Authority of science and education Opening black boxes with problematization of discourses of media and themes of physics

Author(s)

Leandro Daros Gama

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI)
• Defense date: 2011-08-22

Examining board members

Joao Zanetic; Osvaldo Frota Pessoa Junior; Emerson de Pietri

• Advisor: Joao Zanetic

Abstract

A black box is a concept or a instrument whose details of operation and details the historical debates are abandoned when their use. A computer is an example of object that is used, in general, without concern or knowledge about the nuances of its operation. The fact, already well accepted, that the chemical formula for water is H2O, is another example of black box, as someone who says that does not have to worry about citing sources or refer to discussions about the history of chemistry. We hypothesized that science has become, in itself, a black box. The way it evokes the authority of scientific knowledge in media, in books, conversations and commercials (which often include formulas such as \"scientifically proven efficacy\") attests to a current scenario where the nature of science and, in particular, \" proven \"scientific reveal something that, being full of power, has been conveyed, even by scientists, naively - without going through a development more or ignoring all the complex discussion on this subject, present in the philosophy of science. In our test, we will propose to discuss this issue, and to this end, we explore the concept of black box by Bruno Latour - a concept that can be classified as the sociology of science - and proposed a reinterpretation of this concept in terms logic, which expanded to represent the unspoken assumptions present in a theory, we present a theoretical framework for discussions on issues of philosophy of science, critically examine some statements (of books and science magazines) that invoke the authority of science and discuss some problems that can be found in matters of physics. Thus, we illustrate the opening of some traditionally closed black boxes in the middle and upper courses of physics. In order to express different epistemological stances with which they can appropriate a scientific topic, we proposed a classification of types of epistemological exercises into three types (we will explain in detail in the body of the dissertation): the scientific (the normal work of the scientist) the critic (the complementary work of the scientist, historian or epistemologist) and skeptical (the discourse of doubt on the validity of science). Our task will reside in the posture of the critical exercise, since attempts to transfer some boxes traditionally closed. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/07962-4 - Authority of science and education: the role of science education in the demystification of science
• Grantee: Leandro Daros Gama
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master