Character Of Scientific Knowledge Research Articles

Students’ Nature of Science Understandings: A Phenomenological Study

The efforts shown in recent years related to the reform movements in science education have focused on the assertion that informed nature of science understandings (NOS, hereafter) should be developed. In line with this idea, NOS has become the central component of numerous science curricula. In the study, therefore, it was aimed to determine science education master students’ NOS understandings. The study was conducted in a state university in Turkey during the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year and included six science education master students who had taken science methods course. The data were collected through interviews and analyzed by content analysis under phenomenological method. As a result, the students had various and mixed understandings related to the definition of science and characteristics of scientific knowledge. In addition, it was observed that the students handled science with a narrow scope, that they had difficulty in the distinction between theory and law, and that they could not develop informed understandings in the component of theory-laden NOS. In light of these results, the implications and the directions for further study were provided.

Ionic liquids in chemistry education: an experiment IPMC potentially to develop VNOST of pre-service chemistry teachers’

This study aims to introduce IPMC based-ionic liquid as a technology related to school chemistry content and is expected to develop VNOST of pre-service teachers with demonstration method. This demonstration IPMC based on ionic liquid has the potential to introduce four main aspects of VNOST, such as (1) the characteristics of science and technology, (2) the aim of science and scientific research, (3) the characteristics of scientific knowledge and scientific theories, and (4) the relationship between science and technology. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. Like the main purpose of VNOST, the introduction of this IPMC based on ionic liquid is not only introducing technology, but introducing the link between technology and science, especially chemistry content. Context-related chemistry content that is at the stage of making chitosan sulfonate membrane involves chemistry contents in the form of solution ph, Lewis base acid theory, sulfonation reaction, substitution reaction, and conductivity. In addition, the stages of the membrane actuation mechanism involve chemistry contents in the form of electrostatic forces, electrolytes, and the relationship of the melting point with the molecular weight. This research is expected to be developed in order to know that the prototype developed can develop VNOST Pre-service teachers’.

Сибирская философия в ситуации «десакрализации» научного знания

The paper considers the phenomenon of “desacralization” of scientific knowledge as a consequence of the development of virtual Internet technologies. It is shown that the process of desacralization of knowledge can be a decisive factor in the reconfiguration of the existing hierarchy of scientific knowledge. This can help to bridge the intellectual gap existing between the metropolitan and provincial science. “Intellectual challenge” is considered as a characteristic of the current state of Siberian philosophy and as part of the larger waves of intellectual challenge that faces all philosophical and social sciences and is formed as a result of changes in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of scientific knowledge.

Noções de estudantes a respeito dos aspectos da natureza da ciência e de uma investigação científica

Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar as concepções de estudantes do Ensino Fundamental sobre seus hábitos alimentares e alimentação equilibrada. Este estudo qualitativo e caracterizado como pesquisa exploratória incluiu 15 alunos do oitavo ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola estadual da região noroeste do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Os dados foram coletados mediante questionário e discutidos com base em uma análise de conteúdo. Os resultados revelaram que os alunos compreendem ao menos em parte a importância de uma alimentação balanceada para a saúde. Além disso, os participantes contribuíram com concepções variadas sobre alimentação balanceada, algumas das quais apresentaram uma relação com os conhecimentos científicos associados, ao passo que outras eram embasadas principalmente em conceitos espontâneos. Contudo, algumas concepções sobre o tema careceram de robustez, o que aponta para a necessidade de aprofundar a discussão sobre alimentação equilibrada na escola.

Pre-service chemistry teacher’s view about the nature of science and technology

This study aims to determine the view of pre-service chemistry teacher on fourth, sixth and eighth semester about the nature of science and technology. The aspects of View of Nature of Science and Technology (VNOST) include: (1) the characteristics of science and technology; (2) the purpose of science and scientific research; (3) characteristics of scientific knowledge and scientific theory; (4) how to acquire scientific knowledge and scientific theory; and (5) the relationship of science and technology. This study uses descriptive method, which involves 59 students of one State University in Ambon City, Indonesia. Data were collected by VNOST questionnaire. At the first aspect, students view science as a knowledge, such as principles, laws and theories, while technology as the application of science. The second aspect is seen as a part of explaining the change of nature. The third aspect, students consider as the scientific perspective of the scientists. The fourth aspect is regarded that scientific knowledge is obtained by re-examining previous knowledge. At the last aspect, students hold that the relationship of science and technology can affect society. The implications will be used as a rationale for developing a NOST-oriented chemistry teacher education.

Mechanisms, Experiments, and Theory-Ladenness: A Realist–Perspectivalist View

The terms “perspectivism” and “perspectivalism” have been the focus of an intense philosophical discussion with important repercussions for the debate about the role of mechanisms in scientific explanations. However, leading exponents of the new mechanistic philosophy have conceded more than was necessary to the radically subjectivistic perspectivalism, and fell into the opposite error, by retaining not negligible residues of objectivistic views about mechanisms. In order to remove this vacillation between the subjective-cultural and the objective-natural sides of mechanisms, we shall raise the question about theory-ladenness over again and interpret it in its connection with the technical–experimental nature of scientific knowledge, as affirming the perspectival character of scientific knowledge: It is because of the character at once theory-laden and practice-laden, i.e. technique-laden, of our putting questions to nature that empirical reality must be investigated from particular perspectives: nature can be known scientifically only from a potentially infinite (not determinable a priori) number of perspectives or theoretical points of view, concretely exemplified by mechanisms or experimental ‘machines’ that allow specific access to specific aspects of sensible reality.

Veritas filia temporis: The origins of the idea of scientific progress

ABSTRACTThe article provides insight into the epistemological and anthropological aspect of the origination of the idea of scientific progress. It focuses on the relationship between individual's limited lifetime and the immensity of nature. The basic assumption is that the idea of scientific progress offers a solution of the epistemological problem stemming from the finding that there is no (teleological) coincidence between human cognitive abilities and the extent of nature. In order to facilitate the understanding of the origin of the idea of scientific progress, I propose distinction between the descriptive and prescriptive concepts of progress. While the descriptive notion of progress expresses the cumulative character of scientific knowledge and the superiority of the present over preceding generations, the prescriptive concept pertains to progressivist epistemology directing scientific research at the future development of knowledge. This article claims that the prevalent concept in Antiquity was the descriptive concept of scientific progress. The prescriptive notion had developed only in ancient astronomy. Early modern science was faced with similar issues as ancient astronomy – mainly the empirical finding related to the inexhaustible character of nature. Consequently to the introduction of the idea of progress, the progress of sciences became a purpose in itself – hence becoming infinite.

Some remarks on the conflict between faith and science

This paper deals with the conflict between faith and science. Since the issue is extensive, only selected aspects of this question are discussed. At first, the origin of the problem is outlined – it is argued, that the fundamental difference between the language and the method of science on one hand and of theology understood as a rational reflection on the truths of faith on the other is responsible for the conflict. Afterwards, two aspects of the conflict are presented – the first one concerns inconsistencies which appear on the plane of content – when some scientific statements or theorems seem to deny some theological claims; the second one involves differences in mentality and in worldview which appear on the plane of attitude. It is argued, that the content discrepancies can be eliminated with the help of two methods: of separation and of catharsis. But the differences in mentality which appear on the plane of attitude cannot be so easily eliminated. So finally the characteristics of these two different attitudes – of faith and of science – is discussed. It is argued, that a fundamental dissimilarity between the character of scientific knowledge (especially its empiricism) and of religious faith is a basic source of mutual estrangement and alienation.

Diagnosing general study skills in students of humanities

We are interested in the professional development of the students majoring in education, philology and psychology: how do they use general study skills working on the content of the expository text. According to students’ self-reports they single out the most important information in the text. We were interested in criteria used by students during the differentiation of the main information in a special constructed expository text. Three groups of subjects participated in the experiment. Total - 431 persons. Minority of the students monitor the effectiveness of their methods of learning strategies. Only 6% of majors in education, psychology and philology singled out as the main the description of the facts and their explanation. The rest ones prefer as essential information the sentences in the form of definitions, a historical fact and a statement of the significance of the problem. The results show that students do not manage metacognitive knowledge about the characteristics of scientific knowledge and effective strategies for their assimilation.

Mechanism and modernity

Gregor Schiemann’s Wahrheitsgewissheitsverlust: Hermann von Helmholtz’ Mechanismus im Anbruch der Moderne (1997) is a mighty endeavor. Part intellectual history, part history of philosophy of science and nature, it has an ambitious, twofold aim: to chart mechanistic philosophy of nature and to trace the transformation from the ‘‘classical’’ to the ‘‘modern’’ concept of science. In doing so, it seeks to provide a new periodization of the history of modern science. The abridged English version, Hermann von Helmholtz’s Mechanism: The Loss of Certainty, still advances a number of big claims. Commonly, the Early Modern period is regarded as a period of major changes of the structure, content, and organization as well as of the conception of science. Schiemann, however, advocates a different periodization. While he agrees that the seventeenth century was a time of profound transformation of mechanics, he argues that the transformation from the classical to the modern conception of science took place in the second half of the nineteenth century (and, according to Schiemann, is still going on). One of the main features of this transformation is the shift from the claim to absolute, valid knowledge or truth to the insight into the hypothetical character of scientific knowledge. The loss of confidence in the certainty of knowledge— Wahrheitsgewissheitsverlust, as it is so exquisitely put in the original title—is a distinctive feature of modernity. Schiemann takes his cue from German philosopher Alwin Diemer and historian and sociologist Wolf Lepenies as well as from Bachelard and Foucault. In his introduction, he reminds us that these thinkers highlight transitions and ruptures in the long-term development of science and that they see the dawn of modernity occurring in the nineteenth century. Schiemann utilizes the works of one of the most eminent nineteenth-century scientists, Hermann von Helmholtz, to illustrate and

Characteristics and link structure of a national scholarly Web space: The case of South Korea

This study performs a webometric analysis to explore the communication characteristics of scientific knowledge in a national scholarly Web space comprising top ranking universities and government supported research institutions in South Korea. We found significant differences in scholarly communication activity as well as linking behavior among different subspaces in addition to institutional differences. We also found the usefulness of the ADM approach in analyzing the metric data containing extreme outliers and discovered the directory model as the most appropriate. Page counts were found significantly correlated with inlinks as well as with outlinks at the directory level in the whole scholarly Web space.

Multifaceted Science in Environmental Cooperation

Decades of research on environmental regimes have led to a consensus that science matters in setting the stage for international cooperation to address such problems (see, for example, Litfin 1994; Andresen et al. 2000; Miller and Edwards 2001; Parson 2003). Radoslav Dimitrov points out in Science and International Environmental Policy, however, that this consensus is underspecified. Most important, it does not tell us which aspects of science underpin successful international environmental cooperation. In his attempt to fill this gap, Dimitrov does some things particularly well. He does not, for example, make the mistake-common in the vast majority of studies in the field-of explaining cooperation by only looking at situations in which international agreements have been successfully created. Focusing solely on successful agreements is problematic methodologically. Even if we determine that successful regimes have certain characteristics in common, the conclusions are meaningless if unsuccessful regimes also share those characteristics. Dimitrov, however, examines cases in which international agreements have been created (addressing ozone depletion and acid rain) and those in which they have not (forests and coral reefs). Indeed, his definition of nonregimes is usefully flexible. Repeated international negotiations have failed to create meaningful international action with respect to international forest issues, but no real attempt at international cooperation has been launched with respect to the issue of coral reefs. The primary advantage of Dimitrov's work is his attempt to disaggregate the characteristics of scientific knowledge that may matter to international environmental action. He focuses on three specific dimensions of the information that is available. The first is the extent or magnitude of the environmental problem itself. The second is how much we know about the causes of the problem. Finally, he examines the level of scientific understanding about the negative cross-border consequences of the problem in question. Because these three factors vary across the four cases he examines, the cases allow Dimitrov to make observations about the conditions of scientific knowledge that correlate with international cooperation. Two of Dimitrov's conclusions are reassuring. First, he concludes that we do not need certainty about the full extent or magnitude of an environmental problem to take international action. In the case of ozone depletion, the extent of damage to the ozone layer was not clearly understood at the time of the first important negotiations to decrease the use of ozone depleting substances. This lack of certainty did not prevent substantive action. Second, we do not even need full information about the causes of environmental problems in order to allow international cooperation. In addressing the problem of acid rain in Europe, scientists understood some of the causes, but their understanding was not as strong as it could have been. Likewise, the uncertainty about the extent of ozone depletion was compounded by

How do Pre-service and In-service Science Teachers View the Nature of Science and Technology?

This study explored views held by pre-service and in-service science teachers regarding the nature of science and technology particularly: (a) the characteristics of science and technology; (b) the aim of science and scientific research; (c) the characteristics of scientific knowledge and scientific theories; and (d) the relationship between science and technology. The views held by science teachers at pre-service and in-service levels were assessed using a questionnaire. The findings revealed that generally science teachers at both pre-service and in-service levels showed similar views in relation to the nature of science and technology. While the participants displayed mix views regarding science as content oriented or process oriented, technology was viewed as an application of science. Implications of these views for classroom teaching and learning are presented.

Designing Scientific Knowledge Infrastructures: The Contribution of Epistemology

Scientific knowledge is increasingly being stored in online infrastructures such as electronic journals, digital libraries and online encyclopedias. Their designers need to find an adequate approach for representing this knowledge. Unfortunately, most online infrastructures adopt the traditional article-issue-journal model which is based on print technology. This article develops an alternative model for the representation of scientific knowledge which is based on epistemology—the theory of knowledge. The characteristics of scientific knowledge identified by four philosophers of science—Popper, Nagel, Dubin and Bunge—are synthesized into a conceptual model which can be used as the foundation of scientific knowledge infrastructures in an online environment. The article shows that much more fine-grained structures are needed for representing scientific knowledge. Knowledge should not be accumulated as a collection of articles but as a network of epistemologically relevant elements such as theories, concepts, statements, facts etc.

Características del conocimiento científico : creencias de los estudiantes

This paper studies the attitudes and beliefs of students from all educational stages about some characteristics of scientific knowledge. These characteristics are the nature of scientific models and classification schemes, the tentativeness in science, the nature of scientific method, the social influence on scientific knowledge and the controversies within the scientific community. The results show complex, diverse, and sometimes contradictory and inconsistent beliefs in students. The nature of schemes, the tentativeness, the method and the explanation of disagreements show high rates of adequate and authentic scientific attitudes, while responses about models and social influences on science seem to be misinformed. From an educational view, this study offers a diagnostic assessment of students’ preconceptions that are a key issue to achieve a significative science learning on the characteristics of scientific knowledge. Also it suggests the necessity of a deeper work on these aspects in school, as a tool to attain scientific literacy for all.

Intention, Intentionality, and the Constructive Character of Scientific Knowledge

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Presidential Address: Two Methods in Search of a Substance

In tune with the overall theme of these meetings, this Presidential Address is an exercise in the uses of controversy. I am perturbed about present developments in American sociology which seem to foster the growth of both narrow, routine activities, and of sect-like, esoteric ruminations. While on the surface these two trends are dissimilar, together they are an expression of crisis and fatigue within the discipline and its theoretical underpinnings. I shall eschew statesmanlike weighing of the pros and cons of the issues to be considered and shall attempt instead to express bluntly certain of my misgivings and alarms about these recent trends in our common enterprise; let the chips fall where they may. Building on other students of science, Diane Crane (1972) has argued that scientific disciplines typically go through various stages of growth accompanied by a series of changes in the characteristics of scientific knowledge and of the scientific community involved in the study of the area. In stage one, important discoveries provide models for future work and attract new enthusiastic scientists. In the next stage, a few highly productive scientists recruit and train students, set priorities for research and maintain informal contacts with one another. All this leads to rapid growth in both membership and publications. But in later stages the seminal ideas become exhausted and the original theories no longer seem sufficient. At this point a gradual decline in both membership and publication sets in, and those who remain develop increasingly narrow, specialized, though often methodologically highly refined, interests. Unless fresh theoretical leads are produced at this point to inspire new growth, the field gradually declines. Such stages of growth and decline are, of course, not limited to the sciences. In other spheres of culture, religion and the arts for example, similar phenomena have been observed (cf. Thomas O'Dea, 1966; Max Weber 1963; Alfred Kroeber, 1957). One need only think of the creative effervescence in the communities of Christ's immediate disciples and their direct successors in contrast to quotidian routines and ritualized devotions of the later stages in what had now become the Church of Rome. Or consider the art of Byzantine icon painting where, after the early creative period, the same motives, even techniques, were endlessly repeated so that it takes a specialist to distinguish between paintings executed not just decades but even centuries apart. In religion and the arts, however, innovation is not a necessary condition for flowering and appeal, but in the sciences, when no innovation is forthcoming rigor mortis is not far away. The findings of Crane and others in the sociology of science typically refer not to a whole branch of knowledge but only to sub-fields within such branches. It would therefore be wrong to apply these findings to sociology as a whole, composed as it is of a wide variety of sub-areas each with its own pattern and rhythm of growth. Yet permit me nevertheless roughly, and per*Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of The American Sociological Association in San Francisco, August, 1975. 691

Biological Fact and Theory

THE discussion in NATURE under the above heading appears to me to be based in large measure upon failure to realise the character of scientific knowledge. Such misunderstanding is to be deprecated as being contrary to the interests of further progress in biology. I beg leave, therefore, to reiterate that scientific hypotheses, otherwise known as laws of Nature, are created by the mind of man for purposes of prediction and generalisation. They do not represent absolute truth, and are always liable to be superseded by new hypotheses which are more widely embracing. The Mendelian laws are no exception. So long as these laws fulfil the function of helping men of science to generalise and to predict they may be held to reflect definite degrees of reality. If, however, they fail to serve this purpose they have no logical justification.