Abstract

MUNAKATA, Kazumi. O microscópio na escola e a observado. Hist. educ. anu. [online]. 2021, vol.22, n.2, pp.71-80. ISSN 2313-9277.

The microscope is an optical instrument, whose function is to make visible extremely small beings (living or not). Invented in the sixteenth century, its great diffusion occurred during the nineteenth century, driven by the production of thousands of publications about it and the foundation of associations that promoted activities with this artifact. It was introduced into schools to contribute to the teaching of physics and natural sciences. The spread of the microscope in schools also favored and at the same time was favored by the adoption, in school education, of the intuitive method (or lessons of things), which assumes that all knowledge has its origin in the observation of things, animate or not, in the world. The observation provided by the microscope, however, requires a series of priorprocedures. This means that the reality of small things, observable only by this instrument, cannot be the reality immediately given, but something constructed, including the posture of the observer himself. These issues refer, therefore, to ontological and epistemological questions that require elucidation. To build this work, we carried out a broad investigation in bibliographic sources published in several countries. These documents were catalogued in a database to facilitate their reading and interpretation. This enterprise counted on the invaluable collaboration of Professor Dr. Joana Borges de Faria.

Keywords : Microscope; observation; reality; intuitive method.

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