Epistemological production in Physical Education. Contribution of Platonic dialectics

Abstract

The hegemony of positivist philosophy in research has diminished, favoring the development of epistemological studies that question the knowledge that underlies each scientific field. In the case of Physical Education, there has been a boom in epistemological studies that analyze philosophical and scientific premises of a particular nature present in this pedagogical discipline. The objective of this work is to understand the Platonic dialectical method and its potential for the generation of epistemic studies. Secondly, it aims to make an application of dialectics to PE, giving some examples that have contributed to shed light on this type of academic production. In methodological terms, this article is theoretical and follows an essay approach, based on the reflection and analysis of a specific theory of the philosopher Plato. The results indicate that the Platonic dialectic is presented as an epistemic approach oriented to produce knowledge that focuses on general methodical principles and not on an exhaustive or systematic methodological design that indicates all the steps to be followed in its application. Two general modes of epistemic production are derived from its principles, the bottom-up and top-down pathways. These paths have been implicitly recognized in different epistemological works in the field of Physical Education, referring to ontological, cultural and pragmatic discussions. Thus, it is considered that the Platonic dialectic could contribute to the foundation of future epistemological studies developed in the field of Physical Education and sport.