De ontdekking van “de” wetenschap: Wetenschapsbeelden in het klaslokaal

Een adequaat beeld van ‘wetenschap’ is cruciaal om de uitdagingen van vandaag aan te kunnen gaan. Hierbij moet een goede balans worden gevonden tussen het vertrouwen in de epistemische betrouwbaarheid van wetenschappelijke uitspraken aan de ene kant, de noodzakelijke openheid van wetenschap aan de andere kant. Deze paper brengt twee argumentatielijnen bij elkaar die bij kunnen dragen aan een beter begrip van het concept ‘wetenschap’ zelf, en van het beeld van wetenschap in de samenleving, met name bij leerlingen op school en bij studenten: Uit filosofie- en wetenschapshistorisch onderzoek blijkt dat het concept ‘wetenschap’, en dus ook het idee van een overkoepelend concept waaronder verschillende ‘wetenschappelijke’ disciplines en praktijken bij elkaar kunnen komen, verrassend recent is (het komt voort uit debatten in de navolging van Immanuel Kants filosofie, rond 1800). Historisch gezien is het wetenschappelijke veld dus nog heel open; de openheid van wetenschap wordt mooi zichtbaar in het feit dat het voor ons, vandaag, heel natuurlijk is om over een wetenschapper als ‘genie’ te kunnen spreken; maar ook deze manier van denken is terug te leiden naar discussies uit de tijd omtrent 1800. Hier staat tegenover dat het typische beeld van de wetenschapper, zoals makkelijk te achterhalen valt in de zogenaamde “Draw-a-scientist”-test, verrassend stereotiep en eenzijdig is. Zowel de vraag naar de wetenschapper als genie als ook het beeld van de wetenschapper kunnen op zeer informatieve manier worden bestudeerd in het klaslokaal; hiervoor worden concrete lesopdrachten voorgesteld

Creativity and genius as epistemic virtues: Kant and early post-Kantians on the teachability of epistemic virtue

There is a classical paradox in education that also affects the epistemic virtues: the paradox inherent in the demand to develop general strategies for training persons to be free and creative individuals. This problem becomes particularly salient with respect to the epistemic virtue of creativity, the more so if we consider a radical form of creativity, namely, genius. This paper explores a historical constellation in which rigorous claims about the standards for knowledge and morality were developed, along with a highly influential notion of genius: the philosophy of Kant and of immediate post-Kantian philosophers. The paper shows how in this historical moment came together a new notion of “science,” a theory of “genius” and of virtues, and an analysis of the promises and difficulties inherent in educating a virtuous or creative individual. In this constellation of ideas, there also emerges a potentially fruitful account of how to teach intellectual creativity

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Kosmos: Vom Umgang mit der Welt zwischen Ausdruck und Ordnung

Die lange Geschichte der Kosmologie mündete nicht einfach in der Spezialdisziplin der physikalischen Lehre vom Universum. Vielmehr ist die Gegenwart von einer „kosmologischen Unruhe“ gekennzeichnet, welche anzeigt, dass heute zentrale Fragen nach der Welt und unserer Stellung in der Welt neue Antworten verlangen. Ein Blick in die Geschichte und Vielfalt der Kosmologie zeigt eine „Ausdrucksform“, die sich nicht auf die Funktion des Weltbildes beschränkt, sondern viele andere Zwecke verfolgen kann und sich auf komplizierte Weise in die intellektuellen, theoretischen, aber auch politischen, ethischen und praktischen Kontexte ihrer Zeit einschreibt. Der vorliegende Band zeichnet dies in vielen Fallstudien nach, die von der Vorgeschichte bis zur heutigen Erdsystemwissenschaft reichen.The long history of cosmology did not simply end in the specialised discipline of the physical study of the universe. Rather, the times we live in are characterised by a "cosmological restlessness", which indicates that today central questions about the world and our position in it demand new answers. A look at the history and diversity of cosmology reveals a "form of expression" that is not limited to the function of a worldview (a picture of the world), but can pursue many other purposes and inscribes itself in complicated ways in the intellectual, theoretical, but also political, ethical and practical contexts of its time. This volume portrays this in many case studies, ranging from prehistory to present-day Earth system science

Kosmos: Vom Umgang mit der Welt zwischen Ausdruck und Ordnung

Die lange Geschichte der Kosmologie mündete nicht einfach in der Spezialdisziplin der physikalischen Lehre vom Universum. Vielmehr ist die Gegenwart von einer „kosmologischen Unruhe“ gekennzeichnet, welche anzeigt, dass heute zentrale Fragen nach der Welt und unserer Stellung in der Welt neue Antworten verlangen. Ein Blick in die Geschichte und Vielfalt der Kosmologie zeigt eine „Ausdrucksform“, die sich nicht auf die Funktion des Weltbildes beschränkt, sondern viele andere Zwecke verfolgen kann und sich auf komplizierte Weise in die intellektuellen, theoretischen, aber auch politischen, ethischen und praktischen Kontexte ihrer Zeit einschreibt. Der vorliegende Band zeichnet dies in vielen Fallstudien nach, die von der Vorgeschichte bis zur heutigen Erdsystemwissenschaft reichen.The long history of cosmology did not simply end in the specialised discipline of the physical study of the universe. Rather, the times we live in are characterised by a "cosmological restlessness", which indicates that today central questions about the world and our position in it demand new answers. A look at the history and diversity of cosmology reveals a "form of expression" that is not limited to the function of a worldview (a picture of the world), but can pursue many other purposes and inscribes itself in complicated ways in the intellectual, theoretical, but also political, ethical and practical contexts of its time. This volume portrays this in many case studies, ranging from prehistory to present-day Earth system science

Kosmos: Vom Umgang mit der Welt zwischen Ausdruck und Ordnung

Die lange Geschichte der Kosmologie mündete nicht einfach in der Spezialdisziplin der physikalischen Lehre vom Universum. Vielmehr ist die Gegenwart von einer „kosmologischen Unruhe“ gekennzeichnet, welche anzeigt, dass heute zentrale Fragen nach der Welt und unserer Stellung in der Welt neue Antworten verlangen. Ein Blick in die Geschichte und Vielfalt der Kosmologie zeigt eine „Ausdrucksform“, die sich nicht auf die Funktion des Weltbildes beschränkt, sondern viele andere Zwecke verfolgen kann und sich auf komplizierte Weise in die intellektuellen, theoretischen, aber auch politischen, ethischen und praktischen Kontexte ihrer Zeit einschreibt. Der vorliegende Band zeichnet dies in vielen Fallstudien nach, die von der Vorgeschichte bis zur heutigen Erdsystemwissenschaft reichen.The long history of cosmology did not simply end in the specialised discipline of the physical study of the universe. Rather, the times we live in are characterised by a "cosmological restlessness", which indicates that today central questions about the world and our position in it demand new answers. A look at the history and diversity of cosmology reveals a "form of expression" that is not limited to the function of a worldview (a picture of the world), but can pursue many other purposes and inscribes itself in complicated ways in the intellectual, theoretical, but also political, ethical and practical contexts of its time. This volume portrays this in many case studies, ranging from prehistory to present-day Earth system science

Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference