Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 26 No. 3, 2006.
Professional paper
The Theory of Relativity in High School Philosophy and Physics
Boris Kalin
Abstract
In high school curricula and philosophy textbooks, the theory of relativity is mentioned in very few entries, and always in the context of those sections of the philosophy syllabus which refer to the concept of knowledge and the relationship between philosophy and science. According to the nature of philosophy, these entries certainly do not present and question the subject matter and problems of the theory of relativity (which is a task of physics class), but lead to the discussion of the philosophical implications of the theory of relativity (like the understandings and results of modern science in general) on the perennial problem of the relationship between philosophy and science, on the philosophy of science, and on the development of the critical concept of science and the theory of science in general. In the high school physics curriculum, the theory of relativity is included in the 11th grade syllabus in two systematically decomposed versions (‘A’ and ‘B’). Mandatory and optional subject matter is clearly indicated. The same goes for textbooks. It is necessary to stress that these are methodologically contemporarily concipated, work and problem oriented textbooks, which are regularly improved and perfected. In our reviews of high school curricula and textbooks, the authors could not with certainty determine at what time and in which form the first contents regarding the theory of relativity were included. This is partly due to the fact that we do not have access to the entire bibliography of the textbooks and the Institute for Education does not have access to a complete and reliable overview of all the physics curricula from 1941 to the present. This is particularly true for the junior and senior years of high school during the period when schools partially modeled their curricula independently according to the »requirements of the profession«. As a result, further investigation is required which will be conducted by individuals and the appropriate institutions.
Keywords
philosophy; physics; theory of relativity; education
Hrčak ID:
11164
URI
Publication date:
5.10.2006.
Visits: 7.092 *