A experiência no tempo, nas epistemologias do sul e na docência: reflexões sobre a história da ciência no ensino de química

Abstract

This research reflects on History and Philosophy of Science in the teaching of chemistry. The meeting of these fields of knowledge comes through the word "experience" in its multiple meanings. I started with the ideas of philosopher Jorge Larrosa, who says that in our day to day many things happen, but few touch us, go through us, that is, few actually become experience. In a spiral movement, in the search for new meanings, we launch the word experience in other universes, namely: Time, Epistemologies of the South and Teaching. From the perspective of sociologist Norbert Elias, we present the symbolic construction of time and discuss how our experience depends on how events unfold within the space-time relationship. Access to time-related experience raises questions such as: the impoverishment of experience impacted by the most effective control of time, a striking feature of modernity; the perspective of time, which changes in the passage from alchemy to chemistry; and the different layers of meanings that the word experience assumes over time. For the latter aspect, we take into account the works of Daston, Lunbeck and Pomata. In order to (re)think the theoretical and sociological limits of modern science, through a social, political and economic approach, we dialogue with sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos and his definition of the Epistemologies of the South. It is an epistemic exercise, which seeks to validate the knowledges that are outside the hegemonic European axis and which has been historically marginalized. Finally, when thinking about the experience linked to teaching, we discuss the formative process of the Chemistry teacher in a theoretical and practical perspective, in which we articulate our idea of teaching with the work of philosopher Jacques Rancière and his education based on equality of the intelligences. And we share two experiences that brought together History and Philosophy of Science and the teaching of Chemistry. The first was the collaboration in the discussions for the structuring of a study roadmap for a distance-learning course. And the second, aimed at high school, was a teaching sequence involving the theme of Chemical Equilibrium from the work of German scientist Fritz Haber, the synthesis of ammonia and its participation in the program of chemical weapons during World War I.