Scientific culture and public education
pp. 17-29
in: Fabio Bevilacqua, Enrico Giannetto, Michael R. Matthews (eds), Science education and culture, Berlin, Springer, 2001Abstract
Current science and science-friendly philosophy jointly yield a picture of the world and ourselves in it that is more substantial, detailed and coherent than any other produced before by natural philosophy. When carefully formulated this picture provides us with: (a) an unprecedentedly reliable representation of vast regions of the natural world; and (b) a non-arbitrary public framework for understanding and furthering important areas of public concern. This paper comments on the cultural and educational significance of this picture. Influential arguments against granting a privileged role to serious science on the basis of differential credibility are examined and found wanting. This result is then folded into an analysis of the significance of scientific thought and practice for a cautious conception of the goals and methods of public education.