THE BIG BANG THEORY AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

Abstract

Modern cosmology was constituted, throughout the twentieth century to the present days, as a very productive field of research, resulting in major discoveries that attest to its explanatory power. The Big Bang Theory, the generic and popular name of the standard model of cosmology, is probably the most daring research program of physics and astronomy, trying to recreate the evolution of our observable universe. But contrary to what you might think, its conjectures are of a degree of refinement and corroborative evidence that make it our best explanation for the history of our cosmos. The Big Bang Theory is also an excellent field to discuss issues regarding the scientific activity itself. In this paper we discuss the main elements of this theory with an epistemological look, resulting in a text quite useful to work on educational activities with related goals.