ToK Commentary

IA Prompt 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those

who know it?

Word Count: 944

 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

This exhibition explores the prompt by reflecting on knowledge in technology, and

knowledge in the knower. For this exhibition, ethical will be defined from a utilitarian

perspective, by preventing harm and maximizing happiness, so an ethical obligation will be an

obligation to prevent harm.

Figure 1: Worst Case Scenario Book: Photo by student

Object 1 is a survival handbook that I received as a gift as a child. I used to read the

different scenarios and was fascinated by the different interesting pieces of information that each

held. This book is written by a large collection of different experts and is edited by Joshua Piven

and David Borgenicht.

 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

The book is a tool that can be used to obtain a variety of knowledge on a wide range of

“worst-case” scenarios. For example, it gives specific knowledge on scenarios such as “How to

Treat Frostbite”, where the writer details a step by step list of what to do should a human get

frostbite and is unable to receive medical attention (Piven and Borgenicht, 247). According to the

British Medical Journal, individual responses to danger are highly dependent on that individual's

level of preparation. (British Medical Journal, 1955) As a result, having knowledge of the

dangers can greatly affect a person's ability to respond to them. The knowledge in this book

allows readers to prepare themselves for bad situations, and prevent harm from befalling

themselves or others.

This book is valuable for this exhibition because it provides evidence of knowledge that

does carry ethical obligations, because that knowledge can be used or spread to prevent harm or

suffering. Knowledge provided by this book, for example of how to treat frostbite, can be used or

disseminated by the knower if that extreme situation arises. Frostbite can cause severe tissue

damage or even loss of limbs in severe cases when left untreated (Johns Hopkins Medical), so

the knowledge given by this book imposes an ethical obligation by giving the knower the ability

to prevent this damage. The book exemplifies the types of knowledge that will impose ethical

obligations by providing the knower with the means to help themselves or others prevent harm.
 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

Figure 2: Patent for The First Nuclear Detonator: United States Patent and Trademark Office

Figure 2 is the original patent for the first electric initiator with exploding bridge wire, or

EBW. This EBW was developed in 1944 by the Los Alamos National Laboratory by a team of

scientists led by physicist Luis Alverez for the purpose of detonating a nuclear bomb. (Atomic

Heritage Foundation). The patent is held by Lawrence H. Johnston, the director of detonator

research and development for the project, was originally filed in 1944. The EBW created by

these patents were then used in the nuclear detonations of the Trinity test and the Fat Man

nuclear bomb (Los Alamos National Laboratory).

This object brings conceptual knowledge of how to create a blasting detonator that would

be required to make a nuclear weapon. It includes drawings of the invention, as well as a detailed

explanation of each of the parts shown in the drawings and their purpose. (Lawrence, 1962)
 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

This object enriches this exhibition because it provides an example of knowledge that

imposes an ethical obligation to prevent the dissemination of knowledge; the “Fat Man” bomb

dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 resulted in roughly 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945 (Los

Alamos National Laboratory), and the creation of that bomb would not have been possible

without the knowledge of these EBW detonators. The highly destructive and dangerous nature of

knowledge such as this imposes an ethical obligation on its knowers, because those knowers

have a responsibility to either share or keep that knowledge in a safe way to prevent harm should

that knowledge be used maliciously. This object provides insight into the type of knowledge that

creates ethical obligations to prevent its spread or use, such as the knowledge of dangerous

weapons. While some knowledge imposes an ethical obligation to share, knowledge like this

creates an obligation to prevent its spread to prevent harm.

 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

Figure 3: Leaked Supreme Court Opinion Draft: Politico Staff, May 2nd 2022

This is a document published by Politico on May 2nd, 2022. It is a leaked draft of the U.S

supreme court majority opinion to overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark supreme court case in 1973

protecting a woman's right to an abortion. It was written by Justice Alito, the leader of the

majority party in the U.S supreme court, and was leaked on May 2nd, 2022 by an anonymous

person close to the Supreme Court proceedings. (Politico Staff)

This object brings knowledge by outlining the opinion of the majority party led by Justice

Alito towards Roe v Wade, stating that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and the

court was wrong to pass Roe v Wade (Alito, 6). This knowledge connects to the prompt because

it imposed ethical obligations on those who knew it, because members of both left wing and right
 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

wing U.S political groups saw this document as a predecessor of a decision to overturn Roe v

Wade, and it was published that this would lead to some form of an abortion ban in “about half

the states” (Miller and Sanger-katz). Because of this, many felt that they had ethical obligations

to take action; however, while both groups received the same knowledge, each group interpreted

the ethical obligations imposed by this knowledge differently. Left wing groups felt that they

were obligated to protest the upcoming decision in an attempt to prevent its passing, while right

wing groups felt obligated to ensure its passing with assemblies of support. (Zernike et al.)

This object is valuable to this exhibition because it illustrates how knowledge can impose

different ethical obligations on different communities of knowers. It is an example of how some

knowledge, especially knowledge related to a contentious debate, will not impose cut and dry

obligations to every knower in the same way, as shown by the difference in actions taken by

knowers from different perspectives when receiving this knowledge.

Word Count: 944

 27: Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?

Bibliography:

Object 1:

“Human Reactions To Danger.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 4920, 1955, pp. 1026–27.
JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20363330. Accessed 16 Mar. 2023.

Piven, Joshua, and David Borgenicht. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Expert Advice for
Extreme Situations. Chronicle Books, 2019.

“Frostbite.” Frostbite , Johns Hopkins Medicine, 19 Nov. 2019,

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/frostbite#:~:text=In%20frostbite%2C%
20body%20tissues%20become,toes%2C%20cheeks%2C%20and%20chin.

Object 2:

Electric Initiator With Exploding Bridge Wire . United States Patent and Trademark Office,
https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/3040660.

Johnston, Lawrence H. Electric Initiator with Exploding Bridge Wire. U.S Patent 3040660. 26 June 1962.

Electronics and Detonators. Atomic Heritage Foundation , 11 July 2017,

https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/electronics-and-detonators/.

Remembering Lawrence Johnston: Discover Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos National
Laboratory, 13 Dec. 2021,
https://discover.lanl.gov/publications/national-security-science/2021-winter/lawrence-johnston/.

Object 3:

Politico Staff. “Exclusive: Supreme Court Has Voted to Overturn Abortion Rights, Draft Opinion Shows.”
Politico, 5 Feb. 22AD,
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473.

Alito, Samuel. “Dobbs v Jackson.” Politico, 10 Feb. 2022.

Zernike, Kate, et al. “Leaked Threat to Roe v. Wade Stuns, Then Energizes Americans.” The New York
Times, 4 May 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/us/supreme-court-roe-abortion-reaction.html.

Miller, Claire Cain, and Margot Sanger-katz. “What Does the End of Roe Mean? Key Questions and
Answers.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 May 2022,
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/upshot/abortion-united-states-roe-wade.html.