GASTON BACHELARD’S POETIC EPITEMOLOGY

Abstract

This essay explores Gaston Bachelard's epistemological framework and its contributions to the field of education, examined in dialogue with thinkers such as Edgar Morin, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Karl Popper. Throughout his intellectual trajectory, Bachelard contends that knowledge is not a straightforward extension of everyday sensory experience; rather, it constitutes a continual critical reconstruction of reality, mediated by scientific instruments, methods, and hypotheses. Central to his epistemology is the concept of a psychoanalysis of knowledge, as well as a poetics of thought that holds transformative potential for both the subject and the process of knowing. This article aims to reflect on the philosophical foundations and methodological implications of Bachelardian epistemology. In contrast to the absolute certainties and reductionism characteristic of Cartesian thought, Bachelard proposes an understanding of knowledge as dynamic, interactive, and subject to constant revision. By engaging with these discussions, the essay seeks to deepen the understanding of investigative practices, highlighting the significance of a rigorous and reflective epistemological posture in the production of knowledge about the body within the educational field.