Aesthetics and motivation in science and science education

Seminar with Henrik Zinkernagel, Department of Philosophy, Unversity of Granada.

In this talk, I first give a brief outline of the role of aesthetics in natural science from a historical and philosophical perspective. I will suggest that aesthetics in broad terms - including aspects such as beauty, awe and wonder, joy of insight, and sensuous encounters with nature - plays an important motivational role for scientists, both historically and presently. In the main part of the talk, I will suggest that science education could be made more attractive and engaging by emphasizing aesthetic aspects of science, and I will put forward some proposals as to how this might be done, e.g. at the high school level. My suggestion will be in line with recent studies concerning the importance of aesthetics in science education - studies which have been framed within a Deweyan perspective and which have emphasized the notions of wonder and aesthetic experience. By drawing also on Deci and Ryan's theory of motivation, I will relate the suggestion of incorporating aesthetic aspects into science education with the much discussed issue of how to increase student interest in the natural sciences.