Features of scientific knowledge in the information age. Scientific knowledge, its specificity and structure

The problems considered apply to any cognitive activity. Scientific knowledge is of particular importance for science, the specifics of which deserve special analysis.

Scientific and non-scientific knowledge

Cognition (and, accordingly, knowledge) can be divided into scientific and non-scientific, and the latter - into pre-scientific, everyday and extra-scientific, or parascientific.

Pre-scientific knowledge is a historical stage in the development of knowledge, preceding scientific knowledge. At this stage, some cognitive techniques, forms of sensory and rational knowledge are formed, on the basis of which more developed types of cognitive activity are formed.

Everyday and parascientific knowledge exist along with scientific knowledge.

Ordinary, or everyday, knowledge is called knowledge based on observation and practical exploration of nature, on the life experience accumulated by many generations. Without denying science, it does not use its means - methods, language, categorical apparatus, but provides certain knowledge about observable natural phenomena, moral relations, principles of education, etc. A special group of everyday knowledge consists of the so-called folk sciences: traditional medicine, meteorology, pedagogy, etc. Mastering this knowledge requires lengthy training and considerable experience; they contain practically useful, time-tested knowledge, but these are not sciences in the full sense of the word.

Extrascientific (parascientific) includes knowledge that claims to be scientific, uses scientific terminology, and is in fact incompatible with science. These are the so-called occult sciences: alchemy, astrology, magic, etc. Arose in the era of late antiquity and developed in the Middle Ages, they have not disappeared at the present time, despite the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Moreover, at critical stages of social development, when a general crisis is accompanied by a spiritual crisis, there is a revival of occultism, a departure from the rational to the irrational. Belief in sorcerers, palmists, astrological forecasts, in the possibility of communicating with the souls of the dead (spiritism) and similar “miracles” is being revived. Religious and mystical teachings are widespread.

This was the case during the years of crisis generated by the First World War, when the “theory of psychotransmutation” by G.Yu. Godzhiev, anthroposophy of R. Steiner, theosophy of E.P. Blavatsky and teachings. In the 60s. During the crisis in Western countries, esoteric teachings turned out to be fashionable (from the Greek - “directed inward.” Knowledge intended only for the “chosen ones”, understandable only to them).

The crisis in our country, generated by the perestroika processes, has created a spiritual vacuum, which is sought to be filled by various kinds of ideas and “teachings” that are far from science. The existence of extra-scientific ideas along with scientific ones is due, not least of all, to the fact that scientific knowledge cannot yet answer all the questions in which people are interested. Biology, medicine, agricultural and other sciences have not yet discovered ways to prolong a person’s life, rid him of diseases, protect him from the destructive forces of nature, crop failure, etc. People's hopes arise to find simple and reliable means of treating diseases and solving other vital problems. These hopes are supported by some sensationalist media. Suffice it to recall radio and television speeches by psychics and psychotherapists or “charged” issues of newspapers that “heal” all diseases. And many people turned out to be receptive to these and similar “miracles.”

It cannot be denied that some parascientific theories contain elements of useful knowledge that deserve attention. The futile attempts of alchemists to find a “philosopher’s stone” for transforming base metals into gold and silver were associated with the study of the properties of metals, which played a certain role in the formation of chemistry as a science. Parapsychology, exploring forms of sensitivity that provide ways of receiving information that cannot be explained by the activity of known sense organs, forms of influence of one living creature on another, accumulates material that can receive further scientific justification.

However, the search for super-intelligent means of knowledge, supernatural forces, irrationalism and mysticism are not compatible with scientific knowledge, with science, which is the highest form of knowledge and knowledge.

Science arose as a result of dissociation from mythology and religion, from the explanation of phenomena by supernatural causes. It relies on a rational explanation of reality, rejecting faith in super-rational means of knowledge - mystical intuition, revelation, etc.

Science is a field of research activity aimed at producing knowledge about nature, society, and man. Along with scientists with their knowledge and abilities, qualifications and experience, it includes scientific institutions with their experimental equipment and instruments, with the entire amount of achieved knowledge, methods of scientific knowledge, conceptual and categorical apparatus.

Modern science has powerful material and intellectual means of knowledge; it not only opposes various non-scientific teachings, but also differs from everyday knowledge.

These differences are as follows.

The object of everyday knowledge is predominantly observable phenomena, and the knowledge obtained is a set of information that is not included in the system; it is not always justified and often coexists with outdated ideas and prejudices. Scientific knowledge deals not only with observable, but also with unobservable objects (elementary particle, gene, etc.). It is characterized by consistency, systematicity, the desire to substantiate its provisions with laws, special methods of verification (scientific experiment, rules of inferential knowledge).

The purpose of everyday knowledge is limited mainly to immediate practical tasks; it is not capable of penetrating the essence of phenomena, discovering laws, or forming theories. Scientific knowledge poses and solves fundamental problems, puts forward well-founded hypotheses, and develops long-term forecasts. Its goal is the discovery of the laws of nature, society, thinking, knowledge of the essence of phenomena, and the creation of scientific theories.

The means of everyday cognition are limited by the natural cognitive abilities that a person has: sense organs, thinking, forms of natural language, based on common sense, elementary generalizations, simple cognitive techniques. Scientific knowledge also uses scientific equipment, special research methods, creates and uses artificial languages, and special scientific terminology.

Scientific knowledge, in comparison with everyday, artistic, philosophical and other types of knowledge, has its own specific characteristics and represents a special activity to obtain new objective knowledge. Scientific knowledge as the result and goal of scientific-cognitive activity is distinguished by such specific characteristics as objectivity, objectivity, validity, consistency, focus on reflecting the essential properties of the objects being studied, and advances the existing practice. Scientific knowledge, not limiting itself to the knowledge of only those objects that can be mastered within the framework of historically established practice at a given stage, also turns to those whose practical mastery can only occur in the future.

Specific objects of science also determine the attraction of special means of scientific and cognitive activity. Scientific research requires the use of scientific equipment to conduct experiments when studying new types of objects, special measuring instruments, and instruments. Science uses a specially created scientific language with clear concepts, terms and definitions. The means of scientific knowledge should also include the ideal regulations of research - methods of knowledge, samples, norms, ideals of scientific activity, etc. To organize scientific knowledge, a professionally trained subject of knowledge, possessing special scientific knowledge, who masters historically established means, techniques and methods of scientific and cognitive activity, is also necessary. In addition, the subject of scientific knowledge, the scientist, must also master a certain system of moral guidelines characteristic of science, prohibiting the manipulation of facts, plagiarism, etc.

In the structure of scientific knowledge, two levels can be distinguished - empirical and theoretical.

Empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge differ from each other by: subject, means and methods of research.

Difference by subject research is that if empirical study fundamentally learning-oriented phenomena and dependencies between them, then on level of theoretical research release occurs essential connections in their purest form. Empirical dependence is probabilistic-true knowledge, derived as a result of inductive generalization of experience. The theoretical law is reliable knowledge requiring the use of special research procedures.

Distinguishing between empirical and theoretical levels affordable is that if empirical research is based on direct practical interaction of a scientist with the object under study through the use of special instruments and instrumental installations in the process of observations and experiments, then theoretical research involves indirect studying an object through a mental rather than a real experiment. Language theoretical research is based on the use of so-called theoretical ideal objects(idealized objects, abstract objects, or theoretical constructs).

The distinction between the theoretical and empirical levels of cognition is also carried out according to methods of cognition. For the empirical level, the main methods are real experiment, real observation, empirical description and measurement. Theoretical research is based on such methods as idealization, thought experiment with idealized objects, logical and historical research, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, etc.

Scientific method- it is a system of regulatory principles and techniques with the help of which objective knowledge of reality is achieved.

Highlight:

1) general logical methods of cognition, used both at the level of everyday knowledge and at the level of scientific knowledge: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction and generalization.

2) methods used in scientific knowledge - at the empirical and theoretical levels.

Analysis(from Greek . - dismemberment, decomposition) - a procedure for the mental (real) dismemberment of the object under study, the properties of the object or the relationships between the object parts. Synthesis is the opposite procedure to analysis; it is the combination of previously identified parts (features, properties and relationships) of an object into a single whole.

Abstraction— abstraction from a number of properties and relationships of the phenomenon being studied with the simultaneous highlighting of the properties and relationships that interest us. The latter are designated by special substitute signs, thanks to which they are fixed in consciousness as abstractions (for example, various numbers).

Generalization- establishment of general properties and characteristics of objects, transition from a particular or less general concept to a more general one (“maple” - “tree” - “plant” - “living organism”).

Induction- a method of cognition in which a general conclusion is built on the basis of particular premises. Deduction- a method of reasoning through which a particular conclusion follows from general premises,

Analogy(from Greek - proportionality, proportion) - based on the similarity of objects in some characteristics, they conclude that they are similar in other characteristics.

Modeling- the study of an object (original) is carried out through the creation and study of its copy (model), replacing the original from certain aspects that are of interest to the researcher.

Methods of empirical research:

- observation- goal-oriented perception, determined by the research task. Unlike ordinary contemplation, scientific observation is mediated by theoretical knowledge and has a purposeful nature;

- measurement- a cognitive operation, as a result of which the numerical value of the measured quantities is obtained;

- experiment- a purposefully and methodically organized research method of cognition, which is carried out in specially specified, reproducible conditions through their controlled change.

Methods of theoretical research:

- thought experiment- the task is to construct abstract objects as theoretical samples of reality and operate with them in order to study the essential characteristics of reality;

- idealization- a type of abstraction operation, the essence of which is to isolate one of the necessary conditions for the existence of the object being studied, to subsequently change the selected condition, and gradually reduce its effect to a minimum;

- formalization- construction of abstract mathematical models, when reasoning about objects is transferred to the plane of operating with signs (formulas);

- axiomatic method. Axioms are statements whose truth does not require proof. With logical inference, the truth of axioms is transferred to the consequences derived from them, which contributes to the organization and systematization of scientific knowledge and serves as an indispensable means of constructing a developed theory;

- hypothetico-deductive method - creating a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which statements about empirical facts are ultimately derived. Developed theoretical knowledge develops not “from below” - due to inductive generalizations of scientific facts, but “from above” in relation to empirical data;

- method of mathematical hypothesis, when the researcher first strives to find a mathematical apparatus, operates with quantities, seeks to transfer the constructed equations to a new area of ​​the reality being studied, then find an interpretation of the equations, establishing a connection between quantities and objects of the new area. Only experience establishes the correspondence of a mathematical hypothesis to objective reality;

- method of ascent from abstract to concrete. The researcher, using it, finds the main connection of the object being studied, and then, tracing how it changes under different conditions, discovers new connections, establishes their interactions and, as a result, penetrates into the essence of the object being studied;

- historical and logical research methods. The historical method is based on tracing history in all its completeness and diversity, generalizing empirical material and establishing a general historical pattern on this basis. The basis of the logical method is the study of the process at the highest stages of its development, without resorting to real history.

Society as a developing system. Main spheres of social life

Society(in a broad sense) is a part of the material world isolated from nature, representing a historically developing form of human life.

In the narrow sense:

· a certain stage of human history (socio-economic formation, inter-formation and intra-formation historical stages, for example, pre-capitalist society, early feudal society);

· a separate individual society (social organism), for example, French society, Belarusian society, etc.

The main spheres of society's life are: material and production (economic), social, political and spiritual.

Economic sphere- a condition for people’s life, the creation of means of subsistence and the development of productive forces.

Social- a complex set of connections and relationships of social groups among themselves and with society as a whole.

Political the sphere includes political consciousness, political relations, institutions and actions. The main question of political life is the question of power.

Spiritual sphere of life of society - ideological, scientific-theoretical, religious, artistic-aesthetic, educational activities, the purpose of which is the preservation, enhancement and transmission of spiritual and cultural values. All of them are closely intertwined, and any phenomenon in the life of society takes place in all spheres at the same time, but one of them is predominant at a certain historical moment.

The development of society is a change in social relations in various spheres. Society is self-developing system, since the reason for its development is in the social relations themselves, or more precisely, in their contradictions. The materialist position is that source of development there is a contradiction between productive forces and production relations: the development of productive forces first forces production relations to change, and they, in turn, influence all other relations in society.

Therefore, the relations associated with material production are the most fundamental in the system of social life: the system of production relations is social existence, the objective reality of society. Relations that are formed on the basis of and depending on production relations (ideological, political, legal, etc.) are public consciousness. Social existence determines social consciousness. Consciousness is nothing more than a reflection of reality and people’s awareness of their social existence.

Formational and civilizational approaches to understanding the development of society. Specificity of the laws of social development.

There are two main approaches to the problem of periodization of human history in its living movement (which is the historical process).

The first one is linear: a view of world history as a single process of progressive upward development of mankind, certain stages in the history of mankind are highlighted.

Second approach - civilization-on: proceeds from the fact that in human history there are several independent formations, civilizations, each of which has its own, completely independent history.

The linear approach to the periodization of the historical process is also reflected in the identification of such main stages of human history as savagery, barbarism and civilization. Human history was divided into: hunting-gathering (pastoral), land-owning and commercial-industrial periods (A. Turgot, A. Smith, etc.). There are five world-historical eras in the history of mankind: ancient eastern (IV-II millennium BC), ancient (VIII century BC - V century AD), medieval (VI -XV centuries), new (late XVII century - 1917) and modern history (1917 - to the present day). More generally accepted within New European The tradition of the post-Renaissance period was the division of history into three progressive stages of the historical process - antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times.

In the history of mankind, post-industrialists distinguish three stages:

1) traditional (agrarian) society;

2) industrial (industrial) society;

3) post-industrial (super-industrial, information, technotronic, etc.) society.

Term "civilization"(from Latin - civil, state) is used in several senses: as a stage in the historical development of humanity, following barbarism (L. Morgan, F. Engels, O. Toffler); as a synonym for culture (A. Toynbee and others); as a level (stage) of development of a particular region or individual ethnic group (ancient civilization, for example); as a certain stage in the development of local cultural
tour, the stage of their degradation and decline (O. Spengler, “The Decline of Europe”).

Despite all the differences in approaches to civilization, its most generally recognized features is that the transition to civilization itself is a key moment in the formation and development of human history. Civilization means the transition to the actual social organization of society, when a society has formed that differs from barbarism. Civilization is not limited to just one, albeit very important, economic parameter of the development of society, but also includes such important aspects as cultural, geographical, spiritual, determining the uniqueness and uniqueness of each civilization.

Based on various approaches to understanding civilization that take place in the previous tradition, as well as taking into account the current state of this problem, we can give the following definition of this complex concept:

Civilization - this is a stable cultural-historical community of people, distinguished by common spiritual and moral values ​​and cultural traditions, similarities in material, production and socio-political development, peculiarities of lifestyle and personality type, and the presence, in most cases, of common ethnic characteristics and corresponding geographical framework.

The essence of the civilizational approach: The history of mankind is divided into several completely independent formations - local civilizations, each of which has its own independent history, is distinguished by the uniqueness of historical phenomena, the uniqueness of cultural and historical events.

Currently, an integration approach to the interpretation of world history is needed. It takes into account the progressive-staged progressive nature of the development of human history, its development in time, chronology, all the multidimensionality, complexity, uniqueness of individual cultures and civilizations, the development of human society in space. Only within the framework of such an approach can the historical process be considered in all the diversity of its characteristics, the variability of historical development, with a focus on a pluralistic dialogue of cultures and the substantiation of prospects for civilizational development.

Specificity of the laws of social development. History differs from any other processes in the real world in that it does not exist apart from the activities of people: since the decisions and actions of people constitute the content of the historical process, it depends on the consciousness of each person, and since there are a lot of people, it depends on the consciousness of an individual very small. Thus, the historical process is objective, although based on the subjectivity of people.

This is related to the peculiarities of the operation of social laws in comparison with the laws of nature:

1) the effect of social laws is indirect, nothing forces a person to act “as he should”, laws influence what the results of actions will be;

2) the effect of social laws is statistical, that is, not in one hundred percent of cases, but only in the overwhelming majority;

3) social laws are difficult to detect, since repetitions are impossible in history;

4) social laws cannot be experimentally verified and their predictive function is very limited.

Subjects of history are both individuals and groups of people (including very large ones). Their main characteristics are rationality and freedom, i.e. people consciously choose the goals of their actions and do what they consider necessary. However, since there are a huge number of subjects, their goals and actions themselves are mixed and influence each other. Chaos does not occur in the historical process because the subjects are not incompatible at all: their goals, interests, personal characteristics largely depend on the surrounding world and society, and each individual finds this world already ready and common.

Therefore, there are also common grounds in the way people and their interests become. The features of specific subjects and each specific interaction are random, but manifestations of community depend on a common real basis, and therefore - in random forms are naturally reflected problems and conflicts inherent in this reality, i.e. its essence. Each historical event has characteristics of both chance (form) and patterns (essence of development).

Deep, important problems for many people cause a convergence of interests; huge masses of people, even without special intention, find themselves united - these are spontaneous principles associated with the manifestations of common human interests. Conscious interests give rise to purpose, and a spontaneous movement can be systematized and transformed into an organized one.

In general, we can talk about the multiplicity of forms of knowledge: scientific, artistic, religious, everyday, mystical, etc. Science differs from other spheres of human spiritual activity in that the cognitive component in it is dominant. The following features of scientific knowledge are distinguished:
- rationality of scientific cognitive activity. Traditionally, rationality is understood as a primary appeal to the arguments of reason and reason and the maximum exclusion of emotions, passions, and personal opinions when making decisions. Rationality is usually associated with following certain rules. Although classical rationality is usually opposed to empiricism and sensationalism, scientific rationality includes sensory experience and experiment. However, they, in turn, are subject to the arguments and laws of scientific logic.
- highlighting the theoretical and empirical components of scientific knowledge
- conceptual activity
- evidence
- consistency

This allows science to perform basic cognitive functions:
- description
- explanation
- prediction of phenomena (based on identified patterns)

The following stages of development of ideas about scientific rationality are distinguished:
- classical S → O (until the middle of the 19th century)
- non-classical S ↔ O (until the middle of the 20th century)
- post-non-classical S →↔ O (to date)

Classical rationality is associated with the deductive model (Euclid, Aristotle, Descartes) and the inductive model (F. Bacon). Its capabilities were exhausted by the middle of the nineteenth century.
The emergence of non-classical ideas about rationality was facilitated by both the development of irrational philosophy (in the second half of the 19th century) and the development of positivism.
The post-non-classical stage is associated with the fact that the problems of scientific knowledge have acquired a new perspective in the new paradigm of rationality, in connection with the development of scientific and technological civilization and the identification of the inhumane consequences of such development. This gave rise to active opposition to the cult of scientific rationality and manifested itself in a number of approaches of schools of modern irrationalism. In irrationalism, the basic tenets of the epistemology of rationalism are criticized for their inherently abstract, inhumane nature. In rationalism, the subject of knowledge is alien to the consciousness of the researcher. the mental activity of the subject is perceived only as a technique for obtaining a specific result. Moreover, it does not matter to the knowing subject what application this result will find. The search for objective truth in rationalism has a connotation of anti-subjectivity, anti-humanity, and a soulless attitude towards reality. On the contrary, representatives of irrationalism oppose the break of cognitive action into subject-object relations. For example, in the personalistic concept of cognition (N.A. Berdyaev) - cognition is considered as involvement, as an all-encompassing movement that unites the subject with the entire surrounding world. The theory of knowledge includes the emotional-sensual and emotional-volitional factors of love and faith as the main cognitive means. Personalists emphasize the personal, value, emotional and psychological aspects of cognition, the presence in it of moments of volitional choice, satisfaction, etc.

Since positivism plays a special role in the development of the methodology of scientific knowledge, we will consider this philosophical movement in more detail. Positivism emerges in the 30-40s. XIX century in France. Founder - O. Kont. Positivism (from the Latin positivus - positive) is considered by him as the highest stage in the development of thinking, moving along the path from the mythological to the metaphysical and reaching the highest level - in positivism. Positivism calls for abandoning metaphysical abstractions and turning to the study of positive, real knowledge, accurate and concrete. Positivism comes from the recognition of a given, that is, positive reality, that which can be verified by empirical or logical-mathematical means. This check (verification) must be of a generally valid nature. Positivism seriously claimed to be a “philosophy of science.” The positivist systems of Comte, Spencer, and Mill created a certain scientific picture of the world, based on the principle of mechanical interpretation of reality.
But the development of quantum physics at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. called into question the mechanistic methodology based on the principles of Newtonian physics and destroyed the previous picture of the world. The empirical methodology of scientific knowledge also came into question, since the research revealed the dependence of the results of scientific experiments on instruments and human senses. The intensive development of psychological research has put on the agenda the question of the connection of this science with other sciences that study man and the world around him. A new picture of the world began to take shape. When, for example, R. Feynman developed ideas about the interactions of charges without “field intermediaries,” he was not embarrassed by the fact that in the theory being created it was necessary to introduce, along with retarded ones, advanced potentials, which in the physical picture of the world corresponded to the emergence of ideas about the influence of interactions of the present not only for the future, but also for the past. “By this time,” wrote R. Feynman, “I was already sufficiently a physicist not to say: “Well, no, this cannot be.” Indeed, today, after Einstein and Bohr, all physicists know that sometimes an idea that seems completely paradoxical at first glance may turn out to be correct after we understand it to the smallest detail and to the very end and find its connection with experiment.” But “being a physicist” of the 20th century. - something other than “being a physicist” of the 19th century.
As a result of the ongoing changes, positivism is experiencing a serious crisis, which coincides with the crisis of classical rationality in general, thus contributing to the transition to non-classical and post-non-classical ideas about rationality.
The second stage in the development of positivism arises - empirio-criticism (criticism of experience) E. Mach, R. Avenarius, which soon outgrows
into the third stage, into a serious movement - neopositivism, associated with the logical analysis of language (B. Russell, L. Wittgenstein). Here again the principle of verification (testing for truth) is applied, but now in relation to scientific statements and generalizations, that is, to linguistic expressions. This stage made a great contribution to the philosophical study of language.
The fourth stage of positivism, neopositivism - “critical rationalism” is associated with the names of K. Popper, T. Kuhn, I. Lakatos, P. Feyerabend. It is characterized by the fact that the subject of study was science as an integral developing system. The authors proposed various models for the development of science, we will consider the main ones as part of the next question.

2. Scientific revolutions and changes in types of rationality

Considering the patterns of development of science as an integral system, the founder of critical rationalism K. Popper came to the conclusion that the laws of science are not expressed by analytical judgments and are not reducible to observations, that is, they are not verifiable. Therefore, science does not need the principle of verification (since there is always a temptation to take into account the facts that confirm a theory and not take into account the facts that refute it), but the principle of falsification, that is, not confirmation of truth, but refutation of truth.
The principle of falsification is not a method of empirical verification, but a certain attitude of science towards a critical analysis of the content of scientific knowledge, towards the constant need for a critical revision of all its achievements. Popper argues that science is a constantly changing system in which a process of theory restructuring is constantly taking place, and this process needs to be accelerated
This idea was further developed by T. Kuhn, who emphasized that the development of science is carried out by a community of professional scientists acting according to unwritten rules that regulate their relationships.
The main unifying principle of the community of scientists is a single style of thinking, the recognition by this community of certain fundamental theories and research methods. Kuhn called these provisions that unite communities of scientists a paradigm. “By paradigm I mean universally recognized scientific achievements that, over time, provide the scientific community with a model for posing problems and solving them.” Every scientific theory is created within the framework of one or another scientific paradigm.
Kuhn presents the development of science as a spasmodic revolutionary process, the essence of which is expressed in a change of paradigms.

The period of “normal science” with a certain paradigm is replaced by a period of scientific revolution, during which a new scientific paradigm is established and science is again in a state of “normal science” for some time. The transition from the old paradigm to the new cannot be based on purely rational arguments, although this element is significant. It also requires volitional factors - conviction and faith. It is necessary to believe that the new paradigm will succeed in solving a wider range of problems than the old one.
The most radical position in critical rationalism is occupied by the American philosopher P. Feyerabend. Based on the proposition that an old theory is sooner or later refuted by a new one, he put forward the methodological principle of proliferation (reproduction) of theories, which in his opinion should promote criticism and accelerate the development of science: new theories should not be compared with old ones and each of them should establish their own standards. He also affirms the principle of methodological anarchism, according to which the development of science is irrational and the theory whose propaganda activity is higher is victorious.

ON THE DIGNITY OF PHILOSOPHY

According to Kant, the dignity of philosophy is determined by the “world concept” of it, as a science about the ultimate goals of human reason. In the context of the above, it is the knowledge of the ultimate goals of our reason by the human mind itself that determines the “absolute value” of philosophy. Consequently, it is philosophy, as a science that has absolute intrinsic value, that can act as a kind of “qualification” for other types of knowledge. The latter, in turn, will dictate, and in systemic philosophy one way or another dictated, the three-dimensional organization of philosophy as a “censoring” science: knowledge, its systematic unity, the appropriateness of this unity in relation to final goals. The specified organization of the structure of philosophy will also give rise to its own, purely internal problems, which in general terms can be defined as the discrepancy between knowledge, taken systematically, and the final goals.

It should be noted that goals, depending on the level of development of the mind and its culture, can act as “higher” and “ultimate” and only in a narrowly objective sense. In this case, we will talk about the goals that form the philosophy of ordinary consciousness, and, accordingly, the ordinary logic of actions. The internal value of these goals and the philosophy that expresses them can be characterized as a single-subjective value, which can acquire the features of an “absolute” value only for the concrete consciousness that professes it.

Another type of subjective goals can be higher subjective goals. Accordingly, here we will talk about the final and highest goals of personality and individuality, which define the problematic field of ethics and aesthetics. The highest subjective goals, in principle, should be thought of as goals associated with the ultimate goals of world philosophy, since the latter, according to Kant’s views, is also a practical science, a science about the principles of the use of reason, or the “highest maxim” of the use of the latter.

The search for systematic unity for renewed knowledge and the search for conformity with higher goals can be considered as dynamic components of philosophy. Knowledge of ultimate goals is its internal constant. Hence, ignorance of higher goals is a situation that deprives world philosophy of its “absolute” foundation and world dignity. In addition, in this situation, the organization of the internal structure of philosophy as values ​​and a systematizing discipline breaks down.

What does it mean that the mind does not strive to know its ultimate goals?

Knowledge by the human mind of the highest and final goals, according to Kant, is its freedom. Consequently, the absence of the desire of our mind to know its ultimate goals is nothing more than the death of freedom of mind, and as a consequence, the death of philosophy as such.

But Kant speaks not only about the freedom of reason, but also about its free use. The free use of reason is its use not as an analogue of instinct in the sphere of natural certainty, but its use in the field of freedom as an autonomous principle. Consequently, the free use of reason is also the determination by the latter of the will to “action” to create the “object” of the final goal. Thus, knowledge of ultimate goals should be understood not only as a free determination, but always also as a determination of the will to create them. And thus, we must talk about both the highest qualitative certainty of thinking and the highest “qualitative” certainty of will.

Thus, knowledge of ultimate goals turns out to be, in principle, a positing in the supersensible. Accordingly, the philosophy that defines these goals must necessarily be thought of as metaphysics. But metaphysics, as defined by Kant in relation to our mind, is the level of the highest culture of the organization of the latter. Consequently, it is metaphysics that will correspond to the status of the highest qualitative certainty of thinking. In addition, since within the framework of the above provisions we think at the same time with a volitional orientation, then metaphysics itself appears as a “discipline” that is also practical. Moreover, based on the initial data, metaphysics as an exclusively theoretical discipline is generally impossible.

If in terms of the reflexive subject of determining the final goals is the “I” of the philosopher, then in terms of metaphysical consideration this subject, in theory, should be the personality as an intelligible person and the subject of practical freedom. Hence, the very fact of the mind’s striving for knowledge of higher goals is a manifestation of volitional orientation, and the definition of these goals, their vision is an intelligible action.

Further, if we accept that knowledge of ultimate ends is always also an intelligible action, then metaphysical reasoning will not be reasoning about “metaphysical” constants or “realities,” but about the supersensible “becoming.” Or, metaphysical discourse is reflection, which is preceded by a certain vision of what is not given; the clarity of contemplation of the “unearthly” increases with the progress of reflection. Accordingly, a decrease in the degree of clarity of what is being perceived will indicate that the course of reasoning is destructive. Thus, the ultimate goals of the human mind can also be thought of as an eternally determined, but indefinite supersensible, which has only the creative mind as its “absolute” reality and sphere of freedom.

From the above we can conclude that metaphysics will encounter the deepest contradictions, and, as a consequence, the deepest internal problems, not from the side of knowledge about the phenomenal or physical world, but from the side of “knowledge” about the supersensible world, unless, of course, we assume that such may occur.

World philosophy encounters ideas that claim to be characterized as knowledge about the supersensible in the form of religious experience and esoteric practices. Both ideas provide information about the specifics of the supersensible, defined in one way or another. But the specifics of the supersensible, taken in terms of philosophical consideration, are the area of ​​immanent metaphysics, with all the “incomprehensibility”, and in the language of philosophy - the false transcendence of its content. In this situation, the metaphysics of ultimate goals must not only comprehend the “givens” of the supersensible, but also link a certain organization of “other worlds” with the possibility of higher goals of reason. However, both religious philosophy and esoteric views touch on the same polemics on their part, and, one way or another, also claim to know the ultimate goals. Consequently, both of these “disciplines” will challenge philosophy’s claims to both world dignity and, accordingly, its “absolute” internal value.

Disadvantages: This concept cannot answer the question of how consciousness arises. Positivism denies almost all previous development of philosophy and insists on the identity of philosophy and science, and this is not productive, since philosophy is an independent field of knowledge, based on the entire array of culture, including science.

The philosophy of Auguste Comte (1798-1857) (the founder of positivism, introduced this concept in the 30s of the 19th century), Mill, Spencer - 1 historical form of positivism. According to Comte: in science, the first place should be the description of phenomena. The methods of the natural sciences are applicable to the analysis of society, sociology is the supporting science in which positivism can show all its capabilities, contributing to the improvement of the language of science and the progress of society, a look at the general mental development of mankind, the result of which positivism is, indicates that there is a fundamental law . According to this law, there are three stages of human development:

1. theological (state of fiction) – a necessary point of departure for the human mind.

2. metaphysical (abstract). An attempt to build a general picture of existence, a transition from the first to the third.

3. positive (scientific, positive). – solid and final state.

Disadvantages: characterized by a non-critical approach to science, its praise, and hasty conclusions.

The second form of positivism combines Machism (Mach) and empirio-criticism (Avenarius) under the general name “the newest philosophy of natural science of the 20th century.” The main focus of the Machians was on explaining the “physical” and “mental” elements of the world in human experience, as well as “improving the “positive” language of science. Avenarius tried to build a new philosophy as a strict and exact science, similar to physics, chemistry and other specific sciences, justifying philosophy as a method of saving thinking, wasting less effort. Mach paid more attention to the liberation of the natural sciences from metaphysical, speculative-logical philosophy.

Neoposit concept fn. The teachings about fn by the outstanding thinkers of the 20th century L. Wittgenstein and K. Popper belong to the 3rd stage of phil positivism, which is called “linguistic positivism”, or “neopositivism”. The main ideas of the thinker in the field of fn are as follows: n needs to purify its language. L. Wittgenstein put forward the principle of “verification”, according to which any statement in n is verifiable, i.e. subject to experimental verification of truth.

K. Popper, in the course of studying the essence of n, its laws and methods, came to ideas that are incompatible with the principle of verification. In his works “Logic of Discovery” (1959), “Assumptions and Refutations” (1937) and others, he puts forward the idea of ​​​​the impossibility of reducing the content of logic and its laws only to statements based on experience, i.e. to observation, experiment, etc. H cannot be reduced to verifiable statements. But knowledge, the thinker believed, appears in the form of a set of guesses about the laws of the world, its structure, etc. At the same time, it is very difficult to establish the truth of guesses, and false guesses are easily proven. PR, the fact that the Earth is flat and the Sun moves above the Earth is easy to understand, but the fact that the Earth is round and revolves around the Sun was difficult to establish, in the struggle with the church and with a number of scientists.

Post-positivist science of the 20th century is represented by the works of T. Kuhn, I. Lakatos, P. Feyerabend, M. Polanyi, which shows a general attitude towards analyzing the role of sociocultural factors in the dynamics of modernity. T. Kuhn managed to overcome some of the shortcomings inherent in positivist views on science. There is no continuous progress and accumulation of knowledge. Each paradigm forms a unique understanding of the world and has no special advantages over another paradigm. Progress is better understood as evolution—an increase in knowledge within a paradigm. N is always socioculturally determined. To understand n, a new historical-evolutionary approach is needed. Truths are quite relative and operate within the framework of a paradigm. These ideas have influenced modern philosophy of science.

Modern science speaks on behalf of natural science and humanities, tries to understand the place of modern civilization in its diverse relationships to ethics, politics, and religion. Thus, fn also performs a general cultural function, preventing scientists from becoming ignoramuses who absolutize a narrowly professional approach to phenomena and processes. It calls for paying attention to the philosophy of any problem, to the attitude and thought to reality in all its completeness and multidimensionality, and appears as a detailed diagram of views on the problem of growth and knowledge.

3. Science (from Latin - knowledge) as part of culture. The relationship of science with art, religion and philosophy. Science in the modern world can be considered in various aspects: as knowledge and activity for the production of knowledge, as a system of personnel training, as a direct productive force, AS A PART OF SPIRITUAL CULTURE.

Philosophy. Philosophical problems of scientific knowledge

Questions and answers on philosophy, namely on the courses “Philosophical problems of scientific knowledge”.

What is science?

The science is an activity aimed at obtaining true knowledge.

What does science include?

Science includes:

1. Scientists in their knowledge, qualifications and experience.

2. Scientific organizations and institutions, scientific schools and communities.

3. Experimental and technical base of scientific activity.

4. Well-established and effective scientific information system.

5. Personnel training and certification system.

Functions of science.

Science performs the following functions:

1. Determines social processes.

2. Is the productive force of society.

3. Performs an ideological function.

What types of knowledge are there?

1. Ordinary

2. Scientific

3. Mythological

4. Religious

5. Philosophical

6. Artistic

The most characteristic features of everyday cognition

1. It develops spontaneously under the influence of daily experience.

2. Does not involve setting tasks that would go beyond everyday practice.

3. Due to the social, professional, national, age characteristics of the carrier.

4. Transfer of knowledge involves personal communication with the bearer of this knowledge

5. Not fully conscious

6. Low level of formalization.

What is mythological knowledge?

Mythological knowledge- this is a special type of holistic knowledge within which a person strives to create a holistic picture of the world based on a set of empirical information, beliefs, and various forms of figurative exploration of the world.

Mythological knowledge has a worldview character.

The source of myths is incomplete knowledge.

What is religious knowledge?

Religious knowledge– this holistic worldview knowledge is determined by the emotional form of people’s attitude towards the higher forces (natural and social) dominating them.

Religious knowledge is based on belief in the supernatural. Religious knowledge is dogmatic in nature.

What is artistic knowledge?

Artistic knowledge– this is knowledge based on artistic experience – this is visual knowledge.

Features of scientific knowledge

1. Strict evidence, validity, reliability of results

2. Orientation towards objective truth, penetration into the essence of things

3. Universal transpersonal character

4. Reproducibility of the result

5. Logically organized and systematic

6. Has a special, highly formalized language

Structure of scientific knowledge

In the structure of scientific knowledge, depending on the subject and method of research, the following are distinguished:

1. Natural history or the science of nature

2. Social science or social and humanitarian knowledge

3. Technical sciences

4. Mathematics

5. Philosophy

Based on distance from practice, science can be divided into:

1. Fundamental

2. Applied

Levels of scientific research

1. Metatheoretical

2. Theoretical

3. Empirical

Features of the empirical level of knowledge

1. Subject of research: external aspects of the object of study

2. Research methods: observation, experiment

3. Epistemological focus of the study: research of phenomena

4. Nature and type of knowledge gained: scientific facts

5. Cognitive functions: descriptions of phenomena

What is observation?

Observation- this is a planned, purposeful, systematic perception of objects and phenomena of the external world.

Observation can be:

1. Direct

2. Indirect (using various devices)

Limitations of the observation method:

1. Narrow range of perception of various senses

2. Passivity of the subject of cognition, i.e. recording what is happening in a real process without interfering with it.

What is an experiment?

Experiment is a research method by which phenomena are studied under controlled and controlled conditions.

A scientific experiment involves:

1. Availability of research goals

2. Based on certain initial theoretical assumptions

3. Requires a certain level of development of technical means of cognition

4. Conducted by people with sufficiently high qualifications

Advantages of the experiment:

1. It is possible to isolate the object from the influence of secondary objects that obscure its essence

2. Systematically change the conditions of the process

3. Repeated playback

Types of experiment:

1. Search engine

2. Test

3. Demonstrative

Types of experiments:

1. Full-scale

2. Mathematical

3. Computing

What is a scientific fact?

Scientific fact– this is always reliable, objective information – a fact expressed in scientific language and included in the system of scientific knowledge.

Features of the theoretical level of scientific knowledge

1. Subject of research: idealized objects formed as a result of idealization.

2. Epistemological orientation: knowledge of the essence, causes

3. Methods: modeling

4. Cognitive functions: explanation, prediction

5. Nature and type of knowledge gained: hypothesis, theory

Basic forms of knowledge at the theoretical level of knowledge

1. Hypothesis

2. Theory

What is a hypothesis?

Hypothesis– an unproven logical assumption based on facts.

Hypothesis is a scientifically based assumption based on facts.

Hypothesis– probabilistic knowledge, a hypothetical solution to a problem.

Ways to form a hypothesis:

1. Based on sensory experience

2. Using the method of mathematical hypotheses

Basic requirements for a hypothesis

1. A hypothesis must be compatible with all the facts it concerns.

2. Must be subject to empirical verification or logical proof.

3. Must explain facts and have the ability to predict new facts

What is a theory?

Theory is a system of reliable knowledge, objective knowledge, proven, practice-tested knowledge, essential characteristics of a certain fragment of reality.

Theory is a complex system of knowledge that includes:

1. The initial empirical basis is a set of recorded facts in this area.

2. The initial theoretical basis - a set of assumptions, axioms, laws that describe an idealized object.

3. Rules of logical inference and proof acceptable within the framework of the theory

4. Laws of varying degrees of generality that express essential, stable, repeating, necessary connections between phenomena covered by this theory

Relationship between theoretical and empirical levels of research

1. Empirical knowledge is always theoretically loaded

2. Theoretical knowledge is empirically tested

Metatheoretical level of scientific knowledge

Metatheoretical knowledge is a condition and prerequisite for determining the type of theoretical activity to explain and systematize empirical material.

Metatheoretical knowledge- this is a set of norms of scientific thinking, ideals and norms of scientific knowledge, acceptable ways of obtaining reliable knowledge for a given era.

Structure of the metatheoretical level of cognition

1. Ideals and norms of research

2. Scientific picture of the world

3. Philosophical foundations

The ideals and norms of research are a set of certain conceptual value-based methodological attitudes characteristic of science at each specific historical stage of its development.

The ideals and norms of research include:

1. Ideals and standards of evidence and substantiation of knowledge.

2. Description explanation of knowledge

3. Knowledge construction

The ideals and norms of research are determined by:

1. Specifics of the objects under study

2. The image of cognitive activity - the idea of ​​mandatory procedures that ensure the comprehension of the truth.

3. Worldview structures that underlie the foundation of the culture of a particular historical era.

What is a scientific picture of the world (SPM)?

Scientific picture of the world is a holistic system of ideas about the general properties and patterns of reality.

The scientific picture of the world is built as a result of a generalization of fundamental scientific concepts.

The scientific picture of the world ensures the systematization of knowledge within the framework of the relevant science, sets a system of attitudes and priorities for the theoretical development of the world as a whole, and changes under the direct influence of new theories and facts.

Types of scientific picture of the world:

1. Classical

2. Non-classical

3. Post-non-classical

The most characteristic features of philosophical knowledge

1. Purely theoretical in nature.

2. Has a complex structure (includes ontology, epistemology, logic, and so on).

3. The subject of the study of philosophy is broader than the subject of study of any science; it strives to discover the laws of the entire world.

4. Philosophical knowledge is limited by human cognitive abilities. Those. has intractable problems that today cannot be resolved logically.

5. Studies not only the subject of knowledge, but also the mechanism of knowledge itself.

6. Bears the imprint of the personality and worldview of individual philosophers.

How does philosophical knowledge differ from scientific knowledge?

There are two major differences between them:

1. Any science deals with a fixed subject area (physics discovers the laws of physical reality; chemistry - chemical, psychology - psychological).
Philosophy, unlike science, makes universal judgments and strives to discover the laws of the entire world.

2. Science seeks the truth without discussing whether what it finds is good or bad, or whether there is any meaning to it all. In other words, science primarily answers the questions “why?” "How?" and “where from?”, does not ask the questions “why?” and for what?".
Philosophy, solving the eternal problems of existence, is focused not only on the search for truth, but also on the knowledge and affirmation of values.

Philosophical foundations of science

Philosophical foundations of science is a system of philosophical ideas that set general guidelines for cognitive activity.

The philosophical foundations of science ensure the “docking” of new scientific knowledge with the dominant worldview, including its socio-cultural context of the era.

What is the name of the historically first form of relationship between science and philosophy?

Natural philosophy.

What is natural philosophy?

Natural philosophy- this is a way of understanding the world, based on certain speculatively established general principles and giving an overall picture that covers all of nature as a whole.

Natural philosophy– this is a form of relationship between science and philosophy (the culture of Western Europe until the beginning of the 19th century)

Natural philosophy- an attempt to explain nature, based on the results obtained by scientific methods, in order to find answers to some philosophical questions.

For example, sciences such as cosmogony and cosmology, which in turn are based on physics, mathematics, and astronomy, try to answer the philosophical question about the origin of the Universe.

The main reasons for the death of natural philosophy:

1. The formation of science as a social institution

2. Formation of the disciplinary organization of sciences

3. Criticism of the speculativeness of philosophical constructions by major natural scientists.

What is positivism?

Positivism is a philosophical doctrine that in the 19th century declared specific empirical sciences to be the only source of true knowledge and denied the cognitive value of traditional philosophical research.

Positivism seeks to reduce all scientific knowledge to a body of sensory data and eliminate the unobservable from science.

According to positivism, the task of philosophy is to find a universal method for obtaining reliable knowledge and a universal language of science. All functions of science come down to description, not explanation.

The initial thesis of positivism: metaphysics, as the doctrine of the essence of phenomena, should be discarded. Science must limit itself to describing the external appearance of phenomena. Philosophy must perform the task of systematization, ordering and classification of scientific findings.

Founders of Positivism: Comte, Spencer, Mill

What is metaphysics?

Metaphysics- This is the doctrine of the first causes, the primary essences.

What is Machism?

Machism or empirio-criticism- This is a modified form of positivism (60-70 years of the 19th century).

What is neopositivism?

Neopositivism- This is a form of positivism modified in the 20s of the 20th century.

Reasons for changing the form of positivism:

1. The need to understand the role of sign-symbolic means of scientific thinking in connection with the mathematization of scientific research

2. The need to understand the relationship between theoretical and empirical knowledge

3. The need to separate science and metaphysics.

Founders of the school of neopositivism: Vitnshtein.

The subject of neopositivism research is linguistic forms of knowledge.

According to neopositivism, the goal of philosophy is reduced to the logical clarification of thought. Philosophy is not a theory, but an activity of analyzing scientific knowledge and the possibility of its expression in language.

The distinction between scientific and non-scientific knowledge is possible based on the use verification principle, the essence of which is the need to compare scientific statements and empirical data.

The crisis of neopositivism is due to:

1. The impossibility of reducing theoretical knowledge to empirical

2. The inability to fully formalize the language of science

What is pragmatism?

Pragmatism- this is a form of positivism modified at the end of the 19th century

Representatives of pragmatism: Peirce, Dune, James.

Philosophy should not be a reflection on the original existence, but a general method for solving those problems that confront people in various life situations.

The purpose of the method: to turn a problem situation into a solved one, and its truth depends on how much it contributes to achieving the goal.

The critical rationalism of Karl Popper

Refusal to search for an absolutely reliable basis of knowledge, since the empirical basis of knowledge depends on theory.

The distinction between scientific and non-scientific knowledge is possible on the basis of the principle of falsification, i.e. the fundamental possibility of refuting statements related to science.

The growth of knowledge, from Popper's point of view, consists of putting forward bold hypotheses and refuting them, as a result of which scientific problems are solved.

Research Program (SRP) is a metatheoretical formation within which theoretical activity is carried out.

A research program is a set of successive theories, united by a certain set of basic ideas and principles.

The structure of the NPC includes:

1. Hard core

2. Protective belt

3. A system of methodological rules or “heuristics”

There are 2 stages in the development of NIP:

1. Progressive

2. Regressive

Kuhn's concept of paradigm shift

From Kuhn's point of view, science is the activity of scientific communities, the members of which adhere to a certain paradigm.

What is a paradigm?

Paradigm is a system of norms of the scientific community, basic theoretical views, methods, fundamental facts, samples of scientific activity, which are recognized and shared by all members of this scientific community.

What is the scientific picture of the world?

Scientific picture of the world is a system of ideas about the general properties and patterns of reality, built as a result of generalization and synthesis of fundamental scientific concepts and principles.

The scientific picture of the world develops under the direct influence of new theories and facts, the dominant cultural values, exerting a reverse influence on them.

What is the classical picture of the world?

Classic picture of the world considers the world as a mechanical system consisting of many indivisible atoms and their interaction is carried out as an instantaneous transfer of forces in a straight line. Atoms and bodies formed from them move in absolute space over absolute time. The behavior of objects is subject to an unambiguous cause-and-effect relationship, i.e. the past unambiguously determines the future.

What is reductionism?

Reductionism– this is a philosophical tradition that affirms the possibility of reducing the entire diversity of the structural world to a single fundamental level.

Types of reductionism:

1. Mechanism is the desire to explain everything using classical mechanics

2. Physicism – explains the aspects of existence, based on the laws of quantum mechanics

What is formalization?

Formalization is the process of translating meaningful fragments of knowledge into artificial, symbolic, logical-mathematical, mathematical languages, subject to clear rules, by constructing formulas and their transformation.

What are axiological problems of science?

Axiological problems of science are problems in the social, moral, aesthetic, cultural, value orientation of scientific research and their results.

Value orientations of science

1. Scientism

2. Antiscientism

What is scientism?

Scientism– value orientation of science, which considers science as an absolute value, exaggerating its role and capabilities in solving social problems.

Scientism is the basis of technological determinism.

What is technological determinism?

Technological determinism is a doctrine that states that science and technology uniquely determine the processes of social development.

What is determinism?

Determinism is a doctrine that states that all phenomena are connected by a causal relationship with earlier phenomena.

What is indeterminism?

Indeterminism– fully or partially denies the existence of such a connection.

What is Laplacean determinism?

French scientist Pierre Simon Laplace, quote:

“Any phenomenon cannot arise without a cause producing it. The present state of the universe is the consequence of its previous state and the cause of its subsequent one.”

All processes in the world are reversible in time, predictable and retroactively predictable over a certain period of time. There is no place for randomness in the universe, since the trajectory of any object is uniquely determined by the initial conditions.

The same can be written as a formula:

L(U(ti)) = U(ti +1)

Law L, acting on U(ti), leads to the emergence U(ti+1). ti- a certain point in time.

What is antiscientism?

Antiscientism- this is the value orientation of science, which evaluates science as a force hostile to humans, rejecting it.

Value orientations of a scientist

1. Cognitive – the values ​​of scientific knowledge as a special type of activity.

2. The values ​​that guide the scientist as an individual

What is the ethos of science?

Ethos of science– these are value orientations that form the basis of the professional activity of a scientist.

The ethos of science includes:

1. Versatility

2. Universality

3. Unselfishness

4. Organized skepticism

What ideas include the foundations of science (according to V.S. Stepin)?

1. Ideals and norms of research

2. Scientific picture of the world

3. Philosophical foundations of science

Who developed and substantiated the importance of induction in scientific knowledge?

Induction- a method of reasoning from the particular to the general. The facts on which the evidence is based are sought. The opposite of deduction.

The concept of induction was developed and substantiated by the British philosopher Karl Popper.

How does modern science understand the role of chaos in the development process?

Chaos can lead to order. Let's give a clear example.

Let's say there is a closed system in which chaotic movement of particles is observed. The higher the chaos in this system, the more confident we can say that the system has thermodynamic equilibrium.

What is synergetics?

Synergetics- This is the doctrine of the possibility of transition from chaos to order.

Intuition from a philosophical point of view

In the history of philosophy, the concept Intuition included different content. Intuition was understood as a form of direct intellectual knowledge or contemplation (intellectual Intuition). Thus, Plato argued that the contemplation of ideas (prototypes of things in the sensory world) is a type of direct knowledge that comes as a sudden insight, requiring long-term preparation of the mind.

In the history of philosophy, sensory forms of cognition and thinking have often been opposed. R. Descartes, for example, argued: “By intuition I mean not faith in the shaky evidence of the senses and not the deceptive judgment of a disordered imagination, but the concept of a clear and attentive mind, so simple and distinct that it leaves no doubt that we are thinking.” , or, which is the same thing, a strong concept of a clear and attentive mind, generated only by the natural light of reason and, thanks to its simplicity, more reliable than deduction itself ... ".

G. Hegel in his system dialectically combined direct and mediated knowledge.

Intuition was also interpreted as knowledge in the form of sensory contemplation (sensual Intuition): “... unconditionally undoubted, clear as the sun... only sensual,” and therefore the secret of intuitive knowledge is “... concentrated in sensuality” (Feuerbach L.).

Intuition was understood both as an instinct that directly, without prior learning, determines the forms of behavior of an organism (A. Bergson), and as a hidden, unconscious first principle of creativity (S. Freud).

In some currents of philosophy, Intuition is interpreted as a divine revelation, as a completely unconscious process, incompatible with logic and life practice (intuitionism). Various interpretations of Intuition have something in common - emphasizing the moment of immediacy in the process of cognition, in contrast (or in contrast) to the mediated, discursive nature of logical thinking.

Materialistic dialectics sees the rational grain of the concept of Intuition in the characteristic of the moment of immediacy in cognition, which represents the unity of the sensual and rational.

The process of scientific knowledge, as well as various forms of artistic exploration of the world, are not always carried out in a detailed, logically and factually evidential form. Often the subject grasps a complex situation in thought, for example, during a military battle, determining a diagnosis, the guilt or innocence of the accused, etc. The role of Intuition is especially great where it is necessary to go beyond existing methods of cognition to penetrate into the unknown. But Intuition is not something unreasonable or superintelligent. In the process of intuitive cognition, all the signs by which the conclusion is made and the techniques by which it is made are not realized. Intuition does not constitute a special path of knowledge that bypasses sensations, ideas and thinking. It represents a unique type of thinking, when individual links of the thinking process flash through consciousness more or less unconsciously, and it is the result of the thought that is extremely clearly realized - perceived as “truth”, with a higher probability of determining the truth than chance, but less high than logical thinking.

Intuition is enough to discern the truth, but it is not enough to convince others and oneself of this truth. This requires proof.

B) The problem of “nature and society” is solved differently by different philosophical movements. For example, objective idealists ignore the connection between society and nature, considering the history of mankind not as the development of material production on earth, but as the development of the world mind, the absolute idea. Subjective idealists consider nature itself to be a complex of human sensations.

On the quantitative side, society is determined by its numbers, and on the qualitative side, by the nature of relations between people. Society is a collection of people united by strong ties.

Nature (geographical environment) and society form a dialectical unity. It lies in the fact that the social form of movement of matter is the highest form of movement, which (like others) is subject to the laws of dialectics.

Religion (From Latin religio - piety, piety, shrine) -

worldview animated by faith in God. It's not just faith or

a set of views. Religion is also a feeling of connectedness, dependence

and obligations in relation to the secret higher power that gives support and

worthy of worship. This is how many sages and philosophers understood religion

Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Christ, Muhammad

Art is a form of reflection of reality in the human mind in artistic images. Reflecting the world around us, art helps people understand it and serves as a powerful means of political, moral and artistic education. Art (artistic cognition) is a creative activity in the process of which artistic images are created that reflect reality and embody a person’s aesthetic attitude towards it. There are various types of art, distinguished by the special structure of the artistic image. Some of them directly depict the phenomena of life (painting, sculpture, graphics, fiction, theater, cinema). Others express the ideological and emotional state of the artist generated by these phenomena (music, choreography, architecture). The desire to study objects of the real world and, on this basis, anticipate results its practical transformation is characteristic not only of science, but also of everyday knowledge, which is woven into practice and develops on its basis. As the development of practice objectifies human functions in tools and creates conditions for the disappearance of subjective and anthropomorphic layers in the study of external objects, certain types of knowledge about reality appear in everyday knowledge, generally similar to those that characterize science.

Classical philosophy knowledge identified with scientific knowledge. The modern theory of knowledge also distinguishes ordinary, mythological, religious, artistic and quasi-scientific knowledge. These types of knowledge are considered necessary and important for understanding the essence of cognitive activity. In general, knowledge can be pre-scientific (proto-scientific), extra-scientific (ordinary, quasi-scientific, religious) and scientific. Science is the highest type of historical forms of knowledge of the world.

For a long time, knowledge developed in pre-scientific forms, represented by everyday, artistic, mythological and religious knowledge. They only made it possible to state and superficially describe facts. Scientific knowledge presupposes not only description, but also explanation, identification of the entire complex of causes that give rise to a phenomenon. Science strives for maximum accuracy and objectivity of the knowledge obtained, its independence from the subject. No other component of culture sets itself such a goal. Modern knowledge is based on the achievements of science.

Ordinary knowledge based on everyday human experience and consistent with common sense, it comes down to a statement and description of facts. It is the basis for all other types of knowledge.

Artistic knowledge is a matter of art and does not seek to be evidential or substantiated. The form of existence of knowledge is an artistic image, fiction.

Religious-mythological knowledge is a synthesis of rational and emotional reflection of reality. It is represented in mysticism, magic, and various esoteric teachings.

Quasi-scientific (parascientific) knowledge performs compensatory functions, claiming to explain those phenomena that science denies or cannot yet explain. It is represented in ufology and various occult sciences (alchemy, astrology, Kabbalah).

Scientific knowledge- the deepest and most reliable area of ​​​​human knowledge. According to M. Weber (1864-1920), science is the most clean embodiment of the principle of rationality.

Scientific knowledge has no limits. Science is the highest spiritual product of society - the basis of worldview and material production, an instrument of man's domination over nature and his self-knowledge. Scientific knowledge determines the spiritual world of modern man. Most of the material culture is created on the basis of science. The entire European civilization is built on the ideals of a scientific and rational attitude to reality.

The science– a form of cognition aimed at producing objective knowledge about reality that has proof and empirical verification.

Scientificity does not mean absolute truth, but movement towards it. There is no rigid boundary between scientific and non-scientific knowledge; it is flexible. For example, alchemy and astrology were part of medieval science. Real science includes the proven and the unproven; the rational and the irrational are intertwined in it. The problem of criteria for separating scientific knowledge from non-scientific knowledge arises.

Scientific criteria are:

-rationality(logical expressibility, generality, consistency and simplicity),

-objectivity(independence from the arbitrariness of the subject),

-apodictic(theoretical and practical validity),

-consistency(organization of scientific knowledge in the form of mutually agreed upon facts, methods, theories, hypotheses),

-verifiability(observability, public availability).

These criteria are deeply materialistic in nature and are directed against the introduction of various kinds of mysterious and elusive “things in themselves” into science. In a simplified form, their meaning can be conveyed by the principles of observability and simplicity. There is only that which directly or indirectly affects either the senses or instruments. For everything else, Occam's razor applies: entities should not be introduced beyond necessity.

The main functions of science are description, explanation and prediction of objects and phenomena of reality. The structure and future of the Universe, life, and society lie within the direct competence of science. An important function of science is critical - it teaches a person to approach everything with doubt, taking nothing for granted, without proof.

The purpose of science– discovery of patterns and general principles of knowledge and mastery of reality.

Science includes a system of interrelated disciplines. Scientific disciplines, according to the degree of distance from practice, are classified into fundamental, not directly aimed at practice, and applied. By subject and method, sciences are divided into natural, technical and public (social and humanitarian).

The task of fundamental sciences is to understand the laws underlying the existence and interaction of the basic structures of nature, society and thinking. Applied sciences are aimed at applying the results of fundamental sciences to solve industrial and socio-practical problems.

Fundamental sciences include: philosophical sciences, mathematical sciences, natural sciences (mechanics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, geography, biology, zoology, anthropology, etc.), social sciences (history, archeology, ethnography, economics, political science, law and etc.), humanities (psychology, logic, linguistics, etc.). Philosophy is the science (although not completely) about the most general laws of reality. Applied sciences include: computer science, technical sciences (machine technology, strength of materials, metallurgy, electrical engineering, nuclear energy, astronautics, etc.), agricultural, medical, pedagogical sciences, etc.

The process of scientific knowledge includes two main levels - empirical and theoretical, the differences between which are determined by the object and methods of research.

An empirical object is formed as a result of sensory experience. Specific methods at the empirical level are observation And experiment(controlled intervention of the subject in the object under study). The characteristic forms of scientific knowledge at the empirical level are empirical fact(a sentence capturing experience) and empirical law(empirical description).

Specific methods of the theoretical level are idealization(selecting an object in its pure form, abstracting from unimportant properties: point, absolute black body, ideal gas) and formalization(transition from operating with concepts to operating with symbols). The well-known idea of ​​I. Kant (1724-1804) is that in the doctrine of nature there is as much science as there is mathematics [Kant I. Metaphysical principles of natural science // Kant I. Works. In 6 volumes. M.: Mysl, 1963. T.6. P.53-76, P.58].

Characteristic forms of theoretical knowledge: hypothesis(reasonable but not confirmed proposal) and theory(the highest form of organization of knowledge, giving a holistic idea of ​​the laws of a certain area of ​​reality); the main elements of the theory are facts, laws, rules of logical inference and evidence.

The empirical and theoretical levels have common methods and forms. General methods: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction and concretization, modeling (creation of an object with given properties). General forms: model, question (sentence requiring explanation, answer) and problem (set of questions).

The development of science is not only a cumulative process. Scientific knowledge also includes leap-like moments. The following are distinguished: main periods of development of science:

-normal science(paradigmatic) - a period of cumulative, gradual development of science, improvement of scientific knowledge within the framework of a certain paradigm;

-revolutionary science(scientific revolution) - a period of paradigm change under the pressure of an array of empirical facts.

Paradigm(Greek example) – a set of fundamental facts, theories, hypotheses, problems, methods, scientific criteria, examples of problem solving, styles of scientific thinking, etc., ensuring the functioning of scientific knowledge.

In the history of science, such paradigms are Aristotelian, classical (Newtonian) and non-classical. A change of paradigms is a psychologically difficult process for the scientific community, which can be compared to a change of religious faith, since scientific revolutions affect the logic of scientific knowledge.

The central concept of the history of science “paradigm” was developed by one of the main representatives of postpositivism, Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) in his work “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” (1962). T. Kuhn adhered to the philosophy of science externalism, Unlike internalism asserting that the direction, pace of development and content of scientific knowledge are determined not by the internal logic of the development of science, but by its sociocultural environment.

Chapter 14. CONSCIOUSNESS

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Cognition is a specific type of human activity aimed at understanding the world around us and oneself in this world. “Knowledge is, determined primarily by socio-historical practice, the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion, and improvement 4.”

A person comprehends the world around him, masters it in various ways, among which two main ones can be distinguished. First (genetically original) - logistical - production of means of living, labor, practice. Second - spiritual (ideal), within which the cognitive relationship of subject and object is only one of many others. In turn, the process of cognition and the knowledge obtained in it in the course of the historical development of practice and cognition itself is increasingly differentiated and embodied in its various forms.

Each form of social consciousness: science, philosophy, mythology, politics, religion, etc. correspond to specific forms of cognition. Usually the following are distinguished: ordinary, playful, mythological, artistic and figurative, philosophical, religious, personal, scientific. The latter, although related, are not identical to one another; each of them has its own specifics.

We will not dwell on the consideration of each of the forms of knowledge. The subject of our research is scientific knowledge. In this regard, it is advisable to consider the features of only the latter.

1. Features of scientific knowledge

1. The main task of scientific knowledge is the discovery of objective laws of reality - natural, social (public), laws of cognition itself, thinking, etc. Hence the orientation of research mainly on the general, essential properties of an object, its necessary characteristics and their expression in a system of abstractions. “The essence of scientific knowledge lies in the reliable generalization of facts, in the fact that behind the random it finds the necessary, natural, behind the individual - the general, and on this basis makes predictions of various phenomena and events” 5 . Scientific knowledge strives to reveal the necessary, objective connections that are recorded as objective laws. If this is not the case, then there is no science, because the very concept of scientificity presupposes the discovery of laws, a deepening into the essence of the phenomena being studied.

2. The immediate goal and highest value of scientific knowledge is objective truth, comprehended primarily by rational means and methods, but, of course, not without the participation of living contemplation. Hence, a characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is objectivity, the elimination, if possible, of subjectivist aspects in many cases in order to realize the “purity” of consideration of one’s subject. Einstein also wrote: “What we call science has its exclusive task of firmly establishing what exists” 6 . Its task is to give a true reflection of processes, an objective picture of what exists. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the activity of the subject is the most important condition and prerequisite for scientific knowledge. The latter is impossible without a constructive-critical attitude to reality, excluding inertia, dogmatism, and apologetics.

3. Science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is focused on being embodied in practice, being a “guide to action” for changing the surrounding reality and managing real processes. The vital meaning of scientific research can be expressed by the formula: “To know in order to foresee, to foresee in order to practically act” - not only in the present, but also in the future. All progress in scientific knowledge is associated with an increase in the power and range of scientific foresight. It is foresight that makes it possible to control and manage processes. Scientific knowledge opens up the possibility of not only predicting the future, but also consciously shaping it. “The orientation of science towards the study of objects that can be included in activity (either actually or potentially, as possible objects of its future development), and their study as subject to objective laws of functioning and development is one of the most important features of scientific knowledge. This feature distinguishes it from other forms of human cognitive activity” 1.

An essential feature of modern science is that it has become such a force that predetermines practice. From the daughter of production, science turns into its mother. Many modern manufacturing processes were born in scientific laboratories. Thus, modern science not only serves the needs of production, but also increasingly acts as a prerequisite for the technical revolution. Great discoveries over the past decades in leading fields of knowledge have led to a scientific and technological revolution that has embraced all elements of the production process: comprehensive automation and mechanization, the development of new types of energy, raw materials and materials, penetration into the microworld and into space. As a result, the prerequisites were created for the gigantic development of the productive forces of society.

4. Scientific knowledge in epistemological terms is a complex contradictory process of reproduction of knowledge that forms an integral developing system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, laws and other ideal forms, enshrined in language - natural or - more characteristically - artificial (mathematical symbolism, chemical formulas, etc.) .P.). Scientific knowledge does not simply record its elements, but continuously reproduces them on its own basis, forms them in accordance with its norms and principles. In the development of scientific knowledge, revolutionary periods alternate, the so-called scientific revolutions, which lead to a change in theories and principles, and evolutionary, quiet periods, during which knowledge deepens and becomes more detailed. The process of continuous self-renewal by science of its conceptual arsenal is an important indicator of scientific character.

5. In the process of scientific knowledge, such specific material means as instruments, instruments, and other so-called “scientific equipment” are used, often very complex and expensive (synchrophasotrons, radio telescopes, rocket and space technology, etc.). In addition, science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is characterized by the use of ideal (spiritual) means and methods such as modern logic, mathematical methods, dialectics, systemic, hypothetico-deductive and other general scientific techniques to study its objects and itself. and methods (see below for details).

6. Scientific knowledge is characterized by strict evidence, validity of the results obtained, and reliability of the conclusions. At the same time, there are many hypotheses, conjectures, assumptions, probabilistic judgments, etc. That is why the logical and methodological training of researchers, their philosophical culture, constant improvement of their thinking, and the ability to correctly apply its laws and principles are of utmost importance.

In modern methodology, various levels of scientific criteria are distinguished, including, in addition to those mentioned, such as the internal systematicity of knowledge, its formal consistency, experimental verifiability, reproducibility, openness to criticism, freedom from bias, rigor, etc. In other forms of knowledge considered criteria may exist (to varying degrees), but they are not decisive there.