ABSTRACT
Science has been the foremost contributor to our understanding of the natural and social world, and, through its engagement with religion, worldviews, economies and technologies, it has been a major influence on culture. Food production, medicine, entertainment, war, industry, reproduction, transportation, accommodation, religion, space exploration, and people’s self-understanding and their worldviews – their sense of place in the universe and in nature – have all been profoundly affected by science – mostly for good; sometimes for bad. Understanding the ‘balance sheet’ is of utmost importance, and this understanding is only possible with knowledge of the history and philosophy of science (HPS). This chapter will mention some of the elements that constitute the current rapprochement between history, philosophy and science teaching, or components of the ‘HPS&ST programme’, as it might be called. These include:
the significant engagement of historians and philosophers with theoretical, curricular and pedagogical issues in science teaching;
the growth of liberal education and the recognition of the historical and philosophical components necessary for this education;
the acknowledgement of the requirement of basic philosophy for good technical science education;
the recognition that HPS can contribute to ameliorating some of the widespread and well-known problems of science education;
the realisation that HPS is a necessary condition for achieving any ‘flowon’ effects from science learning for solving major issues in personal and social life;
the realisation that HPS knowledge is required for meeting the explicit requirements of many new national and provincial science curricula.
