Charged with history : on the pluralism of physics and the hermeneutics of learning it

Abstract

This thesis discusses ways in which history of physics can be useful in physics education. Examples are mainly chosen from the field of electromagnetism.

The first chapter deals with objections against the use of history in physics teaching. The strongest objections come from critics who have argued that history when used for such purposes needs must be tendentiously written. Others have feared that historical approaches might reduce the effectiveness of physics education. While some of the reservations against using history are very well-founded and some warnings must be heeded, the arguments were generally not found to be compelling.

The second chapter discusses an array of applications of history for physics teaching. History may illustrate lessons on social and ideological contexts for science, and on the nature of physics. Studying the historical development of physical concepts may provide the teacher with insights about problems students may have with learning the same concepts. Many historical experiments have pedagogical advantages---among them the greater transparency of the technology they rely on.

The third, and longest, chapter is concerned with the pluralistic character of physics, and with the nature of understanding. The degree of interpretive freedom in physics is discussed, and the notion of pluralism in physics is clarified. The next issue is what `understanding', and in particular what `understanding physics' can be taken to be, and a lengthy detour into hermeneutics is included here. Hermeneutics as a theory of interpretation and understanding questions the subject/object cut and addresses issues of intelligibility, meaning and significance. The main point of this third chapter as a whole is the claim that understanding physics well involves knowing a plurality of accounts of physical phenomena---and that historical studies can provide such plurality of perspectives.

The fourth and final chapter reports results of a limited focus group study. Three groups of university undergraduates were questioned about their ideas about history in physics courses, and about some basic concepts of electromagnetism. While the study is too limited to permit strong conclusions to be drawn, some hypotheses emerge. One is that students' electromagnetic concepts are weakly linked with simple physical phenomena of a kind that were central in the early stages of experimental electromagnetic research. Students' notions appear to be mainly grounded in theory.

The major conclusion, which emerges from the chapter on pluralism and understanding, is that history of physics, judiciously applied, can enhance students' interest in and understanding of physics, and perhaps also strengthen a sense of personal relevance of that science to the learners.