THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

TOK ESSAY (May 2022)

How can we distinguish between good and bad

interpretations? Discuss with reference to the

arts and one other area of knowledge.

Word count - 1543

Q5- How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with

reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.

This question is not about what are good and bad interpretations but rather about how we make a

choice or differentiate between what is a good interpretation and a bad interpretation. We tend to

evaluate the final conclusion of the interpretation rather than how they interpret it with

reasoning.

Good and bad interpretations are subjective, relying on the perception and understanding of the

subject by the person themselves. No one can prove or judge an interpretation as a good or a bad

one, unless it is a piece created by someone with intent.

Interpretations are subjective to everyone, there is no right or wrong interpretation for the person

themselves. Interpretation, in simple words, is the way you understand or perceive a piece of

information that is presented to you. Understanding and perception is more subjective rather than

objective, for it to be objective, personal and emotional involvement should not be involved.

Misinterpretation is a view or interpretation of something that is incorrect because of faulty

thinking or understanding, but this is subjective in terms of a good or bad interpretation.

Misconception or misinterpretation can often lead to issues on ethical grounds and these can lead

to bigger affairs. Issues including religious, ethnic and language can cause major outbreaks in

countries which would lead to disaster like situations.

When we talk about language barriers as an example, Sentimental values and language traditions

could be hurt if the language is not spoken with respect to the people. This could often lead to

misunderstanding and misinterpretation of what they actually mean. This is an example of a

wrongful or bad interpretation about a situation at hand with consequences.

So when we try to make a differentiation, There is a certain criterion we follow on how we

differentiate between a good and a bad interpretation and the basis of how we do it is that it is

laid back on different aspects which represent either a good or a bad interpretation. A major role

in this differentiation is played by the person who is interpreting the subject presented. As said

before, it is more a subjective statement rather than an objective one.

A good interpretation is much more creative than a bad interpretation and is an in depth analysis of

the subject provided to you. The interpretation is close enough to the intention of the creator or the

person presenting the subject to you and the message or thoughts he wants to express through the

subject. It takes into consideration all of the boundaries of all the aspects and provides a critical

viewpoint of the subject. It is much more than a simple and intuitive analysis which only provides

a rough overview of the subject and does not exactly look at the subject as a whole. A good

interpretation also mainly depends on the person's experiences and knowledge, if the person is

more knowledgeable about a certain subject, they have the ability to explore the subject in a much

more sophisticated way and can interpret the subject in a better manner then a person who is not as

knowledgeable about the subject or area of knowledge and it could be considered a better

understanding of the subject that a person who knows minimal knowledge about the subject.

The only reason we try to make a difference between a good and a bad interpretation is so that it

makes it easier for ourselves to make better decisions in terms of understanding and perception.
When we consider Art and interpretation, it is a vast topic to discuss. Each art is unique, has its

own characteristics and properties, but it has an extravagant quality that allows itself to be

interpreted in many different ways by people, be it good or bad. Art is a largely diverse range of

human activities engaged in production of visual, auditory, or performed artifacts. It is the

expression or utilization of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as

painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty. There is a deep

meaning behind each art work and there is a lot of emotional presence in any artwork created by

the creator, even if there is no intention of creating any connection to emotion. Good or bad

interpretations in art are dependable upon the intent of the artist on the creation of the art and the

person interpreting it. The whole idea of whether the interpretation is either good or bad is mostly

dependent upon what the artist is trying to put forward by making or producing the art piece but

the art created can also be quite confusing to understand due to the way they have been painted, the

idea and intent behind the image cannot be seen clearly and therefore, this might lead to an

interpretation that is wrong or maybe a bad interpretation due to the fact that the idea behind the art

visually is not clear.

Abstract painting or art is that the art has a deeper involvement of imagination and perception apart

from being a couple of random lines. One of the major characteristics of the abstract style of art is

that it does not have to have a meaning, narrative or an explanation. The main purpose is for the

audience to use their imagination and interpretation to understand these un-orderly placed art

works. The idea of a good or bad interpretation in art forms such as abstract are not to be

differentiated. The interpretation of abstract art is that it is on par with the observers interpretation
and the artist’s who created it. So in the case of Art forms like abstract, the existence of bad or

good interpretations is quite literally based on your imagination.

An art piece created by Le Roman De La Rose, ‘Nature Forging A Baby’ is vastly misunderstood

by many and they cannot be blamed for it. The art piece is quite misleading when you first look at

it, the art piece has a gross and grim visual understanding, but the real intent behind the art piece is

very wholesome and meaningful. The painting comes from a 13th-century poetic manuscript by

Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, which has resulted in the image being frequently presented

out of context. The painting depicts a woman striking a child with a hammer, and many other gray,

lifeless babies lying to the side. The woman, however, is not a baby killer, as the title implies. She

is, in fact, a representation of Mother Nature, who does her duty by creating infants with a hammer

and an anvil. Misinterpretations like this can often occur due to the fact that the visual stimuli is

directly what it implies, but the meaning behind the arts can be different and dependant on what

the artist wants to depict in the image rather than what you say at the first glance.

Taking another TOK Area of Knowledge into consideration, Human Sciences. A branch of study

which deals with people or their actions, including the social sciences and the humanities, as

contrasted with the natural sciences or physical sciences, a definition coming from Oxford.

The subject of human sciences explores people. It gives us an insight into how people react and

live with things around them. The subject helps us understand how people are manipulated and

how humans react with their surroundings. It mainly attempts to allow the exploration and

understanding of the human being’s knowledge of their own existence and the perception of the

world in terms with human being’s and human nature. The human sciences include Psychology,
Social and Cultural anthropology, economics, global politics and geography. So when we look at

human sciences, we need to consider all of these aspects but we are only going to consider one of

the branches, Psychology. Psychology revolves around humans and different aspects of human

being’s, like human behavior, human body, human brain and functions of different parts of the

brain. It is basically split into 3 different approaches of analysis, Biological, Cognitive and Socio-

cultural. Psychology is on the basis of theories and studies conducted to prove a certain theory or

hypothesis proposed.

Interpretation plays a major role in understanding different aspects of psychology and especially

during the evaluation and conclusion of the theories and studies supporting the theories and

hypotheses proposed. It is quite important to interpret and understand the studies in a correct way

to make sure the theory can be carried forward and modified to further expand and explore the

topic immensely. The results of the study need to be interpreted in a way where it is supporting the

previous studies results and allow the expansion of exploring the topic but the interpretation has to

be objective and not dependant on any exterior factors and this can only be done if the

interpretation is a good interpretation rather than a bad interpretation. So interpretation in terms of

psychology is quite simple, if the results of the studies concluded and evaluated are in an unbiased

and objective manner, the interpretation is in a fair manner which will result in a good

interpretation.

So one thing in common between the AOK’s is that the good interpretation is unbiased, in an

objective point of view and allows the subject to be explored and understood in an easy manner.