The science- this is the form and result of the activities of people to reveal the objective laws of the existence of nature, society and man.

The peculiarities of the objects of science require the use of a special language with a strictly verified meaning of individual words, as well as special tools and methods of research activity. One of the most important methods of science, which largely determines its appearance, is idealization... Scientific knowledge constantly resorts to the creation of ideal objects, models that represent real objects (too changeable and involved in many relationships) only in certain aspects. Hence - the inherent tendency of science to reductionism, i.e., simplification of reality in the process of its rational comprehension.

Science is also characterized by a special it with, otherwise a set of norms of behavior and communication adopted in the scientific community.

In modern society - and not only among scientists - the position of scienism, according to which science acts as the main and almost the only instrument of human orientation in the world, the most important source of human well-being.

40. The structure and dynamics of scientific knowledge

Scientific knowledge is carried out on two interconnected, but still have their own specifics levels- empirical and theoretical.

Empirical cognition(Greek empeiria - experience) is directed directly to its object, it practically interacts with it, reflects its external sides and connections available to sensory contemplation. The main methods that are used in this case are observation and experiment.

Theoretical knowledge reflects phenomena and processes from the side of their internal, essential connections, comprehended with the help of rational processing of empirical knowledge. At the same time, such methods of cognition are widely used as: idealization, abstraction (abstraction from a number of properties and relationships of objects), (deduction (transition from general knowledge to private), axiomatic method (construction of a theory based on a number of axioms or postulates), etc. ...

The theory itself is, of course, the highest form not only of theoretical, but also of scientific knowledge as a whole (it was not for nothing that M. Heidegger defined science as a theory of reality). Theory Is an internally consistent system of fundamental ideas and laws that gives a holistic view of the essential relationships in the set of objects under consideration. Two important requirements for any scientific theory to distinguish it from pseudo-scientific speculation, - verifiability and falsifiability... According to the principle of verification, a concept or judgment is meaningful only if it is empirically verifiable. The principle of falsification insists that any scientific theory should make risky predictions, the failure of which in practice would disprove it.

An important role in the formation of the theory the correct formulation of the problem plays. Problem- such a form of theoretical knowledge, the content of which is that which has not yet been cognized by man, but that needs to be cognized.

Thinking about the problems, scientists put forward hypotheses. Hypothesis Is a scientific assumption that solves the problem in a probabilistic way.

ABSTRACT ON PHILOSOPHY

on the topic:

SCIENCE AS A SPECIAL FORM OF RECOGNITION OF REALITY

Completed by: l-t Timakov D.S.

Tver 2006

Introduction

This work is devoted to one of the many problems of philosophy, namely: science as a form of cognition of reality. Different approaches to understanding this problem in different years will be described here, as well as the properties and functions of science as people saw them at different stages of society development.

The first part is devoted to the consideration of science as a system that has its own properties and functions. Further, we will consider the issues of the specificity and generality of knowledge both by individual groups of people and by society as a whole.

The third part will describe scientific truth as a social phenomenon. The fourth part contains the basic universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition and their description.

In the final, fifth, part, the dynamics of the development of worldviews of the opposite nature will be briefly considered: a view of science as an integral part of the culture of a developing society and a view of this problem from the side of opponents of solving cultural issues using scientific methods.

1. The systematic nature of the phenomenon of science

Science is a specific form of activity (both in theoretical and practical spheres), associated with the formation of a relatively objective, systemic and proven knowledge about spiritual and material reality.

Science is one of the defining subsystems of culture. By the beginning of the XXI century. there are more than 800 definitions of it, for each major scientist (thinker) gives his own interpretation of the phenomenon of science.

If we clarify this rather general definition, then several areas of scientific activity should be distinguished that concretize it. Namely:

- Revealing not external, but essential characteristics of reality;

- formation of a logically consistent system of knowledge about the objective picture of the world;

–Prediction of the state of real objects and processes based on the identified natural and social laws;

–Creation and development of special means of cognitive activity (mathematical methods, research equipment, etc.);

- the spread of a special type of professional activity (scientists, engineers, etc.) in the field of social division of labor;

–Functioning of a special system of organizations and institutions involved in the receipt, storage, dissemination and implementation of acquired knowledge (libraries, information centers, etc.).

The terms science and scientist originated in the first half of the 19th century. in European university practice. They designated activities in the field of mathematics, physics, chemistry and other natural sciences. For activities in the field of social sciences, the term "social science" was later used.

In the process of the genesis and development of scientific knowledge, attention to its classification increased. Here are some of the milestones in this process.

The first classifications of science arose in the era of antiquity. Aristotle (384-422 BC) divided philosophy (as a unified science) into "theoretical philosophy", "practical philosophy" and "creative philosophy". Moreover, "theoretical philosophy" is subdivided by him into physical, mathematical and theological philosophy; to poetics and rhetoric. Logic is interpreted as a propaedeutics (introduction) to the entire system of sciences.

In modern times, F. Bacon (1561-1626) developed a classification of sciences based on contemporary material. Human knowledge has been divided into three areas (spheres), namely: history (memory), poetry (fantasy), and philosophy (reason). At the same time, the selected areas of knowledge were further detailed by them.

Representatives of the French Enlightenment (Diderot, 1713-1784; and others), within the framework of the "Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts", singled out mechanics, physics, chemistry, physiology, etc.

A. de Saint-Simon (1760-1825) proposed a classification of sciences by analogy with the class structure of society (slave and feudal society - theology, capitalism - positivism, etc.).

O. Comte (1798-1857) developed the doctrine of the "three stages" of the development of science, namely: theological, metaphysical and positive. Moreover, each of the known sciences consistently goes through, in his opinion, the marked stages. The corresponding stages are passed not only by natural sciences (astronomy, physics, biology, etc.), but also by the humanities - sociology.

The fundamental classification of science (philosophy) was proposed by Hegel (1770-1831). Namely: "real philosophy" is subdivided by him into "philosophy of nature" and "philosophy of spirit". "Philosophy of Nature" includes mechanics, physics, organic physics. “Philosophy of spirit” is subdivided into “subjective spirit” (anthropology, phenomenology, psychology), “objective spirit” (law, morality, morality) and “absolute spirit” (art, religion, philosophy).

By the 20th century, the following system of sciences had developed:

- Natural science (natural sciences) - a system of scientific knowledge about nature;

–Technology (technical sciences) - a system of scientific knowledge about technical systems; sciences focused on the implementation of natural science knowledge;

–Human science (social and humanitarian sciences) - a system of scientific knowledge about man and society and the socio-cultural environment of his habitat.

In this case, we are talking about the "horizontal" dimension of the phenomenon of science. Within the framework of the "vertical" dimension, sciences stand out fundamental and applied.

Fundamental sciences are a system of knowledge about the most profound properties of objective reality, associated with the formation of a scientific picture of the world, which, as a rule, has no practical orientation. Applied sciences, on the contrary, are considered as a system of knowledge with a pronounced subject-practical orientation.

Fundamental sciences are associated with the identification of the basic laws and principles of the development of nature. Traditional research at this level is carried out not because of external (social) needs, but because of internal (immanent) incentives. Therefore, at its core, the fundamental sciences do not have a clearly expressed practical orientation. In this sense, axiological (value) neutrality is associated with them. At the same time, discoveries in the fundamental sciences have a fundamental impact on the formation of a natural-scientific picture of the world, changes in the paradigm (main characteristics) of scientific thinking. It is in the fundamental sciences that the basic models of cognition are developed, the concepts, principles and laws that make up the foundations of applied sciences are identified.

Applied sciences, based on the results of fundamental research, focus on solving specific technical and technological problems related to the interests of society. Sciences of this level are ambivalent, i.e. depending on the scope of application, they can be used both for the benefit of a person and have a negative impact on him and his environment. In other words, applied sciences also include value content.

On the one hand, the spectrum of ideas, theories and concepts coming from the field of fundamental sciences to the field of applied research leads to the transformation of applied sciences. This circumstance, in turn, requires the "fundamentalization" of applied sciences. On the other hand, applied sciences actively influence fundamental sciences, increasing the degree of their “practice”.

First, the means and methods of instrumental knowledge of nature are being improved. And, secondly, when developing applied problems, new ideas and methods often arise. Thus, the development of the technique of accelerating elementary particles made it possible to substantiate and test theoretical ideas about the fundamental laws of the microworld. Moreover, the corresponding research led to the discovery of new elementary particles, the identification of the laws of their formation, which significantly advanced the understanding of the deep processes of the microworld that determine the evolution of the Universe.

The development of science is an objective process, which is characterized by an orientation towards internal immanent (from Latin immanentis - inherent, inherent) conditions. The formation of natural science, technical science and human knowledge is increasingly revealing its historical dependence on external conditions (social, economic, cultural, etc.).

In other words, the process of interrelation and interaction of sciences is intensifying. Historically, several forms of interconnection and interaction between various scientific disciplines have been distinguished. Let's designate some levels of science integrativity.

Adjacent integrability. The relationship of scientific disciplines genetically and historically interacting with each other (physical chemistry, biophysics, economic mathematics, etc.)

Interrelated integrability. The interrelation of scientific disciplines both of one cycle (natural science) and interrelated ones (for example, bionics is based not only on biology and physics, but also on technical sciences).

Targeted integrativity. The interaction of scientific disciplines of a different cycle and profile is carried out to implement a target setting corresponding to a particular science (for example, cybernetics unites not only mathematics or biology, but also systems theory, management methodology, sociology, etc.).

Problematic integrativity. The interrelation of various directions of scientific knowledge occurs in the process of solving a specific problem; the degree of integrativity is a function of its level - from local to global (for example, solving a global environmental problem requires the "involvement" of all areas of natural science, technical science and human knowledge).

These trends in science are also correlated with its functions. Several functions of science are noted. Let's highlight some of them, namely: research, teaching, communication, socio-cultural and ideological.

Research function. Science, studying a specific reality, discovers its new sides and qualities, reveals more and more effective methods of cognition, etc. The purpose of scientific research is to analyze the laws of objective reality.

Educational function. Within its framework, the reproduction of scientific knowledge is carried out - the transfer of scientific ideas from one research system to another. This is carried out in the process of training scientific personnel (through the education system, scientific schools, etc.), which ensures the continuous development of science, as well as the formation of new scientific traditions.

Communicative function. This is a process of information exchange between members of the scientific community, which includes publications, conferences, discussions, etc. As a result, the relationship of the scientific community is strengthened, awareness and efficiency of research activities are increased.

Sociocultural function. Science is one of the basic elements of culture that form the basis of civilization. The level and nature of the development of science is an essential factor that fixes the status of society in the dynamics of the historical process. The development of science is a criterion for the positive dynamism of civilization.

World outlook function. The cumulative development of science forms the foundations of the scientific worldview, that is, a system of principles, beliefs and ideas that determine a holistic approach to objective reality. In an extremely generalized form, the scientific worldview is associated with the rational attitude of a person (subject) to nature (object).

At various stages of the development of society, certain functions of science dominated. For example, in the ancient period the emphasis was placed on its ideological functions (a spontaneously dialectical form of worldview); in the medieval period - teaching function (during this period, science was concentrated mainly in universities); in the conditions of modern times, the research function of science developed (the formation of a modern type of scientific knowledge).

Until the 19th century. the development of science was predominantly of an immanent nature, without significantly influencing the sociocultural processes of reality. And only by the middle of the 20th century, the functions of science appear in unity, forming a systemic integrity that ensures the dynamism of the cognitive process.

2. Natural science and sociocultural knowledge: specificity and commonality

Historically, there were two points of view on the specifics of natural science (technical science) and human knowledge (social and humanitarian knowledge). The first of them proceeds from the fact that there is a pronounced specificity between natural science and human science, due to the type of natural science and humanitarian knowledge. The second point of view, on the contrary, is based on ideas, according to which there are no fundamental differences between natural science and humanitarian knowledge.

I. Kant (1724-1804) stands at the origins of views proceeding from the essential difference between the "history of nature" and "the history of society" In his opinion, if "unconscious forces" operate in nature, then in society there are people "striving for certain goals ".

The neo-Kantian (Baden) school, relying on the Kantian doctrine, actively developed the thesis of the opposition of natural science and sociocultural knowledge.

G. Rickert (1863-1936) divided the sciences, based on the level of abstraction used within their framework, into generalizing (natural sciences) and individualizing (historical sciences) disciplines. Therefore, in his opinion, it is real in natural science to reach the level of comprehensive concepts and laws, and historical (sociocultural) disciplines are guided mainly by an individualistic vision of reality. Moreover, the desire to reach a generalizing (generalizing) understanding of historical processes turns into their distortion.

Historically, a number of features of natural science and sociocultural knowledge have been distinguished, conditioned by the reality of their specific characteristics. Let's note some of them.

The basis of knowledge of the laws of nature is the cause-and-effect relationship of natural things and phenomena. At the same time, natural laws do not depend on human activity. The laws of mechanics, for example, are objective in nature, explaining the specifics of the relationship of bodies in the macrocosm.

On the contrary, the laws of functioning of sociocultural systems are a function of the activity of society, because they change as a result of sociocultural development. Consequently, sociocultural patterns are not a constant category.

Of course, the laws of nature, revealed within the framework of natural science, in the process of cognition lose their constancy. The discovery of the microcosm revealed the limitations of the laws of mechanics to the sphere of the macrocosm. At the same time, socio-cultural patterns are largely normative in nature, with a large degree of subjectivity.

So, the natural sciences are characterized by a high degree of objectivity, because their development is associated with the desire to identify internal natural connections and relationships. Historical disciplines also strive to identify objective trends in the development of social systems. Within their framework, however, the dominance of target and normative representations is more clearly visible.

The laws of natural science are revealed on the basis of a scientific experiment. Moreover, any theoretical position in a particular science of nature presupposes experimental confirmation. The situation is different in the social sciences. Within their framework, an experiment (as an active influence on a cognizable object in the natural science understanding) is hardly possible.

Natural science patterns acquire the status of a law when, in the course of an experiment, it is possible to ensure their repeatability. The historical fact is an isolated phenomenon. In this sense, any sociocultural phenomenon is unique in the existing historical forms. Consequently, the cognitive process in natural science and human science is based on opposite methodological attitudes.

The specific features of the object of natural science and human science also affect the effectiveness of forecasting the development of natural (natural) and socio-natural (integral) systems. The truth of the natural science theory is confirmed not only by experiment, but also by the constructiveness of the forecast, i.e. the possibility of a prospective extrapolation of the development of a specific natural system. If molecular hydrogen and oxygen participate in a chemical reaction, then the prediction is obvious, namely: the process will end with the formation of a molecule. A similar forecasting efficiency is hardly possible in social sciences. In other words, forecasting in social and humanitarian knowledge (as opposed to natural science and technical knowledge) is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty.

Historically, natural science knowledge took shape in the form of a scientific theory before the system of sciences about man and society took shape.

At the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. it is becoming more and more obvious that the dividing line between the natural and human sciences is more and more arbitrary. Let us point out two circumstances that at least confirm this thesis.

First, the scale of the problems ("challenges") requiring adequate resolution within the framework of modern civilization presupposes the "connection" of the entire cycle of scientific knowledge. And if in the process of formation and development the status of natural science was extremely high (and human knowledge could not compete with it), then by the middle of the XX century. the sciences of the social and humanitarian cycle, to a certain extent, have “pushed aside” the disciplines of a natural science (the development of economics, psychology, anthropology, social philosophy, etc.). An adequate "response" to the challenges of civilization can be obtained only in the process of interconnection and interaction of various branches of modern scientific knowledge.

And, secondly, the methods of natural science (and technical science) and human knowledge are gradually converging. If before, for example, a scientific experiment was related mainly to natural science, then with the development of, say, global modeling, social sciences get the opportunity to “play” certain situations of the development of society. As a result, the objectivity of social cognition increases, as well as the effectiveness of its predictive constructions. The phenomenon of the "information revolution" is steadily overcoming the traditional dichotomy between natural science and human knowledge. At the same time, differences between them remain to one degree or another, due to the specifics of the research object. Man and nature, rushing towards each other, nevertheless retain their specificity.

3. Scientific truth as a sociocultural phenomenon

The concept of truth is one of the defining concepts in the theory of knowledge. Truth is an adequate reflection of reality, its comprehension. There are diametrically opposite points of view regarding the possibility of cognizing objective reality.

Supporters of one point of view proceed from the fact that, despite the complexity and contradictions, reality as a whole is cognizable; on the contrary, others - adhering to agnosticism, reject completely (or partially) the possibility of knowing the world. The elements of agnosticism, given the complexity of the cognitive process, remain in modern socio-cultural conditions.

Various forms of truth are recorded (artistic, moral, political, etc.), corresponding to specific types of knowledge (aesthetics, ethics, politics, etc.). Scientific truth has a special statute.

The following criteria of scientific truth are highlighted, which are interconnected with each other. Namely:

- objectivity - independence from external factors;

–Systematicity - the use of a set of principles, theories, hypotheses, etc .;

- rational evidence - reliance on logical experimental foundations;

- the possibility of verifiability - at an experimental practical level.

The search for scientific truth is an evolutionary process. Access to the level of objective scientific truth, ie, the acquisition of knowledge that does not depend on subjective conditions, is associated with the "gradual" of the cognitive process.

How can one separate true knowledge from untrue? In other words, how to distinguish true knowledge from delusion in its most diverse manifestations?

The search for an answer to this question has been going on since the genesis of scientific knowledge. As a criterion of true knowledge, various characteristics were taken, namely: self-evidence, observability, clarity, etc. In the XIX-XX centuries. there were several principles, the consideration of which presupposes an exit to the level of true knowledge. Let's highlight some of them.

Principle"Practice is the criterion of truth." Practice is understood as a purposeful subject-sensory activity of the subject (person) to transform the object (surrounding reality). Scientific practice involves experimental activities related to the implementation of the provisions of the theory, thereby confirming its truth or falsity. However, this principle does not mean the absolutization of the status of practice in the cognitive process: it is only in the process of interrelation of practice and science (theory) that the truth of scientific ideas is revealed.

Verification principle. In accordance with the views of positivism, the truth of any statement about objects and processes of reality is established, ultimately, by comparing it (truth) with sensory data. The difficulty (and often the impossibility) to "touch" directly the objects of scientific research (for example, the microworld) led neopositivists (logical positivism) to the thesis of a partial and experimental indirect confirmation of the theory. This establishes the relationship between theoretical and experimental positions as a criterion for the truth of knowledge.

The principle of falsification. In accordance with this principle, the status of scientific character is possessed only by such statements that can, in principle, be falsified, that is, refuted in the process of comparison with empirical data. In this case, the emphasis is on a critical approach to the results of theoretical research.

The principle of rationalism. This is the ideal of philosophical classical ideas about true scientific character. According to these concepts, reliable knowledge (universality, simplicity, predictability, etc. are associated with it) can be obtained only on the basis of logical constructions. Critically approaching the classical ideas about the scientific nature of knowledge, modern post-positivists reject a unified theory of rationality based on "historical relativism". Within its framework, the concept of rational knowledge changes historically, including characteristics (for example, intuition) that are not accepted by classical rationalism.

Differentiating true knowledge from untrue is not so easy. It is not always possible to set up an experiment, to conduct an experimental test of the corresponding theoretical propositions, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

M. Polani (1891-1976) formulated a theory according to which there are two types of knowledge. Namely: explicit knowledge expressed in categories, concepts, laws, theoretical constructions, etc.; implicit knowledge that does not have a clear theoretical apparatus, fixed mainly in practical actions (skills, skill, etc.).

Scientific truth is a balance between explicit and implicit knowledge And if there is a large degree of explicit knowledge in natural science (and technical knowledge), then, on the contrary, in human knowledge there is a large degree of implicit knowledge. Approaching scientific truth presupposes the "translation" of an increasingly significant part of knowledge from its implicit to its explicit form. This is a dynamic process due to the historical and sociocultural conditions of the development of science.

4. Universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition

Universal principles are thought methods used in all spheres of cognitive activity, in the system of natural, technical and humanitarian sciences. Here are just a few of them.

The principle of objectivity. The desire to consider an object (phenomenon, thing or process) based on internal (immanent) ideas.

Development principle. The idea, according to which a change, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of a thing, phenomenon or process is their intrinsic property.

Development is inherent in both organic and inorganic objects, as well as sociocultural systems. Various types of development are distinguished. Namely: ascending and descending, progressive and regressive, from the highest to the lowest, from the simple to the complex, from the necessary to the accidental, etc.

The principle of consistency. It is supposed to analyze a thing, phenomenon or process in the unity, interaction and interconnection of all their elements; consideration of the elements of the system as a whole.

Consistency- striving for an all-encompassing cognitive process, which is interpreted as an epistemological ideal. One of the features of the consistency is the interconnection of the formalized and non-formalized means and methods used in it for studying objects of various levels, studied by natural technical and humanitarian sciences.

The universal principles of scientific knowledge (some of them are discussed above) are concretized within the framework of general scientific methods. Let's select a number of them.

Induction and deduction. They are based on the ratio of discreteness (separateness) and integrity (community) of reality.

Induction (from Lat. Inductio - guidance) is a method of cognition based on inferences from the particular to the general, when consciousness moves from private knowledge to general knowledge, to the knowledge of laws. Scientific induction establishes causal relationships, based on the repetition and interconnection of the essential properties of a part of things and phenomena of a certain group, and from them - to the identification of universal causal relationships. Inductive inferences do not provide reliable knowledge, but only "suggest" the idea of ​​identifying such knowledge.

Deduction (from Lat. Deductio - deduction) is a method of cognition, the opposite of induction, based on inferences from the general to the particular. Deductive inference provides reliable knowledge, provided that it is contained in the appropriate premises. In real knowledge, deduction and induction are interconnected. The constructiveness of the deductive method is associated with the subject-practical and sociocultural activities of a person. In other words, its effectiveness is due to the accumulation and theoretical interpretation of the corresponding empirical material.

Analysis and synthesis. The mental and real process of dividing the whole into its component parts with the subsequent acquisition of the lost integrity.

Analysis (from the Greek. Analysis - decomposition) - the method cognizes associated with the mental dismemberment of a thing, phenomenon or process into its constituent elements for the purpose of cognition. The analytical method allows you to know the part as an element of the whole.

Synthesis (from the Greek. Synthesis - connection) is the opposite mental operation associated with the unification of the selection of the elements of an object into a whole. Analysis and synthesis are interrelated.

In essence, synthesis is a cognitive process enriched with the results of the analytical method. Moreover, from a general method of cognition, analysis and synthesis are transformed into special research methods corresponding to specific sciences (mathematical analysis, synthetic chemistry, etc.).

Classification and generalization. Logical ordering of scientific objects and processes of reality.

Classification (from Lat. Classis - category and facere - to do) is a method of dividing the investigated things, phenomena or processes into separate groups in accordance with certain characteristics. The following are distinguished: natural classification, within the framework of which significant similarities and differences of objects are revealed (for example, in biology); and artificial classification (say a library alphabetical catalog). Essential classification is characterized as a typology. Any classification is rather conditional and relative, improving in the process of cognition of real objects. Classification is a form of generalization.

Generalization is a method of thinking, within the framework of which general properties, signs and qualities of things, phenomena and processes of reality are revealed. The obtained generalized knowledge means an in-depth reflection of reality, testifies to further penetration into the essence of the object under study. So, if within the framework of the classification, specific features of an object are distinguished (for example, the concepts of "birch", "poplar", "maple", etc.), then the generalization goes to the level of generic characteristics (in this case, the concept of "tree") discarding signs of a specific nature.

Analogy and similarity. Identification of similar elements in dissimilar objects and systems.

Analogy (Greek analogia - correspondence) is a method based on identifying similarities in some respects, sides and qualities of non-identical objects. It relies on the logical method of inference by analogy. In the early stages of the development of science, analogy replaced experiment and observation. Thus, ancient pre-science (natural philosophy) proceeded from the identity of the microcosm (man) and the macrocosm (nature). Later, on the basis of analogy, the similarity of the human organism and the state, the organism with the human mechanism, was substantiated.

Similarity is a variant of analogy; used, however, to compare similar objects, but at different scales. For example, "similar triangles" are distinguished, i.e. geometric shapes, characteristic of different scale.

Abstraction and idealization. Theoretical selection and consideration of an object or process that does not really exist.

Abstraction (from Lat.abstractio - distraction) is the process of mentally highlighting individual sides, properties, qualities or relationships of a thing, phenomenon or process with a simultaneous distraction from their other characteristics, which in this research context are not considered as defining The method of abstraction allows for a deeper understanding of what is being studied phenomenon.

Idealization (from the Greek idea - image, representation) is a thought process that involves the selection of some abstract object that does not exist in principle in objective reality. These objects act as a means of scientific analysis, the basis of the theory. "Idealized" objects are characteristic of the entire system of scientific knowledge, namely: in mathematics - "absolutely black body"; in physics - "point"; in chemistry - "ideal solution"; in sociology - "type of rationality"; in cultural studies - "cultural-historical type", etc.

Idealization is a form of expressing abstraction. It is in the process of idealization that the ultimate abstraction from the real properties and qualities of a thing or phenomenon occurs with the simultaneous introduction of features that do not exist in reality into the content of the concepts being formed. For example, the concept of "material point" is an ideal object, but its use has not only a theoretical nature (in the process of creating a scientific theory), but also a practical application (for example, for calculating the movement of specific material objects). The concept of "Western type of rationality" (M. Weber) allows, for example, to give a theoretical analysis of the foundations of Western civilization ("Protestant ethics").

Simulation and thought experiment. Revealing the relationship between a real object (process) and its analog.

Modeling (from fr. Modell - sample) - a method in which the object under study (original) is replaced by another (model) specially created for its study. Modeling is used when the study of a thing, phenomenon or process is impossible or difficult for one reason or another.

There are several types of modeling, namely: physical, mathematical, logical, computer. Modeling capabilities are increasing in the process of improving computerization - from local to global modeling, that is, to the construction of planetary scale models.

A thought experiment is considered one of the types of modeling. This is a method of scientific thinking, similar to the structure of a material experiment, with the help of which, relying on theoretical knowledge and empirical data, constructing ideal models of the studied object and the conditions interacting with it, the essence of the theoretical problem is revealed. In a thought experiment, one operates with ideal objects and ideal conditions affecting them. Mental conditions are constructed on the basis of both experimental and theoretical methods of cognition.

Mathematization. One of the fundamental methods of a general scientific nature, which gives empirical knowledge a theoretical status.

Mathematization (from the Greek mathema - knowledge) is the penetration of mathematical methods into all spheres of scientific knowledge, the existing system of sciences.

Mathematization manifests itself in various ways in the sciences. A special relationship develops between physics and mathematics. If in classical physics the theory of the corresponding processes was originally created, for which a suitable mathematical apparatus was later constructed, then modern physics creates a mathematical apparatus corresponding to the new theory. In other words, modern theory reveals physical meaning in abstract mathematical constructions. The use of mathematical methods made it possible to create theoretical biology; the mathematization of chemistry has significantly increased the possibilities of organic synthesis; the use of mathematics in geography put it in the group of the leading natural sciences. Mathematization is actively used in socio-economic and humanitarian sciences (economic mathematics, mathematical sociology, etc.).

Both universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition are "complementary" in relation to each other. It is in the process of their interaction that an adequate idea of ​​objective reality in its integrity is formed.

5. Dynamics of scientism and anti-scientism

Science is an integral part of culture. In different historical periods of the development of civilization, the dominant of culture was determined by different forms of social consciousness, namely: in the antique period, the civilization process was based on myth, medieval - religion, in the era of the Renaissance and Enlightenment - philosophy.

In the era of modern times, science is gradually becoming a determining factor in the development of the socio-cultural processes of civilization. It is science, and especially the forms of its implementation, that increasingly determine the specifics of the relationship between man, society and the natural environment.

In European culture, since the ancient period, the idea has been formed, according to which knowledge is viewed as a good, that is, science is interpreted as a phenomenon that has an intrinsic value. In the dynamics of historical development, this led to scientism - a worldview that absolutizes the role of science and scientific knowledge in the socio-cultural process. Moreover, science was presented as a model for the development of culture.

Modern forms of scientism are characteristic of the 20th century, when the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution were viewed primarily as positive phenomena that ensure the dynamism of scientific and technical (and socio-economic) progress. Within the framework of scientism, the idea dominates, according to which most of the problems arising in the system of human relations with the outside world can be solved with the help of scientific and technical methods and technologies. Scientism merges with technocratism in its desire to resolve the socio-economic contradictions of society on the basis of scientific management methods.

Scientism and technocratism developed in the second half of the 20th century. in the form of post-industrialism theories, according to which the traditional industrial society must (and can) overcome internal conflicts in the process of correcting the established directions and development guidelines ("ecological revolution", "information revolution, etc.). The dynamism of the modern “post-industrial society” confirms, as many scientists believe, the effectiveness of the ideology of scientism.

Alternative scientism advocates "Antiscientism" - worldview, within which attention is focused on the negative sides and consequences of the development of science. If at the initial stages of its active dynamics, scientism prevailed (antiscientism was not clearly manifested), then gradually antiscientism takes an increasingly important place in the analysis of the status of science in society.

And if initially anti-scientism was based on the negative consequences of the development of physics, then later in this context the experience of biology and genetic engineering was used; chemistry with the negative impact of its derivatives on the biosphere. Psychology can be used to manipulate the human personality, and sociology can be used to influence public consciousness and behavior of certain groups of society, etc.

At the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. the question is formulated as follows: is science good or evil? Is its development a blessing or does it threaten the existence of man, society and the biosphere?

In the history of science, figuratively it is customary to distinguish two types of scientific knowledge. Namely: the science of the "Apollo" and "Faustian" type. In the first case, we mean the science of the ancient period with its contemplation, passivity, locality, irrationality; secondly, modern science with its activity, dynamism, globality, rationality. It is with these characteristics that the concept of a “crisis” of scientific knowledge of a “dead-end” direction of its development is associated.

Indeed, science of the Western (Faustian) type has determined a high level of development of modern civilization. And, nevertheless, its historically formed characteristics are subject to significant criticism. Let's say a point of view is justified. according to which, for example, rationalism, as one of the defining characteristics of Western-type science, is by no means a sufficient principle for the formation of an adequate scientific picture of the world - a true idea of ​​active reality. It is necessary, within the framework of this point of view, to "supplement" rationalism with views of an irrationalistic nature.

At the end of the XX century. it is not a “crisis” of natural science that takes place, but a paradigm shift (Greek paradeigma - sample), i.e. traditional theoretical, philosophical, socio-cultural premises that determine the development of science.

At the end of the XX century. reveals a tendency to overcome the "gap" between natural science (technical) and humanitarian knowledge, the sciences of nature, technology and man. The degree of "humanization" of science is increasing; its interconnection with the sociocultural processes of reality is increasing. At the same time, the process of "scientification" of culture is intensifying, due to the penetration of scientific ideas, concepts and ideas into the body of knowledge about man and society.

Conclusion

The modern scientific picture of the world is becoming increasingly systemic and integrative. Within its framework, prerequisites are created for the "transfer" of basic concepts and concepts from the natural sciences to the field of humanitarian knowledge. Natural science and sociocultural processes are considered in the dynamics of their changes. We are talking about the prerequisites and conditions for the formation of an integral picture of the world, to which modern scientific knowledge strives.

Bibliography

1. History and philosophy of science. Ursul A.D., RAGS Publishing House, Moscow, 2006

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ABSTRACT ON PHILOSOPHY

on the topic:

SCIENCE AS A SPECIAL FORM OF RECOGNITION OF REALITY

Completed by: l-t Timakov D.S.

Tver 2006

Introduction

This work is devoted to one of the many problems of philosophy, namely: science as a form of cognition of reality. Different approaches to understanding this problem in different years will be described here, as well as the properties and functions of science as people saw them at different stages of society development.

The first part is devoted to the consideration of science as a system that has its own properties and functions. Further, we will consider the issues of the specificity and generality of knowledge both by individual groups of people and by society as a whole.

The third part will describe scientific truth as a social phenomenon. The fourth part contains the basic universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition and their description.

In the final, fifth, part, the dynamics of the development of worldviews of the opposite nature will be briefly considered: a view of science as an integral part of the culture of a developing society and a view of this problem from the side of opponents of solving cultural issues using scientific methods.

1. The systematic nature of the phenomenon of science

Science is a specific form of activity (both in theoretical and practical spheres), associated with the formation of a relatively objective, systemic and proven knowledge about spiritual and material reality.

Science is one of the defining subsystems of culture. By the beginning of the XXI century. there are more than 800 definitions of it, for each major scientist (thinker) gives his own interpretation of the phenomenon of science.

If we clarify this rather general definition, then several areas of scientific activity should be distinguished that concretize it. Namely:

Revealing not external, but essential characteristics of reality;

Formation of a logically consistent system of knowledge about the objective picture of the world;

Forecasting the state of real objects and processes based on the identified natural and social laws;

Creation and development of special means of cognitive activity (mathematical methods, research equipment, etc.);

The spread of a special type of professional activity (scientists, engineers, etc.) in the field of social division of labor;

Functioning of a special system of organizations and institutions involved in the receipt, storage, dissemination and implementation of acquired knowledge (libraries, information centers, etc.).

The terms science and scientist originated in the first half of the 19th century. in European university practice. They designated activities in the field of mathematics, physics, chemistry and other natural sciences. For activities in the field of social sciences, the term "social science" was later used.

In the process of the genesis and development of scientific knowledge, attention to its classification increased. Here are some of the milestones in this process.

The first classifications of science arose in the era of antiquity. Aristotle (384-422 BC) divided philosophy (as a unified science) into "theoretical philosophy", "practical philosophy" and "creative philosophy". Moreover, "theoretical philosophy" is subdivided by him into physical, mathematical and theological philosophy; to poetics and rhetoric. Logic is interpreted as a propaedeutics (introduction) to the entire system of sciences.

In modern times, F. Bacon (1561-1626) developed a classification of sciences based on contemporary material. Human knowledge has been divided into three areas (spheres), namely: history (memory), poetry (fantasy), and philosophy (reason). At the same time, the selected areas of knowledge were further detailed by them.

Representatives of the French Enlightenment (Diderot, 1713-1784; and others), within the framework of the "Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts", singled out mechanics, physics, chemistry, physiology, etc.

A. de Saint-Simon (1760-1825) proposed a classification of sciences by analogy with the class structure of society (slave and feudal society - theology, capitalism - positivism, etc.).

O. Comte (1798-1857) developed the doctrine of the "three stages" of the development of science, namely: theological, metaphysical and positive. Moreover, each of the known sciences consistently goes through, in his opinion, the marked stages. The corresponding stages are passed not only by natural sciences (astronomy, physics, biology, etc.), but also by the humanities - sociology.

The fundamental classification of science (philosophy) was proposed by Hegel (1770-1831). Namely: "real philosophy" is subdivided by him into "philosophy of nature" and "philosophy of spirit". "Philosophy of Nature" includes mechanics, physics, organic physics. “Philosophy of spirit” is subdivided into “subjective spirit” (anthropology, phenomenology, psychology), “objective spirit” (law, morality, morality) and “absolute spirit” (art, religion, philosophy).

By the 20th century, the following system of sciences had developed:

Natural science (natural sciences) - a system of scientific knowledge about nature;

Technological knowledge (technical sciences) - a system of scientific knowledge about technical systems; sciences focused on the implementation of natural science knowledge;

Human studies (social and humanitarian sciences) is a system of scientific knowledge about a person and society and the socio-cultural environment of his habitat.

In this case, we are talking about the "horizontal" dimension of the phenomenon of science. Within the framework of the "vertical" dimension, sciences stand out fundamental and applied.

Fundamental sciences are a system of knowledge about the deepest properties of objective reality, associated with the formation of a scientific picture of the world, which, as a rule, has no practical orientation. Applied sciences, on the contrary, are considered as a system of knowledge with a pronounced subject-practical orientation.

Fundamental sciences are associated with the identification of the basic laws and principles of the development of nature. Traditional research at this level is carried out not because of external (social) needs, but because of internal (immanent) incentives. Therefore, at its core, the fundamental sciences do not have a clearly expressed practical orientation. In this sense, axiological (value) neutrality is associated with them. At the same time, discoveries in the fundamental sciences have a fundamental impact on the formation of a natural-scientific picture of the world, changes in the paradigm (main characteristics) of scientific thinking. It is in the fundamental sciences that the basic models of cognition are developed, the concepts, principles and laws that make up the foundations of applied sciences are identified.

Applied sciences, based on the results of fundamental research, focus on solving specific technical and technological problems related to the interests of society. Sciences of this level are ambivalent, i.e. depending on the scope of application, they can be used both for the benefit of a person and have a negative impact on him and his environment. In other words, applied sciences also include value content.

On the one hand, the spectrum of ideas, theories and concepts coming from the field of fundamental sciences to the field of applied research leads to the transformation of applied sciences. This circumstance, in turn, requires the "fundamentalization" of applied sciences. On the other hand, applied sciences actively influence fundamental sciences, increasing the degree of their “practice”.

First, the means and methods of instrumental knowledge of nature are being improved. And, secondly, when developing applied problems, new ideas and methods often arise. Thus, the development of the technique of accelerating elementary particles made it possible to substantiate and test theoretical ideas about the fundamental laws of the microworld. Moreover, the corresponding research led to the discovery of new elementary particles, the identification of the laws of their formation, which significantly advanced the understanding of the deep processes of the microworld that determine the evolution of the Universe.

The development of science is an objective process, which is characterized by an orientation towards internal immanent (from Latin immanentis - inherent, inherent) conditions. The formation of natural science, technical science and human knowledge is increasingly revealing its historical dependence on external conditions (social, economic, cultural, etc.).

In other words, the process of interrelation and interaction of sciences is intensifying. Historically, several forms of interconnection and interaction between various scientific disciplines have been distinguished. Let's designate some levels of science integrativity.

Adjacent integrability. The relationship of scientific disciplines genetically and historically interacting with each other (physical chemistry, biophysics, economic mathematics, etc.)

Interrelated integrability. The interrelation of scientific disciplines both of one cycle (natural science) and interrelated ones (for example, bionics is based not only on biology and physics, but also on technical sciences).

Targeted integrativity. The interaction of scientific disciplines of a different cycle and profile is carried out to implement a target setting corresponding to a particular science (for example, cybernetics unites not only mathematics or biology, but also systems theory, management methodology, sociology, etc.).

Problematic integrativity. The interrelation of various directions of scientific knowledge occurs in the process of solving a specific problem; the degree of integrativity is a function of its level - from local to global (for example, solving a global environmental problem requires the "involvement" of all areas of natural science, technical science and human knowledge).

These trends in science are also correlated with its functions. Several functions of science are noted. Let's highlight some of them, namely: research, teaching, communication, socio-cultural and ideological.

Research function. Science, studying a specific reality, discovers its new sides and qualities, reveals more and more effective methods of cognition, etc. The purpose of scientific research is to analyze the laws of objective reality.

Educational function. Within its framework, the reproduction of scientific knowledge is carried out - the transfer of scientific ideas from one research system to another. This is carried out in the process of training scientific personnel (through the education system, scientific schools, etc.), which ensures the continuous development of science, as well as the formation of new scientific traditions.

Communicative function. This is a process of information exchange between members of the scientific community, which includes publications, conferences, discussions, etc. As a result, the relationship of the scientific community is strengthened, awareness and efficiency of research activities are increased.

Sociocultural function. Science is one of the basic elements of culture that form the basis of civilization. The level and nature of the development of science is an essential factor that fixes the status of society in the dynamics of the historical process. The development of science is a criterion for the positive dynamism of civilization.

World outlook function. The cumulative development of science forms the foundations of the scientific worldview, that is, a system of principles, beliefs and ideas that determine a holistic approach to objective reality. In an extremely generalized form, the scientific worldview is associated with the rational attitude of a person (subject) to nature (object).

At various stages of the development of society, certain functions of science dominated. For example, in the ancient period the emphasis was placed on its ideological functions (a spontaneously dialectical form of worldview); in the medieval period - teaching function (during this period, science was concentrated mainly in universities); in the conditions of modern times, the research function of science developed (the formation of a modern type of scientific knowledge).

Until the 19th century. the development of science was predominantly of an immanent nature, without significantly influencing the sociocultural processes of reality. And only by the middle of the 20th century, the functions of science appear in unity, forming a systemic integrity that ensures the dynamism of the cognitive process.

2. Enatural science and sociocultural knowledge: specificity and commonality

Historically, there were two points of view on the specifics of natural science (technical science) and human knowledge (social and humanitarian knowledge). The first of them proceeds from the fact that there is a pronounced specificity between natural science and human science, due to the type of natural science and humanitarian knowledge. The second point of view, on the contrary, is based on ideas, according to which there are no fundamental differences between natural science and humanitarian knowledge.

I. Kant (1724-1804) stands at the origins of views proceeding from the essential difference between the "history of nature" and "the history of society" In his opinion, if "unconscious forces" operate in nature, then in society there are people "striving for certain goals ".

The neo-Kantian (Baden) school, relying on the Kantian doctrine, actively developed the thesis of the opposition of natural science and sociocultural knowledge.

G. Rickert (1863-1936) divided the sciences, based on the level of abstraction used within their framework, into generalizing (natural sciences) and individualizing (historical sciences) disciplines. Therefore, in his opinion, it is real in natural science to reach the level of comprehensive concepts and laws, and historical (sociocultural) disciplines are guided mainly by an individualistic vision of reality. Moreover, the desire to reach a generalizing (generalizing) understanding of historical processes turns into their distortion.

Historically, a number of features of natural science and sociocultural knowledge have been distinguished, conditioned by the reality of their specific characteristics. Let's note some of them.

The basis of knowledge of the laws of nature is the cause-and-effect relationship of natural things and phenomena. At the same time, natural laws do not depend on human activity. The laws of mechanics, for example, are objective in nature, explaining the specifics of the relationship of bodies in the macrocosm.

On the contrary, the laws of functioning of sociocultural systems are a function of the activity of society, because they change as a result of sociocultural development. Consequently, sociocultural patterns are not a constant category.

Of course, the laws of nature, revealed within the framework of natural science, in the process of cognition lose their constancy. The discovery of the microcosm revealed the limitations of the laws of mechanics to the sphere of the macrocosm. At the same time, socio-cultural patterns are largely normative in nature, with a large degree of subjectivity.

So, the natural sciences are characterized by a high degree of objectivity, because their development is associated with the desire to identify internal natural connections and relationships. Historical disciplines also strive to identify objective trends in the development of social systems. Within their framework, however, the dominance of target and normative representations is more clearly visible.

The laws of natural science are revealed on the basis of a scientific experiment. Moreover, any theoretical position in a particular science of nature presupposes experimental confirmation. The situation is different in the social sciences. Within their framework, an experiment (as an active influence on a cognizable object in the natural science understanding) is hardly possible.

Natural science patterns acquire the status of a law when, in the course of an experiment, it is possible to ensure their repeatability. The historical fact is an isolated phenomenon. In this sense, any sociocultural phenomenon is unique in the existing historical forms. Consequently, the cognitive process in natural science and human science is based on opposite methodological attitudes.

The specific features of the object of natural science and human science also affect the effectiveness of forecasting the development of natural (natural) and socio-natural (integral) systems. The truth of the natural science theory is confirmed not only by experiment, but also by the constructiveness of the forecast, i.e. the possibility of a prospective extrapolation of the development of a specific natural system. If molecular hydrogen and oxygen participate in a chemical reaction, then the prediction is obvious, namely: the process will end with the formation of a molecule. A similar forecasting efficiency is hardly possible in social sciences. In other words, forecasting in social and humanitarian knowledge (as opposed to natural science and technical knowledge) is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty.

Historically, natural science knowledge took shape in the form of a scientific theory before the system of sciences about man and society took shape.

At the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. it is becoming more and more obvious that the dividing line between the natural and human sciences is more and more arbitrary. Let us point out two circumstances that at least confirm this thesis.

First, the scale of the problems ("challenges") requiring adequate resolution within the framework of modern civilization presupposes the "connection" of the entire cycle of scientific knowledge. And if in the process of formation and development the status of natural science was extremely high (and human knowledge could not compete with it), then by the middle of the XX century. the sciences of the social and humanitarian cycle, to a certain extent, have “pushed aside” the disciplines of a natural science (the development of economics, psychology, anthropology, social philosophy, etc.). An adequate "response" to the challenges of civilization can be obtained only in the process of interconnection and interaction of various branches of modern scientific knowledge.

And, secondly, the methods of natural science (and technical science) and human knowledge are gradually converging. If before, for example, a scientific experiment was related mainly to natural science, then with the development of, say, global modeling, social sciences get the opportunity to “play” certain situations of the development of society. As a result, the objectivity of social cognition increases, as well as the effectiveness of its predictive constructions. The phenomenon of the "information revolution" is steadily overcoming the traditional dichotomy between natural science and human knowledge. At the same time, differences between them remain to one degree or another, due to the specifics of the research object. Man and nature, rushing towards each other, nevertheless retain their specificity.

3. Scientific truth as a sociocultural phenomenon

The concept of truth is one of the defining concepts in the theory of knowledge. Truth is an adequate reflection of reality, its comprehension. There are diametrically opposite points of view regarding the possibility of cognizing objective reality.

Supporters of one point of view proceed from the fact that, despite the complexity and contradictions, reality as a whole is cognizable; on the contrary, others - adhering to agnosticism, reject completely (or partially) the possibility of knowing the world. The elements of agnosticism, given the complexity of the cognitive process, remain in modern socio-cultural conditions.

Various forms of truth are recorded (artistic, moral, political, etc.), corresponding to specific types of knowledge (aesthetics, ethics, politics, etc.). Scientific truth has a special statute.

The following criteria of scientific truth are highlighted, which are interconnected with each other. Namely:

Objectivity - independence from external factors;

Consistency - the use of a set of principles, theories, hypotheses, etc .;

Rational evidence - reliance on logical experimental foundations;

Verifiability - at an experimental practical level.

The search for scientific truth is an evolutionary process. Access to the level of objective scientific truth, ie, the acquisition of knowledge that does not depend on subjective conditions, is associated with the "gradual" of the cognitive process.

How can one separate true knowledge from untrue? In other words, how to distinguish true knowledge from delusion in its most diverse manifestations?

The search for an answer to this question has been going on since the genesis of scientific knowledge. As a criterion of true knowledge, various characteristics were taken, namely: self-evidence, observability, clarity, etc. In the XIX-XX centuries. there were several principles, the consideration of which presupposes an exit to the level of true knowledge. Let's highlight some of them.

Principle"Practice is the criterion of truth." Practice is understood as a purposeful subject-sensory activity of the subject (person) to transform the object (surrounding reality). Scientific practice involves experimental activities related to the implementation of the provisions of the theory, thereby confirming its truth or falsity. However, this principle does not mean the absolutization of the status of practice in the cognitive process: it is only in the process of interrelation of practice and science (theory) that the truth of scientific ideas is revealed.

Verification principle. In accordance with the views of positivism, the truth of any statement about objects and processes of reality is established, ultimately, by comparing it (truth) with sensory data. The difficulty (and often the impossibility) to "touch" directly the objects of scientific research (for example, the microworld) led neopositivists (logical positivism) to the thesis of a partial and experimental indirect confirmation of the theory. This establishes the relationship between theoretical and experimental positions as a criterion for the truth of knowledge.

The principle of falsification. In accordance with this principle, the status of scientific character is possessed only by such statements that can, in principle, be falsified, that is, refuted in the process of comparison with empirical data. In this case, the emphasis is on a critical approach to the results of theoretical research.

The principle of rationalism. This is the ideal of philosophical classical ideas about true scientific character. According to these concepts, reliable knowledge (universality, simplicity, predictability, etc. are associated with it) can be obtained only on the basis of logical constructions. Critically approaching the classical ideas about the scientific nature of knowledge, modern post-positivists reject a unified theory of rationality based on "historical relativism". Within its framework, the concept of rational knowledge changes historically, including characteristics (for example, intuition) that are not accepted by classical rationalism.

Differentiating true knowledge from untrue is not so easy. It is not always possible to set up an experiment, to conduct an experimental test of the corresponding theoretical propositions, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

M. Polani (1891-1976) formulated a theory according to which there are two types of knowledge. Namely: explicit knowledge expressed in categories, concepts, laws, theoretical constructions, etc.; implicit knowledge that does not have a clear theoretical apparatus, fixed mainly in practical actions (skills, skill, etc.).

Scientific truth is a balance between explicit and implicit knowledge And if there is a large degree of explicit knowledge in natural science (and technical knowledge), then, on the contrary, in human knowledge there is a large degree of implicit knowledge. Approaching scientific truth presupposes the "translation" of an increasingly significant part of knowledge from its implicit to its explicit form. This is a dynamic process due to the historical and sociocultural conditions of the development of science.

4. Universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition

Universal principles are thought methods used in all spheres of cognitive activity, in the system of natural, technical and humanitarian sciences. Here are just a few of them.

The principle of objectivity. The desire to consider an object (phenomenon, thing or process) based on internal (immanent) ideas.

Development principle. The idea, according to which a change, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of a thing, phenomenon or process is their intrinsic property.

Development is inherent in both organic and inorganic objects, as well as sociocultural systems. Various types of development are distinguished. Namely: ascending and descending, progressive and regressive, from the highest to the lowest, from the simple to the complex, from the necessary to the accidental, etc.

The principle of consistency. It is supposed to analyze a thing, phenomenon or process in the unity, interaction and interconnection of all their elements; consideration of the elements of the system as a whole.

Consistency- striving for an all-encompassing cognitive process, which is interpreted as an epistemological ideal. One of the features of the consistency is the interconnection of the formalized and non-formalized means and methods used in it for studying objects of various levels, studied by natural technical and humanitarian sciences.

The universal principles of scientific knowledge (some of them are discussed above) are concretized within the framework of general scientific methods. Let's select a number of them.

Induction and deduction. They are based on the ratio of discreteness (separateness) and integrity (community) of reality.

Induction (from Lat. Inductio - guidance) is a method of cognition based on inferences from the particular to the general, when consciousness moves from private knowledge to general knowledge, to the knowledge of laws. Scientific induction establishes causal relationships, based on the repetition and interconnection of the essential properties of a part of things and phenomena of a certain group, and from them - to the identification of universal causal relationships. Inductive inferences do not provide reliable knowledge, but only "suggest" the idea of ​​identifying such knowledge.

Deduction (from Lat. Deductio - deduction) is a method of cognition, the opposite of induction, based on inferences from the general to the particular. Deductive inference provides reliable knowledge, provided that it is contained in the appropriate premises. In real knowledge, deduction and induction are interconnected. The constructiveness of the deductive method is associated with the subject-practical and sociocultural activities of a person. In other words, its effectiveness is due to the accumulation and theoretical interpretation of the corresponding empirical material.

Analysis and synthesis. The mental and real process of dividing the whole into its component parts with the subsequent acquisition of the lost integrity.

Analysis (from the Greek. Analysis - decomposition) - the method cognizes associated with the mental dismemberment of a thing, phenomenon or process into its constituent elements for the purpose of cognition. The analytical method allows you to know the part as an element of the whole.

Synthesis (from the Greek. Synthesis - connection) is the opposite mental operation associated with the unification of the selection of the elements of an object into a whole. Analysis and synthesis are interrelated.

In essence, synthesis is a cognitive process enriched with the results of the analytical method. Moreover, from a general method of cognition, analysis and synthesis are transformed into special research methods corresponding to specific sciences (mathematical analysis, synthetic chemistry, etc.).

Classification and generalization. Logical ordering of scientific objects and processes of reality.

Classification (from Lat. Classis - category and facere - to do) is a method of dividing the investigated things, phenomena or processes into separate groups in accordance with certain characteristics. The following are distinguished: natural classification, within the framework of which significant similarities and differences of objects are revealed (for example, in biology); and artificial classification (say a library alphabetical catalog). Essential classification is characterized as a typology. Any classification is rather conditional and relative, improving in the process of cognition of real objects. Classification is a form of generalization.

Generalization is a method of thinking, within the framework of which general properties, signs and qualities of things, phenomena and processes of reality are revealed. The obtained generalized knowledge means an in-depth reflection of reality, testifies to further penetration into the essence of the object under study. So, if within the framework of the classification, specific features of an object are distinguished (for example, the concepts of "birch", "poplar", "maple", etc.), then the generalization goes to the level of generic characteristics (in this case, the concept of "tree") discarding signs of a specific nature.

Analogy and similarity. Identification of similar elements in dissimilar objects and systems.

Analogy (Greek analogia - correspondence) is a method based on identifying similarities in some respects, sides and qualities of non-identical objects. It relies on the logical method of inference by analogy. In the early stages of the development of science, analogy replaced experiment and observation. Thus, ancient pre-science (natural philosophy) proceeded from the identity of the microcosm (man) and the macrocosm (nature). Later, on the basis of analogy, the similarity of the human organism and the state, the organism with the human mechanism, was substantiated.

Similarity is a variant of analogy; used, however, to compare similar objects, but at different scales. For example, "similar triangles" are distinguished, i.e. geometric shapes, characteristic of different scale.

Abstraction and idealization. Theoretical selection and consideration of an object or process that does not really exist.

Abstraction (from Lat.abstractio - distraction) is the process of mentally highlighting individual sides, properties, qualities or relationships of a thing, phenomenon or process with a simultaneous distraction from their other characteristics, which in this research context are not considered as defining The method of abstraction allows for a deeper understanding of what is being studied phenomenon.

Idealization (from the Greek idea - image, representation) is a thought process that involves the selection of some abstract object that does not exist in principle in objective reality. These objects act as a means of scientific analysis, the basis of the theory. "Idealized" objects are characteristic of the entire system of scientific knowledge, namely: in mathematics - "absolutely black body"; in physics - "point"; in chemistry - "ideal solution"; in sociology - "type of rationality"; in cultural studies - "cultural-historical type", etc.

Idealization is a form of expressing abstraction. It is in the process of idealization that the ultimate abstraction from the real properties and qualities of a thing or phenomenon occurs with the simultaneous introduction of features that do not exist in reality into the content of the concepts being formed. For example, the concept of "material point" is an ideal object, but its use has not only a theoretical nature (in the process of creating a scientific theory), but also a practical application (for example, for calculating the movement of specific material objects). The concept of "Western type of rationality" (M. Weber) allows, for example, to give a theoretical analysis of the foundations of Western civilization ("Protestant ethics").

Simulation and thought experiment. Revealing the relationship between a real object (process) and its analog.

Modeling (from fr. Modell - sample) - a method in which the object under study (original) is replaced by another (model) specially created for its study. Modeling is used when the study of a thing, phenomenon or process is impossible or difficult for one reason or another.

There are several types of modeling, namely: physical, mathematical, logical, computer. Modeling capabilities are increasing in the process of improving computerization - from local to global modeling, that is, to the construction of planetary scale models.

A thought experiment is considered one of the types of modeling. This is a method of scientific thinking, similar to the structure of a material experiment, with the help of which, relying on theoretical knowledge and empirical data, constructing ideal models of the studied object and the conditions interacting with it, the essence of the theoretical problem is revealed. In a thought experiment, one operates with ideal objects and ideal conditions affecting them. Mental conditions are constructed on the basis of both experimental and theoretical methods of cognition.

Mathematization. One of the fundamental methods of a general scientific nature, which gives empirical knowledge a theoretical status.

Mathematization (from the Greek mathema - knowledge) is the penetration of mathematical methods into all spheres of scientific knowledge, the existing system of sciences.

Mathematization manifests itself in various ways in the sciences. A special relationship develops between physics and mathematics. If in classical physics the theory of the corresponding processes was originally created, for which a suitable mathematical apparatus was later constructed, then modern physics creates a mathematical apparatus corresponding to the new theory. In other words, modern theory reveals physical meaning in abstract mathematical constructions. The use of mathematical methods made it possible to create theoretical biology; the mathematization of chemistry has significantly increased the possibilities of organic synthesis; the use of mathematics in geography put it in the group of the leading natural sciences. Mathematization is actively used in socio-economic and humanitarian sciences (economic mathematics, mathematical sociology, etc.).

Both universal principles and general scientific methods of cognition are "complementary" in relation to each other. It is in the process of their interaction that an adequate idea of ​​objective reality in its integrity is formed.

5. The dynamics of scientism and anti-scientism

Science is an integral part of culture. In different historical periods of the development of civilization, the dominant of culture was determined by different forms of social consciousness, namely: in the antique period, the civilization process was based on myth, medieval - religion, in the era of the Renaissance and Enlightenment - philosophy.

In the era of modern times, science is gradually becoming a determining factor in the development of the socio-cultural processes of civilization. It is science, and especially the forms of its implementation, that increasingly determine the specifics of the relationship between man, society and the natural environment.

In European culture, since the ancient period, the idea has been formed, according to which knowledge is viewed as a good, that is, science is interpreted as a phenomenon that has an intrinsic value. In the dynamics of historical development, this led to scientism - a worldview that absolutizes the role of science and scientific knowledge in the socio-cultural process. Moreover, science was presented as a model for the development of culture.

Modern forms of scientism are characteristic of the 20th century, when the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution were viewed primarily as positive phenomena that ensure the dynamism of scientific and technical (and socio-economic) progress. Within the framework of scientism, the idea dominates, according to which most of the problems arising in the system of human relations with the outside world can be solved with the help of scientific and technical methods and technologies. Scientism merges with technocratism in its desire to resolve the socio-economic contradictions of society on the basis of scientific management methods.

Scientism and technocratism developed in the second half of the 20th century. in the form of post-industrialism theories, according to which the traditional industrial society must (and can) overcome internal conflicts in the process of correcting the established directions and development guidelines ("ecological revolution", "information revolution, etc.). The dynamism of the modern “post-industrial society” confirms, as many scientists believe, the effectiveness of the ideology of scientism.

Alternative scientism advocates "Antiscientism" - worldview, within which attention is focused on the negative sides and consequences of the development of science. If at the initial stages of its active dynamics, scientism prevailed (antiscientism was not clearly manifested), then gradually antiscientism takes an increasingly important place in the analysis of the status of science in society.

And if initially anti-scientism was based on the negative consequences of the development of physics, then later in this context the experience of biology and genetic engineering was used; chemistry with the negative impact of its derivatives on the biosphere. Psychology can be used to manipulate the human personality, and sociology can be used to influence public consciousness and behavior of certain groups of society, etc.

At the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. the question is formulated as follows: is science good or evil? Is its development a blessing or does it threaten the existence of man, society and the biosphere?

In the history of science, figuratively it is customary to distinguish two types of scientific knowledge. Namely: the science of the "Apollo" and "Faustian" type. In the first case, we mean the science of the ancient period with its contemplation, passivity, locality, irrationality; secondly, modern science with its activity, dynamism, globality, rationality. It is with these characteristics that the concept of a “crisis” of scientific knowledge of a “dead-end” direction of its development is associated.

Indeed, science of the Western (Faustian) type has determined a high level of development of modern civilization. And, nevertheless, its historically formed characteristics are subject to significant criticism. Let's say a point of view is justified. according to which, for example, rationalism, as one of the defining characteristics of Western-type science, is by no means a sufficient principle for the formation of an adequate scientific picture of the world - a true idea of ​​active reality. It is necessary, within the framework of this point of view, to "supplement" rationalism with views of an irrationalistic nature.

At the end of the XX century. it is not a "crisis" of natural science that takes place, but a paradigm shift (Greek paradeigma - sample), i.e. traditional theoretical, philosophical, socio-cultural premises that determine the development of science.

At the end of the XX century. reveals a tendency to overcome the "gap" between natural science (technical) and humanitarian knowledge, the sciences of nature, technology and man. The degree of "humanization" of science is increasing; its interconnection with the sociocultural processes of reality is increasing. At the same time, the process of "scientification" of culture is intensifying, due to the penetration of scientific ideas, concepts and ideas into the body of knowledge about man and society.

Conclusion

The modern scientific picture of the world is becoming increasingly systemic and integrative. Within its framework, prerequisites are created for the "transfer" of basic concepts and concepts from the natural sciences to the field of humanitarian knowledge. Natural science and sociocultural processes are considered in the dynamics of their changes. We are talking about the prerequisites and conditions for the formation of an integral picture of the world, to which modern scientific knowledge strives.

Bibliography

1. History and philosophy of science. Ursul A.D., RAGS Publishing House, Moscow, 2006

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The theory of cognition (epistemology) is a branch of philosophy that studies such problems as the nature of cognition, its capabilities and boundaries, attitude to reality, subject and object of cognition. Characteristics of reflective and non-reflective forms of cognition.

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, ITS LEVELS, METHODS AND FORMS

1. Science as the main form of human knowledge.

2. Forms and methods of scientific knowledge: universal dialectical method; general methods of cognition; specific methods of private sciences.

3. The logic of the cognitive process, the main stages of scientific knowledge and their importance in law enforcement.

The science- the sphere of human activity, focused on the development, theoretical systematization and comprehension of knowledge about reality; the most important element of spiritual culture, the highest form of human knowledge; a system of developing knowledge, which is achieved through appropriate methods of cognition, are expressed in precise concepts, the truth of which is verified and proved by social practice.

Classification of Sciences- the mutual connection of sciences on the basis of certain principles and the expression of their connection in the form of a logically justified arrangement of sciences.

Natural Sciences- sciences of inanimate nature (mechanics, physics, chemistry); organic world (botany, biology, zoology, anthropology, psychology);

Social and Human Sciences- the science of the development of human society in the interdependence of all its aspects and elements, including social sciences, reflecting the interconnection of individual aspects of the internal structure of society - the economic basis and superstructure;

Technical science- sciences related to a specific economy and the main sectors of the economy (industry, transport, communications, agriculture, health care).

Scientific Method- a system of rules for theoretical and practical activities, developed by the subject on the basis of the laws of the studied object.

Cognitive Procedure- a set of methods focused on achieving a specific research result.

The consideration of such an important form of human knowledge as science can be approached in a variety of ways. However, from the very beginning it is necessary to understand that the word "science" literally means knowledge, the most important element that we considered in the structure of consciousness (knowledge, emotions, will, memory), where knowledge means certified information about material and spiritual phenomena, their correct reflection in the mind of a person.

From this point of view, knowledge is the opposite of ignorance, as they said in antiquity, that is, the absence of verified information about something. And in cognition, knowledge is the process of immersing the mind into reality for the sake of subordinating it to the power of man.

The mind moves from ignorance to knowledge, from superficial knowledge to ever deeper and more comprehensive, and therefore knowledge can be different: everyday (everyday), prescientific and scientific, empirical and theoretical.

On the other hand, it is important to understand that elementary knowledge is also characteristic of animals, which have correct information about some properties of things and their simplest relationships, which is a necessary condition for their correct orientation in the world around them.

Primitive people possessed considerable knowledge in the form of useful information, customs, empirical experience, and production skills passed down from generation to generation. They knew how to do a lot and their skills were based on knowledge. This is evidence that everyday, pre-scientific and scientific knowledge is based on practice. For example, for thousands of years sailors knew perfectly well how to use levers, and merchants knew how to use scales. In fact, this knowledge was known long before Archimedes discovered the law of leverage. But it was precisely this law that made it possible to create new mechanical inventions that would not have occurred to any practitioner.

Ordinary, empirical knowledge arising directly from practice can exist without science and outside of science. So, even in hoary antiquity, it was noticed that day regularly replaces night, or that iron is heavier than wood. In everyday life, this kind of knowledge plays a significant role, for example, a mother with a chill may conclude that the child has begun an illness.

In this case, what kind of knowledge becomes scientific and how can you understand what science is?

Being integral from the practical way of mastering the world, science as the production of knowledge is a specific form of activity. If in material production knowledge is used as a means of increasing labor productivity, then in science it is obtained in the form of a theoretical description, a diagram of a theoretical process, a summary of experimental data, a formula for a drug, etc. They form the main and immediate goal of scientific knowledge ... And for any scientific knowledge, the presence of what is being investigated is essential, reveals the nature of the subject of science, but the answer to the question of how research is carried out reveals the method of research.

In this regard, there are three features for science:

The first: unlike many other types of activity, scientific activity gives an increment of new knowledge, science acts as a force that constantly renews other types of activity.

The second: science is a historically developed form of human activity aimed at cognition and transformation of objective reality. It is a spiritual production, which has as its result purposefully selected and systematized facts, logically verified hypotheses, generalizing theories, fundamental and particular laws, as well as research methods. In this sense, science is simultaneously a system of knowledge, spiritual production and practical activity.

Third: scientific knowledge began to form in ancient societies (Sumerian culture, Egypt, China, India), but the emergence of science is most of all attributed to the 6th century. BC e., when the first theoretical systems (Thales, Democritus) arose in Ancient Greece and the corresponding conditions were formed. The formation of science at that time required, first of all, criticism and destruction of mythological systems. For the emergence of science in that period, a sufficient level of development of the productive forces of society, a developed level of production and social relations were necessary, leading to the division of mental and physical labor and thereby opening up the possibility for systematic knowledge by science of a certain part of society - the ruling class. The main laws of the development of science (see: Philosophy. Structural-logical schemes, skh. - 177).

From all that has been said, we can conclude that the science - the most important element of spiritual culture, the highest form of human knowledge; a system of developing knowledge, which is achieved through appropriate methods of cognition, expressed in precise concepts, the truth of which is verified and proved by social practice.

The essence of scientific knowledge lies in a reliable generalization of facts, when the necessary, natural, for the individual are found behind the random, the general is found, and on this basis, foresight of various objects and events is carried out. In this respect, one cannot but recall the remarkable ideas that continuity in science ensures its functioning as the main type of "social memory" of mankind, theoretically crystallizing the past experience of cognizing reality and mastering its laws.

On the other hand, the process of the development of science finds its expression not only in the increase in the amount of accumulated knowledge, but also affects the structure of science, which is complex and consists of four interacting components:

1) Science includes empirical knowledge borrowed not only from everyday consciousness, but also specially obtained empirically through observation and experiment. For example, the emergence of new areas of theory in natural science usually begins with the discovery of empirically new facts that do not "fit" into the framework of existing theories. This was the case with the discovery of radioactivity at the end of the last century: this phenomenon was understood as the transformation of chemical elements only through 20 years. Or, for example, the nature of powerful sources of radiation in space discovered in the 60s of our century, called "pulsars", will cease to be a mystery for physicists and astronomers over time.

2) science is an area of ​​theoretical knowledge. The theory must explain facts, discover the action of laws in empirical material, and bring these laws into a single system. In every field of science, the process of accumulating facts sooner or later leads to the creation of a theory as a system of knowledge, and this is a sure sign that this area of ​​knowledge is turning into a science. Thus, mechanics became a science thanks to I. Newton, who discovered at the end of the 17th century. the basic laws of motion of bodies and linking these laws of motion of bodies into a single system. In the second half of the last century, the theory of heat turned into thermodynamics due to the discovery of the law of conservation and transformation of energy and the law of entropy, and the theory of electricity became a science only when D. Maxwell created a coherent theory of electromagnetic processes.

Science as a theoretical system of knowledge has as its core the laws of science, reflecting the objectively necessary, essential connections between the phenomena of a particular area of ​​being. The theoretical area of ​​science also includes hypotheses, without which science cannot develop and which, in the course of their testing in practice, are either rejected or cleared of delusions and grow into theory.

3) The most important component of science is its worldview, philosophical foundations and conclusions. For example, understanding the law of conservation and transformation of energy, the law of entropy, which laid the foundation for thermodynamics, would be impossible without understanding the philosophical questions about the eternity and infinity of matter and motion, about their quantitative and qualitative indestructibility.

A. Einstein's theory of relativity establishes the connection between space, time and matter, the quantum theory reveals the relationship between discontinuity and continuity in the microcosm, and these are not only physical, but also philosophical problems. All these examples show how science penetrates deeper and deeper into the essence of phenomena and processes, embraces an ever wider range of the modern picture of the world and that is why it is filled with an increasing degree of philosophical content.

4) the fourth component of science is practice. This component shows that science, being a phenomenon of the spiritual life of society, is at the same time embodied in the sphere of material life. It represents a special area of ​​human activity, where theory merges with practice, is inextricably linked with it.

Even at the early stages of the development of science, scientists not only contemplated nature, but also acted in the interests of practice: they invented devices, carried out observations with their help, set up experiments and obtained new facts. So, even in antiquity, the astronomical device "gnomon" was created - a vertical column on a horizontal platform, which allowed the Greeks to accurately determine the height of the sun above the horizon and geographical latitude.

In modern times, such forms of scientific practice as instrumental observation and experiment have developed rapidly. Subsequently, a whole experimental base was created for science, requiring colossal costs for equipment and technical equipment of scientific production: giant synchrophasotrons, spaceships and satellites, stations, highly accurate instruments that allow measuring time intervals and intervals of space in the microworld.

From this point of view, the distinction between theory and practice in many areas required the division of labor between scientists: experimental physicists set up experiments, operate instruments, give a primary generalization of the data obtained, and theoretical physicists devote themselves entirely to generalizing experimental data and developing fundamental theory. The trend is exactly the same in the development of many natural sciences, for example, in the field of medicine, in solving complex problems of modern genetics, in psychology, in nanotechnology, etc.

In this regard, it is important to identify the main feature of practical activity in science, which is subordinated to the acquisition of knowledge, the development of theory, showing that science as a form of human cognition does not exist without a material moment, without what we call "scientific practice."

Scientific disciplines, which in their totality form a system of science as a whole, can be conditionally divided into three large groups:

a) natural sciences;

b) social (social and humanitarian) sciences;

c) technical sciences.

Each of these groups, in turn, forms a system in a variety of ways coordinated and subordinated by subject and methodological connections of individual sciences, which makes their classification extremely difficult and not yet fully completed until now.

Natural science is a system of natural sciences, one of the three main areas of human knowledge; theoretical basis of industry, agriculture, scientific foundation of materialism, dialectical understanding of nature.

Cognition of nature and the formation of natural sciences is achieved as a result of the theoretical and production activities of man. At the same time, natural science has a twofold goal:

1) disclosure of the essence of the phenomenon of nature, knowledge of their laws and foresight on their basis of new phenomena;

2) an indication of the possibility of using the known laws of nature in practice.Among the great variety of natural sciences, the following can be named: mechanics, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, chemical physics, physical chemistry, chemistry, geochemistry, geology, geography, biochemistry, biology, zoology, zoopsychology , botany, human physiology, anthropology and others.

Social (humanitarian) - social sciences are a set of sciences about man and society, which differ from the sciences about nature (natural science) and the practical use of its laws. As part of the humanities, the science of thinking is distinguished. At the same time, sciences represent a system of all areas of knowledge about society, the laws of its emergence and development, about its structure, individual elements of this structure and various aspects of human life: about social being and social consciousness, their interaction; about a person, his formation, activity and development; about human communities: classes, nations, ethnic groups and relations between them; about material and spiritual culture in society.

The social sciences primarily include: history, archeology, ethnography, economic geography, socio-economic statistics, sociology, political science, sciences about the basis and superstructure, about the state and law; linguistics and psychology, pedagogy.

Technical (practical) sciences. In the classical sense, technical sciences should include applied mechanics, technical physics, metallurgy, chemical and technical sciences, mining, geology, agricultural sciences: agriculture, agronomy, veterinary science, medical sciences, etc.

However, it must be borne in mind that in modern natural science and technical sciences, in comparison with the 19th century, fundamental changes have occurred that caused the emergence of fundamentally new ones: subatomic physics (quantum mechanics, electronic and nuclear physics), which changed the relationship between physics and mechanics. , physics and chemistry, developed cybernetics, linking many branches of natural science, mathematics and technology; arose cosmonautics, which influenced the development of a number of sciences, especially astronomy.

On the other hand, the classification of modern technical sciences has broad connections with a specific economy, where it is considered with the main branches of the national economy: industry (heavy and light, manufacturing and extractive industries, transport and communications); agricultural sciences: plant growing and animal husbandry); medical sciences and health care. Through these branches of production, connected with the material life of society, technical sciences carry out extensive interaction with the social sciences.

In a peculiar and fundamentally new way, the natural, mathematical and technical sciences began to be linked with the emergence of cybernetics, which grew on the basis of solving the problem of automating production and technical processes. Therefore, speaking about modern science in its interaction with various aspects and spheres of human life and society, three groups of social functions performed by modern science can be distinguished:

1) cultural and ideological functions;

2) the functions of science as a direct productive force;

3) function as a social force associated with the fact that scientific knowledge and methods are increasingly used in solving a variety of problems arising in the course of social development.

All three groups of functions performed by modern science as a social force are actualized when solving global environmental problems. As you know, scientific and technological progress is one of the main reasons for such dangerous phenomena for society and humans as the depletion of the planet's natural resources, growing environmental pollution, the aggravating demographic situation and the problems of war and peace, the increasing danger of nuclear war. As a result, science in the new millennium is assigned the leading role in determining the scale and parameters of environmental hazards.

Moreover, only it is able today to help humanity on a planetary scale to resolve environmental problems, intensively linking the technical and economic development of humanity, social management and creating new social institutions that can overcome the crisis moments in the development of society, identifying the means of transforming natural and social reality with the help of science.

Science, taking into account the real significance of the new form of the world, connects their achievements with the interests of man and human society as a whole. And this is an indicator that modern mankind needs the science of the future, harmoniously combining cognitive, aesthetic, moral and ideological aspects.

Legal science has come a long way of formation and development. The first shoots of legal scientific thought appear in the era of Antiquity, they are filled with vitality in the era of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and finally acquire maturity in the era of New and Modern times. When starting to study the history of legal science, it is necessary to note three moments that are extremely significant for its understanding.

First, legal science is a part of science as a whole, therefore, comprehending the essence of legal science is inseparable from comprehending the essence of science as such.

Second, the history of legal science cannot be viewed in isolation relative to the history of science as such. Scientific thought of various historical eras is characterized by a certain unity in understanding the fundamental foundations of being. That is why the understanding of the logic of the development of legal science is revealed through its correlation with the logic of the development of science as such.

Finally, the third - the history of legal science is closely linked with the history of culture as a whole. The history of jurisprudence can be viewed as a text, the interpretation of which outside its context - the socio-cultural environment - is not achievable.

These moments determine the structure of the first part of the textbook offered to the reader's attention, which contains a theoretical analysis of science as a specific method of cognition and a historical analysis of the genesis and development of scientific knowledge.

Chapter 1. The concept of science

Science is a multifaceted phenomenon, therefore one-dimensional models of its study are unrepresentative. The many-sided, open only to stereoscopic vision, the appearance of science is made up of such aspects as: epistemological (cognitive), ontological (existential), social. Accordingly, science can be viewed as a form of cognition, a sphere of culture, a social institution.

§1. Science as a form of knowledge

In the epistemological aspect, science appears as one of the ways of knowing the world. The basis of cognition is thinking - an active process of processing information about the world. Modern researchers distinguish two main strategies for processing cognitive (perceivable) information: right-hemispheric, figurative-emotional, generalizing knowledge about the world using a system of emotionally colored images; and left-hemispheric, logical-verbal, rational, generalizing information about the world using a system of concepts and symbols (1). Art and myth as forms of cognition rely mainly on the right-hemispheric figurative-emotional strategy, while art is mostly based on experiential knowledge, and myth is based on super-experienced. Philosophy and science as forms of cognition are based on the left-hemispheric rational strategy of information processing, while science is based mainly on experimental knowledge, and philosophy generalizes the experienced and forms super-experienced - abstract, speculative, speculative knowledge. Religion, especially when it comes to world religions, is synthetic knowledge. It is undoubtedly dominated by figurative and emotional strategies for information processing, but a rational strategy also plays a certain role. Moreover, religion is by definition super-experienced knowledge.

Of course, the proposed scheme is rather arbitrary - in reality, any knowledge is synthetic, we can only talk about priorities.

The development of science, including legal science, is associated with the actualization and highlighting of the logical-verbal, analytic-synthetic, rational cognitive strategy, while the figurative-emotional is the second plan of this process.

The main components of a rational cognitive strategy are reason, reason, reflection, intellectual intuition.

Reason - "finite" thinking (GVF Hegel) - the initial level of rational thinking, at which the operation of abstractions occurs within a given scheme, an unchanging pattern, strict principles. The logic of reason is a formal logic that sets certain rules for statements, proofs, which determines not so much the content as the form of established knowledge. In essence, reason is the ability to reason consistently, correctly analyze, classify and systematize facts. The main function of the mind is the ordering and organization of cognitive material. The main forms of rational thinking are: concept - a definition that reflects in a generalized form general and special features of the phenomena of reality and essential connections between them; judgment is a statement reflecting individual things, phenomena, processes, their properties, connections and relationships, and inductive and deductive inferences are mental actions through which new knowledge is derived.

Reason - "infinite" thinking (GVF Hegel) - the highest level of rational thinking, which is characterized by creative handling of existing abstractions, their critical rethinking. The mind is aimed at comprehending the essence and laws of various phenomena and processes of the world. The main function of the mind is the adequate display of information in the system of concepts, categories, concepts presented in their interconnection and development. The logic of reason is dialectics - the logic of the transition from one system of knowledge to another higher through the synthesis and removal of contradictions that emerge both in the object of cognition and in the process of cognition itself, in the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition.

Rational cognition is a process of interaction between reason and reason. The transition of reason into reason is carried out as a result of overcoming the historically formed conceptual system on the basis of the advancement of new ideas, the formation of new categories. The transition of reason into reason is associated with the formalization and schematization of knowledge obtained as a result of the creative activity of the mind.

Scientific rationalism is inseparable from such a way of thinking activity as reflection. Reflection is “a thought about thought, catching up with thought” (J. Schrader) or “the ability of thinking to make thinking its subject” (K. Jaspers), the ability to reflect not only on objects, but also on thoughts, essences. The development of scientific rationality is associated with the development of theoretical reflection - critical thinking, focused on the formation of generalizing constructions that are free from specifics, based on proofs.

An essential role in the process of cognition is played by intellectual intuition, which in terms of psychology can be interpreted as an insider - “peak experience”, as a result of which a breakthrough to new knowledge is made. In modern epistemology (the doctrine of knowledge), intellectual intuition is viewed as a curtailed reasoning, a thought leap carried out subconsciously. Thus, the understanding of intuition is freed from the taint of spiritualism and irrationalism.

Thus, scientific knowledge is experiential and reflective, evidence-based and critical knowledge based on rational-rational thinking strategies that can be molded into the form of intellectual intuition.

To separate scientific and non-scientific knowledge, a certain universal principle is required, a universal basis - a criterion (yardstick) that would qualify certain ideas as scientific or unscientific in their essence. In general, scientific knowledge is a way of introducing a subject to the truth; it has objectivity, general validity, universality, and evidence. However, it is obvious that these requirements are not absolute, but relative. In the history of science, there have been various criteria for scientific character. Among them: the criterion of empiricism - the experimental verifiability of the proposed scientific position; the criterion of rationalism - logical consistency and correctness of scientific theories; the criterion of conventionalism - the general acceptance of certain scientific theories; falsifiability criterion - the refutation of scientific theories by factual data; the criterion of verifiability - the linguistic verifiability of the objectivity of scientific propositions, the criterion of pragmatism - the operability of scientific ideas, etc. Of course, we can say that scientific knowledge is objective, generally valid and universal knowledge, but with a more detailed study of these criteria, many questions arise. Let's say, what is considered a criterion of objectivity if modern science puts forward the principle of correlating the knowledge gained about an object not only with the peculiarity of the means and operations of activity, but also with the value-target structures of the cognizing subject and reveals the connections between intrascientific goals and extrascientific social values ​​and goals? Or what should be considered a criterion of general significance, if a specific feature of social and humanitarian cognition is its polyparadigmality, i.e. synchronous existence of different paradigms - theories, principles, provisions? These questions do not have unambiguous answers. Obviously, this kind of uncertainty is justified, since it makes science open without creating obstacles and rigid barriers to its development, the emergence of new scientific theories and disciplines that do not fit into the existing structure of scientific knowledge and expand its space.

In general, it is advisable to talk about a set of criteria, distinguishing between paradigmatic criteria - criteria that are legitimate at a particular stage of the development of science, acting within the framework of a particular scientific paradigm; and universal criteria - metacriteria that determine the most general parameters of scientific knowledge, regardless of any of its paradigmatic affiliation. Paradigm criteria are those formed within the framework of a particular scientific paradigm, for example, positivism, pragmatism, structuralism, phenomenology. As metacriteria, one can single out such requirements as: rationality, logical consistency, intersubjectivity, reproducibility, experimental verifiability (15). Scientific, in this context, is knowledge that meets the requirements of a larger number of metacriteria, and vice versa, knowledge for which most of the metacriteria do not work can hardly claim the status of scientific.

Scientific rationalism should be distinguished from ordinary, ordinary knowledge can also operate with logical-verbal methods of information processing, but it is not evidence-based, ordinary rationality is rational, it is the logic of common sense based on the conviction of the obviousness of any phenomena or processes. Ordinary knowledge cannot be considered as erroneous or harmful, it is another form of cognition, without which the existence of culture would be problematic. Moreover, modern researchers consider everyday knowledge as a source of information for scientific knowledge. I. Prigogine and I. Stengers, for example, argue that: “In the open world, which we are now learning to describe, theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom need each other” (2).

Scientific rationalism must also be distinguished from philosophical rationalism. The problem of identifying the specifics of philosophical and scientific knowledge is extremely important, since through its solution it is possible to specify such disciplines as jurisprudence and philosophy of law. The differences between science, in particular legal science, and philosophy, in particular the philosophy of law, should be seen in the degree of abstraction of political and legal thought from concrete experimental knowledge. Jurisprudence is an experienced science. It analyzes, synthesizes, generalizes, systematizes and conceptualizes specific factual information regarding the existence of the political and legal sphere of society. Thus, jurisprudence acts as a reflection of the first order - a reflection on the prevailing forms of political and legal culture. Philosophy of law is a reflection of the second order, generalization of generalization, conceptualization of conceptualizations, theory of theories or metatheory. There are direct and reverse links between legal science and philosophy of law. Jurisprudence, being concrete scientific knowledge, acts for the philosophy of law as a kind of initial empirical basis, and the philosophy of law, in turn, acts for jurisprudence as an ideological and methodological basis. The border between proper scientific legal and philosophical knowledge and knowledge is rather conventional and transparent, for example, such a section of legal science as the theory of state and law in many respects echoes and even coincides with the philosophy of law.

Science, including legal science, should be distinguished from practice - legal practice. Practice (Greek prakticos - active, active) - objective, goal-setting human activity aimed at the development and transformation of natural and social objects. Legal practice - activities related to the regulation of social and political relations by referring to established legal norms and laws. Legal practice arises at a certain stage in the development of society - the stage of the formation of a large complex society. It relies mainly on rational thinking, the content of which boils down to legal thinking and law enforcement. Legal science is based on rational and rational thinking aimed at legal reform and legal formation. Thus, the most important social function of legal science is to improve the legal sphere of society. Legal science is the most important element of the self-organization of society, through the efforts of scientists - lawyers, the reconstruction of the legal system of society is carried out, models of the legal organization of society are being created, new systems of law, new political and legal technologies are being formed. Of course, for the implementation, implementation of political and legal technologies, the participation of legal policy is necessary, i.e. state political forces.