Origem da vida: discursos em livros didáticos do ensino fundamental

Abstract

As curricular content, Origin of Life constitutes a subject of controversial nature. Information from various areas supports several plausible hypotheses and scenarios to explain how life originated on Earth, enabling multiple conflicts and which invariably have features related to the nature of scientific knowledge. It is from this perspective that the approach needs to be linked to the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS), so as not to reinforce visions of science that refer to the linearity of knowledge construction and absence of conflicts, for example. The discourse analysis, developed by Michel Foucault in his works, presents theoretical assumptions that can be used as an analytical device to think about this production and approach of HPS in basic school textbooks. Thus, this paper aims to visualize which discourse (s) circulates on the theme Origin of Life, as curricular content, in the textbooks of the 7th year of elementary school. The analysis indicates that the theory of prebiotic chemistry; the spontaneous generation; Cosmic Panspermia and Astrobiology are recurrent in textbooks, with a positivist historiographic aspect, composing statements that establish the possibilities of circulation and legitimation of scientific knowledge, although some explanations remain in production and not legitimized in hegemonic scientific communities.