Durante as duas últimas décadas a discussão a respeito do papel da argumentação no ensino de ciências vem se destacando em vários países. No Brasil são ainda escassos os estudos dedicados à temática, especialmente com relação ao ensino de química. Vários pesquisadores afirmam que a sua prática pode favorecer a compreensão de conceitos científicos, o desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico e o entendimento sobre a natureza da ciência pelos alunos. No presente trabalho investigamos aspectos relacionados à elaboração e aplicação de oficinas de formação sobre a argumentação, tendo em vista o entendimento das suas contribuições na preparação e implementação, por parte dos licenciandos, de projetos de regência que fomentem a sua manifestação no ensino básico de química. Procuramos também analisar as características de argumentos produzidos pelos licenciandos na busca de explicações para a ocorrência de um fenômeno natural e identificar se valorizam a argumentação na prática pedagógica. Lançamos mão do Modelo de Argumentação de Sampson e Blanchard para analisar as características dos argumentos produzidos pelos licenciandos durante o processo de formação e verificamos que estes, em sua maioria, não apresentam todos os elementos esperados em uma argumentação científica, de acordo com o referido Modelo. Para avaliarmos em que medida os licenciandos valorizam a argumentação como uma alternativa para melhorar o ensino e a aprendizagem de ciências nos pautamos na análise dos projetos de regência elaborados e de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas ao final do processo. As estratégias e objetivos adotados na elaboração dos projetos se mostraram alinhados com aqueles enfatizados nas oficinas de formação e os depoimentos prestados revelaram indícios de valorização da argumentação por parte dos licenciandos. Analisamos ainda as regências com a finalidade de investigar a forma como os licenciandos se apropriam do discurso argumentativo e realizam ações pró-argumentação, assim como a possível influência do processo de formação na adoção de tal postura. Nas regências dos licenciandos identificamos ações desencadeadoras de processos argumentativos, como posicionar-se na construção dos argumentos e justificar com evidências. Estas ações sugerem a influência e as contribuições das oficinas no planejamento e execução das regências, uma vez que nas oficinas os licenciandos participaram de atividades cujos objetivos residiam, principalmente, no oferecimento de estratégias de ensino promotoras da argumentação e na caracterização da argumentação e distinção entre os diferentes componentes que constituem um argumento. Os resultados indicaram a relevância do processo de formação e proporcionaram subsídios para a análise e reflexão sobre o potencial da argumentação na prática educativa em química. / Over the last two decades, the discussion concerning the role of argumentation in science teaching has come to the forefront in various countries. In Brazil, there are still few studies regarding this subject, especially in relation to chemistry teaching. Various researchers state that its practice can help students understand scientific concepts, develop critical thinking and understand the nature of science. In this thesis, we investigate aspects related to developing and running training workshops on argumentation, with a view to understanding pre-service teachers´ contributions in the preparation and implementation of conducting projects which foment argumentation in chemistry teaching. We also attempted to analyse the characteristics of arguments produced by pre-service teachers to look for explanations for the occurrence of a natural phenomenon and identify if they value argumentation in the pedagogical practice. We lay hold of the Argumentation Model proposed by Sampson and Blanchard to analyse characteristics of the arguments produced by the pre-service teachers during the training process and observed that, on the whole, they do not present all the elements expected in scientific argumentation, according to the aforementioned model. In order to evaluate the extent to which the pre-service teachers value argumentation as an alternative to improve science teaching and learning, we used as a base the analysis of the developed projects and semi-structured interviews carried out at the end of the process. The strategies and objectives adopted in the projects development showed to be compatible with those emphasized in the training workshops and the testimonies given showed evidence of the pre-service teachers valuing argumentation. Furthermore, we analysed the dominion provided by the pre-service teachers so as to investigate the way the pre-service teachers take control of the argumentative discourse and take pro-argumentation actions, as well as the possible influence of the training process in adopting such a posture. When the pre-service teachers took command, we identified triggering actions of argumentative processes, such as positioning oneself when putting forward arguments and giving reasons based on evidence. These actions suggest the influence and contributions from the workshops in planning and taking command, as in the workshops the pre-service teachers took part in activities whose objectives were mainly to offer teaching strategies to encourage argumentation and argumentation characterisation, as well as distinguishing between the different components that comprise an argument. The results showed the importance of the training process and provided a basis to analyse and reflect on the potential aspect of argumentation in the educational practice in chemistry.

O Realismo Científico tem sido defendido quase exclusivamente através do Argumento do Milagre, segundo o qual ou assumimos que as teorias científicas são verdadeiras ou tornamos o sucesso da atividade científica em um fenômeno misterioso e inexplicável. No primeiro momento, as principais críticas ao argumento do milagre são reunidas em cinco objeções: (i) apresenta-se uma explicação alternativa para o sucesso da ciência que não assuma a verdade das teorias científicas e que compita com a explicação realista; (ii) defende-se que a hipótese realista não é uma explicação satisfatória para o sucesso da ciência, acusando-a de vacuidade explicativa, ou (iii) acusando-a de não satisfazer os critérios de rigor metodológico científico que ela mesmo impõe à justificação de teorias; (iv) afirma-se que o argumento seja uma petição de princípio, por pressupor uma regra de inferência abdutiva aceita apenas pela posição realista; (v) propõe-se que o argumento constitua uma falácia estatística ao ignorar um índice de fundo relevante. Ao replicar às objeções apresentadas, alguns autores propõem distinguir entre uma versão semântica do argumento, baseada no sucesso empírico obtido pelas teorias científicas enquanto entidades semânticas; e uma versão metodológica do argumento, baseada no sucesso pragmático dos cientistas em escolher teorias férteis e descobrir teorias bem sucedidas. Além disso, outros autores propõem uma segunda distinção entre uma versão geral do argumento, baseada estatisticamente no sucesso generalizado das teorias científicas, e uma versão retalhada do argumento, baseada na sua aplicação específica a uma teoria tomada individualmente. Após comparar as vantagens e desvantagens de cada interpretação, critica-se a relevância das distinções propostas e defende-se uma versão do argumento que sintetize suas diferentes interpretações de modo a solucionar as objeções inicialmente apresentadas. / Scientific Realism has been defended almost exclusively by the Non-Miracle Argument, which states that either it‘s assumed that scientific theories are true or the success of the scientific enterprise becomes a mysterious and unexplainable fact. At first, the main criticisms of the Non-Miracle Argument are gathered in five objections: (i) it‘s presented an alternative explanation to the success of science that competes with the realist explanation and does not assume the truth of the scientific theories; (ii) it‘s defended that the realist hypothesis is not a satisfactory explanation to the success of science, charging it of being an empty explanation, or (iii) charging its capacities to reach the scientific methodological rigorousness that itself imposes to the warrant of theories; (iv) it‘s affirmed that the argument is a petition principii, on account of presupposing an abductive rule of inference accepted only by the realist perspective; (v) it‘s proposed that the argument constitutes a statistical fallacy on account of neglecting a relevant base rate; When replying to the presented objections, some authors come up with the distinction between a semantic version of the argument, based on the empiric success reached by scientific theories considered as semantic entities, and a methodological version of the argument, based on the pragmatic success of scientists at choosing fruitful theories and discovering succeeded theories. Furthermore, other authors offer a second distinction between a general version of the argument, statistically based on the generalized success of science, and a retail version of the argument, based on its specific application to an individual theory. After comparing the advantages and drawbacks of each interpretation, the relevance of each distinction is reanalyzed and a new version of the argument by making a synthesis of its different interpretations is defended in a way to answer the five initial objections.

The following dissertation is a study of the "ontological proof' for God's existence, specifically of the controversy concerning this proof from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. As the title indicates, the primary theme is Hegel's defense and reformulation of the proof. I argue for a metaphysical interpretation of Hegel's Science of Logic, by showing that one of Hegel's chief goals in the Logic is to provide a demonstration for the thesis that "necessary existence belongs to God's nature." I conclude that while Hegel offers a coherent and informative account of this thesis, his analysis does not overcome one of the principal shortcomings of the ontological proof, namely, that the argument involves an appeal to intuition. The ontological proof is thus, if in some sense valid, not persuasive. The discussion of Hegel is preceded by a detailed analysis of Descartes' formulation of the proof. I argue that Descartes consistently defends his argument by appealing to metaphysical and epistemological doctrines as premises, so that the proof represents a conclusion of his entire philosophical system. I also provide a lengthy treatment of Kant's objections to the proof, and I conclude (1) that most of his arguments are repetitions of older objections and (2) that even his best arguments are question-begging. I show that Hegel sides with Descartes, and against Kant, on every relevant issue, and that Hegel's metaphysical system brings Descartes' assumptions to their ultimate consequences. In the concluding chapters I examine some of the problems that underlie the theoretical philosophies of Kant and Hegel. I argue that Hegel fails to show that Kant's philosophy is self-refuting, and that Kant's critique of the ontological argument is consistent with the basic principles of his philosophy. The shortcoming of Kant's view is merely that he fails to justify some of those principles. In the final chapter I argue that any transcendental critique of the ontological argument, or of metaphysics in general, is doomed to failure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the shift of Thai teachers' views of learning and their pedagogical practices from the traditional approach to be more centered on an argument-based inquiry approach (ABI) in Thai classrooms, where teachers and learners have long been familiar with the lecture-based tradition. Other than examining the changes, the study further explored the relationship throughout the ABI implementation phase with a specific focus on driving questions, problem solving and reasoning, and establishing a supportive learning environment. The study was conducted in Thailand with five physics teachers. Data collection involved classroom observations and teacher interviews. The constant comparative method was employed throughout the data analysis process. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) What changes occurred in teachers' pedagogical practices and views of learning throughout the implementation phase of the argument-based inquiry approach? (2) If change did occur, what was the relationship of the change among the observed criteria (questioning, problem solving, and the establishing of a supportive learning environment)? The results revealed that after fourteen weeks, the three teachers who expressed a positive attitude toward the ABI approach and expressed their willingness to practice started to shift their practices and views of learning toward a student-centered model. Although each teacher exhibited a different starting point within the three observed criteria, they all began to shift their practices first, before reflecting on their beliefs. In contrast to these teachers, the other two teachers were impeded by several barriers and therefore failed to implement the approach. These positive attitude, willingness, and shift of practice appear to be connected and necessary for change. The study highlights that in order to support the implementation of the ABI approach, especially in a large class size cultural setting, opportunities for teachers to be challenged in both classroom and cognitive spaces, where they are immersed in authentic practices and be able to reflect on their own actions as well as their existing beliefs, are crucial. However, to advance the dimensions of this issue, long-term professional development and a longitudinal study observing a large class size cultural settings are suggested.

This study was designed to examine the effect of Science Writing Heuristic Approach on Students’ Learning of Multimodal Representations across 4th Grade to 8the Grade Levels. Multimodal representations in the forms of figures, tables, pictures, and charts are part of scientific language. A quasi-experimental design with control and treatment group of classes was used. Students completed the summary writing task by including multimodal representations in the both control and treatment classes. The students’ writing samples were evaluated with four measures of multimodal categories, including sign, functional, conceptual and embeddedness structures. To examine the differences of treatment and control groups and the effect of age, the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis was used in this study. The HLM provides an opportunity to use statistical models that account for nesting of the data. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that the treatment classes significantly outperformed than the control classes on four measures of categories. Age also was a significant contributor to students’ learning of multimodal representations. Three key points emerged from the results. Firstly, the SWH approach had positive effects on students’ understanding of the multimodal representations. Secondly, the impact of the age was different for each category. Thirdly, the categories were used in this study had significant potential when exploring the students learning of multimodal representations. The study indicated some practical benefits that the strategy of promoting argumentative scientific language effectively was resulted in better communication, understanding of the topic with multimodal representations, and some transferring impacts of all these with the summary writing activities.

Defenders of the Knowledge Argument contend that physicalism is false because knowing all the physical truths is not sufficient to know all the truths about the world. In particular, proponents of the Knowledge Argument claim that physicalism is false because the truths about the character of conscious experience are not knowable from the complete set of physical truths. This dissertation is a defense of the Knowledge Argument. Chapter one characterizes what physicalism is and provides support for the claim that if knowing all the physical truths is not sufficient to know all the truths about the world, then physicalism is false. In chapter two, I defend the claim that knowing all the physical truths is not sufficient for knowing all the truths about the world. In addition to mounting a prima facie case for the knowledge intuition, I present and defend an epistemology grounded in direct acquaintance to provide a more substantive argument to accept it. Chapters three through five address the physicalist objections to the Knowledge Argument. The first set of objections advocates that knowing all the physical truths is, in fact, sufficient for knowing all the truths about the world. The next set of objections admits that there is some sense in which knowing all the physical truths is not sufficient for knowing all the truths about the world. However, these objections maintain that the kind of knowledge that is absent from the complete set of physical truths is know-how or knowledge by acquaintance, and not factual or propositional knowledge. The final set of objections maintain that the kind of propositional knowledge that is left out of the complete set of physical truths is compatible with physicalism. My response to these objections is part of advancing my prima facie case for the Knowledge Argument. The final chapter addresses a structural question that pertains to the Knowledge Argument. Some philosophers have maintained that the structure of the Knowledge Argument invites a kind of self-refutation of any systematic account of reality. The concern is that the Knowledge Argument proves too much, and that the dualist who uses the argument to refute physicalism risks the argument defeating his own position. I will argue that the Knowledge Argument does not refute dualism.

Un certain nombre de problèmes philosophiques présentent la particularité d'être basés sur une analogie entre une situation réelle et un modèle probabiliste. De tels problèmes reposent ainsi sur une analogie avec une urne. La présente thèse se propose de décrire et de mettre en application une méthodologie destinée à la résolution des problèmes philosophiques basés sur une analogie avec une urne. Cette méthodologie est basée sur l'utilisation des n-univers. A cet effet, je décris tout d'abord les n-univers de manière détaillée. Je discute également les difficultés de la théorie des n-univers liés à la démultiplication des critères ainsi qu'à la relation un/plusieurs entre les objets et un critère donné. En premier lieu, je présente ensuite une application du modèle des n-univers à l'argument de l'Apocalypse (Doomsday Argument) et aux problèmes récemment apparus dans la littérature en relation avec celui-ci. Je m'attache également à montrer comment l'application du modèle des n-univers à plusieurs problèmes et expériences de pensée liés à l'argument de l'Apocalypse permet d'en clarifier les données et de dissiper l'ambiguïté qui préside à la description des situations correspondantes. Je développe ainsi une analyse des problèmes suivants liés à l'Argument de l'Apocalypse: le modèle des deux urnes (two urn case), l'expérience du pile ou face divin (God's Coin Toss), le problème de la Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty Problem), le Philosophe présomptueux (Presumptuous Philosopher), Adam paresseux (Lazy Adam), le paradoxe de la chambre d'exécution (Shooting-Room Paradox). Je présente enfin une solution pour l'Argument de l'Apocalypse, qui repose sur une troisième voie par rapport aux deux types principaux de solutions classiquement décrites. En second lieu, je développe une application de la théorie des n-univers au paradoxe de Goodman (Goodman's Paradox). Je replace tout d'abord l'énoncé de Goodman dans le cadre des n-univers. Puis je propose une solution pour le paradoxe, sur la base d'une distinction entre deux modélisations de l'énoncé de Goodman dans des n-univers distincts.

No description available.

<p>Den nuvarande svenska abortlagen infördes 1975. Lagen innebär att kvinnan har rätt att avbryta graviditeten fram till vecka 18. År 2006 genomfördes totalt 36 045 aborter. Litteraturstudiens syfte var att beskriva män och kvinnors upplevelser i samband med abort. Studien baserades på totalt åtta vetenskapliga artiklar. De analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys, och resulterade i två huvudkategorier och sex kategorier. Resultatet visade att män och kvinnor upplever abort på olika sätt. De hade dock båda som argument för abort att de vill att barnet ska växa upp i en trygg familj. De hade även ett behov att tala om beslutet av abort med vänner, familjemedlemmar eller sin partner. Kvinnorna upplevde att de fick stöd av sjukvårdspersonalen, medan männen kände sig åsidosatta. Männen och kvinnorna ansåg att beslutet om abort var bådas, men att det slutliga avgörandet var kvinnans. Männen upplevde att detta var påfrestande, men insåg att kvinnan inte kunde eller skulle tvingas till ett beslut. Det är viktigt att familj och vänner samt sjukvårdspersonal lyssnar och ger adekvat stöd till de som genomgår en abort, då de upplever många olika känslor.</p>

Den nuvarande svenska abortlagen infördes 1975. Lagen innebär att kvinnan har rätt att avbryta graviditeten fram till vecka 18. År 2006 genomfördes totalt 36 045 aborter. Litteraturstudiens syfte var att beskriva män och kvinnors upplevelser i samband med abort. Studien baserades på totalt åtta vetenskapliga artiklar. De analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys, och resulterade i två huvudkategorier och sex kategorier. Resultatet visade att män och kvinnor upplever abort på olika sätt. De hade dock båda som argument för abort att de vill att barnet ska växa upp i en trygg familj. De hade även ett behov att tala om beslutet av abort med vänner, familjemedlemmar eller sin partner. Kvinnorna upplevde att de fick stöd av sjukvårdspersonalen, medan männen kände sig åsidosatta. Männen och kvinnorna ansåg att beslutet om abort var bådas, men att det slutliga avgörandet var kvinnans. Männen upplevde att detta var påfrestande, men insåg att kvinnan inte kunde eller skulle tvingas till ett beslut. Det är viktigt att familj och vänner samt sjukvårdspersonal lyssnar och ger adekvat stöd till de som genomgår en abort, då de upplever många olika känslor.