of past events can be used for analysis. It is the impact of the discovery of this knowledge that will enable you to assess whether or not knowledge should be shared. 

Overall conclusion: summarise your main perspectives and explain how your findings have implications on the real world and overall areas of knowledge you have chosen. It is clear that there are different elements of knowledge that need protecting from certain groups of people and custodians need to be in place to ensure that this takes place. Make sure you answer the question- is there a need for a custodian? 

Final Thoughts: 

The highest scoring essays in TOK do the following: 

• They are insightful, convincing, accomplished and lucid (from the markscheme) 
• They demonstrate how TOK appears in the real world by using real world examples. 
• They are supported by academic thinkers. 
• They answer the question accurately. 

Thank you for reading. Read my guide to question 6 here!

Good luck with your essay!