Thèse effectuée en cotutelle avec l’Université de Montréal et l’Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (IHPST) / L’entropie est généralement considérée comme une propriété émergente, tandis que l’émergence de certaines structures organisées serait le résultat d’une dissipation d’entropie. Ainsi, l’émergence est parfois présentée comme ce qui expliquerait l’entropie alors que l’entropie expliquerait l’émergence. Tels quels, ces deux énoncés ne peuvent être tous deux vrais. Face à la polysémie déconcertante des concepts d’émergence, d’entropie et d’explication, je soutiens que cet apparent paradoxe peut être résolu formellement ainsi : l’émergence (en un sens A) explique (en un sens B) l’entropie (en un sens C) et l’entropie (en un sens D) explique (en un sens E) l’émergence (en un sens F). La solution revient donc à préciser A, B, C, D, E, et F. Pour ce faire, je propose un modèle pluraliste (restreint) de l’explication et un examen critique du concept d’entropie. Dans le cas de l’entropie comme explanandum de l’émergence (A, B et C), ce qui émerge est l’irréversibilité comme propriété essentielle de l’entropie thermodynamique, mais l’émergence ne peut être synonyme de non-explicabilité. Je montre alors trois possibilités où l’émergence peut expliquer l’entropie thermodynamique : selon (i) un sens fort, comme une modalité ontologique, (ii) selon un sens intermédiaire d’après ce que j’appelle l’émergence méthodologique (où il y a possibilité d’explication réductive sans réduction dérivationnelle), et (iii) selon un sens faible, comme sa désignation comme membre d’une classe d’émergents. Dans le cas de l’entropie comme explanans de l’émergence (D, E, et F), il faut distinguer l’approche substantielle de l’approche analogique. Dans le premier cas, l’entropie renvoie à une propriété macroscopique robuste et autonome pouvant être mobilisée au sein d’un explanans de l’émergence de nouvelles structures complexes. Dans le second cas, l’entropie exemplifie la réalisabilité multiple et peut être mobilisée, modulo une justification, au sein d’un explanans de l’émergence de propriétés à des niveaux supérieurs. En définitive, la polysémie de ces concepts peut être fructueuse au sein de ce cadre explicatif de phénomènes divers et complexes, de la physique à la biologie. / Entropy is generally considered as an emergent property, while the emergence of certain organized structures is supposed to be the result of entropy dissipation. Thus, emergence is sometimes seen as explaining entropy, whereas sometimes the explanation is the other way around, as entropy would explain emergence. As such both statements cannot be true. Faced with the daunting polysemy of these concepts of emergence, entropy and explanation, I argue that this apparent paradox can be formally solved as follows: the emergence (in a sense A) explains (in a sense B) entropy (in a sense, C) and entropy (in a sense D) explains (in a sense E) emergence (in a sense F). The solution is therefore to specify A, B, C, D, E, and F. To do this, I suggest a (restricted) pluralistic model of explanation and a critical examination of the concept of entropy. In the case of entropy as explanandum of emergence (A, B and C), what is emerging is irreversibility as an essential property of thermodynamic entropy, but it cannot be emergence of synonymous of non-explicability. I then show three possibilities that can explain the emergence of thermodynamic entropy: (i) in a strong sense, as an ontological modality, (ii) in an intermediate sense, from what I call ‘methodological emergence’ (where there is a possibility of reductive explanation but no derivational reduction), or (iii) in a weak sense, as its designation as a member of an emergence class. In the case of entropy as explanans of emergence (D, E, and F), one must distinguish the substantive approach from the analogical approach. In the first case, entropy refers to a robust and autonomous macroscopic property that can be mobilized in an explanans of the emergence of new complex structures. In the second case, the entropy exemplifies multiple realizability and can be mobilized, with a proper justification, within an explanans of the emergence of properties at higher levels. Ultimately, the polysemy of these concepts can be fruitful in this explanatory framework for various complex phenomena, from physics to biology.

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Esta pesquisa tem o intuito de estudar as concepções dos mediadores do museu de ciências - Catavento Cultural e Educacional - acerca do que é a mediação. Nosso interesse se resume em conhecer essas concepções e analisar seus fundamentos. Com isso esperamos apontar possíveis rumos para o processo de formação dos mediadores e de divulgação da ciência com subsídios trazidos por esta pesquisa empírica. Esta investigação foi desenvolvida sob a luz da teoria da Biologia do Conhecer de Humberto Maturana e Francisco Varela a qual considera a explicação como um fenômeno humano e biológico e que só existe quando é aceito pelo observador. Os dados que serviram para análise neste trabalho foram obtidos durante a realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com os mediadores do museu investigado. Após a coleta dos dados transcrevemos as entrevistas e elaboramos quatro mapas conceituais correspondentes a cada uma delas. Em seguida pedimos para que os entrevistados reconhecessem seu mapa e elaborassem de forma colaborativa um mapa conceitual com a mesma questão focal dos mapas individuais: o que é a mediação no museu de ciências? A partir disso, com ajuda do nosso referencial teórico e dos mapas conceituais, construímos nossas categorias e analisamos as concepções dos mediadores. Os resultados dessa análise revelaram que suas explicações sobre a mediação no museu de ciências possuem uma predominância de concepções embasadas na experiência do viver dentro do espaço museal. Suas distinções sobre o assunto não se valeram de reflexões teóricas, principalmente, daquelas que tratam da comunicação e do ensino nesses espaços, pois a formação acadêmica e a oferecida no museu foram insuficientes. / This research aims to study the conceptions of mediators of the Science museum - Catavento Cultural e Educacional - about what is mediation. Our interest boils down to knowing these views and analyze its foundations. With this we hope to identify possible directions for the process of training of mediators and the dissemination of science with subsidies brought by this empirical research. This research was developed in the light of the theory of Biology of Cognition Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela which considers the explanation as a human and biological phenomenon that exists only when it is accepted by the observer. The data used for analysis in this study were obtained during the performance of semi-structured interviews with the mediators of the museum investigated. After collecting the data, transcribed the interviews and prepare four concept maps corresponding to each of them. Then we ask that respondents recognize your map and draw up collaboratively a single concept map with the same focal issue of individual maps: what is mediation in the science museum? From this, with the help of our theoretical framework and conceptual maps, build our categories and analyzes the concepts of mediators. The results of this analysis revealed that his explanations of mediation in the science museum have a predominance of informed views on the experience of living within the museum space. His distinctions about it not relied on theoretical reflections, mainly those dealing with communication and education in these areas, because the academic and the one offered in the museum were insufficient.

Cette recherche porte sur la réalisation linguistique de l’explication en anglais contemporain. À la suite d’un travail définitoire de la notion sont identifiés deux types d’explication: la clarification et l’explication causale. L’étude adopte une approche énonciative tout en offrant des considérations d’ordre pragmatique. L’analyse linguistique se fonde sur un corpus de textes didactiques et examine plus particulièrement le rôle des connecteurs dans le discours explicatif. Enfin, ce travail vise également la formalisation de quelques relations discursives à l’œuvre dans l’explication et l’écriture de règles linguistiques en vue de la reconnaissance automatique de ces relations. / This study is concerned with the linguistic realisation of explanation in contemporary English. After a definitional work on the notion, two types of explanation are identified: clarifying explanation and causal explanation. The study adopts an utterer-centered approach while also considering pragmatic aspects. The linguistic analysis is based on a corpus of didactic texts and it focuses on the role played by connectives in explanatory discourse. Finally, the study also aims at formalising some discourse relations involved in explanations and designing linguistic rules in order to automatically identify the discourse relations at stake.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-15T15:03:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Alles de Camargo de Souza.pdf: 4611988 bytes, checksum: 2ef907ed78db4534716a29dd0a57da83 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-15T15:03:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Alles de Camargo de Souza.pdf: 4611988 bytes, checksum: 2ef907ed78db4534716a29dd0a57da83 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-27 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / O infográfico tem sido amplamente utilizado em diversas situações comunicativas que envolvem diversos campos do conhecimento, em especial, no domínio midiático. No âmbito da Divulgação da Ciência na Mídia (DCM), destaca-se o infográfico que se orienta para as visadas do fazer-saber e fazer-compreender ciência, marcado pelo fazer-sentir promovido pela plasticidade das cores, das formas e das topografias utilizadas. Mesmo assim, são escassos os trabalhos de investigação sobre esse texto sincrético (em que imagem e palavra, simultaneamente, produzem o sentido). Consequentemente, foram encontrados, desde o início desta pesquisa, apenas estudos no campo do periodismo, na Comunicação. Por esse motivo, esta tese objetiva investigar o infográfico do ponto de vista discursivo-linguístico, fundamentando a ação nas teorias Semiolinguística e Linguística Textual, suplementadas pelos aportes epistêmicos da Semiótica Plástica. Esta possibilita analisar a imagem e integra a visão da Linguística focalizada nesse texto ancestral e contemporâneo da comunicação humana. Especificamente, objetiva-se analisar como se configuram os processos constitutivos da tessitura linguística da infografia, uma vez que os mecanismos de linguagem verbal e visual apontam para ações descritivas, narrativas e explicativas. Integram o percurso metodológico, primeiro, a constituição de um corpus de 58 textos infografados, isolados ou inseridos em matérias mais extensas, das revistas de divulgação científica midiática "Superinteressante", "Saúde! é vital" e "Mundo Estranho", selecionados entre agosto de 2008 e dezembro de 2009; segundo, o exame de aspectos discursivo-textuais de cada infográfico, compondo uma tabela de anotações revisada a cada semestre dos anos da elaboração da tese. Dessa observação e desses procedimentos, levantaram-se teorias que pudessem esclarecer a composição do infográfico DCM, o que implica assumir o caráter qualitativo da metodologia. Anotam-se os seguintes resultados: o infográfico da DCM se revela descritivo verbovisualmente; essa feição descritiva possibilita ancorar ações narrativas (em menor escala) e oportuniza, na grande maioria dos textos examinados, explicações sobre fenômenos, objetos e fatos, tanto em sequências explicativas quanto em fins ilocutórios dos textos, relacionados à ciência ou à tecnologia. Por consequência, a infografia tem um papel destacado nas explicações complexas, já que a verbovisualidade promove a otimização informativa (faz-saber e faz-compreender). Conclusivamente, é possível categorizar o infográfico como um texto relevante do letramento verbal, científico e visual e sustentar que as pesquisas sobre essa forma de produzir sentidos em texto são significativas para ações educativas, previstas, inclusive, nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCNs), e em projetos ou programas de letramento em diversas áreas de conhecimento humano. / Infographics have been largely used in several communicative situations that involve different knowledge areas, especially in the media domain. In the context of the Divulgation of Science in the Media (DSM), the infographic that contemplates the dimensions of the know-how and of the make-comprehend science, marked by the make-feel promoted by the plasticity of the colors, shapes and topography used in the diagram is highlighted. To the best of our knowledge, there are few studies about this syncretic text (in which image and word, simultaneously, produce the comprehension). Consequently, since the beginning of this research only studies in the field of journalism were found, related to Communication Sciences. For this reason, this thesis aims at investigating the infographic from a discursive-linguistic point of view based on the Semiolinguistic and Textual Linguistics theories supplemented by epistemic contributions of the Plastic Semiotics. The latter enables the analysis of the image and integrates the Linguistics perspective focused in this ancestral and contemporary text of the human communication. Specifically, the main aim of this study is to analyze what is the configuration of the processes that constitute the linguistic organization of the infographics taking into consideration that the mechanisms of the verbal and visual language point to descriptive, narrative and explanatory actions. As part of the methodological path, the first step was the collection of a corpus of 58 infographic texts, isolated or inserted in longer articles of scientific divulgation magazines in the media such as “Superinteressante”, “Saúde! é vital” and “Mundo Estranho”. The texts were selected between August 2008 and December 2009. In a second step, an analysis of the discursive-textual aspects of each infographic was performed, compounding an annotation table that was reviewed each semester during the thesis development period. From this observation and using these procedures, different theories that can clarify the composition of the DSM infographic were elaborated, which implies in assuming the qualitative characteristic of the methodology. The following results were noted: the DSM infographic reveals itself as a descriptive tool in the verbal dimension as well as in the visual dimension. Such descriptive feature enables the anchorage of narrative actions (to a lesser extent) and creates the possibility of explanations, in a greater number of the texts analyzed, about phenomena, objects and facts, both in explanatory sequences and in ilocutory aims of texts, related to science or technology. Consequently, infographics have an important role in complex explanations, as verbal and visual aspects promote an informative optimization (make-know and make-comprehend). In conclusion, it is possible to classifiy the in fographic as a relevant text of the verbal, scientific and visual literacy. Furthermore, it carries out that researches about this form of producing comprehension in a text are significant for educational actions, foreseen in the “Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais” (PCNs) and in literacy projects or programs in several areas of the human knowledge.

Antes da publicação do artigo as A Função das Leis Gerais em História de Carl G. Hempel em 1942 havia pouco interesse da filosofia em língua inglesa sobre a história entendida como disciplina nas primeiras décadas do século XX. Os estudos existentes se restringiam principalmente a quatro trabalhos: os primeiros volumes do Um Estudo de História de Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975), um capítulo do Experiência e seus modos de Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990), um livro sobre relativismo de Maurice Mandelbaum (1908-1987) intitulado O problema do conhecimento histórico e a Autobiografia de Robin Collingwood (1889-1943). Nesse artigo Hempel defende que a história é um conhecimento que deveria mostrar que um evento em causa não era questão de acaso\', mas que seria previsível em virtude de certos antecedentes. Essa expectativa não constituiria profecia ou adivinhação, mas antecipação científica racional baseada na aplicação de leis gerais. Ainda que o artigo não tenha chamado a atenção nos anos imediatamente posteriores a sua publicação em 1942, logo depois do final da Segunda Guerra Mundial a situação se modificou drasticamente havendo uma proliferação de artigos e livros sobre o tema. O motivo fundamental dessa mudança de interesse entre os filósofos foi o artigo de Carl Hempel e sua recepção, especialmente depois de sua inclusão numa antologia bastante conhecida organizada por Herbert Feigl e Wilfrid Sellars em 1949, e em outra coletada por Patrick Gardiner dez anos depois. Tendo em vista a carência de informações sobre o contexto histórico, social e político das origens europeias da filosofia analítica antes da Segunda Guerra Mundial e, em especial da escassez de trabalhos que articulem esse contexto com a produção intelectual de seus principais representantes, desenvolvemos esse trabalho. Pretende-se mostrar nesse trabalho que o contexto formativo de Hempel, realizado especialmente no cenário educacional das universidades alemãs fizeram dele um portador particularmente bem-sucedido do debate acerca do estatuto epistemológico das ciências do homem, até então restrito àquela comunidade, para o cenário filosófico anglo-saxão. / Prior to the publication of the paper, \"The Role of General Laws in History\" by Carl G. Hempel in 1942 there was little interest in English-language philosophy about history understood as a discipline in the early decades of the twentieth century. Existing studies were restricted mainly to four works: the first volumes of Arnold Toynbee\'s \"A Study of History\" (1889-1975), a chapter of Michael Oakeshott\'s \"Experience and Manners\" (1901-1990), a book on relativism of Maurice Mandelbaum (1908-1987) entitled \"The Problem of Historical Knowledge\" and the \"Autobiography\" of Robin Collingwood (1889-1943). In this article, Hempel argues that history is a knowledge that should show that an event in question was not a matter of chance, but that it would be predictable by virtue of certain antecedents. This expectation would not constitute prophecy or divination, but rational scientific anticipation based on the application of general laws. Although the article did not draw attention in the years immediately after its publication in 1942, soon after the end of World War II the situation changed dramatically, with a proliferation of articles and books on the subject. The fundamental motive of this change of interest among the philosophers was Carl Hempel\'s article and reception, especially after its inclusion in a well-known anthology organized by Herbert Feigl and Wilfrid Sellars in 1949, and another one collected by Patrick Gardiner ten years later. In view of the lack of information on the historical, social and political context of the European origins of analytical philosophy before World War II, and especially the scarcity of works that articulate this context with the intellectual production of its main representatives, we have developed this work. We intend to show in this work that Hempel\'s formative context, especially on the educational scene of the German universities, made him a particularly successful bearer of the debate about the epistemological status of the human sciences, hitherto restricted to that community, to the Anglo- Saxon.

Antes da publicação do artigo as A Função das Leis Gerais em História de Carl G. Hempel em 1942 havia pouco interesse da filosofia em língua inglesa sobre a história entendida como disciplina nas primeiras décadas do século XX. Os estudos existentes se restringiam principalmente a quatro trabalhos: os primeiros volumes do Um Estudo de História de Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975), um capítulo do Experiência e seus modos de Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990), um livro sobre relativismo de Maurice Mandelbaum (1908-1987) intitulado O problema do conhecimento histórico e a Autobiografia de Robin Collingwood (1889-1943). Nesse artigo Hempel defende que a história é um conhecimento que deveria mostrar que um evento em causa não era questão de acaso\', mas que seria previsível em virtude de certos antecedentes. Essa expectativa não constituiria profecia ou adivinhação, mas antecipação científica racional baseada na aplicação de leis gerais. Ainda que o artigo não tenha chamado a atenção nos anos imediatamente posteriores a sua publicação em 1942, logo depois do final da Segunda Guerra Mundial a situação se modificou drasticamente havendo uma proliferação de artigos e livros sobre o tema. O motivo fundamental dessa mudança de interesse entre os filósofos foi o artigo de Carl Hempel e sua recepção, especialmente depois de sua inclusão numa antologia bastante conhecida organizada por Herbert Feigl e Wilfrid Sellars em 1949, e em outra coletada por Patrick Gardiner dez anos depois. Tendo em vista a carência de informações sobre o contexto histórico, social e político das origens europeias da filosofia analítica antes da Segunda Guerra Mundial e, em especial da escassez de trabalhos que articulem esse contexto com a produção intelectual de seus principais representantes, desenvolvemos esse trabalho. Pretende-se mostrar nesse trabalho que o contexto formativo de Hempel, realizado especialmente no cenário educacional das universidades alemãs fizeram dele um portador particularmente bem-sucedido do debate acerca do estatuto epistemológico das ciências do homem, até então restrito àquela comunidade, para o cenário filosófico anglo-saxão. / Prior to the publication of the paper, \"The Role of General Laws in History\" by Carl G. Hempel in 1942 there was little interest in English-language philosophy about history understood as a discipline in the early decades of the twentieth century. Existing studies were restricted mainly to four works: the first volumes of Arnold Toynbee\'s \"A Study of History\" (1889-1975), a chapter of Michael Oakeshott\'s \"Experience and Manners\" (1901-1990), a book on relativism of Maurice Mandelbaum (1908-1987) entitled \"The Problem of Historical Knowledge\" and the \"Autobiography\" of Robin Collingwood (1889-1943). In this article, Hempel argues that history is a knowledge that should show that an event in question was not a matter of chance, but that it would be predictable by virtue of certain antecedents. This expectation would not constitute prophecy or divination, but rational scientific anticipation based on the application of general laws. Although the article did not draw attention in the years immediately after its publication in 1942, soon after the end of World War II the situation changed dramatically, with a proliferation of articles and books on the subject. The fundamental motive of this change of interest among the philosophers was Carl Hempel\'s article and reception, especially after its inclusion in a well-known anthology organized by Herbert Feigl and Wilfrid Sellars in 1949, and another one collected by Patrick Gardiner ten years later. In view of the lack of information on the historical, social and political context of the European origins of analytical philosophy before World War II, and especially the scarcity of works that articulate this context with the intellectual production of its main representatives, we have developed this work. We intend to show in this work that Hempel\'s formative context, especially on the educational scene of the German universities, made him a particularly successful bearer of the debate about the epistemological status of the human sciences, hitherto restricted to that community, to the Anglo- Saxon.

Deveria ser esperado que a população fosse ciente de como a ciência, e principalmente, seus conhecimentos e aplicações, chegam até ela e, para isso, tivesse esclarecimento e discernimento suficientes para perceber, entender e julgar as novidades científico-tecnológicas a que tem acesso no que poderíamos chamar de Alfabetização Científica (AC). Sasseron (2008) define a AC como um processo de inserção dos indivíduos dentro da cultura científica. Sasseron e Carvalho (2008), a partir de eixos estruturantes da AC, propõem indicadores que servem como parâmetros que permitam identificar que a AC está em processo. Osborne e Patterson publicam, em 2011, um polêmico trabalho com o intuito de distinguir Argumentos de Explicações, alegando que a falta de distinção entre estes dois conceitos representa uma fraqueza no campo de pesquisa em ensino de Ciências. Tomando a AC como norte para o ensino de ciência, Argumentos e Explicações se valorizam, já que pertencem às práticas da ciência e podem ser um meio de atingir metas cognitivas, epistêmicas e sociais da aprendizagem em Ciências. Os objetivos deste trabalho: a) a partir de apoios da literatura, desenvolver recursos metodológicos para caracterizar e diferenciar argumentos e explicações; b) identificar e analisar argumentos e explicações presentes nas produções escritas de alunos; c) identificar e analisar indicadores de AC presentes nas produções escritas dos alunos. Nossa análise se deu sobre uma das atividades realizadas dentro do contexto de uma sequência de ensino investigativo (SEI), a qual aborda a temática \"Dinâmica Populacional\", aplicada em duas turmas do 1° ano do Ensino Médio da Escola de Aplicação da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de São Paulo (EAFEUSP) em 2012 e 2013. Os alunos realizaram um experimento sobre a capacidade suporte de um ambiente para a população de Lemna sp (uma planta aquática de pequeno porte que apresenta alta taxa de reprodução por brotamento). Após a realização desse experimento, os alunos produziram relatórios coletivamente com conclusões individuais. Analisamos cada trecho (o qual poderia se constituir de um parágrafo, tabela, gráfico ou figura) de um conjunto de 29 relatórios em busca dos indicadores da AC e de Explicações e Argumentos. Foram encontrados 571 indicadores de AC nos relatórios e 367 nas conclusões individuais, e isso nos permite considerar que a AC está em processo. Também podemos considerar que os alunos envolveram-se com as investigações e as discussões propostas. A proposição de uma metodologia de desambiguação é tanto metodologia como resultado, e a aplicação desta nos permitiu identificar 35 Explicações e 22 Argumentos nos relatórios e respectivamente 21 e 40 nas 52 conclusões individuais que foram produzidas apenas no ano de 2013. No tocante aos objetivos desta pesquisa, acreditamos tê-los respondido na medida em que desenvolvemos uma metodologia que nos permitiu distinguir Argumentos e Explicações em produções escritas de alunos e identificamos os indicadores de Alfabetização Científica presentes nessas produções. Essa última tarefa culminou na proposição de dois novos indicadores em acréscimo aos que usamos como referência (SASSERON 2008; SASSERON e CARVALHO 2008): um deles é o próprio Argumento, e outro, a Listagem de materiais. / Should be expected that the population is aware of how science, especially their knowledge and reach, comes to her and, therefore, had sufficient enlightenment and discernment to perceive, understand and judge the scientific and technological innovations that give access to what may be called the Scientific Literacy (SL). Sasseron (2008) defines the SL as a process of integration of individuals within the scientific culture. Sasseron and Carvalho (2008) from the structural axis of SL propose indicators that serve as parameters that identify that the SL is in process. Osborne and Patterson published a controversial study in 2011 in order to distinguish Arguments from Explanations, claiming that the lack of distinction between these concepts is a weakness in the field of research in science teaching. Taking the SL as north to the teaching of science, Arguments and Explanations are valued, since they belong to the practices of science and can be a way to achieve cognitive, epistemic and social goals of learning in science. The aims of this work: a) supported from the literature, develop methodological tools to characterize and differentiate Arguments and Explanations; b) identify and analyze Arguments and Explanations present in the written production of students; c) identify and analyze indicators of SL present in the students\' written productions. Our analysis was based on one of the activities carried out within the context of a sequence of investigative teaching (SEI), which deals with the \"Population Dynamics\" theme, applied to two classes of the 1st year of high school at the Escola de Aplicação from the Faculdade de Educação from University of São Paulo (EAFEUSP) in 2012 e 2013. Students conducted an experiment on the carrying capacity of an environment for the population of Lemna sp (an aquatic plant that features small high rate of reproduction by budding). After performing this experiment, students collectively produced reports with individual conclusions. We analyzed each passage (which could be a paragraph, table, graph or diagram) of a set of 29 reports in search of indicators of the AC, the explanations and arguments. We found 571 indicators of SL in the reports and the 367 in the individual conclusions, and this allows us to consider that the SL is in progress. We can also consider that the students were involved with the investigation and the proposed discussions. The proposition of a methodology for the disambiguation is both method and result. Applying this methodology allowed us to identify 35 Explanations and 22 Arguments in the reports. We found respectively 21 and 40 in 52 individual conclusions that were produced in 2013 only. Concerning the aims of this study, we believe having them answered, as we developed a methodology that allowed us to distinguish Arguments and Explanations in written production of students, and identify indicators of Scientific Literacy on those productions. This last task culminated in the proposal of two new indicators in addition to those we used as reference (SASSERON 2008; SASSERON e CARVALHO 2008): one is the Argument itself, and another, the Listing of Materials.

Though generally recognized as a formative force in his philosophy, Thomas Reid’s Newtonianism and his philosophy of science has not received due attention among scholars. My aim is to inaugurate a detailed survey. In ch. 1 it is shown that Reid demarcates physics as against metaphysics and theology, making his brand of Newtonianism different from first generation moral and religious Newtonianism. In ch. 2 it is argued that "Newtonian" is not an apt label on Reid’s call for a Science of the human mind. Neither his practice within the field, nor his methodological views, make lawlike connections the central kind of truth to be discovered. Ch. 3 is devoted to Reid’s account of the 1st and 2nd of Newton’s Regulae Philosophandi, and an ensuing notion of explanation which approaches the deductive-nomological model. It is shown that Reid’s account is very much his own, though presented as an explication of Newton’s intentions. Reid’s dismissive view towards simplicity as a guide in scientific reasoning leans on Bacon’s theory of idols and Reid’s theory of first principles of common sense. Ch 4 concerns hypotheses in connection with Newton’s phrase Hypotheses non fingo. It is argued that Reid does not mind speculation about unobservable or theoretical entities, and that his objections to particular ether theories are scientific rather than principled. Nonetheless, since Reid does not explain the difference between powerful conjecture and established truth, his notion of scientific reasoning remains elusive. Ch 5 concerns Reid’s views on the concept and ontology of forces of attraction. It is argued that Reid takes forces to be physical entities open for empirical enquiry, and that forces are neither active, nor efficient. Finally, Reid’s view of metaphysics is considered, and further differences with early Newtonians emphasised.

This dissertation is a study of the differing explanatory criteria used for the assessment of epistemic medical claims, particularly anatomical claims, in the work of Galen of Pergamum (129-c. 216 CE). It focuses on Galen's use of anatomy and anatomical exegesis to position himself in relation to the various medical sects or haireseis active in the Late Roman Empire. Consequent on the emergence of invasive anatomical investigations in the early Hellenistic period (3rd cent. BCE), the explanatory and therapeutic value of anatomical information came to be a defining characteristic of competing medical sects. The Empiricists, who, we are told, were reacting to what they believed was the theoretical promiscuity of other medical thinkers, took their name from their reliance on experience rather than theory, the latter a methodological commitment they attributed to other medical thinkers whom they grouped under the broad category of Dogmatists. This sensitivity to theoretical claims is apparent from the fact that the Empiricists eschewed anatomical dissections, on the grounds that they required analogical moves from structures in corpses to structures in living creatures. If Galen is to be taken at his word, by the second century CE, sectarian disputes between the medical sects had risen to a fever pitch. Galen, who was at pains to make a place for his own medical beliefs in this debate, stresses the need for explanatory theoretical accounts of the body and things relevant to its biological function but also insists that these theoretical accounts be based in empirical observations. One of the arguments he must overcome is the problem of anatomical analogy, raised by the Empiricists. Galen not only engages with this issue from an abstract point of view but, this dissertation argues, he engages with it through the narrative structure of his anatomical accounts throughout his work and especially in his procedural anatomical handbook, De Anatomicis Administrationibus. Historically, this treatise has either been ignored by scholars or studied as a technical treatise that lacks in artifice. This dissertation questions this approach and considers the argumentative role of Galen's anatomical exegesis in the debate over the explanatory value of anatomy in Greco-Roman medicine. It takes as one of its main focuses, Galen's accounts of elephantine anatomy. It argues that these accounts are governed by different norms of assertion, which do not place the same premium on accurate reporting of anatomical detail, from the surrounding anatomical narrative in De Anatomicis Administrationibus. To that end, it shows the need for a more nuanced reading of fachprosa, such as Galen's anatomical work, than these texts have historically received. / text