Participation in Biology Education Research Influences Students’ Epistemic Development

Science epistemology is the foundation of how biology constructs knowledge but is often implicit in undergraduate research experiences (UREs). This study describes the development of one student’s ideas about scientific knowledge in a URE in which science epistemology was explicitly discussed in meetings and written reflections.

The development of science epistemology in senior science courses: A quantitative study

<p>Epistemological development is a pivotal aspect of liberal education because the ability to distinguish between knowledge and pseudo-knowledge and the ability to use the particular methods of reasoning associated with various disciplinary fields equips people to make judgements in complex issues. The present study examines the extent to which studying each of the different science disciplines in secondary years 12 and 13 supports the development of science epistemology. A further aim was to determine the relationship between epistemological development in science and the completion of inquiry-type coursework. Data were collected from 735 year 12 and 13 students from 11 schools, mainly from the Wellington region. A survey, designed for this study, comprised statements about the nature of science and scientific argumentation conceptions, two pivotal aspects of science epistemology. Using a quasi-experimental design, this quantitative study explores the extent of the development of science epistemology over a year of studying science, by comparing students’ scores in Term 1 with scores in Term 3 on the instrument. The findings showed a more advanced epistemic view among science students; however, a positive effect of science studies on epistemic development was not evident. It was concluded that a greater emphasis on authentic inquiry is essential for epistemic development and, while understanding of the philosophical assumptions underpinning scientific knowledge is important, this should arise from authentic science inquiries – or the processes of science – rather than being taught in isolation from the practice of the discipline of science. This leads to a question the extent to which an emphasis should be placed on the ontological aspects of the philosophy and the sociology of science, potentially at the expense of developing sound understanding of science epistemology.</p>

The development of science epistemology in senior science courses: A quantitative study

<p>Epistemological development is a pivotal aspect of liberal education because the ability to distinguish between knowledge and pseudo-knowledge and the ability to use the particular methods of reasoning associated with various disciplinary fields equips people to make judgements in complex issues. The present study examines the extent to which studying each of the different science disciplines in secondary years 12 and 13 supports the development of science epistemology. A further aim was to determine the relationship between epistemological development in science and the completion of inquiry-type coursework. Data were collected from 735 year 12 and 13 students from 11 schools, mainly from the Wellington region. A survey, designed for this study, comprised statements about the nature of science and scientific argumentation conceptions, two pivotal aspects of science epistemology. Using a quasi-experimental design, this quantitative study explores the extent of the development of science epistemology over a year of studying science, by comparing students’ scores in Term 1 with scores in Term 3 on the instrument. The findings showed a more advanced epistemic view among science students; however, a positive effect of science studies on epistemic development was not evident. It was concluded that a greater emphasis on authentic inquiry is essential for epistemic development and, while understanding of the philosophical assumptions underpinning scientific knowledge is important, this should arise from authentic science inquiries – or the processes of science – rather than being taught in isolation from the practice of the discipline of science. This leads to a question the extent to which an emphasis should be placed on the ontological aspects of the philosophy and the sociology of science, potentially at the expense of developing sound understanding of science epistemology.</p>

Corsino: z wczesnych szkiców powieściowych Honoriusza Balzaka

Around 1820–1821, a young and not quite experienced Balzac writes a short story in prose, a draft which will remain unfinished and which we know as Corsino. It is one of Balzac’s experimental texts in prose (Sténie ou les Erreurs philosophiques; Une heure de ma vie; Agathise; Falthurne) revealing his artistic quest and announcing some important traits to be found in his later official works. Corsino is influenced by Balzac’s philosophical lectures and reflections present in his notes known as Discours sur l’immortalité de l’âme from 1818, where the topics such as religion, God, morality, science, epistemology, materialism, or scepticism are discussed.

Integrasi Islam dan Sains: Sebuah Telaah Epistemologi

Abstrak Pemisahan Islam dan sains berakibat pada kemunduran peradaban umat Islam, di satu sisi, dan krisis eksistensial pada sisi yang lain. Integrasi keduanya dapat mengantarkan umat Islam pada prestasi peradaban sekaligus kesempurnaan moral. Upaya Integrasi Islam dan sains telah dimulai oleh para pemikir Muslim baik melalui dewesternisasi ilmu, Islamisasi ilmu, ilmuisasi Islam, dan lain sebagainya. Berbeda dengan tulisan serius para cendekiawan muslim tersebut, tulisan ini hanya akan berupaya mendeskripsikan integrasi bangunan epistemologis Islam dengan sains melalui library research berdasar pada data kepustakaan yang terkait. Fokus tulisan ini dibatasi pada masalah sebab keterpisahan umat Islam dengan sains dan bagaimana pola keselarasan espistemologi Islam dan sains. Tulisan ini menyimpulkan dua hal. Pertama, keterpisahan Islam dengan sains lebih dikarenakan aspek historis, sosiologis, politis dan bukan karena faktor sistem ajaran. Islam sebagai sebuah ajaran yang komprehensif tidak menempatkan “ilmu agama” dan “ilmu umum” dalam posisisi diametral-paradoksial. Kedua, pola keselarasan epistemologi Islam dan sains adalah kulli-juz’i (universal-partikular). Dengan kata lain, sains merupakan salah satu bagian dari ajaran Islam dalam satu keutuhan dan kesatuan sistem yang disebut sebagai way of life (jalan hidup). Kata Kunci: Islam, Sains, Epistemologi Abstract The separation of Islam and science resulted in the decline of Muslim civilization, on the one hand, and an existential crisis on the other. The integration of fatigue can lead Muslims to achievement as well as moral perfection. Efforts to integrate Islam and science have been initiated by Muslim thinkers through the dewesternization of science, the Islamization of science, the science of Islam, and others. In contrast to the serious writings of these Muslim scholars, this paper will only attempt to describe the integration of Islamic epistemological buildings with science through library research based on related library data. The focus of this paper is on the problem of the separation of Muslims from science and how the pattern of harmony between Islamic espistemology and science. This paper concludes two things. First, the separation of Islam and science is based more on historical, sociological, political aspects and not because of the teaching system factor. Islam as a teaching includes not placing "religious knowledge" and "general science" in a diametral-paradoxical position. Second, the pattern of harmony between Islamic and scientific epistemology is kulli-juz'i (universal-particular). In other words, science is a part of Islamic teachings in a whole and unified system known as a way of life. Keywords: Islam, Science, Epistemology

Descriptive Turn in Epistemology

The article shows that cultural-historical epistemology erroneously puts forward the thesis of a global crisis in the sphere of modern epistemology and philosophy of science. The key error of such a diagnosis is rooted in the confusion of basic concepts. In the development of epistemological studies, the period of the last decades of the twentieth century, which was called the “descriptive turn”, is very important. In the philosophy of science, the task was set to reflect the real practice of scientific research. This has been successfully carried out in a number of works by Kuhn, Lakatos, Feyerabend, Latour and others. The task of building universal norms of scientific research has faded into the background. In this regard, the subjects of "methodology of science", on the one hand, and "epistemology" and "philosophy of science", on the other hand, were distinguished. The formulation of norms and standards for scientific research has become the task of methodology. Describing scientific practice, including scientific revolutions, has become the task of the professional history of science. The philosophical understanding of the processes of historical evolution, the identification of the laws of the development of science has become the subject of the philosophy of science. Epistemology, in turn, is called upon to consider the phenomenon of knowledge not only in science, but also more broadly – in a variety of historical and cultural contexts. In modern studies in the field of epistemology and philosophy of science, case studies are important, as they provide invaluable empirical material for philosophical generalizations. As for the construction of universal standards for scientific work, such a task, as Feyerabend showed, seems to be impossible. Moreover, the universal methodological standard does not allow discovering the uniqueness of scientific research situations.

ARTISTIC RESEARCH: THE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS OF MIKA HANNULA

This paper is a review of the thoughts and ideas of Mika Hannula presented in his book Artistic Research: Theories, Methods, and Practices. As its title indicates, this book discusses artistic research, specifically related to the theories, methods, and practices of its implementation. In this paper the writer attempts to review: the urgency of artistic research, the philosophical foundations of artistic research, artistic research and science, epistemology and axiology, methodology of artistic research, and its expediency and guidelines for use in art research.

Relational ethics and epistemology: The case for complementary first principles in psychology

In psychology, where a natural science epistemology holds sway, relationships between the researcher and the researched are usually hierarchical and transactional, bound in procedural and legal ethics. This limited view of ethics fails to account for issues of power and privilege, as well as inequalities in economic and sociocultural structures. We argue for a more complete philosophy of science (and practice) consisting of complementary first principles—relational ethics and epistemology. Valuing relational ethics as a first principle means that how knowledge is produced and acted on is complementary in importance with what knowledge is produced. Collaborative relationships grounded in sincerity, reciprocity, and shared purpose become the basis for how psychological knowledge is produced, disseminated, and acted upon. We present two case studies to show how taking action in an ethical manner through relationships formed in the process of doing psychology deepens our conception and practice of psychology as human science.

The Struggle for Objectivity: Gramsci’s Historical-Political Vistas on Science against the Background of Lenin’s Epistemology

This contribution interprets the intertwined issues of science, epistemology, society, and politics in Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks as a culturalist approach to science that does not renounce objectivity. Gramsci particularly criticized the scientist positions taken by the Bolshevik leader Nikolai Bukharin in Historical Materialism (1921) and the conference communication he delivered at the International Congress of History of Science and Technology in London in 1931. Gramsci did not avoid, at least implicitly, engaging with the theses of Lenin’s Materialism and Empiriocriticism (1909). Gramsci’s reception of these Russian positions was twofold: on the one hand, he agreed with the centrality of praxis (and politics) for a correct assessment of the meaning of epistemological positions; on the other hand, he disagreed with the reduction of the problem of epistemology to the dichotomy of materialism and idealism at the expense of any consideration of the ideological dimension of science.

Remarks on Science, Epistemology and Education in Bruno Latour’s Down to Earth

In Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime (2018), Bruno Latour argues that any effort to sustain life in the critical zone of our planet must leave behind the modern epistemologies, which reify and partition nature and science. In order to clear the ground for a proper descriptive stance, he dismisses ‘the view from nowhere’ and corresponding epistemic notions such as ‘Galileism’. I demonstrate why Latour’s fight against ‘the view from nowhere’ is misguided and wrong in the details. At best, his critique is largely irrelevant for the constructive use of science and education in ‘the climate war’.