engleski

Philosophical Issues in Educational Transmission of Contemporary Scientific Knowledge

According to the standard 20th century view of scientific culture (‘ naturalism’ ), that was to provide the principal world-view to be transmitted through educational practice value and meaning constitute no part of the real world, and are undesirable in development of uniform rational autonomy of individuals through education. In line with more recent educational trends of individualistic initiation into social practices through education, all in service of increasing potential for satisfaction of individual wants, ‘ naturalist’ world-view is portrayed as short-changing the individual student in dealing with the totality of experience (which includes value judgements and sentiments of worth). Three discernible but connected issues are addressed in this context: (1) general legitimacy of scientific knowledge to be transmitted through education, (2) legitimacy of the primacy of scientific (‘ naturalist’ ) world-view in educational practice, and (3) effectiveness of transmission of scientific knowledge through educational presentation. It is suggested that modified ‘ naturalism’ that incorporates open acknowledgment of values inherent in and attributed to scientific knowledge, as well as limits the scope of its world-view in education, can provide a genuine interest in, as well as understanding of and respect for, science (and its technological achievements) amongst the students, without drawing the charges of inadequacy or dogmatic indoctrination.

scientific knowledge; values; naturalist world-view; education; relativist critique; circularity of justification; scientific explanation

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