Key Concepts – Perspective, Evidence and Culture
How do people develop their political perspectives?
This section will allow you to discuss local, national and international political issues. One possible consequence of this is to become more involved in these yourself, you may not have had an interest in them previously.
KQ
- What kinds of knowledge inform our political opinions?
- What impact has social media had on how we acquire and share political knowledge?
- What Factors Shape Political Attitudes? This is useful to understand the political choices in the US but how do you think these factors influence you and the country you currently reside in.
- What other factors do you think could be added?
- Think of a current issue, be it international, national or local, and discuss in your group which factors have influenced your perspective of it.
Political Spectrum
The political spectrum allows you to label the thoughts and ideas of others and yourself. Generally, the majority of people fit between centre-left and centre-right. But when the political or economic conditions of the country are severe, far-left or far-right tend to have more support. As a TOK student, it is important to identify and understand the labels above as they may have an impact of how knowledge is produced or how it is interpreted.
Furthermore, it is important to recognise the possible political bias within knowledge. Is the author or producer on the right or the left, can this affect the objectivity of the text for example?
4. Where would you place yourself on the spectrum above? Why do you think this?
5. Complete the survey – Where am I on the political spectrum? Is the result what you expected?
6. To what extent can you trust the survey?
7. If you know where a person is on the political spectrum, can you know where they stand on a specific political issue?