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In the production of knowledge, does it matter that observation is an essential but flawed tool

This Theory of Knowledge (ToK) essay explores the May 2026 prescribed title: “In the production of knowledge, does it matter that observation is an essential but flawed tool?” The paper discusses how observation, despite its limitations, plays a crucial role in both the natural sciences and the arts. Using examples from quantum mechanics and literature, it shows how flawed observation drives progress in science and enriches interpretation in art. The essay emphasizes that imperfections in observation do not hinder knowledge but instead encourage reinterpretation, debate, and deeper understanding.

September 19, 2025

* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.

In the production of knowledge, does it matter that observation is an essential but

flawed tool. Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of

knowledge.

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In the production of knowledge, does it matter that observation is an essential but

flawed tool. Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of

knowledge

Knowledge begins with what is observable, but what is observable is always

incomplete or restricted to the senses. The issue is whether the reality that observation, as

critical a component of knowledge and imperfect as it is, makes any difference. Observation

can be understood as the process of observing occurrences or phenomena through the senses.

Knowledge may be seen as reason-supported and evidence-supported belief. In this case,

observation is required, otherwise there would be nothing to be known. But observation is

also restricted, conditioned by the limitations of human senses, personal bias, and apparatus.

This presents problems for both the natural sciences, which depend on accurate measurement,

and the arts, which depend on feeling and interpretation. In Arts and Natural Sciences,

observation is limited because, it is tainted by cultural background, location and perspective

of the observer. This proves that observation is not just a collecting of information, it is a

necessary tool in pursuit of knowledge that is strongly human-influenced. Thus, the flawed

nature of observation does not matter because it resists the tidiness of logic and forces us to

pursue curiosity or fear of not knowing.

In the natural sciences, it does not matter that observation is fallible, as their flaws

generate ambiguity that drives knowledge forward. Quite on the contrary, fallibility disrupts

the comforting train of thought and introduces dissonance. Dissonance confronts questions,

opposes assumptions, and holds cycles of discovery, revision, and rebirth that ensures that

knowledge is alive and evolving. Light science shows how fallible observation promotes

learning. It was observed in the early days that light was a wave, whereas later experiments,

including the photoelectric effect, demonstrated that light was behaving as a particle

(Shenderov et al., 2024). These contrasting perceptions exposed the fallibility of human

observation and left scientists puzzled. Instead of destroying science, the flaws encouraged

more research. It is this struggle that saw the birth of quantum mechanics, a theory that

considered the duality of light. What began as a normal observation became the foundation of

one of the greatest scientific revolutions in human history (Shenderov et al., 2024).

Additional data may be viewed through the example of a double-slit experiment when light

created an interference pattern characteristic of waves and also acted as particles when

observed (Shenderov et al., 2024). This paradox heightened the limits of observation and

forced science to accept uncertainty as the foundation of quantum theory. In this case,

paradoxical findings prove theory-ladenness of knowledge, since evidence is always

interpreted according to existing paradigms. Paradoxical observations that appear to be

flawed undermine these paradigms and leave space for new theories. The inconsistencies are

not a failure but a provocation, proving that knowledge is transient and self-adjusting.

Defective observation preserves the dynamic nature of knowledge production by combating

the absolutism of logic. It facilitates discovery by provoking knowers beyond assumptions

and into new forms of knowing. Therefore, it does not matter in a negative sense, because

flaws themselves generate productive tension. As a process of knowledge production, flawed

observation ensures progress. Without it, knowledge would stagnate, trapped in rigid logic

rather than open discovery.

Alternatively, it is significant that observation is flawed, since imperfect tools limit

the possibility of attaining objective truth in the natural sciences. If everything seen is always

filtered through human senses or machinery, then assertions to knowledge are insecure. This

makes one question how far science can ever be trusted. For example, scientific tools are

most typically celebrated for expanding human sight, but they also fall victim to fault and

design. Telescopes, microscopes, and particle detectors provide data, but they each provide

added levels of interpretation (Park et al., 2024). An astronomer observing other galaxies

relies not on immediate sight but on technology that translates light into image, with

computers frequently used to model. The last observation is no longer untainted perception

but a construction of human decisions. This implies the truth of what is observed always to be

incomplete, even misleading (Park et al., 2024). Therefore, this shows the issue of reliability

of sense perception as a means of knowledge. Since observation is theory-laden and subject

to perspective, it cannot provide absolute certainty. Instead of objective truth, claims to

knowledge in the natural sciences are themselves provisional and rooted in tools that are

imperfect (Park et al., 2024). This is significant because it is a reminder that scientific

knowledge, though highly powerful, may never be fully error-free and unbiased. This can be

refuted by accepting that it is this tension, created through imperfect observation, which

incites individuals to seek deeper truth. Due to this, it does not matter that observation is not

perfect, since the imperfections preserve discovery rather than destroying it.

In the arts, it does not matter that observation is not perfect, since the subjective

nature of perception underlies artistic meaning. Impure or diverse observations create

richness that encourages multiple readings that enhance the creation of knowledge in

literature and art. This multiplicity of observation makes art always alive to different cultures

and generations, calling new voices to the fray. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a prime example.

The prophecies of the witches introduce contrasting evidence regarding determinism in

destiny or free will (Ambreen, 2021). There are those who see the witches as deciding

Macbeth's fate, and those that see Macbeth to be fully responsible for his demise. These

conflicting readings, the result of subjective observation, do not undermine the play

(Ambreen, 2021). Instead, they have continued it across centuries, leading to countless

debates and critical reads. The same way in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro the

reader can observe Stevens as a distinguished or ignorant of individual fulfillment (Zi-jie,

2024). These flawed or subjective perceptions make the novel deeper in meaning and the

book is an open field to explore. Here, it shows how observation as a way of knowing plays

with perspective, language, and imagination in the arts. Whereas in natural sciences bad

observation may challenge reliability, in arts it evokes discussion and imagination.

Subjectivity evokes the theory-ladenness of knowledge, as explanations are guided by

cultural context and personal bias. These are not mistakes but catalysts that allows us to

generate new ideas. By calling for different readings, faulty observation puts literature and art

alive and open to reinterpretation (Ambreen, 2021). In the arts, therefore, flaws in

observation do not bound truth but proliferate meaning. The epistemological question is

whether it matters that observation is flawed. In the arts, it does not matter observations is

flawed, because it creates multiple observations that expand knowledge instead of contracting

it. By embracing flawed nature of observation, the arts show that diversity of perception

facilitates imagination and deepens human understanding over the long term.

On the other hand, it is not a good thing that observation, an important aspect of

pursuit of knowledge in the arts, is fallible since fallible perception can restrict meaning and

preclude individuals from the richness of artistic insight. While subjectivity has a tendency to

enrich interpretation, observation coloured by preconception or close-mindedness has a

tendency to distort messages and undermine the value of the arts. A good example is F. Scott

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Scores of readers and even conventional adaptations have

seen the novel as romanticized love story between Daisy and Gatsby (Morris, 2021). Such an

inaccurate observation takes away from Fitzgerald's larger criticism of materialism,

dishonesty, and vulnerability of the American Dream. As individuals are only focusing on the

external romance, they are overlooking the novel's central observation of society and identity

(Morris, 2021). Similarly, Shakespeare's Othello has been misunderstood on the basis of

racial stereotypes, and Othello has been interpreted in terms of his color rather than viewing

him as a tragic hero who was a victim of complex emotions (Ambreen, 2021). In these cases,

defective observation cuts short the richness of the work, and the reader is left with petrified

or distorted perceptions. This, therefore, shows how observation as an epistemological

process can place limitation on knowledge by being biased (Ambreen, 2021). That is, flawed

or circumscribed observation minimizes art to surface meaning, barring spectators from its

more profound knowledge and intended meaning. However, continuous observation of

perception which occasion controversy and reinterpretation enable works like The Great

Gatsby and Othello to continue to be avant-garde in cultural memory. That which appears to

be flawed observation can, in fact, generate new debate that expands rather than

circumscribes art knowledge. Thus, flawed observation does not matter in the arts, as it

provokes a lot of different views and increases comprehension.

In conclusion, the flawed nature of observation does not hurt the pursuit of knowledge

because it contradicts the linear structure of logic and forces us to contend with inquiry in

natural sciences and arts. Opposition from observation is led by perception. Perception gives

birth to interpretations that give birth to new disciplines of inquiry. In natural sciences,

opposition remains current, as resistance in observation forces theories to evolve, for

instance, from classical physics to quantum mechanics. In the arts, fallible perception inspires

several interpretations, which maintain literature, drama, and cinema alive across cultures and

throughout time. While imperfect observation occasionally distorts meaning, the distortion

more often than not results in discussion and re-interpretation. What is perhaps strength is in

fact the exact condition that enables growth. Wisdom from imperfect perception is always

provisional, self-correction, and humanly grounded. In demanding that we must coexist with

uncertainty, imperfect observation reflects the nature of human knowledge itself—tentative

yet visionary, finite but always reaching. In this manner, its shortcomings do not invalidate

knowledge but render discovery feasible.

References

Ambreen Safdar Kharbe. (2021). Exploring Relationship between Ethics, Morality and

Literature in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Asian Journal of Language, Literature and

Culture Studies, 4(2), 49–57. Retrieved from https://journalajl2c.com/index.php/

AJL2C/article/view/66

Morris, W. (2021, January 11). Why Do We Keep Reading The Great Gatsby? The Paris

Review. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2021/01/11/why-do-we-keep-reading-

the-great-gatsby/

Park, P. S., Goldstein, S., O’Gara, A., Chen, M., & Hendrycks, D. (2024). AI deception: a

Survey of examples, risks, and Potential Solutions. Patterns, 5(5). https://doi.org/

10.1016/j.patter.2024.100988

Shenderov, V., Suppiah, M., Beitel, T., Tobar, G., Manikandan, Sreenath K, & Pikovski, I.

(2024). Stimulated absorption of single gravitons: First light on quantum gravity.

ArXiv (Cornell University), 11(2). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2407.11929

Zi-jie, H. (2024). A Dear Price to Regret Over: On Mr. Stevens’ Dignity and Professionalism

in The Remains of the Day. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B,

13(3). https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2024.06.004

September 19, 2025

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Academic level:

High school

Type of paper:

IB ToK Essay

Discipline:

Natural sciences and arts

Citation:

APA

Pages:

6 (1600 words)

Spacing:

Double