The Laws of Nature and the Origin of Life in Pupils’ Consciousness: A Study of Contradictory Modes of Thought¹

Abstract:Engeström, Y. 1981. The Laws of Nature and the Origin of Life in Pupils’ Consciousness: A Study of Contradictory Modes of Thought. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 25,39‐61. 230 Finnish primary and secondary school pupils gave essay type answers to questions concerning (a) their conceptions of the laws of nature and (b) their conceptions of the origin of life on earth. Distinct ‘levels of understanding’ were found in the answers, ranging from surface description of external phenomena and mythical (religious or bio‐logistic) explanations to deep level explanations approaching an understanding of the unity of the material world and of the chemical processes essential in the origination of life. Two essential contradictions were identified within the development of the pupils’ natural scientific consciousness: one between the dominant biological‐biologistic conception andthe emerging physical‐chemical or universal conception of the laws of nature; the other between the religious andthe natural‐scientific conceptions of the origin of life. Religious and biologistic conceptions seem to be intertwined in the consciousness of many pupils, blocking effectively the development of deeper level thought forms.