The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) programme is central to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate. It encourages students to reflect critically on different ways of knowing and areas of knowledge; it also examines the role of knowledge in a global society. It aims to help students to become aware of themselves as thinkers; it also helps them to become aware of the complexity of knowledge and it encourages them to act responsibly in a world which is evermore interconnected.

The TOK programme is composed mainly of questions. The central question is how to discover whether a given assertion or judgement is well-grounded. Assertions or judgements of this type are known as “Knowledge claims”. The difficulties that arise in addressing this question is the broad area known as the “Problems of Knowledge”. The programme involves the application of this central question to many different, yet interconnected topics.