A Deweyan perspective on science learning

This study addresses the pedagogical impasses in modern science education caused by the historical dichotomy between science and aesthetics. Employing a philosophical inquiry and conceptual analysis design, it synthesises John Dewey’s “aesthetic experience”, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s “perceived world”, and Rudolf Arnheim’s “visual thinking”. The analysis reveals that integrating aesthetics is a fundamental epistemological necessity, not merely a pedagogical enhancement, enabling students to form “transformative aesthetic experiences” and perceive the world anew. Consequently, overcoming Cartesian dualisms requires anchoring abstract scientific conceptualisation in embodied and visual cognition. It is recommended that contemporary interdisciplinary frameworks, particularly STEAM curricula, explicitly centralise this aesthetic and poietic dimension to cultivate creative and critically minded individuals.