Can the history of the balance of nature-idea inform the design of narratives for highlighting general aspects of nature of science?

Abstract

The idea of the Balance of Nature (BON-idea), which implies a predetermined order and stability guaranteed by a God’s will or nature itself, is much older than the science of ecology and had a remarkable influence on it. It seems that the history of the BON-idea might be used for highlighting Nature of Science (NOS). Our study concerns whether it is actually feasible to draw on the BON-idea history in order to design historical narratives that could effectively support students to reach a better understanding of general NOS aspects. In this paper, we focus on which general NOS aspects could be highlighted by the BON-idea history and how. So, we argue that the BON-idea history can offer resources for the design of narratives that outline scientific knowledge as (i) influenced by socio-cultural contexts, (ii) mediated by creativity, and (iii) subject to change.