A literatura na formação de futuros cientistas: lição de Frankenstein

Abstract

Educators dedicated to higher education in the health area, which, since the beginning of last century until recently, has prioritized the technical-professional character, have been stressing the necessity of educational proposals that can offer an education encompassing a broader approach to human being and its social relations. In this respect, it is of particular interest to examine the education of students who will conduct their activities as future scientists. We focused on this subject to conduct a study about the implementation of a methodology -developed by an academic humanities center -that privileges literature as a source of education. The method was used in the discipline of philosophy, with students in the first year of a biomedical sciences program at a public university in the State of São Paulo. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was the book that was chosen to achieve the goal of establishing a reflection point through which the exclusively technical-professional focus could be widened. The material we analyzed was drawn from accounts made in class and reports of students, in addition to notes from the field notebooks of the course's professor and monitor, which we examined according with a phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. The results we obtained reflected questions and concerns experienced in students' daily routine, pointing to the identification of the following topics: methodology impact; personal and shared reflection; an expanded notion of the concept of science; and an awakening of the individual and social responsibility which the scientist should have. In conclusion, the methodology achieved its goals, and the results should serve as the basis for further research. KeywordsEducation -Literature -Science -Scientific research. Palavras-chaveEducação -Literatura -Ciência -Pesquisa científica.

Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus: a classic novel to stimulate the analysis of complex contemporary issues in biomedical sciences

“…In the second, Reginato et al [ 1 ] used the field diary of a first-year biomedical sciences classroom in Brazil to evaluate the impact that reading and discussing Frankenstein had on their students in the context of a course that aimed to promote internal reflection about knowledge and the concept of science, responsibility and bioethics, and dehumanization in research. Students’ reflections focused mainly on two aspects: issues to be considered in science education beyond technical aspects, particularly the moral and ethical responsibility in research, and the influence of scientists’ actions in society.…”

“…In part, this failure derives from the compartmentalization of higher education. Bioethics is classified as a branch of moral philosophy, which is considered to lie in the sphere of the humanities rather than in the sphere of science and technology, and health sciences education largely ignores the humanities [ 1 – 6 ]. Moreover, traditional teaching methods like lectures are poorly suited to teaching issues related to bioethics, such as compassionate care or appropriate relationships among health professionals, patients, and society, which require active pedagogical techniques that help students develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving competences [ 7 , 8 ].…”