Równania mądrzejsze od swych odkrywców

This article aims to critically analyse the concept of the development of science, as proposed by Wojciech Sady in the work Struktura rewolucji relatywistycznej i kwantowej w fizyce [The Structure of the Relativity and Quantum Revolution in Physics]. The author uses Ludwik Fleck’s concept of thought styles and thought collectives to analyse the problem of how two great scientific revolutions took place in 20th-Century physics in terms of the rise of quantum theory and special relativity. Sady argues that the way of thinking of scientists is determined by the particular thought style in which they were educated, and that great scientific discoveries are not the result of “creative imagination”, but a product of deductive reasoning, in which scholars closely adhere to the formalism of mathematical theory and the results of experiments. Therefore, scientific discovery in physics is made “on paper” rather than “in the mind of a scientist.” In the “battle of equations with the imagination,” equations always win, and scientific discovery is more a result of the work of a scientific community than solitary geniuses, and can only be made at the right time in history, called the “discoverygenic situation.” The concept of the development of science presented in The Structure is directed against the incommensurability thesis and the indeterminacy thesis.

The Potential of Bioeconomic Innovations to Contribute to a Social-Ecological Transformation: A Case Study in the Livestock System

Environmental crises, which are consequences of resource-intensive lifestyles and are characterized to a large extent by both a changing climate and a loss of biodiversity, stress the urgent need for a global social-ecological transformation of the agro-food system. In this regard, the bioeconomy and bioeconomic innovations have frequently been seen as instrumental in addressing these grand challenges and contributing to more sustainable land use. To date, the question of how much bioeconomic innovations contribute to sustainability objectives remains unanswered. Against this background, we study four bioeconomic innovations using the case study of animal production and manure utilization in relation to their potential contributions to a social-ecological transformation. The analysis is based on the application of analytical categories derived from the literature that assess the normativity of these innovations and their implicit cultural changes. The results show that the innovations examined manifest existing thought styles and the incumbent socio-technical regime rather than contribute to a more fundamental transition. In this respect, we stress the importance of evolving alterative ideas in innovation design, applying more integrative approaches, such as embedding innovation processes into transdisciplinary processes, and developing adaptive and reflective governance approaches. In return, bioeconomic innovations should adjust towards the design mission of a social-ecological transformation and include a multitude of actors to discuss and harmonize contesting imaginaries and ethical concerns.

Stimmung/Nastrój as Content of Modern Science: On Musical Metaphors in Ludwik Fleck’s Theory of Thought Styles and Thought Collectives

Thought style and thought collective are two well-known concepts from Ludwik Fleck’s theory of science, which he originally formulated in Polish and German. This paper contends that these two concepts cannot be fully understood without a third—Stimmung/nastrój, which is one of the musical metaphors that play an important role in Fleck’s thinking. Because it is most often translated into English as “mood”, Fleck’s musical metaphors are mostly lost in translation, appearing as mere rhetoric. Only if and when we understand Stimmung/nastrój in the musical meaning of attunement, we can fully understand thought collectives, for which Stimmung/nastrój is sine qua non, and thought style, which appears if and when a collective turns out to be an enduring and not a momentary one.

Model Conceptions in Science Education Research: features and trends

Despite the ubiquity of models in science education, there are several different conceptions about their nature in the scientific community. We sought to investigate understandings about them conveyed in the recent research in science education. To this end, we have reviewed papers published on models and modelling between 2010 and 2019. Our analysis revealed that these different notions on the concept of model could be represented in three main trends: Concrete, Construct and Mathematical. In addition, we found that these studies: are predominantly empirical in nature; involve frameworks arising mainly from science education research itself, but with a considerable influence from Philosophy of Science and cognitive sciences; encompass Physics, Biology and Chemistry domains in relatively similar frequencies, but decreasing in this order. Another outcome of this study was the emergence of different scenarios regarding the journals consulted, revealing the existence of different thought styles in science education research community.

Cultural Processes Shaping Stop-And-Check Practices and Interaction Dynamics in a Large Dutch City: Police Vulnerabilities, thought Styles and Rituals

Existing scholarship on police decision-making notes the importance of categories and ‘governing mentalities’ in shaping front-line discretionary practices. Much of this work explores categories of race and ethnicity. Important questions remain regarding how micro-level practices connect to organizational dynamics and why ethnic profiling endures despite attempts to counter such practices. Drawing on critical approaches to uncertainty and risk, not least Mary Douglas’s cultural theory, we analyse data drawn from an ethnographic study of police work in a large city in the Netherlands. Our analysis emphasizes the multiple lines of accountability that render officers vulnerable in different ways, officers’ combining of different rationalities of decision-making and the influence of everyday rituals that cultivate and reinforce particular organizational thought styles and discretionary practices.

The Entanglement of Nation and Epistemology: Glances into the Backyard of Academic Dignity

This article addresses the phenomenon of ‘national epistemologies’ that areunderstood as particular ways to think about the world, both enabled and restrictedby national(ist) ideologies as cultural thesis about distinct commonality andtogetherness. With regard to methodology, the article describes on a general levelhow these ‘national epistemologies’ can be identified and particularly how theirdevelopment as nationally idiosyncratic ways of conceptualizing and conductingresearch can be explained, taking the academic field of education as an example. Theexistence of such distinct national research thought styles can be detected, at leastin the West: in the United States, in France, in England and in Germany. Thereby,imperial aspirations of these nationally connoted and configured phenomena cometo the fore, indicating their efforts of spreading from epistemologically strongernation(-state)s into weaker ones in the way of ‘travelling ideas’. Starting from thethought style represented by German Idealism, two major reasons or purposes forthese travels can be distinguished: One ‘by invitation’ and one ‘as occupation’, asrepresented by the case of Austria.Key words: Austria; education research; national epistemologies; nationalism;travelling ideas.

Religious Institutions in Japan Responding to Covid-19-Induced Risk and Uncertainty

This paper discusses adaptations and alternatives that religious institutions in Japan have formulated to help communities develop the capacity to cope with the crisis and perceived risk generated by Covid-19. Qualitative data and observations of online information were collected between February and June 2020. Guided by a crisis approach, the study explores inward and outward responses that some Japanese religious institutions and their members have enacted. The investigation uses Douglas’ (1994) interpretative model of risk and explores those “thought-styles” that religious institutions have engendered that are conducive to cohesion and stability. Findings show that established and new religions alike swiftly responded to Covid-19-induced safety measures by embracing digital technology to continue their core function as cohesion-providers for their social and spiritual communities. The analysis shows that adjustments toward disembodied religious practices might hold potential to continue beyond current Covid-19-related social restrictions.

The Rise of Supplementary Education in Sweden: Arguments, Thought Styles, and Policy Enactment

Purpose: This article focuses on the development of supplementary education, evolving under the label “homework support,” in Sweden between 2006 and 2018. Particular attention is paid to the significance of the private market for national policy. Design/Approach/Methods: Through a theoretical model on policy enactment, the interaction between national policy and local practice is highlighted. By analyzing how the local practice appears in documents related to state-regulated decision-making, the study gains further insights in the development of homework support in Sweden. Findings: This article argues that when private companies, offering supplementary tutoring, were established on the outskirts of the educational landscape in Sweden, the political educational discourse changed. Even though homework support became a given part of the political discussion about the school, the situation became difficult for private companies. Originality/Value: The article adds to the international field of shadow education. It describes the establishment of the private tutoring market’s entry into the Swedish educational landscape, which in the long term has provided a basis for a further Scandinavian development. Furthermore, the article contributes to theory development by a model that focuses on the interaction between policy formulation and local enactment.