For an undistorted view of Newton’s Second Law

Abstract

Context: In general, teachers and students have distorted views about the functioning of a scientific work. This research uses the episode of the historical construction of the Second Law of Movement and seven distorted views on the subject. Objectives: This work aims to exemplify the distorted views students can construct about scientific endeavour if a didactic approach that does not consider the history and philosophy of science is used. Design: Seven distorted views regarding scientific work are explained and, subsequently, exemplified from the episode in question, showing how this history is seen, in general, in textbooks, and by most teachers. Environment and participants: This is a theoretical analysis, not including participants. The materials used were primary and secondary bibliographic sources. Data collection and analysis: Seven distorted views on science, from the episode of the historical construction of the Second Law of Movement, were collected, and a historical-philosophical reflection was carried out on them. Results: Following the presentation of the views and examples, criticism and allusion to how this episode should be treated are offered. Conclusions: Throughout the text, as well as in its final considerations, relevant aspects to be worked on in the classroom are discussed, for a critical view of the construction of scientific knowledge.