66 research outputs found
Cartesian primary qualities in light of some contemporary physical explanations
Descartesâ derivation of the primary qualities of matter and their role in explaining observed physical phenomena are briefly reviewed. The lesson drawn from Descartesâ methodology of explanation is that we ought to aim to reduce complex phenomena to simple unifying principles and conceptual primitives. Three proposed solutions to the apparent paradoxes in contemporary quantum physics (primarily associated with the notion of entanglement) are briefly compared with lessons taken from Descartes. It is argued that further research in this field should provide criteria for selecting modifications to the standard (largely Cartesian) conceptual scheme, along the lines of either visualisable causality or the physical spatial separability of all material objects. (IN CROATIAN: Älanak poÄinje kratkim pregledom Descartesove derivacije primarnih kvaliteta materije i njihove uloge u objaĆĄnjenju zamijeÄenih fizikalnih pojava. Pouka izvedena iz Descartesove metodologije prirodoznanstvenih objaĆĄnjenja glasi da je sloĆŸene pojave poĆŸeljno svesti na jednostavna objedinjujuÄa naÄela i temeljne, nedjeljive pojmove. Tri moguÄa objaĆĄnjenja navodnih paradoksa u suvremenoj kvantnoj fizici (prvenstveno povezanih s pojmom âisprepletenostiâ) saĆŸeto se prikazuje i usporeÄuje s navedenom Descartesovom poukom. ZakljuÄuje se da bi daljnja istraĆŸivanja u ovome podruÄju trebala iznjedriti kriterije prihvatljivosti izmjena standardne konceptualne (uvelike kartezijanske) sheme. Navedeni kriteriji trebaju se temeljiti ili na uzroÄnim procesima koji se mogu âvizualiziratiâ ili na ustrajanju na naÄelu fizikalne prostorne odvojivosti svih materijalnih predmeta.
Bohrova filozofija i izmjene temelja fizikalnog jezika
IN CROATIAN: Od samih poÄetaka razvoja kvantne mehanike javlja se potreba metafiziÄkog razgraniÄenja "makro" svijeta opisanog "svakodnevnim jezikom" i "mikro" svijeta kojim se bavi fomrlizam teorije (ponajprije zbog pojave "isprepletenosti" dvaju ili viĆĄe logiÄki suprotstavljenih stanja). U tekstu se raspravlja o potrebi pomirenja ovako umjetno rzgraniÄenih svjetova, uz pregled najvaĆŸnijih pravaca tumaÄenja formalizma teorije. Posebno se izlaĆŸe Bohrovo "kopenhaĆĄko" tumaÄenje i problemi koje pred njega postavlja EPR misaoni eksperiment. Pregledom Bohrovih odgovora na dani eksperiment pokazuje se da njegovo tumaÄenje traĆŸi viĆĄe od ograniÄenja svakodnevene deskriptivne metafizike pri opisu pojava na mikro-nivou. na taj naÄin gubi se Bohrovo povlaĆĄteno mjesto meÄu tumaÄenjima formalizme teorije. Pokazuje se da niti MacKinnonov detaljniji shematiski prikaz spajanja teoretskog i svakodnevnog jezika ne moĆŸe primijeniti na zakljiÄke EPR eksperimenta i Bohrov odgovor na njih. Sam MAcKinnon nudi prijedloge izmjena "svakodnevnog" jezika uvjetovane matematiÄkim zakljuÄcima kvantne mehanike, ali se i one pokazuju previĆĄe radikalnima i grubima da bi zauzele povlaĆĄteno mjesto u odnosu na ostala tumaÄenja teoretskog formalizma koja sa sobom nose velike ontoloĆĄke i konceptualne zahtjeve. ---------- IN ENGLISH: Ever since the beginning of development of Quantum Mechanics there was a metaphysical division between the âmacroâ world as described in âeveryday languageâ and the âmicroâ world described by quantum formalism (especially due to entanglement of two or more logically conflicting states). A discussion is offered of the need to reunite these arbitrarily divided worlds through an overview of the main interpretations of the formalism. Bohrâs Copenhagen interpretation, as well as the problems it faces due to EPR thought experiment, is presented in greater detail. It is claimed that Bohrâs answers to the said experiment demand more than a restriction of everyday descriptive metaphysics, when describing phenomena at the micro-level. Thus, the special place Bohrâs interpretation takes among other interpretations of the formalism is forfeited. It is also shown that MacKinnonâs more detailed schema aiming to connect the theoretical and everyday language cannot be applied to EPR conclusions and Bohrâs reply to those. MacKinnonâs own modifications of the âeveryday languageâ induced by the mathematical conclusions of Quantum Mechanics are considered too radical and too coarse to take the vacated special place among formalism interpretations
Prirodoslovlje u kurikulumu za obvezno obrazovanje
Obzirom na raskorak izmeÄu na europskoj razini izraĆŸene potrebe za veÄim brojem struÄnjaka u podruÄju prirodnih znanosti i tehnologije (okvirno: prirodoslovlja), te viĆĄim stupnjem opÄe razine prirodoznanstvene pismenosti, i
opadanje interesa osnovnoĆĄkolaca za teme iz podruÄja prirodoslovlja, prikazuju se struktura i karakteristike nekih nacionalnih okvirnih kurikuluma u podruÄju
prirodoslovlja, kao jednog od Äimbenika usvajanja znanja i vjeĆĄtina iz podruÄja prirodoslovlja na razini obveznog obrazovanja. Iznose se rezultati komparativne
analize kurikuluma za podruÄje prirodoslovlja provedene u sklopu istraĆŸivaÄkog projekta Centra za istraĆŸivanje i razvoj obrazovanja Instituta za druĆĄtvena istraĆŸivanja u Zagrebu, te ukazuje na moĆŸebitne smjerove usklaÄivanja hrvatskih nastavnih programa s tendencijama u europskim zemljama iz uzorka. Navode se i smjernice za konceptualizaciju hrvatskog kurikuluma za podruÄje prirodoslovlja na osnovi koordiniranog kompetencijskog modela logiÄke razrade prezentacije sadrĆŸaja kao koraka prema ostvarivanju ovladavanja kompetencijama kao ishoda
obrazovnog procesa. (IN ENGLISH: The article presents the structure of science curricula of different European countries as one of the factors contributing to development
of coherent scientifi c knowledge and skills in compulsory education. It is the result of a wider research project conducted at the Institute for Social Researchâs
Centre for Educational Research and Development. The project included a comparative analysis of the said European curricular documents and development of recommendations for potential closer alignment of the Croatian national curricula with the perceived tendencies in the selected European countries. The recommendations focus on potential conceptualisation of the Croatian curriculum (in the fi eld of natural sciences) as a âdeductionâ of the subjectsâ content from a coordinated set of competences, which are defi ned as a general outcome of
compulsory science education.
Philosophy of science in action
The article reviews Christopher Hitchcockâs Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Science, aims to present contemporary issues in philosophy of science through a series of eight debates between leading analytic philosophers in the given specialist field. Each contributor argues for or against a proposed motion of the debate, ranging from issues of metaphysics and epistemology of science to specific philosophical questions in physics, biology and psychology. In that they draw on a wealth of techniques from the practice of philosophy of science from conceptual clarifications to invocation of examples from scientific practice. Nonethless, against the background of philosophical work associated with contemporary scientific practice the topics selected for this volume seem limited in both depth (the fundamental metaphysical and epistemological questions are not backed up by the equally fundamental scientific research) and scope (the âcontemporaneityâ of scientific questions presented is not always up to scratch). The volumeâs great worth is in presenting âphilosophy of science in actionâ by exercising many tricks of the trade in several self-contained chapters. ( IN CROATIAN: U Älanku se daje pregled zbornika Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of science, urednika Christophera Hitchcocka. kojemu je cilj predstaviti suvremene teme u filozofiji znanosti kroz niz od osam rasprava izmeÄu vodeÄih analitiÄkih filozofa u danome podruÄju. Svaki sudionik argumentira za ili protiv izloĆŸenog prijedloga rasprave, ĆĄto se proteĆŸe od pitanja metafizike i epistemologije znanosti do specifiÄnih filozofskih pitanja u fizici, biologiji i psihologiji. Pritom se oslanjaju na obilje tehnikĂą iz prakse filozofije znanosti, od pojmovnih pojaĆĄnjenja do pozivanja na primjere iz znanstvene prakse. MeÄutim, s obzirom na pozadinu filozofskog rada vezanog uz suvremenu znanstvenu praksu, teme odabrane za ovaj zbornik Äine se ograniÄenima kako po svojoj dubini (temeljna metafiziÄka i epistemoloĆĄka pitanja nemaju uvijek podrĆĄku u jednako temeljnim znanstvenim istraĆŸivanjima) tako po svome rasponu (âsuvremenostâ prikazanih znanstvenih pitanja nije uvijek na oÄekivanoj razini). Velika vrijednost zbornika je ĆĄto u nekoliko zaokruĆŸenih poglavlja prikazuje âfilozofiju znanosti na djeluâ kroz upotrebu mnogih âtajni zanataâ ove discipline.
DruĆĄtvena oÄekivanja i prirodo-znanstveno kompetentni uÄenici
U tekstu se daje pregled tema vezanih uz operativno odreÄenje prirodoznanstvenih kompetencija za obvezno i opÄe obrazovanje. Slijedom uvoÄenja pojma âkompetencijeâ u europski obrazovni diskurs analiziraju se njegove poveznice sa srodnim pojmovima, te odnos prema âprirodoznanstvenoj pismenostiâ. Pozivi na razvoj âprirodoznanstvene pismenostiâ prikazuju se kao iskorak iz usvajanja disciplinski znaÄajnih Äinjenica, a prema modelu obrazovanja kao razvoju kompetencija poĆŸeljnih za ispunjenje osobnih stremljenja i druĆĄtvenih potreba. Posebno se analizira utjecaj druĆĄtvenih potreba na operacionalizaciju kompetencijskih modela, te problematizira uloga stavova uÄenika prema predmetnim sadrĆŸajima u svjetlu primjera operacionalizacije za potrebe OECD PISA testiranja, u kojem kompetenciju pojmovno odreÄuju i znanja i stavovi. TakoÄer se upozorava i na rezultate istraĆŸivanja koja ukazuju na negativan stav uÄenika u Hrvatskoj prema prirodoslovnim predmetima. (IN ENGLISH: The article surveys the topics related to operationalisation of natural science competences in compulsory primary education. Following the introduction of the term âcompetencesâ into European educational discourse, its relations with the similar concepts and the notion
of âscientific literacyâ are analyzed. The calls for the introduction of scientific literacy as the educational aim are shown to be the conceptual origin of the step out of the appropriation of the disciplinarily significant facts and towards the model of education as development of competences required for fulfillment of personal aspirations and societal needs. The influence of the scientific literacy drive on the development of the competence-based educational
models is surveyed, especially with respect to development of studentsâ attitudes towards content of science subjects. The latter is well exemplified in the competence-model operationalisation through the OECD PISA testing, where knowledge and attitudes alike
define the scientific competence. A warning is raised concerning the empirical research findings about the negative attitude of Croatian students towards the natural science subjects in the primary school curriculum.
A law-constitutive explanation of fundamental material objects and âbodies that surround usâ
What becomes of our clearest theories of explanation, when faced with the unpalatable quantum phenomena that seem to undermine the direct conceptual connection between the fundamental material entities and the self-standing material objects of everyday parlance? The general explanatory theory advocates unification of explanatory concepts with everyday discourse, identification of essentially similar characteristics between direct experience and the hypothesised explanatory ontology, and a conceptualisation of phenomena in terms of objects enduring causally regulated change. On the other hand quantum theory feeds anti-realist suspicions about the worth of (metaphysical) realist explanatory endeavour with examples of phenomena in which the structure of material separation and individuation based on spatial extension is insufficient for construction of deeper explanatory narratives. An example from history of science, that of Newtonâs law-constitutive definition of objects in response to Descartes problem of bodies is used to suggest a possible strategy for explanations unifying the quantum and common-sense conceptual domains, provided the anti-realist challenge to such enterprise is read as questioning the epistemological justification of interpretation of experience in both cases.
(IN CROATIAN: Ć to se dogaÄa s najjasnijim dostupnim teorijama objaĆĄnjenja kada se suoÄe s problematiÄnim kvantnim pojavama koje naizgled potkopavaju neposrednu konceptualnu poveznicu izmeÄu fundamentalnih materijalnih entiteta i samoopstojnih materijalnih predmeta iz svakodnevnog govora? OpÄa teorija objaĆĄnjenja preporuÄa objedinjenje teoretskih eksplanatornih pojmova sa svakodnevnim govorom, odreÄenje esencijalno sliÄnih karakteristika izmeÄu neposrednog iskustva i hipotetske eksplanatorne ontologije te konceptualizaciju pojava kroz predmete koji istraju kroz uzroÄno regulirane promjene. S druge strane, kvantna teorija potkrjepljuje antirealistiÄne sumnje o valjanosti eksplanatornog nastojanja (metafiziÄkog) realizma primjerima pojava u kojima je struktura materijalne razdvojenosti i individuacije temeljene na prostornoj proteĆŸnosti nedovoljna za izgradnju dubljih eksplanatornih narativa. Primjerom iz povijesti znanosti, Newtonovom definicijom predmeta temeljenom na zakonima kao odgovorom na Descartesov problem materijalnih tijela, daje se moguÄa strategija izgradnje objaĆĄnjenja koja objedinjuju kvantne i âzdravorazumskeâ konceptualne domene, ukoliko se antirealistiÄna kritika te izgradnje u oba sluÄaja shvati kao propitivanje epistemoloĆĄkog opravdanja tumaÄenja iskustva.
an attempt to holistically frame the discourse for action in the conditions of climate change
The article aims to set up a general conceptual framework for explaining the
combined natural and social conditions associated with global climate change.
Starting from addressing the issues through the metaphor of âthe tragedy of
the commonsâ it suggests that a pessimistic reading can be avoided in
situations where different participants of the commons understand the
universal rules constraining preferable governance strategies, and can choose
to form mutual agreements to act cooperatively in furthering some of their
individual interests. Principle style explanations are introduced and
suggested as a useful explanatory model in this case, based on the
considerations from the history of science. Based on the effects of the human
interaction with the global ecosystem and fellow humans in joint common
governance on the equilibrium relationship (and human security) three broadly
applicable constraining principles are tentatively proposed, opening up space
for further tests of case study applicability, both in terms of universal
validity and conceptual accessibility to different commons governance
participants
Einsteinova sinkronizacija i konvencionalnost istovremenosti
UnatoÄ naslovu koji pokriva iznimno opĆĄirno podruÄje, Älanak se usredotoÄuje na blisko pitanje da li Specijalna teorija relativnosti (STR) nuĆŸno zagovara ukidanje ontoloĆĄke razlike izmeÄu proĆĄlih i buduÄih dogaÄaja, izmeÄu proĆĄlosti i buduÄnosti opÄenito. IzraĆŸeno ĆŸargonom koji uvodi Stein: jesmo li u okviru STR prinuÄeni birati iskljuÄivo izmeÄu âsolipsizmaâ i âdeterminizmaâ? Posebice Äe biti rijeÄi o ulozi koju konvencionalnost istovremenosti u STR ima u pokuĆĄaju odgovora na ovo pitanje. Standardni argumenti pozivaju se na relativnost istovremenosti, tvrdnju da STR negira postojanje univerzalne âsadaĆĄnjostiâ koja razgraniÄava âproĆĄlostâ i âbuduÄnostâ, kako bi pokazali da nema ontoloĆĄke razlike izmeÄu proĆĄlosti i buduÄnosti, da su obje jednako odreÄene/zbiljne (determinizam). Pritom se preĆĄutno prelazi preko Äinjenice da je za uspostavu ontoloĆĄkih tvrdnji vezanih uz relativnost istovremenosti potrebno prvo rijeĆĄiti pitanje konvencionalnosti istovremenosti u okviru STR. U Älanku Äe se nastojati pokazati da promatranjem pitanja konvencionalnosti istovremenosti iz perspektive âÄisto filozofskogâ Dummettovog odreÄenja razlike izmeÄu proĆĄlosti i buduÄnosti moĆŸemo u okviru STR pokuĆĄati razviti shvaÄanje razlikovanja proĆĄlosti i buduÄnosti mimo (nepoĆŸeljne) stroge ontoloĆĄke dihotomije âsolipsizamâ/âdeterminizamâ, ukoliko kriterij koji postavlja STR shvatimo kao epistemiÄki, a ne kao ontoloĆĄki. (IN ENGLISH: Despite a broad-range title the paper settles for the related issue of whether the Special Theory of Relativity (STR) necessarily advocates the demise of an ontological difference between past and future events, between past and future in general. In the jargon of H. Stein: are we forced, within the framework of the STR, to choose only between âsolipsismâ and âdeterminismâ exclusively? A special emphasis is placed on the role that the conventionality of simultaneity plays in the STR with regards to this question. The standard arguments rely on the relativity of simultaneity, the claim that the STR negates the existence of a universal âpresentâ that divides the âpastâ and the âfutureâ, so as to conclude that there is no ontological difference between past and future events, that both are equally determined/real (âdeterminismâ). This often neglects the fact that to establish the ontological claims related to relativity of simultaneity, one must first resolve the issues of conventionality of simultaneity within the STR. The paper will aim to show that by addressing the issue of conventionality from Dummettâs âpurely philosophicalâ determination of the difference between the past and the future, we develop an understanding of the said difference, within the framework of the STR, beyond the (unwanted) strict ontological dichotomy of âsolipsism/determinismâ, given that the criterion that is provided by the STR is understood as epistemic and not ontological.
ENjoinED learning: cross-sectoral NGO platform for sustainability education in a group of post-communist countries
The paper aims to present the experiences and the cooperative research findings from an educational and political platform consisting of environmental and educational policy NGO-s, mostly in the post-communist region. The platform provided both the learning between and within regional organisations and the evidence-based approach to advocating changes in respective national formal education systems. We start from calls in literature to address global problems through education, by altering the business-as-usual socio-productive processes and contemporary Western lifestyle [1], [2]. Alternative, sustainable socio-economic patterns fostered through education will require a broad civic learning about the ecosystem services on which human survival and material prosperity depend, so as to enable the conceptualisation of 'a more sustainable' future. However, based on this, sustainability education also has to equip the learners [3] with skills for reaching difficult decisions amidst conditions of uncertainty, complexity and significant bio-physical constraints and conflicting human values and interests. New forms of curricular content may be called for, but more importantly the content has to be framed in a different way. There is currently not only no universally accepted strategy of sustainable development applicable in different societies outside the narrow global political focus, but there is also no global proscription how individual educational systems should contribute to this common global goal [4]. Whilst such a polycentric approach is the norm in education, commonalities of threats and potentials on a global level, in a globalised economy, call for some shared outputs of the basic education available to all citizens. The learning paths and educational policy construction and advocacy presented through the ENjoinED initiative aim to illustrate the perspectives on the shared problem from diverse Eurasian educational systems, from Georgia to England. But even more importantly, by being grounded in real-life national curricula in transition (outline of mapping of the positioning of the ESD- relevant curricular content), through presentation of qualitative framing of the relevant content within curricular documents we hope to offer an illustrative blueprint for grassroots cross-sectoral learning and advocacy of sustainable socio-economic patterns to be fostered through education
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