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The Extent and Relevance of Instrumentalism, Constructivism and Critical Realism in High School Physical Science Textbooks - a Critical Study THE EXTENT AND RELEVANCE OF INSTRUMENTALISM, CONSTRUCTIVISM AND CRITICAL REALISM IN HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS - A CRITICAL STUDY A Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy by Brian Arthur Jacoby UniversitySchool of Educationof Cape Town University of Cape Tmm March 1990 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM POSED 1.1 Instrumentalism as a form of anti-realism ................................................ 1 1.2 Definition of terms .......................................................................................... 3 1.3 Instrumentalism is the prevailing view in science today .......................... 5 1.4 Instrumentalism in school science textbooks ............................................. 5 1.5 Out-dated view of the nature of science ...................................................... 8 1.6 Point of departure and summing up........................................................ 12 1.7 Outline of this study ..................................................................................... 13 2.0 INSTRUMENTALISM: ITS ORIGINS AND CHARACTERISTICS 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 17 2.2 What is instrumentalism? ........................................................................... 17 2.3 The importance of scientific theory ........................................................... 18 2.3.1 The role of scientific theory .......................................................... 18 2.3.2 The status of scientific theory ....................................................... 20 2.3.3 Instrumentalist theories are immature theories ........................ 20 2.3.4 Theories and models ...................................................................... 22 2.3.5 Experiments and theory ................................................................. 22 2.3.6 Theory is part of reality ................................................................. 23 2.3.7 Summary .......................................................................................... 24 2.4 Origins of instrumentalism ......................................................................... 24 2.4.1 Saving the appearances ................................................................. 24 2.4.2 Nominalism and phenomenal ism ....................................... ...... 25 2.4.3 Galileo's realism ............................................................................ 26 2.4.4 Newton: Instrumentalist or realist? ............................................. 27 2.4.5 British Empiricism reinforces instrumentalism ......................... 29 2.4.5.1 Locke's empiricism .......................................................... 30 2.4.5.2 Berkeley's instrumentalism ............................................ 31 2.4.5.3 Hume's views on causality and induction ..................... 33 2.4.5.4 Kant's reply to empiricism ............................................. 34 2.4.6 The inductivism of J.S. Mill .......................................................... 35 2.4.7 Mach's instrumental ism ................................................................ 36 2.4.8 Positivism ......................................................................................... 37 2.4.9 Logical positivism ........................................................................... 38 2.4.10 Dewey's instrumentalist pragmatism ........................................... 39 2.4.11 Relativity and instrumental ism .................................................... 40 2.4.12 Quantum theory and instrumentalism ........................................ 41 2.4.13 Summary .......................................................................................... 43 2.5 Characteristics of instrumentalism ........................................................... 43 2.6 Implications of instrumentalism ................................................................ 44 2.6.1 Idealism ............................................................................................. 44 2.6.2 Phenomenalism ................................................................................... 44 2.6.3 Agnosticism ......................................................................................... 44 2.6.4 Relativism ............................................................................................ 44 2.6.5 Gamesmanship .................................................................................... 44 2.6.6 Spectatorship ....................................................................................... 47 2.6.7 Pragmatism .......................................................................................... 47 2.7 Popper's critique of instrumentalism ........................................................ 48 2.8 Instrumentalism and constructivism relativist? ..................................... 51 2.8.1 Conventionalism ............................................................................. 52 2.8.2 Bold and cautious conjectures ...................................................... 52 2.8.3 Sophisticated falsificationism ....................................................... 53 2.8.4 Ad hoc hypotheses ......................................................................... 54 2.8.5 Proliferation of theories ................................................................ 54 2.8.6 The principle of tenacity ............................................................... 55 2.8.7 The need for an empirical base .................................................... 55 2.8.8 The critical attitude ........................................................................ 56 2.8.9 Constructivism on the way to instrumentalism .......................... 56 2.8.10 Instrumentalism on the way to realism ....................................... 57 2.8.11 Summary .......................................................................................... 57 2.9 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 57 3.0 CRITICAL REALISM: TOWARDS A CONSTRUCTIVIST REALISM 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 59 3.2 Constructivism ............................................................................................. 61 3.2.1 Definition ........................................................................................ 61 3.2.2 Philosophical underpinnings of constructivism ......................... 61 ( 1) Classical realism .............................................................. 62 (2) Empiricist realism ........................................................... 65 (3) Kant's transcendental idealism ...................................... 65 _..,."21 .. p·1aget ' s construct1v1sm. ................................................................. 66 3.2.4 G.A. Kelly's personal construct psychology ............................... 71 3.2.5 Dewey's instrumentalist constructivism ...................................... 72 3.3 Scientific realism .......................................................................................... 73 3.3.1 Anti-realism .................................................................................... 74 ( a ) E mpmc1st. ant1-rea. 1·ism .................................................. 74 (b) Polanyi's Platonic realism ............................................... 74 (c) Kuhn's constructivist anti-realism ................................. 75 3.3.2 In defence of scientific realism ..................................................... 76 3.3.3 Varieties of scientific realism ....................................................... 77 ( 1) Popper's common-sense realism ................................... 77 (2) Hesse's moderate inductive realism .............................. 78 (3) Harre's referential scientific realism ............................ 78 3.3.4 Some comments about today's scientific realism ........................... 79 3.4 Critical realism ............................................................................................. 79 3.4.1 Historical overview of critical realism ......................................... 80 3.4.2 Two significant critical realists: .................................................... 83 (a) Roy Bhaskar's critical realism ....................................... 83 (h) Bernard Lonergan's critical realism ............................. 86 ii 3.5 Instrumentalism and constructivism ........................................................ 92 3.6 Discussion and conclusion .......................................................................... 93 4.0 METHODOLOGY OF THE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK STUDY 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 95 4.2 Selection of the textbooks ............................................................................ 96 4.3 Previous studies of this type .......................................................................
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