Abstract

MARINELI, Fábio  and  SASSERON, Lúcia Helena. The argumentative structure and characteristics of arguments in Isaac Newton’s text about his “New Theory About Light and Colors”. Ens. Pesqui. Educ. Ciênc. [online]. 2014, vol.16, n.2, pp.107-124. ISSN 1983-2117.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21172014160206.

This paper aims to analyze the argumentative structure and the characteristics of arguments used in Isaac Newton´s paper where he describes his “New theory about light and colors”, written in 1672. For this purpose, we have used “Toulmin’s Argument Pattern” as analytical tool. The identification of argumentative structure in a scientific text can help to understand the construction of arguments in science and support the use of argumentation in science education, particularly in the organization of textbooks. This analysis has characterized the arguments presented in the text and shown its relation on Newton’s explanation to the phenomenon of color in the refraction of light in a prism.

Keywords : Argumentation; Scientific Language; Scientific Text.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )