Experience and observation are the greatest sources of wisdom to which every person has access.
W. Channing

2.1. The structure of scientific knowledge

Scientific knowledge is objectively true knowledge about nature, society and man, obtained as a result of research activities and, as a rule, tested (proven) by practice. Natural science knowledge structurally consists of empirical and theoretical areas of scientific research (Fig. 2.1). The starting point of any of these lines of scientific research is the acquisition of scientific, empirical fact.
The main empirical direction of research in some areas of natural science is observation. Observation is a long-term, purposeful and systematic perception of objects and phenomena of the objective world. The next structure of the empirical direction of knowledge is a scientific experiment. An experiment is a scientifically posed experiment, with the help of which an object is either reproduced artificially or placed under precisely taken into account conditions. A distinctive feature of a scientific experiment is that every researcher is able to reproduce it at any time. Finding analogies in differences is a necessary stage of scientific research. The experiment can be carried out on
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models, i.e., on bodies whose dimensions and mass are proportionally changed compared to real bodies. The results of model experiments can be considered proportional to the results of the interaction of real bodies. It is possible to conduct a thought experiment, i.e. imagine bodies that do not exist in reality at all, and conduct an experiment on them in the mind. In modern science, it is also necessary to carry out idealized experiments, i.e., mental experiments using idealizations. Based on empirical research, empirical generalizations can be made.
At the theoretical level of knowledge, in addition to empirical facts, concepts are required that are created anew or taken from other sections of science. A concept is a thought that reflects objects and phenomena in their general and essential features, properties in short, concentrated form (for example, matter, motion, mass, speed, energy, plant, animal, person, etc.).
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An important method of the theoretical level of research is hypotheses. A hypothesis is a special kind of scientific assumption about directly observable or generally unknown forms of connection between phenomena or the causes that produce these phenomena. A hypothesis as an assumption is put forward to explain facts that do not fit into the existing laws and theories. It expresses, first of all, the process of the formation of knowledge, while in theory, the achieved stage in the development of science is fixed to a greater extent. When a hypothesis is put forward, not only its correspondence with empirical data is taken into account, but also some methodological principles, called the criteria of simplicity, beauty, economy of thought, etc. After a certain hypothesis is put forward, the study again returns to the empirical level to test it. The goal is to test the consequences of this hypothesis, about which nothing was known before it was put forward. If the hypothesis withstands empirical testing, then it acquires the status of a law of nature; if not, it is considered rejected.
The law of nature is the best expression of the harmony of the world. Law is an internal causal, stable connection between phenomena and properties of various objects, reflecting the relationship between objects. If changes in some objects or phenomena (cause) causes a well-defined change in others (consequence), then this means the manifestation of the operation of the law. For example, the periodic law of D. I. Mendeleev establishes a relationship between the charge of the atomic nucleus and the chemical properties of a given chemical element. The totality of several laws related to the same field of knowledge is called a scientific theory.
The principle of falsifiability of scientific propositions, i.e., their ability to be refuted in practice, remains indisputable in science. An experiment aimed at refuting this hypothesis is called a decisive experiment. Natural science studies the world with the aim of creating the laws of its functioning, as products of human de-
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activities reflecting periodically repeating facts of reality.
So, science is built from observations, experiments, hypotheses, theories and arguments. Science in terms of content is a set of empirical generalizations and theories, confirmed by observation and experiment. Moreover, the creative process of creating a theory and argumentation in support of it plays no less a role in science than observation and experiment.

2.2. Basic methods of scientific research

Science begins as soon as one begins to measure. Exact science. D. I. Mendeleev

Empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge differ in the subject, means and results of the study. Knowledge is a practice-tested result of cognition of reality, a true reflection of reality in human thinking. The difference between the empirical and theoretical levels of research does not coincide with the difference between sensory and rational cognition, although the empirical level is predominantly sensory, while the theoretical is rational.
The structure of scientific research that we have described is, in a broad sense, a method of scientific knowledge or a scientific method as such. A method is a set of actions designed to help achieve a desired result. The method not only equalizes the abilities of people, but also makes their activities uniform, which is a prerequisite for obtaining uniform results by all researchers. Empirical and theoretical methods are distinguished (Table 2.1). Empirical methods include:
Observation is a long-term, purposeful and systematic perception of objects and phenomena of the objective world. Two types of observation can be distinguished - direct and
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using instruments. When carrying out observations with the help of appropriate instruments in the microcosm, it is necessary to take into account the properties of the instrument itself, its working part, and the nature of interaction with the micro-object.
Description is the result of observation and experiment, consisting in fixing data using certain notation systems adopted in science. Description as a method of scientific research is carried out both by ordinary language and by special means that make up the language of science (symbols, signs, matrices, graphs, etc.). The most important requirements for scientific description are accuracy, logical rigor and simplicity.
Measurement is a cognitive operation that provides a numerical expression of the measured values. It is carried out at the empirical level of scientific research and includes quantitative standards and standards (weight, length, coordinates, speed, etc.). Measurement is carried out by the subject both directly and indirectly. In this regard, it is divided into two types: direct and indirect. Direct measurement is a direct comparison of the measured object or phenomenon, property with the corresponding standard; indirect determination of the value of a measured property based on taking into account a certain dependence on others
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quantities. Indirect measurement helps to determine quantities in conditions where direct measurement is complicated or impossible. For example, the measurement of certain properties of many space objects, galactic microprocesses, etc.
Comparison is a comparison of objects in order to identify signs of similarity or signs of difference between these objects. A well-known aphorism says: "Everything is known in comparison." In order for the comparison to be objective, it must meet the following requirements:

1. it is necessary to compare comparable phenomena and objects (for example, it makes no sense to compare a person with a triangle or an animal with a meteorite, etc.);
2. comparison should be carried out according to the most important and essential features, since comparison by non-essential features can also lead to confusion.

An experiment is a scientifically set experiment, with the help of which an object is either reproduced artificially or placed in precisely taken into account conditions, which makes it possible to study their influence on the object in its purest form. Unlike observation, the experiment is characterized by the intervention of the researcher in the position of the objects under study due to the active influence on the subject of research. It is widely used in physics, chemistry, biology, physiology and other natural sciences. The experiment is gaining in importance in social research. However, here its significance is limited, firstly, by moral, humanistic considerations, secondly, by the fact that most social phenomena cannot be reproduced in laboratory conditions, and, thirdly, by the fact that many social phenomena cannot be repeated many times, isolated from others. social phenomena. So, empirical study is the starting point for the formation of scientific laws, at this stage the object is subjected to primary comprehension, its external features and some regularities (empirical laws) are revealed.
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Modeling is the study of an object by creating and studying its model (copy), which replaces the original, from certain aspects that are of interest to the researcher. Depending on the method of reproduction, that is, on the means by which the model is built, all models can be divided into two types: "acting", or material models; "imaginary" or ideal models. Material models include models of a bridge, dam, building, aircraft, ship, etc. They can be built from the same material as the object under study, or on the basis of a purely functional analogy. Ideal models are subdivided into mental constructions (models of an atom, galaxy), theoretical schemes that reproduce in an ideal form the properties and relationships of the object under study, and symbolic ones (mathematical formulas, chemical signs and symbols, etc.). Special attention is paid to cybernetic models that replace still insufficiently studied control systems, help to study the laws of functioning of a given system (for example, modeling of individual functions of the human psyche).
The scientific methods of the theoretical level of research include:
Formalization is a reflection of the results of thinking in precise concepts or statements, i.e., the construction of abstract mathematical models that reveal the essence of the studied processes of reality. Formalization plays an important role in the analysis, clarification and explication of scientific concepts. It is inextricably linked with the construction of artificial or formalized scientific laws.
Axiomatization is the construction of theories based on axioms-statements, the proof of which is not required. The truth of all statements of the axiomatic theory is substantiated as a result of strict adherence to the deductive technique of inference (proof) and finding (or constructing) an interpretation of the formalization of axiomatic systems. In the very construction of axiomatics, they proceed from the fact that the accepted axioms are true.
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Analysis is the actual or mental division of an integral subject into its constituent parts (sides, features, properties, relationships or connections) with the aim of its comprehensive study. Analysis, decomposing objects into parts and studying each of them, must necessarily consider them not in themselves, but as parts of a single whole.
Synthesis is the actual or mental reunification of a whole from parts, elements, aspects and relationships identified through analysis. With the help of synthesis, we restore the object as a concrete whole in all the variety of its manifestations. In the natural sciences, analysis and synthesis are applied not only theoretically, but also practically. In socio-economic and humanitarian research, the subject of research is subjected only to mental dismemberment and reunification. Analysis and synthesis as methods of scientific research act in an organic unity.
Induction is a method of research and a method of reasoning in which a general conclusion about the properties of objects and phenomena is built on the basis of individual facts or particular premises. So, for example, the transition from the analysis of facts, phenomena to the synthesis of the acquired knowledge is carried out by the method of induction. With the help of the inductive method, one can obtain knowledge not reliable, but probable, and with varying degrees of accuracy.
Deduction is the transition from general reasoning or judgments to particular ones. Derivation of new provisions with the help of laws and rules of logic. The deductive method is of paramount importance in the theoretical sciences as a tool for their logical ordering and construction, especially when the true propositions are known, from which logically necessary consequences can be obtained.
Generalization is a logical process of transition from a single to a general, from less general to more general knowledge, while establishing the general properties and characteristics of the objects under study. Obtaining generalized knowledge means a deeper reflection of reality, penetration into its essence.
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Analogy is a method of cognition, which is a conclusion, during which, on the basis of the similarity of objects in some properties, relationships, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other properties, relationships. Inference by analogy plays an essential role in the development of scientific knowledge. Many important discoveries in the field of natural science were made by transferring the general patterns inherent in one area of ​​phenomena to phenomena in another area. So, X. Huygens, based on the analogy of the properties of light and sound, came to the conclusion about the wave nature of light; J.K. Maxwell extended this conclusion to the characteristics of the electromagnetic field. The identification of a certain similarity between the reflective processes of a living organism and some physical processes contributed to the creation of the corresponding cybernetic devices.
Mathematization is the penetration of the apparatus of mathematical logic into the natural and other sciences. Mathematization of modern scientific knowledge characterizes its theoretical level. Mathematics is used to formulate the main laws governing the development of natural science theories. Mathematical methods are also widely used in the socio-economic sciences. The creation (under the direct influence of practice) of such branches as linear programming, game theory, information theory and the emergence of electronic mathematical machines opens up completely new perspectives.
Abstraction is a method of cognition in which there is a mental distraction and rejection of those objects, properties and relationships that make it difficult to consider the object of study in a "pure" form, which is necessary at this stage of study. Through the abstracting work of thinking, all concepts, categories of natural and socio-economic sciences arose: matter, movement, mass, energy, space, time, plant, animal, species, commodity, money, value, etc.
In addition to the empirical and theoretical methods we have considered, there are general scientific research methods, which include the following.
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Classification is the division of all studied subjects into separate groups in accordance with some feature important for the researcher.
The hypothetical-deductive method is one of the methods of reasoning based on the derivation (deduction) of conclusions from hypotheses and other premises, the true meaning of which is uncertain. This method has penetrated so deeply into the methodology of modern natural science that often its theories are considered as identical with the hypothetical-deductive system. The hypothetical-deductive model describes the formal structure of theories quite well, but it does not take into account a number of other features and functions, and also ignores the genesis of hypotheses and laws that are premises. The result of hypothetical-deductive reasoning is only probable, since hypotheses serve as its premises, and deduction transfers the probability of their truth to the conclusion.
The logical method is a method of reproducing in thinking a complex developing object in the form of a certain theory. In the logical study of an object, we abstract from all accidents, insignificant facts, zigzags, from which the most important, essential, determining the general course and direction of development, is singled out.
The historical method is when all the details, the facts of a cognizable object are reproduced in all the concrete diversity of historical development. The historical method involves the study of a specific process of development, and the logical method - the study of the general patterns of movement of the object of knowledge.
Of great importance in modern science have acquired statistical methods that allow you to determine the average values ​​that characterize the entire set of subjects studied.
So, at the theoretical level, an explanation of the object is carried out, its internal connections and essential processes (theoretical laws) are revealed. If empirical knowledge is the starting point for the formation of scientific laws, then the theory makes it possible to explain the empirical material. Both of these
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levels of knowledge are closely related. Common to them are those forms in which sensory images (sensations, perceptions, representations) and rational thinking (concepts, judgments and inferences) are realized.

2.3. Dynamics of the development of science. Conformity principle

Science is the best way to make the human spirit heroic.
D. Bruno

The development of science is determined by external and internal factors (Fig. 2.2). The former include the influence of the state, economic, cultural, national parameters, values ​​of scientists. The latter are determined by the internal logic and dynamics of the development of science.

The internal dynamics of the development of science has its own characteristics at each of the levels of research. The empirical level is characterized by a generalizing character, since even a negative result of an observation or experiment introduces its own
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contribution to the accumulation of knowledge. The theoretical level is characterized by a more spasmodic character, since each new theory represents a qualitative transformation of the knowledge system. The new theory that replaced the old one does not completely deny it (although there have been cases in the history of science when it was necessary to abandon the false concepts of caloric, ether, electric fluid, etc.), but more often limits the scope of its applicability, which allows us to say about continuity in the development of theoretical knowledge.
The question of changing scientific concepts is one of the most urgent in the methodology of modern science. In the first half of the XX century. theory was recognized as the main structural unit of research, and the question of changing it was raised depending on its empirical confirmation or refutation. The main methodological problem was considered to be the problem of reducing the theoretical level of research to the empirical one, which ultimately turned out to be impossible. In the early 60s of the XX century, the American scientist T. Kuhn put forward the concept, according to which the theory remains accepted by the scientific community until the main paradigm (setting, image) of scientific research in this area is questioned. Paradigm (from the Greek paradigma - example, sample) - a fundamental theory that explains a wide range of phenomena related to the relevant field of study. A paradigm is a set of theoretical and methodological prerequisites that determine a specific scientific research, which is embodied in scientific practice at this stage. It is the basis for the choice of problems, as well as a model, a model for solving research problems. The paradigm allows solving the difficulties that arise in scientific research, fixing changes in the structure of knowledge that occur as a result of the scientific revolution and are associated with the accumulation of new empirical data.
From this point of view, the dynamics of the development of science is as follows (Fig. 2.3): the old paradigm goes through a normal stage of development, then scientific facts accumulate in it that cannot be explained by this paradigm, a revolution occurs
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in science, a new paradigm arises that explains all the scientific facts that have arisen. The paradigm concept of the development of scientific knowledge was then concretized with the help of the concept of "research program" as a structural unit of a higher order than a separate theory. As part of the research program, questions about the truth of scientific theories are discussed.

An even higher structural unit is the natural-scientific picture of the world, which combines the most significant natural-scientific ideas of this era.
The general dynamics and pattern characterizing the whole process of the historical development of natural science is subject to an important methodological principle called the principle of correspondence. The principle of correspondence in its most general form states that theories, the validity of which has been experimentally established for one or another field of natural science, with the advent of new, more general theories, are not eliminated as something false, but retain their significance for the former field of phenomena as an ultimate form and partial
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case of new theories. This principle is one of the most important achievements of natural science in the 20th century. Thanks to him, the history of natural science appears to us not as a chaotic succession of various more or less successful theoretical views, not as a series of their catastrophic collapses, but as a regular and consistent process of the development of knowledge, going to ever broader generalizations, as a cognitive process, each step of which has objective value and provides a particle of absolute truth, the possession of which becomes more and more complete. From this point of view, the process of cognition is understood as a process of movement towards absolute truth through an infinite sequence of relative truths. Moreover, the process of movement towards absolute truth does not occur smoothly, not through a simple accumulation of facts, but dialectically - through revolutionary leaps, in which the contradiction between the accumulated facts and the currently dominant paradigm is overcome every time. The principle of correspondence shows exactly how in natural science absolute truth is made up of an infinite sequence of relative truths.
The Correspondence Principle states, firstly, that every theory of natural science is a relative truth containing an element of absolute truth. Secondly, he argues that the change of natural scientific theories is not a sequence of destruction of different theories, but a logical process of the development of natural science, the movement of the mind through a sequence of relative truths to absolute ones. Third, the correspondence principle states that both new and old theories form a single whole.
Thus, according to the principle of correspondence, the development of natural science is presented as a process of consistent generalization, when the new denies the old, but not just denies, but with the retention of all the positive that was accumulated in the old.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Natural science knowledge structurally consists of empirical and theoretical areas of scientific research.
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dovaniya. The structure of the empirical direction of research is as follows: empirical fact, observations, scientific experiment, empirical generalizations. The structure of the theoretical method has the following scheme: scientific fact, concepts, hypothesis, law of nature, scientific theory.

1. The scientific method is a vivid embodiment of the unity of all forms of knowledge about the world. The fact that knowledge in the natural, technical, social and humanitarian sciences as a whole is carried out according to certain general rules, principles and methods of activity, testifies, on the one hand, to the interconnection and unity of these sciences, and on the other hand, to a common, single source of their knowledge, which is served by the objective real world around us: nature and society.
2. The theory remains accepted by the scientific community until the main paradigm (attitude, image) of scientific research is questioned. The dynamics of the development of science is as follows: the old paradigm - the normal stage of the development of science - the revolution in science - the new paradigm.
3. The principle of correspondence states that the development of natural science occurs when the new does not simply negate the old, but denies with the retention of all the positive that was accumulated in the old.

Questions for knowledge control

1. What is the structure of natural science knowledge?
2. What is the difference between empirical and theoretical lines of research?
3. What is the scientific method and what is it based on?
4. What is the unity of the scientific method?
5. Give a description of general scientific and specific scientific methods of research.
6. What are the main methodological concepts of the development of modern natural science?
7. What ethical problems are relevant for modern natural science?
8. What is a paradigm in science?
9. What conditions are necessary for conducting scientific experiments?

10. How does the language of science differ from ordinary human
language?

There are three levels in the structure of scientific knowledge: empirical, theoretical and metatheoretical.

At the empirical level, it is carried out in the process of direct contact with the object. The object of study is reflected here mainly from the side of its external relations and manifestations. Characteristic features of empirical knowledge are partiality, fragmentation, probabilistic character. Here the sensual moment of cognition prevails, but the rational moment is also present, but has a subordinate meaning. The task of the empirical level is the collection and primary generalization of facts, description of data and observation and experiment, their systematization and classification. Scientific knowledge at the empirical level acts in the form of a scientific fact - proven knowledge about the characteristics, properties of the object under study. Collected and systematized scientific facts form the empirical basis of science, which is the basis for the theoretical level of scientific knowledge.

The theoretical level is the level of cognition at which, based on an empirical base, the phenomena of the studied subject area are reflected from the side of their internal and essential connections and patterns. Scientific knowledge at this level appears in the form of a problem, hypothesis, law, theory.

A problem is a form of scientific knowledge, the content of which is something that is not yet known by a person (knowledge about ignorance). The problem arises when a new phenomenon is discovered that cannot be explained in the system of existing knowledge.

A hypothesis is a form of scientific knowledge containing an assumption formulated on the basis of a number of facts, the true meaning of which is uncertain and needs to be proven.

Law - knowledge, in which the essential, necessary and recurring connections of phenomena are reflected in the form of theoretical statements.

Theory is a holistic, consistent, generalized system of knowledge that reveals significant connections and relationships between the elements of the reality under study and describes them through a system of laws. Based on the theory, an explanation and prediction of new phenomena is achieved.

It should be noted that the empirical and theoretical levels are interconnected, and the boundary between them is conditional and very mobile.

The metatheoretical level includes the methodology and philosophy of science. Methodology is the doctrine of the methods, forms and internal mechanisms of scientific knowledge. The subject of the methodology of scientific knowledge are:
- methods and operations of scientific research;
- forms of scientific knowledge;
- norms and ideals of science.

In the most general sense, a method is a set of certain rules, techniques, methods, norms of cognition and action. The method is a system of prescriptions, principles, requirements that guide the subject of knowledge to achieve a certain result.

The grounds for classifying methods can be different. Traditionally, the methods of scientific knowledge are classified according to formal features: general logical methods are distinguished here, which are used both at the empirical and theoretical levels (analysis, synthesis, generalization, abstraction, induction, deduction, etc.) , and in terms of content - methods of empirical and theoretical research.

Empirical research methods include: observation, experiment, measurement, description. Observation - purposeful, systematic, carried out in order to identify individual properties and relationships of the object of knowledge. Observation allows you to fix only what reveals the object of study. An experiment is a research method consisting in a purposeful, active intervention in the course of the process under study, in which a corresponding change in the object occurs or its reproduction under certain conditions that meets the objectives of the study. The experiment is characterized by: controllability and the possibility of repeated repetition. Description - fixation by means of a natural or artificial language of the results of an observation or experiment. Measurement - a set of cognitive operations by means of measuring instruments in order to find the numerical value of the measured value in the accepted units of measurement.

The methods of theoretical research include:
- formalization;
- axiomatic method;
- hypothetical-deductive method;
- ascent from the abstract to the concrete, etc.

Formalization is the expression of the content of knowledge in a sign-symbolic form (formalized language). This is necessary for a more accurate expression of thoughts, the elimination of ambiguous understanding.

The axiomatic method is a way of constructing a scientific theory, when it is based on some initial provisions from which, with the help of special rules of inference, all other provisions of this theory proceed.

The hypothetical-deductive method is the creation of a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which deriving statements about empirical facts. These conclusions, due to the fact that they are based on hypotheses, are probabilistic in nature. Climbing from the abstract to the concrete is a method of theoretical research, which consists in moving from individual general abstractions to their unity, the concrete-universal. This reflects the contradictory development of the subject of research itself.

General methods include:
- comparison;
- analysis;
- synthesis;
- abstraction;
- generalization;
- induction;
- deduction;
- analogy;
- modeling, etc.

Analysis is a method of cognition, which consists in dividing the object of cognition into its constituent parts, which are studied independently in relation to the whole.

Synthesis is a method of cognition, in which the selected component parts of an object are combined into a single whole, taking into account the knowledge gained in the analysis.

Abstraction is a method of cognition in which there is a mental distraction from a number of features, properties of an object that are considered insignificant for this study, while simultaneously highlighting the properties and features of the object that are of interest to the researcher.

Generalization is a method of cognition by means of which common features, properties and relations of an object are established.

Induction is a method of activity in which a general conclusion is made on the basis of single facts or premises.

Deduction is a method of cognition, consisting in the fact that conclusions of a particular nature are made from general statements.

Analogy is a method of cognition, the essence of which is to establish similarities in certain properties, features, relationships between different objects.

Modeling is a research method consisting in the study of an analogue of one or another fragment of reality (model), in which the structure, functions, characteristics of the very fragment of reality (original model) are reproduced.

The integrity of the diversity of scientific knowledge is ensured not only by the relationship between the theoretical and empirical levels, but also by the presence of the so-called foundations of scientific knowledge. These include the scientific picture of the world, the ideals and norms of scientific research, and the philosophical foundations of science.

The ideals and norms of science include:
- ideals and norms of scientific explanation and description; ideals and norms of scientific evidence;
- ideals and norms of construction and organization of scientific knowledge.

The holistic unity of the ideals and norms of scientific research that exist at a certain stage in the development of science expresses the concept of the style of scientific thinking. The style of scientific thinking is a generalized characteristic of a specific historical type of methodological means and norms of scientific knowledge. It is possible to distinguish classical, non-classical, post-non-classical styles of scientific. The nature of the ideals and norms of science is determined by the subject of research, the specifics of the objects under study, and the content is always formed in a specific socio-cultural context. During the transition to a new stage of scientific research, for example, from classical to non-classical, its ideals and norms of research change dramatically. Thus, the standards for explaining and substantiating knowledge in classical natural science are different from modern ones.

The scientific picture of the world is an ideal symbolic model of the reality under study, built on the basis of cumulative scientific knowledge. The scientific picture of the world acts not just as a form of systematization of scientific knowledge, but also as a research program that defines the tasks of empirical and theoretical research, as well as the choice of means to solve them. The history of scientific knowledge was accompanied by a periodic change of pictures of the world. And this meant a change in the so-called scientific paradigms.

The concept of "paradigm" (from the track - example, sample) was introduced by the American historian of science T. Kuhn. It denotes a certain set of ideals and norms of scientific research generally accepted in the scientific community at a particular stage, which for a certain time set a model, a model for posing and solving scientific problems. In various historical periods of time, various scientific pictures of the world function. When changing paradigms, the fundamental ideas about the world, about the fundamental objects of the world, about the general patterns of their interaction change, and a new interpretation of the basic concepts is given. The change of paradigms is a revolutionary shift in science, its entry into new stages of development.

The third component of the foundations of science are philosophical foundations. The content of the philosophical foundations of science is expressed, firstly, in philosophical principles that reflect the fundamental prerequisites and general orientation of cognitive processes. Secondly, in the norms of scientific cognitive activity, fixed in the principles of observability, reproducibility, simplicity, etc. The philosophical foundations of science perform an ideological function. This is a block of the most general ideas about the reality under study, which determines the main characteristics of the method of its cognitive development, which are concretized in the ideals, norms and methods of scientific research, as well as in the forms of subject knowledge.

The structure of scientific knowledge, its methods and forms. Criteria and forms.

With the development of human society, the growth and development of productive forces and the social division of labor, the process of cognition became more complicated and the most important indicator of this was the formation of science - the highest form of cognitive activity. We observed the rudiments of scientific knowledge in the era of antiquity, but as a specific type of spiritual production and a social institution, science arises in modern times (in the 16th-17th centuries) - in the era of the formation of capitalist relations.

The science- there is a form of spiritual activity of people and a social institution, within the framework of which collective activity is carried out to produce, store and transmit new knowledge. The essence of science study. The immediate goal is the comprehension of truth and the discovery of objective laws based on the generalization of real facts in their interconnection. Science seeks to bring the acquired new knowledge into an integral system based on certain principles. Since its inception, science has been trying to fix its concepts and definitions as clearly as possible. The fundamental difference between scientific knowledge and all other forms of cognitive activity also lies in the fact that it goes beyond the boundaries of sensory perceptions and everyday experience and reproduces the object at the level of essence.

The main features of scientific knowledge, therefore, include the following:

1) focusing mainly on the general, essential properties of an object, its necessary characteristics and their expression in a system of abstractions;

2) objectivity, elimination, if possible, of subjectivistic moments;

3) verifiability;

4) strict evidence, the validity of the results obtained, the reliability of the conclusions;

5) a clear expression (fixation) of concepts and definitions in a special language of science;

6) the use of special material means: devices, tools, the so-called "scientific equipment"

Modern science is considered as the unity of scientific knowledge and scientific activity. Scientific activity is a special kind of activity aimed at developing and testing new knowledge. The components of scientific activity (SC) are the subject of SC, the object of SC, and the means of SC. ND subject- a specific researcher, scientist, specific research team; society as a whole (everyone involved in science). ND object- a part of objective reality, included in the cognitive-transformative activity.

In scientific research, based on the logic of the movement of knowledge, from the nature of its organization, two main levels can be distinguished: empirical and theoretical. Empirical level: development of a scientific program, organization of observations, experiments, accumulation of facts and information, primary systematization of knowledge (in the form of tables, graphs, diagrams), etc.

Theoretical level: synthesis of knowledge at the level of abstraction of high orders (in the form of concepts, categories, scientific theories, laws, etc. Both of these levels are interconnected and complement each other. The ND object at the empirical level is presented in the form of specific fragments of reality; at the theoretical level, the ND object is an ideal model (abstraction).

Funds ND- these are various devices, a special scientific language, existing available knowledge.

The structure of scientific activity is classified by stages:

Stage I - identification and staging Problems, promotion hypotheses. The conscious nature of knowledge is possible only because knowledge exists only against the background of ignorance (any knowledge comes from ignorance). The form of expression of ignorance is question. The conscious boundary between knowledge and ignorance is problem. Thus, the identification and formulation of the problem is the identification of the field of ignorance. Hypothesis This is hypothetical knowledge that needs further substantiation and proof.

Stage II - experiment(lat. - experience) - a specially organized and adapted experiment for certain conditions, when a theoretical position is tested.

Stage III - description and explanation of the facts obtained in the experiment, the creation of a theory. Theory(Greek - “consider”, “clearly see”, “mind-vision”) is the most developed form of scientific knowledge, which gives a holistic display of the regular and essential connections of a certain area of ​​reality. (for example, A. Einstein's theory of relativity).

Stage IV - Checking the acquired knowledge in the process of practical activities.

Scientific activity is realized through methods. The doctrine of the methods, principles, means and procedures of scientific knowledge is called methodology. This doctrine is generally philosophical in nature, although it uses the approaches of systems theory, logic, semantics, computer science, etc. The philosophical nature of the methodology is determined by the fact that no specific science, remaining within the framework of its cognitive tasks, can make the subject of knowledge those methods which it uses itself (for example, physics uses various kinds of measurements, but the measurement procedure cannot be the subject of physical knowledge).

Methods are classified according to the degree of generality:

– private scientific methods used in a particular branch of science, corresponding to the main form of motion of matter (for example, methods of mechanics, physics, chemistry, etc.);

– general scientific methods that act as a kind of intermediate methodology between philosophy and the fundamental theoretical and methodological provisions of special sciences (for example, structural, probabilistic, systemic, etc.);

– philosophical- universal methods, the most ancient of which are dialectics and metaphysics.

According to the levels of scientific research can be classified:

methods of empirical research, for example, observation, comparison, measurement, description, scientific experiment;

· methods used at the empirical and more at the theoretical levels of research, such as: abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, modeling, use of instruments;

· methods of purely theoretical research: ascent from the abstract to the concrete, idealization, formalization.

Scientific knowledge obtained with the help of these methods is a logically organized system of knowledge that reflects the essential, necessary laws of reality. Scientific knowledge exists in special forms - scientific concepts, ideas, hypotheses, theories. The most important functions of scientific knowledge are explanation and prediction (scientific forecast).

Main forms of scientific knowledge Keywords: scientific fact, empirical law, problem, hypothesis, theory.

scientific fact is a reflection and interpretation of the fact of reality in the human mind. By itself, a fact as a fixation of empirical knowledge (a description of an object without an attempt to interpret or explain it) is not a scientific fact.
The peculiarity of a scientific fact is that it can be subjected to verification - verification, during which its truth is proved. An empirical law is a generalization of empirical facts that reveals a stable connection between phenomena and processes.

Problem- a theoretical or practical question that arises in the course of knowledge and requires an answer. A scientific problem usually implies the presence of conflicting positions in the explanation of phenomena, objects and processes.

Hypothesis- a scientific assumption explaining a phenomenon and formulated on the basis of a number of facts. At the hypothesis stage, the scientific explanation of the phenomenon is probabilistic in nature and needs to be proven and tested in practice. During testing, the hypothesis may turn out to be true or false.

Theory- the most complete form of scientific knowledge about the subject, which arises as a result of testing a hypothesis. Theory is a system of generalized provisions, ideas or principles, which gives a holistic display of a certain phenomenon of reality.

Scientific criteria-- a set of features that specify scientific knowledge; a number of requirements that science must satisfy.

The criteria statements below are abstracted from professional-industry specificity and socio-cultural and socio-historical variability.

1. Truth. It is impossible to equate science and truth. Ilyin singled out three elements in science: cutting edge science, designed to play alternatives (creative search, hypotheses); the solid core of science is an unproblematic layer of knowledge that acts as a foundation; the history of science is knowledge pushed out of the boundaries of science (morally obsolete), perhaps not completely 14 . Only the core is formed from true knowledge, however, the core is also undergoing changes (scientific revolutions). There is no absolute true knowledge in science.

2. Problematic: science is an attempt to solve problematic situations. Historian Collingwood: all science begins with the consciousness of ignorance.

3. Validity. It is impossible to absolutize validity: not every statement must be proven; science relies on unscientific premises that are accepted without proof. Over time, the evidence of these premises may change; then there is a revision of the premises (an example is the emergence of quantum mechanics).

4. Intersubjective verifiability. Scientific knowledge is considered justified if there is a fundamental possibility of its verification by the whole community.

5. Consistency: scientific knowledge must be logically organized.

6. Progressivism: scientific knowledge must improve itself. This requirement does not apply to art - several trends can exist simultaneously (for example, realism and surrealism).

The considered criteria are ideal norms; they do not describe scientific knowledge, but prescribe. Simultaneous presence of all these criteria is impossible, it is only an aspiration. The given system of criteria requires clarification in application to the branch of science (for example, in physics the main role is played by intersubjective verifiability, in mathematics - truth, in history - consistency).

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The main features of scientific knowledge.

1. The main features of scientific knowledge.

Consistency. Scientific knowledge is not the sum of disparate information. Interrelation and unity exist not only within science, but also between sciences.

The possibility of logical proof, accuracy and unambiguity. This is achieved by using a special language that uses special concepts, symbols and rules for their use.

Rationality, science, is the brainchild of the human mind. And in scientific knowledge there can be nothing inaccessible to human understanding. nothing logical, inexplicable, unreasonable, relying only on faith.

reproducibility and verifiability. If conditions are created in which any result is obtained, then it is necessary to make sure that it is true. If it is confirmed in natural conditions, then accept this evidence, if not, refute it.

Objectivity, general validity and impersonality. Scientific knowledge must express objective truth. All likes, dislikes, prejudices and faith must be given up.

2. The structure of scientific knowledge.

Scientific knowledge goes through two stages: empirical and theoretical. At each of these stages, with the help of certain cognitive procedures, special forms of knowledge are obtained.

Scientific research begins with empirical research, which includes two methods: observation and experiment. On the basis of an explanation and a phenomenon, it is necessary to characterize the essence of some facts, events, and theoretical knowledge is engaged in this, which includes a hypothesis, a thought and real experiment, a speculative concept, and the creation of a theory.

Empirical Research Methods:

Method 1: Observation is the perception with the help of the senses, as well as with the help of instruments of the studied phenomena in conditions where the researcher does not interfere with the natural course of events.

Scientific observation differs from ordinary sensory cognition:

a) purposefulness;

b) organization.

Scientific observation is about solving a problem. Purposefulness is explained by the presence of certain ideas. Observations should collect data that should form the basis for subsequent developments.

Historically, the following forms of observation have developed:

Direct observation, that is, the object directly affects the sense organs of the human subject.

Indirect observation of the first type, when between the object and the subject we put a device that enhances the sensory perception of the subject (telescope, microscope).

Indirect observation of the second type, when between the object and the subject we put a device that transforms and changes the reflections of the object (compass) that are not perceived by the subject.

Thus, the results of observations depend on the senses of the observer, the means of observation, that is, the instruments and the objective properties of the observed phenomena. When analyzing the results of observation, it is necessary to take into account:

What in the results of observation depends on the object itself, and what on the sense organs;

What depends on the specifics of the objects used, and what depends on the object itself;

Take into account whether the state and behavior of the object is realized if there would be no observation.

Method 2: Experiment.

Distinguish:

1) direct (natural) experiment;

2) model experiment.

In contrast to observation in the course of a direct experiment, the subject acts on the object by means of the experimental setup.

In the course of the experiment, the object is usually isolated from external, secondary, insignificant connections and the experimental means act on the object, and then a relationship is established between the existing properties of the objects under study. In a model experiment, it is not the object that is investigated, but its model. An object can be considered a model if:

a) between the model and the original there is a correspondence, similarity, that is, an analogy.

b) the model is a substitute for the object under study (representation condition).

c) studying the model allows obtaining information about the original (extrapolation condition).

Conclusion: the objective conditions of the model experiment are the existence of general patterns of organization and functioning of various phenomena.

The immediate goal and result of scientific observation and experiment is the acquisition and accumulation of facts.

1. Scientific fact This is the first reliable phase of scientific research.

2.Comparison of facts.

3. Dependencies of facts empirical laws.

4. Explanation and acquisition of knowledge.

5. Speculation and idealization.

A theoretical study begins with the fact that some of the consistent, meaningful, speculative principles are selected as the initial principles of the new theory. This is where mindset plays an important role. On the basis of the chosen principles, some conjecture of a possible theoretical law is built. An assumption about the structure of a theoretical law and the derivation of a consequence from it forms a scientific hypothesis.

A hypothesis is such knowledge, the truth or falsity of which has not yet been proven. If the hypothesis is confirmed, that is, its verification takes place reliability, then it turns into a theory. If the hypothesis is refuted, it is falsified, then it is discarded as a false assumption. In the process of substantiating and testing a hypothesis, logical and practical procedures are used:

1) if the consequences in the hypothesis contradict each other, then the initial assumption was most likely wrong.

2) experiment plays a decisive role. In a real experiment, the hypothesis is confirmed.

The last stage is the formation of the theory.

Theory is a system of logically interconnected assumptions that reflect the essential internal connections of a certain subject area. The logical structure of the theory is deductive, that is, from some initial true assumptions, all others are logically deduced.

The main features of the theory:

1) objectivity - the whole set of concepts and judgments of a particular theory should refer to one subject area.

2) adequacy and completeness of the description the proposal of the theory can describe all existing situations of the subject area of ​​the theory.

3) interpretability all concepts of the theory must be interpreted explained.

4) testability it should be possible to establish the correspondence of the theory to the properties and relations of objects and its subject area.

Theory performs two main functions: explanation and prediction.

Prediction consists in deriving from the theory consequences that add to the possibility of facts and laws that exist or are not yet known, or of such events that may occur in the future.

3. The problem of scientific criteria

The problem of scientific criteria was formulated in the philosophy of neopositivism in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century. Up to this point, the answer to the question about the criteria of scientificity was limited to stating that scientific knowledge is knowledge that is logically worked out, clear, distinct and confirmed by experience. The content of these provisions led to the understanding of the non-triviality of the problem and the impossibility of finding unambiguous formal-logical criteria for delimiting scientific knowledge from non-scientific. The problem of obesity criteria is directly related to the problem of rationality. The search for scientific criteria simultaneously means the definition of criteria for scientific rationality.

In the 20s of the XX century. within the framework of neopositivism, a verification concept of scientific knowledge was proposed. Logical positivism reduces philosophy to a logical analysis of scientific statements. The task of philosophy is to develop principles for testing scientific statements for compliance with experience. Such a principle should be the principle of verifiability, i.e. experimental confirmation. Only those propositions have scientific meaning which can be reduced to sensory experience and are thus verifiable by experience. The confirmation procedure is called verification. Scientific propositions are meaningful because they can be verified against experience; unverifiable propositions are meaningless. Scientific provisions are the better substantiated, the more facts confirming these provisions. Based on such an analysis, it was supposed to clear science of all meaningless statements and build its model, ideal from the point of view of logic. Obviously, in such a model, science is reduced to an empirical level, to atomic statements, confirmed by experience. Atomic propositions can form molecular propositions that are not directly reducible to experience, but can be easily decomposed into constituent parts.

The verification concept of scientific knowledge was immediately criticized. The essence of the critical provisions boiled down to the following: science cannot develop only on the basis of experience, since it involves obtaining results that are not reducible to experience and cannot be directly derived from it. In science, there are statements about the facts of the past, formulations of general laws that are not atomic or molecular statements and cannot be verified by the criterion of verification. In addition, the principle of verifiability itself is not verifiable, i.e. it should be classified as meaningless, subject to elimination. Criticism, thus, revealed the internal inconsistency of the attitudes of logical positivism, the provisions of which were overcome in various post-positivist concepts.

K. Popper, in his concept of critical rationalism, proposed a different principle of delimiting scientific knowledge from non-scientific knowledge - the principle of falsifiability. The theoretical position of critical rationalism developed in polemics with logical positivists. K. Popper believes that the scientific attitude is, above all, a critical attitude. The test of a hypothesis for scientific character should not consist in the search for supporting facts, but in attempts to refute it. Falsifiability is thus equated with empirical refutability. Consequences are derived from the general provisions of the theory, which can be directly correlated with experience. These implications are then tested. The refutation of one of the consequences of the theory falsifies the whole system. “Not the verifiability, but the falsifiability of the system should be considered the criterion of demarcation. ... From a scientific system ... I demand that it have such a logical form that makes it possible to single it out in a negative sense: for an empirical scientific system there must be the possibility of being refuted by experience, K. Popper states.

Thus, K. Popper proposes to analyze science at the theoretical level, i.e. as a whole system, and not separate atomic or molecular statements. Any theory, if it claims to be scientific, must be refutable in principle by experience. “Propositions or systems of propositions contain information about the empirical world only if they have the ability to collide with experience, or more precisely, if they can be systematically tested, i.e. subject to checks..., the result of which may be their refutation”, writes K. Popper. If a theory is constructed in such a way that it is not refutable in principle, then it cannot be considered scientific. K. Popper considers Marxism and Freudianism to be theoretical concepts that claim to be scientific, but in fact they are not.

The criterion of falsification, in turn, has been criticized. It was argued that the principle of falsifiability is insufficient, since it is not applicable to those positions of science that cannot be compared with experience.

The very doctrine of critical rationalism, which claims to be scientific, cannot be refuted by experience, so it must be discarded as unscientific. In addition, real scientific practice contradicts the requirement of falsification, since no theory in science is discarded if one empirical fact that contradicts it is found. According to M. Poloni, “scientists often ignore data that is incompatible with the accepted system of scientific knowledge, in the hope that, in the end, these data will turn out to be erroneous or irrelevant ... The most stubborn facts will be pushed aside, if there is no place for them in the already formed scientific system. The refutation of a theory is the result not so much of its falsification as of its displacement by another theory that better explains the facts.

Further development of this topic went along the lines of criticism of the attitude towards the search for an unambiguous formal-logical criterion for delimiting the scientific from the non-scientific. It was proposed to consider science not only at the empirical and theoretical levels, but also at the metatheoretical one, at which the substantive norms and standards of scientific character are set.

T. Kuhn introduced a new concept of “paradigm” into philosophy to denote the metatheoretical level of science. Paradigm recognized by all scientific achievements that determine the models for setting scientific problems and ways to solve them, are the source of methods, problem situations, standards for solving problems. It is at the level of the paradigm that the basic norms for delimiting scientific knowledge from non-scientific knowledge are formed. As a result of the change of paradigms, there is also a change in the standards of scientificity. Theories formulated within the framework of different paradigms cannot be compared, since they are based on different standards of scientificity and rationality.

I. Lakatos connects the problem of delimiting scientific theories from non-scientific theories with the problem of a satisfactory methodology. Each methodological concept has its own theory of scientific rationality. In the history of science, I. Lakatos proposes to single out the following types of rational methodology and their corresponding types of scientific character:

inductivism;

conventionalism;

falsificationism;

methodology of research programs (I. Lakatos's own theory).

According to I. Lakatos, it is his theory that most fully describes the real process of the development of science, therefore it is preferable, therefore, the standards of scientific character set within the framework of the methodology of research programs are more adequate. For logical positivists and K. Popper, the scientific nature of knowledge is determined by experience and logic. In I. Lakatos, scientificity, in addition to experience and logic, implies a number of meaningful attitudes that are included in the core of the research program and are preserved with the help of the rules of negative and positive heuristics. Thus, in the concept of I. Lakatos, the concept of scientificity ceases to be associated only with strict, formal-logical standards . The problem of delimiting scientific knowledge from non-scientific takes on a new character: to solve it, it is necessary to refer to substantive criteria that are not a priori (pre-experimental) and change along with the development of knowledge.

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The structure of scientific knowledge includes the main elements of scientific knowledge, the levels of knowledge and the foundations of science. Various forms of organization of scientific information act as elements of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is realized in a special research activity, which includes a variety of methods for studying an object, which, in turn, are divided into two levels of knowledge - empirical and theoretical. And, finally, the foundations of science, which act as its theoretical basis, are currently considered the most important moment in the structure of scientific knowledge.

Scientific knowledge is a complexly organized system that combines various forms of organization of scientific information: scientific concepts and scientific facts, laws, goals, principles, concepts, problems, hypotheses, scientific programs, etc. The central link of scientific knowledge is theory.

Depending on the depth of penetration into the essence of the phenomena and processes under study, two levels of scientific knowledge are distinguished - empirical and theoretical. Empirical knowledge in science begins with the analysis of data obtained through scientific observation and experiment, as a result of which ideas about empirical objects arise. Empirical objects are not just any sensually perceived objects of reality, but some models of sensual objects that act as substitutes for the first (for example, an airplane model is not an airplane itself), but are also perceived by the senses, which provides visibility, which is an important point of scientific knowledge. After processing the empirically obtained information, it acquires the status of a scientific fact. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between the understanding of a fact in the context of ordinary knowledge as a certain event of the surrounding world (fact - from the Latin factum - done, accomplished) from a scientific fact. The simplest empirical laws are established by means of an inductive generalization of the obtained facts, which describe the observable properties of objects. An example is the Boyle-Mariotte law, which establishes an inversely proportional relationship between the volume and pressure of a gas. Therefore, such laws are called laws about observable objects.

The theoretical level of research concentrates in itself, first of all, the process of rational cognition, which begins with separate concepts and judgments and ends with the construction of a theory and theoretically substantiated assumptions (hypotheses). It is associated with the widespread use of abstractions and idealizations, the formulation of laws of a higher degree of generality than empirical laws. Unlike the latter, theoretical laws are the laws of unobservable objects.

There is a close relationship and interdependence between theoretical and empirical knowledge, which are as follows: theoretical knowledge relies heavily on empirical material, so the level of theory development largely depends on the level of development of the empirical basis of science; on the other hand, the very development of empirical research is largely determined by the goals and objectives that were set by theoretical knowledge.

Before turning to the consideration of methodology, let us briefly characterize the third element in the structure of scientific knowledge - its foundations. The foundations of scientific knowledge are: 1) ideals, norms and principles of research, 2) the scientific picture of the world, 3) philosophical ideas and principles. They constitute the theoretical basis of science on which its laws, theories and hypotheses are based.

The ideals and norms of research are the requirements for scientific rationality recognized in science, expressed in the validity and evidence of scientific statements, as well as methods of description and scientific explanation, construction and organization of knowledge. Historically, these norms and ideals have changed, which was associated with qualitative changes in science (scientific revolutions). Thus, the most important norm of the rationality of scientific knowledge is its systematic and organized nature. This is expressed in the fact that each new result in science is based on its previous achievements, each new position in science is derived based on previously proven statements and provisions. A number of principles act as ideals and norms of scientific knowledge, for example: the principle of simplicity, the principle of accuracy, the principle of identifying the minimum number of assumptions when building a theory, the principle of continuity in the development and organization of scientific knowledge into a single system.

The logical norms of scientific thinking have come a long way of development. In the XVIII century. G.V. Leibniz formulated the principle of sufficient reason in logic, which became the fourth law of logic after the three laws of correct thinking, derived by Aristotle - the law of identity (preservation of the meaning of a term or thesis throughout the argument), the principle of consistency in reasoning, and the law of the excluded middle, stating that about one and the same object in the same relation (sense) can exist either an affirmative or a negative judgment, while one of them is true and the other is false, and the third is not given). All the ideals and norms of science are embodied in the methods of scientific research that dominate in one or another historical epoch.

The scientific picture of the world is an integral system of ideas about the general properties and patterns of nature and society, resulting from the generalization and synthesis of the basic principles and achievements of science in a given historical era. The picture of the world plays the role of systematization of scientific ideas and principles in cognition, which allows it to perform heuristic and prognostic functions, to more successfully solve interdisciplinary problems. The scientific picture of the world is closely connected with the worldview guidelines of culture, largely depends on the style of thinking of the era and, in turn, has a significant impact on them, while it acts as guidelines for the research activities of scientists, thus fulfilling the role of a fundamental research program.

The significance of the philosophical foundations of science is great. As you know, philosophy was the cradle of science in the early stages of its formation. It was within the framework of philosophical reflection that the origins of scientific rationality were laid. Philosophy set general worldview guidelines for science and, responding to the needs of the development of science itself, comprehended its methodological and epistemological problems. In the depths of philosophical knowledge, a tradition of dialectical knowledge of the world was formed, embodied in the works of Hegel, Marx and Engels in the science of the dialectical method of studying nature, society and thinking itself. In the history of the development of society, one can observe the mutual influence of the philosophical and scientific pictures of the world: a change in the foundations and content of the scientific picture of the world has repeatedly influenced the development of philosophy.

Methods of scientific knowledge

In the broad sense of the word, a method means an ordered and organized way of activity aimed at achieving a specific practical or theoretical goal. The sphere of scientific knowledge, in which the possibilities and limits of the application of various research methods are studied and which is the general theory of the scientific method, is called the methodology of science. It is customary to classify all methods: according to the degree of generality - they distinguish universal methods of dialectics and logic, general scientific and particular scientific; according to the level of scientific knowledge - empirical and theoretical, according to the accuracy of predictions - deterministic and stochastic (probabilistic), according to functions in science - methods of systematization of knowledge, its explanation and prediction of new facts, finally, according to the field of their application - physical, biological, socio-economic and humanitarian, ending with special methods created to study a certain area of ​​natural and social phenomena. In addition, there are methods common to a whole group of sciences. In the twentieth century Methods of systemic and structural-functional research have become widespread.

General scientific methods of empirical research

The starting point of any empirical knowledge is observation. Observation is a purposeful study of objects, based mainly on the data of the sense organs (sensations, perceptions, ideas). Observation as a method of scientific research is not just a passive contemplation of the objects and processes being studied, it is active in nature and involves a special preliminary organization of its objects, which ensures control over their "behavior". Observation can be direct and mediated by various instruments and technical devices (microscope, telescope, camera, etc.).

An experiment is an active and purposeful intervention in the course of the process under study, a corresponding change in the object or its reproduction under specially created and controlled conditions. A scientific experiment is one type of practice. During the experiment, they try to isolate the object under study from side influences that obscure its essence, and present it in a “pure form”. Thus, the experiment is carried out as an interaction of objects proceeding according to natural laws, and at the same time as an artificial action organized by a person. Science owes its achievements to experiment precisely because with its help it was possible to organically connect thought and experience, theory and practice. The value of the experiment lies in the fact that, using this method, the experimenter, as it were, asks questions to nature itself and receives answers, and does not simply observe the natural course of the process. Any scientific experiment is always guided by some idea, concept, hypothesis. Without an idea in your head, I. P. Pavlov said, you will not see the fact. It is customary to say that the data of an experiment are always "theoretically loaded" in one way or another, starting from its formulation and up to the interpretation of its results. Measurements and descriptions play an essential role in the course of experimental research, but they are not special empirical methods, but constitute a necessary addition to any serious scientific observation and experiment.

The data obtained as a result of observation and experiment are generalized, acquiring the form of an empirical law. The logical method in this process is induction - a logical conclusion from the singular to the particular and from the particular to the general. The inductive method is used in solving problems related to systematization, classification, scientific generalization. However, the conclusions of induction are not reliably true, but only plausible or probabilistic. Empirical laws express a certain regularity in the functioning or behavior of empirical objects. In this way, causality laws (deterministic) can be established, which are stable and necessary, or stochastic laws, which are probabilistic-statistical empirical laws, but the regularity described by them is not necessary, but probabilistic, and therefore associated with randomness, character. An example of a stochastic law in a market economy is the law of supply and demand.

Explanation is a mental operation carried out in order to identify causal dependence, patterns of functioning of a given object in order to reveal its essence. Explanation is a very complex search activity, which is not complete without conjectures, assumptions, hypotheses that arise in the process of interpreting experimental data.

General scientific methods of theoretical research

Abstraction is a process of mental abstraction from a number of properties and relations of the phenomenon under study with the simultaneous selection of properties of interest to the researcher, primarily essential, general ones. A special kind of abstraction is the process of idealization, which represents the limiting transition from real-life properties of objects to ideal properties. This is how ideal objects are created that act as models of properties. These include the very popular models of "absolutely black body", "ideal gas", "absolute vacuum", etc.

Abstractions and idealizations arise at the analytical stage of research, when a single, integral process is divided and its individual aspects, properties and elements begin to be studied. As a result, separate concepts and categories are created, with the help of which judgments, hypotheses and laws are formulated. Thus, if at the beginning of the study of the subject it is an undivided concrete whole, then as a result of abstraction there is a transition from the sensory-concrete to the abstract (the procedure of analysis and abstraction). Then, at the final stage of the study, there is a synthesis of concepts and judgments about the subject under study, and it appears in an ideal form, as mentally concrete knowledge about this subject. This procedure is called the method of ascent from the abstract to the mentally concrete. At this stage of theoretical knowledge, we get an idea not only about the elements and properties of the object under study, but also about the nature and order of its connections, its structure. Thus, a theory is formed as the main form of scientific knowledge.

The general scientific methods of theoretical research include: formalization, axiomatic and hypothetical-deductive methods, systemic and structural-functional approaches. Formalization is a reflection of meaningful knowledge in a sign-symbolic form - a formalized language created on the principle of one-to-one correspondence in order to exclude the possibility of ambiguous understanding. The axiomatic method is a method of constructing a scientific theory, which is based on certain initial positions - postulates (axioms), from which all other statements of this theory are logically derived by proof. The most striking example is the geometry of Euclid, in which Descartes saw the ideal of scientific theory.

When putting forward hypotheses, the hypothetical-deductive method is used. It should be noted that the real process of research in science most often begins not with the accumulation of facts, as supporters of empiricism believe, but with the formulation and advancement of the problem. It is the problem that indicates that in the development of science there are some difficulties associated with new facts that cannot be explained within the framework of existing theories. The problem situation is analyzed, and a hypothesis or a number of hypotheses is put forward as a trial solution. At the stage of putting forward hypotheses, it becomes necessary to evaluate them in terms of criteria: relevance (i.e., relevance in terms of relation to the facts on which they are based), empirical testability, compatibility with existing scientific knowledge, explanatory and predictive power. This allows us to conclude in favor of a more promising hypothesis. Then, logical consequences are deductively deduced from the hypothesis that allow empirical verification, i.e., the verification procedure. Deduction is a conclusion that makes the transition from general to particular, more specific knowledge. The next step is the very procedure for verifying the derived consequence empirically - verification (the concept introduced by K. Popper). The advancement of hypotheses performs the most important heuristic function of science. In addition, in accordance with the principle of falsifiability, a scientific theory should be tested for strength in the process of putting forward risky assumptions, which, according to K. Popper, gives impetus to the further development of scientific knowledge, preventing it from becoming ossified within the once established scientific ideas and canons. Thus, when putting forward scientific hypotheses, searching for laws, constructing and testing theories, scientists are guided by certain methods, techniques and norms, which in their totality constitute the heuristic method of research.

Theoretical methods also include modeling, the method of analogy and thought experiment. Theory as a systematized form of knowledge, when applied to the study of a certain area of ​​reality, in turn acts as a research method.

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