Analyzes recent work in psychology on the nature of the representation of complex forms of knowledge with the goal of understanding how theories are represented. (Author/CCM)

Argues that existing accounts of theories within philosophy of science and developmental psychology are either less precise than is ideal for the task or cannot capture everyday theorizing of the sort that children--if they theorize--must do. (Author/CCM)

Outlines an account of conceptual learning in terms of the conceptions that people hold, the status they award to their conceptions, and the conceptual ecology containing the criteria they use in determining status. (Author/CCM)

Discusses the hermeneutic and epistemological dimensions of science, and investigates the role that this discussion might play in science education. After a brief review of two main variants of hermeneutic conceptions of science, a general outline is given of the "existential-ontological notion of science." Draws conclusions for a new…

Explains the two ontological convictions that played the role of epistemological obstacle for Bolzano, a contemporary of the founders of non-Euclidean geometry. Forms part of the body of work aimed at identifying obstacles in the history of mathematics in order to confront them with obstacles to learning and to establish their epistemological…

Presents a theoretical framework that provides foundations for school science and defines some research problems. Begins with what is already known about students' models and cognition in order to construct proposals of didactical intervention. Proposes an analogous model for school science in which experimentation and language play the key roles.…

Argues that history and philosophy of science can investigate scientific questions that are excluded from science itself by working as a shadow discipline, complementing the specialist science in the production of knowledge about nature. Contains 16 references. (Author/WRM)

Attempts to ascertain whether the presence of biasing values in the practice of science is an inbuilt feature of an idealized institution, Science, and judges that those values inbuilt to Science are not a source of bias. (Author/MM)

Responds to Wallis Suchting's essay on the nature of scientific thought. Argues that there are obstacles to knowledge and that scientific thought, to be successful, must adapt itself to those obstacles. Concludes that the combination of imagination and formalization is universal throughout post-Galilean science. (JRH)

Examines recent developments in Nancy Cartwright's philosophy of science against the background of her earlier ideas. Argues that Cartwright's views fall within the broad empiricist tradition. Contains 19 references. (Author/WRM)

Offers a resolution to the debate between constructivists and realists regarding the epistemological status of human knowledge. Presents evidence in the form of three case studies and one experimental study. Concludes that knowledge acquisition involves a pattern idea generation and test that, when cast in the form of a verbal argument, follows an…

Argues for the human value of scientific knowledge because the values that permeate scientific discourse (1) are loaded in turn with facts; (2) are not immune from critical revision; and (3) have changed in the past and continue to be subjected to revision. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/MDH)

Discusses two dichotomies in the philosophy of mathematics: the prescriptive-descriptive distinction, and the process-product distinction. Introduces the social-constructivist view that can affect the aims, content, teaching approaches, implicit values, assessment of the mathematics curriculum, and the beliefs and practices of mathematics…

Investigates the question of how a set of examples for adding natural numbers can be extended in a unique manner ad infinitum using the framework of a neural network model. Discusses Wittgenstein's remarks on the foundations of mathematics. (Contains 11 references.) (MDH)

Explains why teachers addressing the nature of science should know the work of Michael Polanyi. Outlines Polanyi's intellectual career and examines his ideas on the education of scientists, research, and knowledge. Polanyi presaged Kuhn, Feyerabend, and the constructivists, yet insisted that science produces true knowledge about reality. (Contains…