EPISTEMOLOGICAL OBSTACLES THAT DIFFICULTATE THE FORMATION OF A “SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT” IN THE INVESTIGATIONS OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHENOMENA IN THE URBAN COASTAL SYSTEM OF JOÃO PESSOA, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL.

Abstract

Traditionally, beaches are spaces where housing, leisure, and commercial activities overlap in a dynamic of conflicting interests. Much of the results of public policies implemented in the field of Coastal Systems Management show the low quality of the "scientific spirit" of local public managers. In this sense, the present study, of a descriptive nature and a qualitative approach, aims to describe some epistemological obstacles present in the process of developing a "scientific spirit" that hinder the formation of the necessary skills for the investigation of social phenomena. economic and environmental capable of supporting the implementation of public policies in urban coastal systems, under the theoretical assumptions developed by the French philosopher and epistemologist Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962). In the area of the urban coastal system of João Pessoa, northeastern Brazil, the results show that preliminary studies that aim to support the planning and execution of public policies in coastal systems are, in most cases, disconnected from valid scientific models, loaded with subjectivity (from basic experience, opinions), from generalized adaptations (from general knowledge) and the reductionism and simplification of local reality (unitary and pragmatic knowledge). The study on screen reinforces the importance of public administrations in the search to develop public policies based on scientific bases, supported by an organizational culture focused on the development of a collective "scientific spirit", intending to guarantee real and effective actions for society, economy, and local environment.

Keywords: Epistemological obstacles, Scientific spirit, Public management of coastal systems