H2 Knowledge and Inquiry — Bias (25/30)

1 Good clarification of what “affects” means. 2 Clear stand. 3 Ok… “Bias inevitably affects knowledge construction.” How far do you agree? [RI Promo 2022] The problem of bias in knowledge construction has plagued many fields of knowledge for centuries, so much so that the word itself is almost synonymous with unreliability in many contexts. Bias — the introduction of subjectivity into knowledge construction — would cast doubt on many conclusions that we presently deem as objective and reliably obtained.1 While some sceptics argue that subjectivity and bias are inherent and inevitable parts of knowledge construction, I ultimately contend that the degree to which bias can be eliminated depends on the field of inquiry: while it is completely absent from mathematical knowledge, it cannot be eradicated from scientific and social scientific inquiry.2 Mathematics is the clear outlier among the numerous fields of knowledge: few complaints of bias (if any at all) are heard within the mathematical world. This is due to the unique nature of mathematical knowledge that precludes subjectivity: it is analytically and deductively obtained. First, mathematical truths are necessary ones that simply could not be otherwise, eliminating the possibility that the subjective beliefs of the researcher have slipped into the process of knowledge construction. “1+1=2”, for instance, is a necessary truth, since negating this mathematical statement would result in a contradiction — since 2 is defined as the sum of 1 and 1, there is no logically consistent universe in which summing 1 and 1 would not yield 2. In this manner, mathematical truths are universal for all because they are often analytic, leaving no room for any individual researcher to introduce his personal biases — even if a researcher was personally convinced that “1+1=3”, he would not be able to prove or construct this knowledge claim without encountering a web of contradictions.3 Additionally, mathematical knowledge is deductively obtained: if the basic axioms of mathematics are granted, some mathematical truths will be obtained for certain

4 Ok. 5 Try to be less of a storyteller and take more of an argumentative approach (for your topic sentence). 6 And did he? Close the loop. 7 How so? 8 Can be better phrased to match the point you are making. without any possibility of bias. For instance, if we accept the basic definition that even numbers are divisible by 2, the sum of 2 even numbers will be even, as proven below: Consider x and y as two even numbers. They can thus be expressed as x = 2a and y = 2b, where a and b are integers. Hence, x+y = 2a+2b = 2(a+b). Since a+b is an integer, x+y is divisible by 2, and is even. In this manner, there is no room for subjective interpretation in mathematical inquiry — even a biased researcher would be forced to admit that based on the fundamental axioms governing mathematics, certain deductively derived propositions are necessarily true. Thus, bias can be completely elim