*This is just a text version of the TOK essay sample on Within an area of knowledge is it more important to have credibility or power? You can download the full PDF version if needed.
Knowledge is known to be the greatest asset that a person has. Neither can a person take knowledge away from someone, nor can they undervalue it. The main reason why we human beings are sent into this world is to gain knowledge, so that we can work on ourselves and become better people, making our lives worthwhile. In this essay, I will be talking about credibility and power. Credibility is the reliance that someone has which is based on trust and expertise. Power is the ability to do things well in a certain way. When we talk about credibility and power, we can see that there is a difference between the two in terms of the way that they are earned and exercised over time. As part of this essay, I aim to answer the following research question: ‘Within an area of knowledge is it more important to have credibility or power?’ To answer this research question, I will be making use of two areas of knowledge, which are natural sciences and history.
In the natural sciences, we can see that there have been many scientists in the past who have been very credible, but their theories did not gain the importance that they should have, simply because they weren’t as powerful as the others around them. When we talk about the natural sciences, we can see that surely credibility is what matters the most. It is only credible knowledge that can be backed up by evidence and hence it works best. However, when we talk about scientific theories, we can see that only those theories do well that are given by powerful scientists. For example, when we talk about the scientist Alain Aspect, we can see that he was the one who came up with the Quantum theory. His theory instantly became popular, mainly because he was the one who was very powerful at a point in time in life. People actually listened to what he said, which is why his theory became popular. However, at the same time, he was able to back it all up with evidence. This was the reason why his theory became popular. So in all, we can see that credibility is what matters most when we talk about natural sciences. The nature of the subject is highly evidence based, which means that everything needs to be correctly backed up for it to be believed by the others around. As Sir William Osler put it, “In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs.” The way of knowing that I have used here is sense perception. By observing phenomena around me, I have noticed that sciences as a subject is one where most importance is given to credibility as opposed to power, since it is an evidence based subject.
On the other hand, we can see that there were many scientists who came up with theories out of nowhere and their theories became very popular, simply because they had evidence to back it up. For example, Isaac Newton and his theory about gravity (Rosenfield, 1965). Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree. When an apple fell from the tree, he realized that there was a certain force that was pulling that tree to the floor. That was when he realized that this force was the pull of gravity. So from here, we can see that some scientists give theories that can easily be backed up or logically verified. All in all, we can see that the natural sciences as a subject is one where credibility surely matters much more than power does.
Stay Zen! Your Paper’s in Good Hands.
- We polish your paper till it shines—proper style, no glitches
- Got a question? Shoot a message directly to your writer anytime
- Free revision? Check. Dope title page and bib? Double check
- Wallet-friendly rates and a money-back promise if things go sideways
- No ChatGPT or other AI nonsense here. We’re all about the human touch
- Your biz stays our biz. Full confidentiality, no exceptions
Bye-Bye, Burnout! Slash 15% OFF using the coupon code: SMPLZ15
From history, we can see that Hitler was a very famous leader. He was the leader of the Nazi party, and is till date known to be one of the most ruthless leaders of history. Throughout the time that he held office, he had extreme power. He could get anything that he wanted, done, without anyone being there to challenge him. Throughout his time, his position of power was entirely unchallenged. He knew what he wanted, and he knew how to get that done exactly as well (Gurian, 1942). The fact that he was able to work a holocaust through, where so many Jews died all at once shows how much of a say he had, and how people just had to obey his orders, no matter how wrong they were. So what we can see from here is that he had a lot of power to do what he wanted, but when we talk about credibility, we can see that there is a big question mark there. He created a fictional persona to present himself as a leader who was Germany’s savior. He used shameless self promotion to ensure that he stood out from the rest, so that people valued him and were all praise for him and what he did (Weber, 2018). At a time when Germany was in such a crisis, he tried to use that situation at his advantage and he worked hard so that he could become German’s natural leader. So what could be seen here was that he was trying hard to make sure that he could get things done his own way. So he was not a leader who had credibility, but in fact, a leader who had a lot of power. From here, we can see that this worked for him, and so it was more important for him to have more power, but not credibility. The way of knowing that I used to come to this conclusion was reasoning. I have read up about Hitler and his practices and that has made me realize that his power what was worked for him.
Having said that, there are a lot of leaders in history who aren’t even heard of, mainly because they were highly credible. People trusted them and their practices, but at the same time, they didn’t have any power. History doesn’t have any record of such leaders. Due to the fact that they didn’t have any power, they were not able to get things done, which is why they didn’t make any mark in the world at all. So from here, we can see that there is a huge difference between being credible and powerful. However, when we talk about history, then the focus is surely more on being powerful as opposed to credible.
So from here, we can see that in the natural sciences, it is credibility that matters more. The main reason for this is that the nature of the subject is as such that people need proof to think of something as true. However, when we talk about any other area of knowledge, we can see that power matters more. We can see throughout history that it is the more powerful rulers who have been ones to gain more recognition. Not just that, but they have also been the ones who have been able to impose things and come up with rules and regulations that have actually worked.
Bibliography
- Weber, T., 2018. Hitler Created a Fictional Persona To Recast Himself as Germany’s Savior. [Online] Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hitler-created-fictional-persona-to-recast-himself-as-germanys-savior-180967790/
Rosenfield, L., 1965. Newton and the Law of Gravitation. Archive for History of Exact Sciences.
Gurian, W., 1942. The Sources of Hitler’s Power. The Review of Politics.
Need a Dope Paper Written? We've Got Your Back!
Order Now