Knowledge, Belief, and Science Education: A Contribution from the Epistemology of Testimony
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Author(s)
Ferreira, Tiago Alfredo S.
El-Hani, Charbel N.
Da Silva Filho, Waldomiro Jose
Date Issued
July 2016
Journal
Science & Education
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Citation
Ferreira, Tiago Alfredo S., Charbel N. El-Hani, and Waldomiro José da Silva-Filho. “Knowledge, Belief, and Science Education: A Contribution from the Epistemology of Testimony.” Science & Education 25.7–8 (2016): 775–794.
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Author's final manuscript
Abstract
This article intends to show that the defense of “understanding” as one of the major goals of science education can be grounded on an anti-reductionist perspective on testimony as a source of knowledge. To do so, we critically revisit the discussion between Harvey Siegel and Alvin Goldman about the goals of science education, especially where it involves arguments based on the epistemology of testimony. Subsequently, we come back to a discussion between Charbel N. El-Hani and Eduardo Mortimer, on the one hand, and Michael Hoffmann, on the other, striving to strengthen the claim that rather than students’ belief change, understanding should have epistemic priority as a goal of science education. Based on these two lines of discussion, we conclude that the reliance on testimony as a source of knowledge is necessary to the development of a more large and comprehensive scientific understanding by science students.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-016-9834-6
