Science and Common Sense: between ruptures and continuities

One important question related to the theoretical fundamentals of educational practices in popularization and public communication of Science is the one concerning the difficult relation between scientific knowledge and common sense knowledge. These are two forms of knowledge that seem to exclude themselves mutually at the level of the criteria they use to explain the phenomena. If Science develops itself by contradicting common sense knowledge, how the popularization of scientific results is possible at all? Is there a way back to common sense that makes possible a dialogue between these two kinds of discourse that strive to explain the same reality with so different approaches? In this study, Bachelardian epistemology is revisited and, taking into account the opinion of other philosophers and scientists, we develop a critical standpoint that focuses and underlines the importance of common sense in that old and persistent discussion