Tok Compare the Roles Played by Reason and Imagination in at Least 2 Areas of Knowledge

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Faisa Ali Mr. Glen HZT4U7 - 03 June 2, 2015 Theory of Knowledge Essay Topic: Compare the roles played by reason and imagination in at least two Areas of Knowledge. Reason and imagination plays different roles in the Areas of knowledge. Imagination is independent in the fact that you don’t need to explain ‘why’. On the other hand, Reason is dependent because you need to prove things to explain ‘why’. People tend to think that natural sciences are linked with reason and the arts are linked with imagination. In this essay, I will compare the different roles played by reason and imagination in two areas of knowledge; the natural sciences (scientific findings), and the arts (quality). Natural sciences consist of biology, chemistry and physics. They are often considered to be rational subjects that challenge religion and question the world we live in. The idea of natural sciences as a literary art is nearly unheard of. This idea follows Bacon's school of thought. Alternatively, in the spirit of Kant's school of thought, it can also be considered a capacity for imaginative thinking. Most scientific laws and theories known today can be considered to have started with a creative endeavor, beginning with thought and imagination even though it is scientifically based. The thought that reason is the purest and truest way of attaining knowledge, an idea from the 17th century Renaissance, known as the 'Age of Reason', is slowly becoming contradicted. For example, the now respected idea that a high IQ is not a reliable sign of 'giftedness' may simply indicate 'convergent' thinking. Truly creative children are said to have 'divergent' thinking that tend to find IQ tests boring and do not readily accept the 'right' answer as the right one. A Chicago team devised various tests to spot divergent thinkers, testing 95 school boys. The test asked students to make up alternate
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