Models in philosophy of science and epistemology: Implications for school science

Abstract

Models are important components in scientific activity, but their functions are divergent among the various schools of philosophy of science and epistemology. Schools such as realism and anti-realism discuss the importance of models, placing them at different levels. At the same time, it is essential to understand the use of models as aids in science teaching. The realism/anti-realism debate is not a mere epistemological curiosity, but something that has consequences for school science, understood as a process of didactic transposition that, of necessity, relies on idealizations. Solutions to the problem are presented, including a focus on didactic transpositions and the historiography of science.