The Genetic Epistemolgy at the Henrietta Leavitt’s Period-Luminosity Relation

Abstract

The Genetic Epistemology evaluates the learning processes that every person goes through when apprehending a new concept, usually associated with child development, but not limited to it. This paper, as a way to exemplify such a process beyond the child’s development, proposes to present a case study, from the perspective of Piaget's Genetic Epistemology, about the learning processes that Henrietta Leavitt went through when developing the Period-Luminosity Relationship of variable stars. In this way, while working on the development of such a relationship, the participation of a woman in the construction of Astronomy is also evident. A qualitative exploratory research was carried out, based on documentary-bibliographical bases written by the astronomer. Two works written by her were analyze, starting from two movements: descriptive presentation of the astronomer's case and development of the understanding of the Period-Luminosity Relationship (RPL, in Portuguese) of variable stars, followed by the presentation of a hermeneutic-conceptual analysis anchored in Piagetian concepts. With the analyses carried out, it was possible to identify the stages of knowledge according to Piaget, showing a possible technique to be used from Genetic Epistemology beyond child development.