INDIVIDUAL–WORLD RELATIONS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION:

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ARISTOTLE TO FOUCAULT

Abstract

This article analyzes different ontological approaches to the individual–world relationship and discusses their contributions to contemporary debates in science education. Through theoretical and conceptual analysis, the perspectives of Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Foucault are examined, with a central focus on these thinkers’ understandings of knowledge production, human rationality, and the subject’s learning processes. In Aristotle, the notions of epistēmē, praxis, phronesis, and contingency stand out, articulated in terms of ethical formation and responsible decision-making, in dialogue with contemporary proposals such as the Science–Technology–Society (STS) approach and Critical Science Education (CSE). The analysis of Descartes emphasizes the role of method, doubt, and analytical rationality in learning, acknowledging their contributions to scientific rigor while also recognizing their limitations in the face of reality's complexity, problematized through complex thinking. In Kant, the focus lies on the intellectual and moral autonomy of the subject, the centrality of reason in the construction of knowledge, and the implications of these ideas for discussions on the Nature of Science and citizenship education. Finally, the Foucauldian reading of Kantian Enlightenment introduces a critical ontology centered on maturity as a permanent ethical attitude and on the analysis of power relations that permeate scientific and educational practices. The article concludes that dialogue among different ontologies broadens the epistemological understanding of science education and strengthens formative proposals committed to criticality, citizenship, social transformation, and the education of researchers, contributing to a deeper re-reading of the foundations of Critical Science Education.