Scientific knowledge in its essence represents the process of reflection with all attributive properties. The cognitive process is historically and logically inseparable from human activity. It is no coincidence that the object of activity is placed at the beginning. The fact is that the subject of activity does not become such until he realizes some phenomena and processes as possible objects of his activity, reflects them in his mind, and determines in relation to them a plan for their expedient transformation (an ideal image of the future).

Rice. 3. The structure of the connection between human activity and cognition

Consider the general structure of the connection between human activity and cognition in the context scientific knowledge(Fig. 3).

The ideal is a reflection of the material, the subjective is the reflection of the objective. Therefore, "there is no subject without an object."

The subject of activity is primary only in relation to that in the object that has already become a product, represents the embodiment of the ideal.

Based on the analysis performed, the following elements of the process of scientific knowledge can be distinguished.

The object of activity is natural and social processes, their interaction.

The subject of activity is scientific communities, schools.

The product of activity is the laws of development of nature and society and their interaction, scientific methodology knowledge and transformation of the object of activity.

Methods of activity - developed on the basis of studying the laws of nature and society and proven in practice, techniques, methods, technologies for cognition and the expedient transformation of the surrounding world in society and man.

The purpose of the activity is the expedient transformation of the surrounding world, society and man.

Philosophy and scientific knowledge

The orientation of science to the study of the objective laws of the functioning and development of nature and society is the first main feature scientific knowledge. This is the coincidence of science and philosophy, not only over the millennia of the development of the "traditional" society, the New Age (classical science), but also at the present time.

The differences between philosophy and science, which emerged only at the time of their separation in the 17th century, begin precisely with the subject:

philosophy studies the universal laws and principles of development, science - general and specific:

philosophical laws and principles are a universal methodology/methods of science - general (for a given object) and specific (for various moments of an object);

the goal of philosophy is the knowledge of universal laws and principles of development, the goal of science is an expedient transformation (practice).

In his lecture “The Art of Philosophizing”, B. Russell defined the relationship between philosophy and science as follows: “Let me start with a brief answer to the question “What is philosophy?” It is not concrete knowledge, which is science. But this is not the unconditional faith characteristic of primitive people. Philosophy is something between these poles. Perhaps it can be called “the art of rational guessing”. According to this definition, philosophy tells us how to act if we want to find the truth, or what is most like it, in cases where it is impossible to know with certainty what the truth is.

The connection between philosophy and science changes with the historical development of human activity and, consequently, concrete scientific knowledge.

Three historical stages in the development of the connection and correlation between philosophy and science have already been identified and analyzed above.

At the first stage (7th century BC - 16th century), special sciences are part of a single philosophical knowledge. The differentiation of activity at this stage does not reach such a value that a significant differentiation of cognition appears.

At the second stage (XVII century - the middle of the XIX century) in Europe there is a qualitative change in labor productivity, due to the development of the application of new equipment and technology in the emerging industrial production. The needs of the development of production necessitate the formation of natural science, and fundamental changes in the system of management of society and the change caused by this social order - bourgeois revolutions- require revision first of applied (jurisprudence, political theory), and then the fundamental (philosophy, psychology, sociology) humanities.

At the third stage (from the middle of the 19th century to the present), first the industrial and then the scientific and technological revolution lead to an unprecedented growth and differentiation of specific scientific knowledge in natural science, humanitarian knowledge and technical science. All this immeasurably enhances the integrating worldview and methodological role of philosophy in relation to the development of concrete scientific knowledge and all spheres of human activity.

Artistic and aesthetic knowledge

The specificity of artistic and aesthetic knowledge is that it has an emotional and figurative basis. Thought follows in the footsteps of feeling. The definition of the hallmarks of ART and its role in people's lives has caused sharp controversy throughout the history of culture.

We can single out the following, the most common interpretations of the essence and, consequently, the function of art.

Interpretations of the essence of art:

"imitation of nature" - "free form-creation";

"reproduction of reality" - "self-knowledge of the Absolute";

"self-expression of the artist" - "language of feelings";

a special kind of game - a special kind of prayer.

Such disagreements are explained by many reasons: the difference in the philosophical positions of theorists (materialistic or idealistic), their ideological attitudes, reliance on various types of art and creative methods(for example, on literature or architecture, on classicism or realism), and finally, the objective complexity of the structure of art itself.

This complexity, the versatility of the structure of art is not recognized by some theorists who define the essence of art either as epistemological, or as ideological, or as aesthetic, or as creative and creative, etc. Dissatisfaction with such one-linear definitions led some art critics to assert, that different moments are organically interconnected in art: knowledge and evaluation of reality, reflection and creation, model and sign.

But even such two-dimensional interpretations of the essence of art do not fully recreate its complex structure.

In the study of the nature of art, science began to turn to the methods of system analysis, which allow us to approach the disclosure of the essence of art from some other sides, in particular:

a) identify those qualities and functions of art that are necessary and sufficient to describe its internal structure;

b) to show that the combination of these qualities and functions is not their simple "sum", not a mechanical conglomerate, but an organic-holistic unity, which generates the effect of artistry specific to art;

c) reveal the ability of the structure of art to be modified, forming, on the one hand, types, varieties, genera and genres of art, and on the other hand, various historical types of art (creative methods, styles, trends, schools). Although aesthetics are far from final decision of this problem, some of its aspects can be elucidated with sufficient certainty.

Unlike science, language, and other forms of specialized social activities designed to satisfy the various needs of people, art turned out to be needed by mankind as a way of holistic social education of the individual, his emotional and intellectual development, his introduction to the collective experience accumulated by mankind, to age-old wisdom, to specific social and historical interests, aspirations, ideals. But in order to play this role as a powerful tool for the socialization of the individual, art must be like a real human life, i.e., must recreate (model) life in its real integrity and structural complexity. Art should “double” the real life activity of a person, be its imaginary continuation and addition, and thereby expand the life experience of a person, allowing him to “live” many illusory “lives” in “worlds” created by writers, musicians, painters, etc.

At the same time (this is the most important aspect of the dialectic of art), it appears both as similar to real life and as different from it - invented, illusory, as a game of the imagination, as a creation of human hands (with this consciousness of "man-made" the relationship of man to art, according to remark L. Feuerbach, is fundamentally different from his attitude to religion).

A work of art excites at the same time the deepest experiences, similar to those of real events, and aesthetic pleasure arising from its perception precisely as a work of art, as a model of life created by man. In order for this contradictory effect to take place, art must be isomorphic to the real life activity of a person, that is, it must not copy it, but reproduce its structure.

Real human life activity, being organically integral, consists of the interaction of four main components - labor, knowledge, value orientation and communication. Accordingly, art, whose works are just as organically integral in their own way, adopts this structure of human life. It acts primarily as a specific (figurative) way of knowing reality, but at the same time it is also a specific, figurative way of evaluating it, an affirmation of a certain system of values; works of art are created on the basis of reflection, awareness of the real world, however, consciousness not only reflects the objective world, but also creates it, creating something that in reality did not exist, does not exist, and sometimes cannot exist (fantastic images, grotesque, etc. .); Thus, art creates imaginary "worlds" that are more or less close to the real world and more or less different from it, i.e., according to K. Marx, it is a way of "practically-spiritual development" of reality, which differs from its purely spiritual development, characteristic of theoretical knowledge, and from purely material practice.

Thus, art as a specific social phenomenon is a complex system of qualities, the structure of which is characterized by a combination of cognitive, evaluative, creative (spiritual and material) and sign-communicative facets (or subsystems).

Therefore, among the main functions of art stand out: 1) hedonistic (from the Greek. ke (1one - enjoyment);

communicative; 3) epistemological; 4) axiological (value); 5) educational.

Thanks to this, art acts both as a means of communication between people, and as a tool for their enlightenment, enriching their knowledge about the world and about themselves, and as a way of educating a person on the basis of one or another system of values, and as a source of high aesthetic joys. Although all these functions of art, merged together, are only different sides of one whole - the artistic impact of art on a person - their ratio is very different, and sometimes one of the functions comes to the fore and becomes dominant.

In the process of artistic assimilation of reality, objects included in human activity are not separated from subjective factors, but are taken in a kind of "gluing" with them. Any reflection of objects of the objective world in art at the same time expresses the value attitude of a person to an object. An artistic image is such a reflection of an object that contains the imprint of the author's personality, his value orientations, fused into the characteristics of the reflected reality. To exclude this interpenetration means to destroy the artistic image. In science, the features of the life of a person who creates knowledge, its value judgments are not directly part of the generated knowledge (Newton's laws do not allow us to judge what Newton loved and hated, while, for example, Rembrandt's portraits capture the personality of Rembrandt himself, his attitude and his personal attitude to the depicted social phenomena: a portrait, written by a great artist, always acts as a self-portrait).

But can everything be declared art, a work of art?

As in all other forms of reflection, REFLECTION IN ART IS ALWAYS AND SELF-REFLECTION. But one cannot pretend that art ceased to be a reflection of reality, that it would only be a self-reflection, self-expression of the author. The function of art is, first of all, hedonistic, it must bring pleasure, experience.

Art is the sphere of subjective knowledge. Truth is not the goal of art. "The darkness of low truths is dearer to us than the uplifting deceit." “I will shed tears over fiction,” wrote A. S. Pushkin in connection with this. However, precisely because of what has been said, art is the path not to truth, but to the truth...

Scientific and everyday knowledge

It is necessary to distinguish between scientific and non-scientific knowledge. Not all knowledge can be classified as scientific. In addition, "true" and "scientific" do not coincide. In this regard, ordinary and scientific knowledge can be compared.

Ordinary cognition takes objects as the subject perceives them. Naive-realist thinking is based on this premise. Of course, this thinking should not be categorically rejected. Einstein said that naive realism is the starting point of all sciences, especially the natural ones. B. Russell wrote that naive materialism leads to physics, but physics, if it is true, shows that naive materialism is false.

Ordinary knowledge associated with everyday life and the activities of people, is a fixation of individual facts and dependencies, consists of disparate statements, is formulated in natural language, often approximately, not strictly, is formed by all people.

The subject of science is not reduced to objects of ordinary experience. Scientific knowledge is focused on the knowledge of the laws, the essence of phenomena. Scientific activities are carried out by professional scientists using a complex of material and technical means, scientific information, scientific methods. Scientific knowledge - knowledge is objectively true, systematized, evidence-based, logically consistent, formulated with the help of artificial languages, with maximum accuracy.

The ability of spontaneous-empirical knowledge to generate substantive and objective knowledge about the world raises the question of the difference between it and scientific research. The features that distinguish science from ordinary knowledge can be conveniently classified according to the categorical scheme in which the structure of activity is characterized (tracing the difference between science and ordinary knowledge in terms of subject, means, product, methods and subject of activity).

Let's try in the table. 1 to display the difference and unity of scientific and everyday knowledge.

Table 1. Difference and unity of scientific and everyday knowledge

Conditions and structure of scientific research

The necessary conditions for scientific research are:

object of study (subject area);

subject of research (scientists);

research tools.

The epistemological relationship between subject and object presupposes, first of all, the presence of an object of knowledge. In general philosophical terms, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of objective reality (matter) and the object of knowledge. Although potentially, as practice expands and develops, the “whole” material world can be an object of knowledge, however, in any particular historical era, the object of knowledge is only a “part” of objective reality. The object of knowledge in general case- a certain subject area, a set of phenomena that have similar features.

The object of knowledge exists before, outside and independently of the consciousness of the researcher and his activity. But, on the other hand, the object of knowledge is always correlated with the subject of knowledge. The "transformation" of material objects into objects of cognition is carried out by including the former in cognitive activity. If the concept of objective reality expresses the fact that existence is independent of the consciousness of the subject, then the concept of the object of cognition means that “part” of objective reality with which the subject has entered into a practical and cognitive relationship.

Historically, the first object of scientific research was nature. Subsequently, the object of cognition becomes society and cognition itself and consciousness. This means that the concept of the object of knowledge should be expanded, not limiting it only to natural phenomena. The object of knowledge in broad sense- this is all that the cognitive activity of the subject is directed to.

The subject of cognition is understood as the carrier of cognitive activity, cognizing people. But there is an important point to be noted here. An individual subject of cognition is a living, bodily being, a person with the corresponding sense organs and the ability to think. But a specific individual becomes the subject of knowledge, since he masters the historical experience of mankind, objectified in the tools of labor, language, works of art, since he masters the forms and methods of research activity, the knowledge developed by mankind in a given era.

Man is a product of a particular historical epoch. The ability to work, experience, listen to music, engage in scientific research, etc. - all this is formed in society. The cognizing subject is not an individual isolated from other people (“epistemological Robinson”), but a person included in social life. The social nature of the subject of knowledge is determined by its place in the system of social relations, belonging to a particular social group.

The fact that science provides ultra-long-term forecasting of practice, going beyond the existing stereotypes of production and ordinary experience, means that it deals with a special set of objects of reality that are not reducible to objects of ordinary experience. If everyday knowledge reflects only those objects that, in principle, can be transformed in historically established ways and types practical action, then science is capable of studying such fragments of reality that can become the subject of development only in the practice of the distant future. It constantly goes beyond the subject structures of existing types and methods of practical development of the world and opens up new subject worlds for humanity of its possible future activity.

These features of the objects of science make the means that are used in everyday knowledge insufficient for their development.

The objects of scientific and ordinary knowledge differ in space and time. It is these two aspects that characterize the limitations of the object of everyday knowledge. It is limited in space, because it refers to the activities of small social, production groups. It is limited in time, as it is associated only with immediate tasks and goals.

A person's knowledge of the world around him (and himself in it) can be carried out in different ways and in different cognitive forms. Extra-scientific forms of cognition are, for example, everyday, artistic. The first form of human cognitive activity is everyday everyday experience. It is publicly available to all human individuals and is an unsystematized variety of impressions, experiences, observations, knowledge. The accumulation of everyday experience takes place, as a rule, outside the sphere scientific research or assimilated ready-made scientific knowledge. It suffices to point out the diversity of knowledge hidden in the depths of natural language. Ordinary experience is usually based on a sensory picture of the world. He does not distinguish between phenomena and essence, he perceives appearances as obvious. But he is not alien to reflection, self-criticism, especially when his delusions are exposed by practice.

Science arises and develops for a long time on the basis of the data of ordinary experience, which states the facts that later receive a scientific explanation. So, for example, within the framework of everyday experience, without analysis and generalization, the phenomenon of thermal conductivity was revealed. The concept of an axiom, formulated by Euclid, etymologically and in content coincides with the ideas of ordinary experience. Not only empirically established regularities, but also some very abstract hypotheses are actually based on everyday empirical knowledge. Such is the atomism of Leucippus and Democritus. Ordinary experience contains not only knowledge, but also delusions and illusions. Science has often accepted these misconceptions. Thus, the geocentric picture of the world was based on the data of everyday experience, as was the idea of ​​the instantaneous speed of light.

Scientific knowledge, unlike everyday knowledge, has its own specific, distinctive features. These include the following:

1. Scientific knowledge is a specialized type of cognitive activity:

This activity is not carried out spontaneously, not by accident;

This is a conscious, purposeful and specially organized activity to acquire knowledge;

With its development and growth in society, it becomes extremely important to train special personnel - scientists, organize this activity, manage it;

This activity acquires an independent status, and science becomes a social institution. Within the framework of this institution, such problems arise and are solved as: relations between the state and science; freedom of scientific research and social responsibility of a scientist; science and morality; ethical standards of science, etc.

2. The subject of scientific knowledge:

Not every individual and not the entire mass of the population;

Specially trained people, scientific communities, scientific schools.

3. Object of scientific knowledge:

Not only the actual practice, its phenomena;

Goes beyond current practice;

The objects of scientific knowledge are not reducible to the objects of ordinary experience;

They are generally inaccessible to ordinary experience and knowledge.

4. Means of scientific knowledge:

The special language of science, since natural language adapted only to describe the objects of current practice and its concepts are fuzzy, ambiguous;

Methods of scientific knowledge, which are developed specifically. (Comprehension of these methods, their conscious application is considered by the methodology of science);

A system of special tools for cognition, special scientific equipment.

5. The product of scientific knowledge - scientific knowledge:

It is characterized by objectivity, truth. There are also special techniques, ways of substantiating the truth of knowledge;

Consistency of knowledge, in contrast to ordinary knowledge, which is amorphous, fragmented, fragmented:

A theory is being formed as a special type of knowledge that ordinary knowledge does not know;

The goals of scientific knowledge are formulated.

6. Conditions of scientific knowledge:

Value orientations of knowledge;

Search for objective truth, obtaining new knowledge;

Norms scientific creativity.

Scientific knowledge, therefore, is characterized by a systematic and structured nature. And, first of all, it is customary to distinguish two levels in the structure of scientific knowledge: empirical and theoretical.

The question of the primacy or secondary nature of theoretical and empirical knowledge can be considered in various ways depending on whether in this case it is meant: a) the relationship between empirical and theoretical science, or b) the relationship between the empirical basis and the conceptual apparatus of science at a certain stage of its development. In the first case, one can speak of genetic the primacy of the empirical over the theoretical. In the second case, it is unlikely, since the empirical basis and the conceptual apparatus mutually presuppose each other, and their relationship does not fit the concept of genetic primacy. Changes in the empirical basis can lead to a change in the conceptual apparatus, but changes in it can occur without direct stimulation from the empirical side. And even orient and guide itself empirical research.

At the empirical stage of science, the decisive means for the formation and development of knowledge are empirical research and subsequent processing of its results in appropriate generalizations and classifications.

At the theoretical stage, scientific positions can be established in relative independence from empiricism, for example, by means of a thought experiment with an idealized object.

Empirical science, however, cannot be reduced to the mere accumulation of empirical facts; it is also based on certain conceptual constructions. Empirical knowledge is a set of statements about so-called empirical objects. Οʜᴎ are obtained by abstracting real objects, their sides or properties from data in sensory experience, and endowing them with the status of independent existence. (For example, length, width, angle, etc.)

theoretical knowledge is statements about so-called theoretical objects. The main way of their formation is idealization.

Between theoretical and empirical knowledge there is a qualitative difference in content, due to the very nature of the objects of theoretical and empirical knowledge. The transition from empiricism to theory cannot be limited by inductivistic summation and combination of experimental data. What is important here is the change in the conceptual composition of knowledge, the isolation of a new mental content, the formation of new scientific abstractions (electron, etc.), which are not given directly in observation and are not any combination of empirical data. From empirical data, theoretical knowledge cannot be obtained purely logically.

So what do they show characteristics these two types of knowledge:

At the empirical stage of development of science:

The development of content is expressed primarily in the establishment of new empirical classifications, dependencies and laws, and not in the development of a conceptual apparatus;

Empirical laws are characterized by the fact that their receipt is based on a comparison of experimental data;

The development of a conceptual apparatus does not turn here into the implementation of a theoretical research program that determines the main lines of development of science;

Empirical science is characterized by insufficient reflexivity, a moment of forced uncriticality, borrowing conceptual means from everyday consciousness.

The theoretical stage of science is characterized by:

Strengthening the activity of theoretical thinking;

Increasing the proportion of theoretical research methods;

Implementation of the ability scientific thinking to the reproduction of theoretical knowledge on its own basis; ability to build and improve developing theoretical systems;

The development of theoretical content acts as the implementation of research theoretical programs;

In science, special theoretical models of reality are formed, which can be worked with as idealized models. theoretical objects(for example, as in geometry, mechanics, physics, etc.);

Theoretical Laws are formulated as a result of theoretical reasoning, mainly as a consequence of a thought experiment on an idealized theoretical object.

An important step in the transition from empirical science theoretical is the emergence and development of such forms as primary conceptual explanations and typologies. Primary conceptual explanations presuppose the existence of conceptual schemes that allow empirical statements to be considered. Οʜᴎ are close to a theory, but it is not yet a theory, since there is no logical hierarchy within the theoretical construction. Great importance they also have descriptive theories that describe a certain group of objects: their empirical basis is very extensive; their task is to arrange the facts relating to them; in them, a large proportion is occupied by natural language and specialized terminology, the proper scientific language, is poorly developed.

theoretical science maintains connection and continuity with the empirical.

The appearance of theoretical concepts, idealized objects and models, ontological schemes is, ultimately, the result of reflection on the original conceptual apparatus available in empirical science.

Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, theoretical and empirical knowledge can be considered as an activity for improvement and an activity for the application of the conceptual means of science. The connection between the theoretical conceptual content of science and its empirical basis is resolved through the empirical interpretation of theoretical constructions and, accordingly, the theoretical interpretation of experimental data. Ultimately, their unity is due to social practice. It generates the need for knowledge of the surrounding world, the need for different levels of knowledge.

We emphasize in particular that one cannot consider theoretical knowledge as a simple summation and generalization of empirical information. It is impossible to reduce theoretical knowledge to empirical, and theoretical language to the language of observation. All this leads to an underestimation of the qualitative originality of theoretical knowledge, a misunderstanding of its specifics.

The question of the specifics of the theoretical form of scientific knowledge also affects the problem of the criterion of this knowledge: can this criterion of the truth of theoretical knowledge be the same practice as the “universal criterion” of truth, or is the verifiability of theoretical knowledge for truth carried out in other ways? It turns out that many scientific provisions are established theoretically, and within the framework of mathematics, for example, there are only logical proofs, deductive conclusions. A logical proof is possible without a direct appeal to practice. But, without detracting from the importance of theoretical, logical thinking in establishing the truth, it would perhaps be right to emphasize that in order to verify the truth of what is logically proven, theoretically justified, it is extremely important to turn to practice.

The criterion of practice is truly fundamental due to the following circumstances:

1. It is practice that is the fundamental form of connection with reality, with the most diverse manifestations of immediate life, not only of knowledge, but of culture as a whole.

2. Due to the fact that with a historical approach to the formation of our knowledge, it turns out that the latter arise as a generalization of direct practice. This applies not only to experiential knowledge, but also (for example) to mathematics.

3. In the process of developing experimental sciences, we also constantly generalize the practice of experimental and measuring activities. The data of experimental and measuring practice are the basis for the development of theories, their generalization and changes.

4. Testing a number of hypotheses that arise in the process creative development science, is carried out on the basis of methods, the application of which ultimately relies on practice.

5. Theoretical knowledge, on which we rely as a criterion of truth, is itself refined, changed on the basis of new practice.

scientific knowledge - this is a type and level of knowledge aimed at producing true knowledge about reality, the discovery of objective laws based on a generalization of real facts. It rises above ordinary cognition, that is, spontaneous cognition, connected with the life activity of people and perceiving reality at the level of the phenomenon.

Epistemology - it is a science of knowledge.

Features of scientific knowledge:

Firstly, its main task is to discover and explain the objective laws of reality - natural, social and thinking. Hence the orientation of the study to the general, essential properties of the object and their expression in the system of abstraction.

Secondly, the immediate goal and highest value of scientific knowledge is an objective truth, comprehended mainly by rational means and methods.

Thirdly, to a greater extent than other types of knowledge, it is focused on being put into practice.

Fourth, science has developed a special language, characterized by the accuracy of the use of terms, symbols, schemes.

Fifth, scientific knowledge is a complex process of reproduction of knowledge that forms an integral, developing system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, and laws.

At sixth, scientific knowledge is characterized by both rigorous evidence, the validity of the results obtained, the reliability of the conclusions, and the presence of hypotheses, conjectures, and assumptions.

Seventh, scientific knowledge needs and resorts to special tools (means) of knowledge: scientific equipment, measuring instruments, instruments.

Eighth, scientific knowledge is characterized by process. In its development, it goes through two main stages: empirical and theoretical, which are closely related.

Ninth, the field of scientific knowledge is verifiable and systematized information about various phenomena of life.

Levels of scientific knowledge:

Empirical level cognition is a direct experimental, mostly inductive, study of an object. It includes obtaining the necessary initial facts - data on the individual aspects and relationships of the object, understanding and describing the obtained data in the language of science, and their primary systematization. Cognition at this stage still remains at the level of the phenomenon, but the prerequisites for the penetration of the essence of the object have already been created.

Theoretical level characterized by deep penetration into the essence of the object under study, not only by identifying, but also by explaining the patterns of its development and functioning, by constructing a theoretical model of the object and its in-depth analysis.

Forms of scientific knowledge:

scientific fact, scientific problem, scientific hypothesis, proof, scientific theory, paradigm, unified scientific picture of the world.

scientific fact - this is the initial form of scientific knowledge, in which the primary knowledge about the object is fixed; it is a reflection in the consciousness of the subject of the fact of reality. At the same time, a scientific fact is only one that can be verified and described in scientific terms.

scientific problem - it is a contradiction between new facts and existing theoretical knowledge. A scientific problem can also be defined as a kind of knowledge about ignorance, since it arises when the cognizing subject realizes the incompleteness of this or that knowledge about the object and sets the goal of eliminating this gap. The problem includes a problematic issue, a project for solving the problem and its content.

scientific hypothesis - this is a scientifically substantiated assumption that explains certain parameters of the object under study and does not contradict known scientific facts. It must satisfactorily explain the object under study, be verifiable in principle, and answer the questions posed by the scientific problem.

In addition, the main content of the hypothesis should not be in conflict with the laws established in the given system of knowledge. The assumptions that make up the content of the hypothesis must be sufficient so that they can be used to explain all the facts about which the hypothesis is put forward. The assumptions of a hypothesis should not be logically inconsistent.

The advancement of new hypotheses in science is associated with the need for a new vision of the problem and the emergence of problem situations.

Proof - this is a confirmation of the hypothesis.

Types of evidence:

Practice that directly confirms

Indirect theoretical proof, including confirmation by arguments pointing to facts and laws (inductive path), derivation of a hypothesis from other, more general and already proven provisions (deductive path), comparison, analogy, modeling, etc.

A proven hypothesis is the basis for constructing a scientific theory.

scientific theory - it is a form of reliable scientific knowledge about a certain set of objects, which is a system of interrelated statements and evidence and contains methods for explaining, transforming and predicting the phenomena of a given object area. In theory, in the form of principles and laws, knowledge is expressed about the essential connections that determine the emergence and existence of certain objects. The main cognitive functions of the theory are: synthesizing, explanatory, methodological, predictive and practical.

All theories develop within certain paradigms.

Paradigm - it is a special way of organizing knowledge and vision of the world, influencing the direction of further research. paradigm

can be compared with optical instrument through which we look at a particular phenomenon.

Many theories are constantly being synthesized in unified scientific picture of the world, that is, an integral system of ideas about the general principles and laws of the structure of being.

Methods of scientific knowledge:

Method(from the Greek. Metodos - the path to something) - it is a way of activity in any of its forms.

The method includes techniques that ensure the achievement of the goal, regulating human activity and the general principles from which these techniques follow. Methods of cognitive activity form the direction of knowledge at a particular stage, the order of cognitive procedures. In terms of their content, the methods are objective, since they are ultimately determined by the nature of the object, the laws of its functioning.

scientific method - this is a set of rules, techniques and principles that ensure the natural knowledge of the object and the receipt of reliable knowledge.

Classification of methods of scientific knowledge can be done for various reasons:

First foundation. According to the nature and role in cognition, they distinguish methods - tricks, which consist of specific rules, techniques and algorithms of actions (observation, experiment, etc.) and methods-approaches, which indicate the direction and general method of research (system analysis, functional analysis, diachronic method, etc.).

Second base. According to the functional purpose, there are:

a) universal methods of thinking (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, induction, deduction, etc.);

b) empirical level methods (observation, experiment, survey, measurement);

c) theoretical level methods (simulation, thought experiment, analogy, mathematical methods, philosophical methods, induction and deduction).

Third ground is the degree of generality. Here the methods are divided into:

a) philosophical methods (dialectical, formal-logical, intuitive, phenomenological, hermeneutic);

b) general scientific methods, that is, methods that guide the course of knowledge in many sciences, but unlike philosophical methods, each general scientific method (observation, experiment, analysis, synthesis, modeling, etc.) solves its own, characteristic task only for it ;

c) special methods.

Some methods of scientific knowledge:

Observation - this is a purposeful, organized perception of objects and phenomena for collecting facts.

Experiment - this is an artificial recreation of a cognizable object in controlled and controlled conditions.

Formalization - this is a display of the knowledge obtained in an unambiguous formalized language.

Axiomatic Method - this is a way of building a scientific theory, when it is based on certain axioms, from which all other provisions are logically derived.

Hypothetical-deductive method - creation of a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which, ultimately, explanations of scientific facts are derived.

Inductive Methods of Establishment causation phenomena:

similarity method: if two or more cases of the phenomenon under study have only one previous common circumstance, then this circumstance in which they are similar to each other is probably the cause of the phenomenon sought;

difference method: if the case in which the phenomenon of interest to us occurs, and the case in which it does not occur, are similar in everything, with the exception of one circumstance, then this is the only circumstance in which they differ from each other, and is probably the cause of the desired phenomenon;

concomitant change method: if the rise or change of an antecedent phenomenon every time causes the rise or change of another accompanying phenomenon, then the first of these is probably the cause of the second;

residual method: if it is established that the cause of a part of a complex phenomenon is not the known previous circumstances, except for one of them, then we can assume that this single circumstance is the cause of the part of the phenomenon under study that interests us.

General human methods of thinking:

- Comparison- establishing the similarities and differences of objects of reality (for example, we compare the characteristics of two engines);

- Analysis- mental dismemberment of an object as a whole

(we divide each engine into constituent elements of the characteristic);

- Synthesis- mental unification into a single whole of the elements selected as a result of the analysis (we mentally combine best performance and elements of both engines in one - virtual);

- abstraction- selection of some features of the object and distraction from others (for example, we study only the design of the engine and temporarily do not take into account its content and functioning);

- Induction- the movement of thought from the particular to the general, from individual data to more general provisions, and as a result - to the essence (we take into account all cases of engine failures of this type and, based on this, we come to conclusions about the prospects for its further operation);

- Deduction- the movement of thought from the general to the particular (based on the general laws of engine operation, we make predictions about the further functioning of a particular engine);

- Modeling- construction of a mental object (model) similar to the real one, the study of which will allow obtaining the information necessary for knowing the real object (creating a model of a more advanced engine);

- Analogy- a conclusion about the similarity of objects in some properties, on the basis of similarity in other signs (a conclusion about an engine breakdown by a characteristic knock);

- Generalization- an association individual items in some concept (for example, the creation of the concept of "engine").

The science:

- it is a form of spiritual and practical activity of people, aimed at achieving objectively true knowledge and their systematization.

Scientific complexes:

a)natural science- this is a system of disciplines, the object of which is nature, that is, a part of being that exists according to laws not created by the activity of people.

b)Social science- this is a system of sciences about society, that is, a part of being, constantly recreated in the activities of people. Social science includes the social sciences (sociology, economic theory, demography, history, etc.) and the humanities that study the values ​​of society (ethics, aesthetics, religious studies, philosophy, legal sciences etc.)

in)Technical science- these are sciences that study the laws and specifics of the creation and functioning of complex technical systems.

G)Anthropological sciences- this is a combination of sciences about man in its entirety: physical anthropology, philosophical anthropology, medicine, pedagogy, psychology, etc.

In addition, the sciences are divided into fundamental, theoretical and applied, which are directly related to industrial practice.

Scientific criteria: universality, systematization, relative consistency, relative simplicity (the theory that explains as much as possible wide circle phenomena, relying on the minimum number scientific principles), explanatory potential, predictive power, completeness for given level knowledge.

Scientific truth is characterized by objectivity, evidence, consistency (orderliness based on certain principles), verifiability.

Science Development Models:

the theory of reproduction (proliferation) of P. Feyerabend, which affirms the randomness of the emergence of concepts, the paradigm of T. Kuhn, the conventionalism of A. Poincaré, the psychophysics of E. Mach, the personal knowledge of M. Polanyi, the evolutionary epistemology of S. Toulmin, research program of I. Lakatos, thematic analysis of science by J. Holton.

K. Popper, considering knowledge in two aspects: statics and dynamics, developed the concept of the growth of scientific knowledge. In his opinion, growth of scientific knowledge is a recurring overthrow scientific theories and their replacement by better and more perfect ones. T. Kuhn's position is radically different from this approach. His model includes two main stages: the stage of "normal science" (the dominance of one or another paradigm) and the stage of "scientific revolution" (the collapse of the old paradigm and the establishment of a new one).

global scientific revolution - this is a change in general scientific picture world, accompanied by changes in the ideals, norms and philosophical foundations of science.

Within the framework of classical natural science, two revolutions stand out. First associated with the formation of classical natural science in the 17th century. Second revolution refers to the end of XVIII - early XIX in. and marks the transition to a disciplinary organized science. Third the global scientific revolution covers the period from late XIX until the middle of the twentieth century. and is associated with the formation of non-classical natural science. At the end of XX - beginning of XXI century. new radical changes are taking place in the foundations of science, which can be characterized as fourth global revolution. In the course of it, a new post-nonclassical science is born.

Three revolutions (out of four) led to the establishment of new types of scientific rationality:

1. Classical type of scientific rationality(XVIII-XIX centuries). At this time, the following ideas about science were established: the value of objective universal true knowledge appeared, science was seen as a reliable and absolutely rational enterprise, with the help of which all problems of mankind can be solved, highest achievement was considered natural science knowledge, the object and subject of scientific research were presented in a tough epistemological confrontation, the explanation was interpreted as a search mechanical causes and substances. In classical science, it was believed that only laws of a dynamic type could be true laws.

2. Non-classical type of scientific rationality(XX century). Its features are: the coexistence of alternative concepts, the complication of scientific ideas about the world, the assumption of probabilistic, discrete, paradoxical phenomena, reliance on the unavoidable presence of the subject in the processes under study, the assumption of the absence of an unambiguous connection between theory and reality; science begins to determine the development of technology.

3. Post-nonclassical type of scientific rationality(late XX - early XXI century). It is characterized by an understanding of the extreme complexity of the processes under study, the emergence of a value perspective in the study of problems, high degree use of interdisciplinary approaches.

Science and Society:

Science is closely interconnected with the development of society. This is manifested primarily in the fact that it is ultimately determined, conditioned by social practice and its needs. However, with each decade, the reverse influence of science on society is also increasing. The connection and interaction of science, technology and production is becoming stronger and stronger - science is turning into a direct productive force of society. How is it shown?

Firstly, science is now overtaking the development of technology, becoming the leading force in the progress of material production.

Secondly, science permeates all spheres of social life.

Thirdly, science is increasingly focused not only on technology, but also on the person himself, the development of his creativity, culture of thinking, on the creation of material and spiritual prerequisites for its integral development.

Fourth, the development of science leads to the emergence of parascientific knowledge. This is a collective name for ideological and hypothetical concepts and teachings characterized by an anti-scientist orientation. The term "parascience" refers to statements or theories that are more or less lesser degree deviate from the standards of science and contain both fundamentally erroneous and possibly true statements. Concepts most often referred to as parascience: obsolete scientific concepts such as alchemy, astrology, etc., which have played a certain historical role in the development of modern science; folk medicine and other "traditional", but to a certain extent opposition to modern science teachings; sports, family, culinary, labor, etc. "sciences", which are examples of the systematization of practical experience and applied knowledge, but do not correspond to the definition of science as such.

Approaches to assessing the role of science in the modern world. First approach - scientism claims that with the help of natural-technical scientific knowledge it is possible to solve all social problems

Second approach - antiscientism, proceeding from the negative consequences of the scientific and technological revolution, it rejects science and technology, considering them forces hostile to the true essence of man. Socio-historical practice shows that it is equally wrong to both exorbitantly absolutize science and underestimate it.

Functions of modern science:

1. Cognitive;

2. Cultural and worldview (providing society with a scientific worldview);

3. Function of direct productive force;

4. The function of social power (scientific knowledge and methods are widely used in solving all the problems of society).

Patterns of the development of science: continuity, a complex combination of processes of differentiation and integration of scientific disciplines, the deepening and expansion of the processes of mathematization and computerization, theorization and dialectization of modern scientific knowledge, the alternation of relatively calm periods of development and periods of "abrupt breaking" (scientific revolutions) of laws and principles.

The formation of modern NCM is largely associated with discoveries in quantum physics.

Science and technology

Technique in the broad sense of the word - it is an artifact, that is, everything artificially created. Artifacts are: material and ideal.

Technique in the narrow sense of the word - this is a set of material-energy and information devices and means created by society for the implementation of its activities.

basis philosophical analysis technology has become ancient Greek concept"techne", which meant craftsmanship, art, the ability to create something from natural material.

M. Heidegger believed that technology is a way of being a person, a way of his self-regulation. Yu. Habermas believed that technology unites everything "material", opposing the world of ideas. O. Toffler substantiated the wave-like nature of the development of technology and its impact on society.

Technology is the manifestation of technology. If what a person affects is a technique, then how it affects is technology.

Technosphere- this is a special part of the Earth's shell, which is a synthesis of artificial and natural, created by society to meet its needs.

Equipment classification:

By type of activity distinguish: material and production, transport and communications, scientific research, learning process, medical, sports, household, military.

By type of natural process used there is mechanical, electronic, nuclear, laser and other equipment.

According to the level of structural complexity the following historical forms of technology arose: guns (manual labor, mental labor and human life) cars and automata. The sequence of these forms of technology, in general, corresponds to historical stages the development of technology itself.

Trends in the development of technology at the present stage:

The size of many technical means is constantly growing. So, the excavator bucket in 1930 had a volume of 4 cubic meters, and now 170 cubic meters. Transport planes are already lifting 500 or more passengers, and so on.

A trend has emerged opposite property, to reduce the size of equipment. For example, the creation of microminiature personal computers, tape recorders without cassettes, etc., has already become a reality.

Increasingly more technical innovations carried out through the application of scientific knowledge. A striking example of this is space technology, which has become the embodiment of scientific developments of more than two dozen natural and technical sciences. Discoveries in scientific creativity give impetus to technical creativity with inventions characteristic of it. The intergrowth of science and technology in single system, which radically changed the life of a person, society, the biosphere is called scientific and technological revolution(NTR).

There is a more intensive merging of technical means into complex systems and complexes: factories, power plants, communication systems, ships, etc. The prevalence and scale of these complexes allows us to speak about the existence of a technosphere on our planet.

An important and constantly growing field of application of modern technology and technology is the information field.

Informatization - it is the process of production, storage and dissemination of information in society.

Historical forms of informatization: Speaking; writing; typography; electrical - electronic reproductive devices (radio, telephone, television, etc.); EVM (computers).

The mass use of the computer marked a special stage of informatization. Unlike physical resources, information as a resource has a unique property - when used, it does not decrease, but, on the contrary, expands. The inexhaustibility of information resources dramatically accelerates the technological cycle "knowledge - production - knowledge", causes an avalanche-like increase in the number of people involved in the process of obtaining, formalizing and processing knowledge (in the USA, 77% of employees are involved in the field of information activities and services), has an impact on the prevalence of systems mass media and manipulation of public opinion. Based on these circumstances, many scientists and philosophers (D. Bell, T. Stoner, J. Masuda) proclaimed the offensive of the information society.

Signs of the information society:

Free access for any person in any place, at any time to any information;

The production of information in this society should be carried out in the volumes necessary to ensure the life of the individual and society in all its parts and directions;

Science should occupy a special place in the production of information;

Accelerated automation and operation;

Priority development of information activities and services.

Undoubtedly, certain advantages and benefits are Information society. However, one cannot fail to note its problems: computer theft, the possibility of an informational computer war, the possibility of establishing an information dictatorship and terror of provider organizations, etc.

Relationship between man and technology

On the one hand, the facts and ideas of distrust and hostility to technology. In ancient China, some Taoist sages denied technology, motivating their actions by the fact that, using technology, you become addicted to it, lose your freedom of action and become a mechanism yourself. In the 30s of the twentieth century, O. Spengler in the book "Man and Technology" argued that man has become a slave to machines and will be driven to death by them.

At the same time, the apparent indispensability of technology in all areas human being sometimes gives rise to an unbridled apologia for technology, a kind of the ideology of technology. How is it shown? Firstly. In the exaggeration of the role and importance of technology in human life and, secondly, in the transfer to humanity and personality of the characteristics inherent in machines. Supporters of technocracy see the prospects for progress in the concentration of political power in the hands of the technical intelligentsia.

The consequences of the influence of technology on humans:

beneficial component includes the following:

the widespread use of technology has contributed to the lengthening medium duration human life almost doubled;

technology freed a person from embarrassing circumstances and increased his free time;

new information technology has qualitatively expanded the scope and forms intellectual activity person;

technology has brought progress in the process of education; technology has raised the efficiency of human activity in various spheres of society.

Negative the impact of technology on humans and society is as follows: some of its types of technology pose a danger to the life and health of people, increased threats ecological disaster, the number of occupational diseases has increased;

a person, becoming a particle of some technical system, loses its creative essence; an increasing amount of information tends to decrease the share of knowledge that one person is able to possess;

technology can be used as an effective means of suppression, total control and manipulation of a person;

the impact of technology on the human psyche is enormous both through virtual reality and through the replacement of the “symbol-image” chain with another “image-image”, which leads to a stop in the development of figurative and abstract thinking, as well as the emergence of neurosis and mental illness.

Engineer(from French and Latin means “creator”, “creator”, “inventor” in a broad sense) is a person who mentally creates a technical object and controls the process of its manufacture and operation. Engineering activities - it is the activity of mentally creating a technical object and managing the process of its manufacture and operation. Engineering activities emerged from technical activities in the 18th century during the industrial revolution.

Science as a peculiar form of knowledge began to develop relatively independently in the era of the formation of the capitalist mode of production (XVI-XVII centuries). However, independence is not identical to self-isolation. Science has always been connected with practice, received from it more and more impulses for its development and, in turn, influenced the course of practical activity, objectified, materialized in it.

SCIENCE is a form of people's spiritual activity that produces knowledge about nature, society and knowledge itself. Its immediate goal is to comprehend the truth and discover the objective laws of the development of the world. Therefore, science as a whole forms a single, interconnected, DEVELOPING SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SUCH LAWS.

At the same time, depending on the study of one or another form of matter, side of reality, science is divided into many branches of knowledge (tea sciences). it main criterion classification. Other criteria are also used. In particular, BY THE SUBJECT AND METHOD OF KNOWLEDGE, one can single out the sciences about nature - natural science and society - social science (humanities, social sciences), about cognition, thinking (logic, epistemology, etc.). A very peculiar science is modern mathematics. A separate group is made up of technical sciences.

In turn, each group of sciences is subjected to a more detailed division. Yes, in the composition natural sciences includes mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc., each of which is subdivided into a number of scientific disciplines - physical chemistry, biophysics, etc. the science of the most general laws reality is philosophy, which, as we found out in the first lecture, cannot be fully attributed only to science.

Let's take another criterion: BY THEIR REMOTENESS FROM PRACTICE, sciences can be divided into two major types: FUNDAMENTAL. where there is no direct orientation to practice, and APPLIED - the direct application of the results of scientific knowledge to solve production and socio-practical problems. Science as a form of cognition and a social institution studies itself with the help of a complex of disciplines, which includes the history and logic of science, the psychology of scientific creativity, the sociology of scientific knowledge and science, science of science, etc. At present, the philosophy of science is rapidly developing (more on this in the next lectures).

With all this, we must always remember that, regardless of the criteria and depth of classification, the boundaries between individual sciences and scientific disciplines are conditional and mobile.

MAIN FEATURES OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE: 1. The first and main task of scientific knowledge, as we have already found out, is to discover the objective laws of reality - natural, social (public), the laws of knowledge itself, thinking, etc. Hence the orientation of research mainly on the essential properties of the subject and their expression in a system of abstractions. Without this, there can be 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. The activity of the subject is the most important condition and prerequisite for scientific knowledge. But priority is given to objectivity. OBJECTIVITY is a characteristic feature of scientific knowledge.

3. Science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is focused on practical implementation. 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.

4. Scientific knowledge in epistemological terms is a complex, contradictory process of reproducing knowledge that forms an integral developing system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, laws and other ideal forms fixed in a language - natural or, more characteristically, artificial (mathematical symbolism, chemical formulas, etc.). The process of continuous self-renewal by science of its conceptual arsenal - important indicator scientific.

5. In the process of scientific knowledge, such specific material means as devices, tools, and other so-called. "scientific equipment", often very complex and expensive (synchrophasotrons, radio telescopes, rocket and space technology, etc.). In addition, science, to a greater extent than other forms of cognition, is characterized by the use in the study of its objects and itself of such ideal (spiritual) means and methods as modern logic, mathematical methods, dialectics, systemic, cybernetic and other general scientific techniques and methods. (more on this below).

6. Scientific knowledge is characterized by strict evidence, the validity of the results obtained, the reliability of the conclusions. At the same time, it contains many hypotheses, conjectures, assumptions, and probabilistic judgments. That is why the logical and methodological training of researchers, their philosophical culture, the ability to correctly use the laws and principles of thinking are of paramount importance here.

In modern methodology, there are various criteria for scientific character. These include, in addition to the above, such as the internal systemic nature of knowledge, its formal consistency, experimental verifiability, reproducibility, openness to criticism, freedom from bias, rigor, etc. In other forms of cognition, these criteria appear to varying degrees, but are not defining.

SPECIFICITY OF KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL PHENOMENA. For a long time, the analysis of science and scientific cognition was modeled on the basis of natural-mathematical methods of cognition. Its characteristics were attributed to science as a whole as such, as positivism clearly testified. In recent years, interest in social (humanitarian) knowledge has sharply increased. When it comes to social cognition as one of the peculiar types of scientific cognition, one should keep in mind two its aspect:

1) any knowledge in each of its forms is always social, because it is a social product and is determined by cultural and historical reasons;

2) one of the types of scientific knowledge, which has as its subject social (social) phenomena and processes - society as a whole or its individual aspects: economics, politics, the spiritual sphere, etc.

In the study is unacceptable as information social phenomena to natural (attempts to explain social processes only by the laws of natural science), as well as the opposition of the natural and the social, up to their complete rupture. In the first case, social and humanitarian knowledge is identified with natural science and mechanically, uncritically reduced (reduction) to it. This is naturalism, acting in the forms of mechanism, physicalism, biologism, etc. In the second case, there is an opposition between natural science and the sciences of culture, often accompanied by discrediting the "exact" sciences ("humanities").

Both types of sciences are branches of science as a whole, characterized by unity and difference. Each of them, with a close relationship, has its own characteristics. The specificity of social (humanitarian) knowledge is manifested in the following:

1. Its subject is the "world of man", and not just a thing as such. And this means that this subject has a subjective dimension, it includes a person as "the author and performer of his own drama", he is also its researcher. Humanitarian knowledge does not deal with real things and their properties, but with the relationships of people. Here the material and the ideal, the objective and the subjective, the conscious and the elemental, etc. are closely intertwined. Here interests and passions collide, certain goals are set and realized, and so on.

Since society is the activity of people, social knowledge explores its diverse forms, and not nature. The discovery of the laws of this activity is, at the same time, the discovery of the laws of society and, on this basis, the laws and principles of cognition and thinking itself.

2. Social cognition is inseparably and constantly connected with subjective (assessment of phenomena from the point of view of good and evil, fair and unfair, etc.) and "subjective" (attitudes, views, norms, goals, etc.) values. They determine the human weighty and cultural significance of certain phenomena of reality. Such, in particular, are the political, ideological, moral convictions of a person, his attachments, principles and motives of behavior, etc. All these and similar moments are included in the process social research and inevitably affect the content of the knowledge obtained.

3. A characteristic feature of social cognition is its primary focus on the "qualitative coloring of events." Here the phenomena are investigated mainly from the point of view of quality, not quantity. Therefore, the proportion of quantitative methods in the humanities is much less than in the sciences of the natural and mathematical cycle, although their application is becoming more widespread. At the same time, the main attention is paid to the analysis of the single, individual, but on the basis of the renewal of the general, natural.

4. In social cognition, neither a microscope, nor chemical reagents, nor even the most sophisticated technical equipment, can be used. All this should be replaced by the power of abstraction. Therefore, the role of thinking, its forms, principles and methods is exceptionally great here. If in natural science the form of comprehension of an object is a monologue (because nature is "silent"), then in humanitarian knowledge it is a dialogue (of personalities, texts, cultures, etc.). The dialogical nature of social cognition is most fully expressed in the procedures of understanding. It is precisely immersion in the "world of meanings" of another person, comprehension and interpretation (interpretation) of his feelings, thoughts and aspirations. Understanding as familiarization with the meanings of human activity and as meaning formation is closely related to self-understanding and occurs in the conditions of human communication.

5. Due to the above circumstances, in social cognition, exclusively important role plays "good" philosophy and the right method. Their deep knowledge and skillful application make it possible to adequately comprehend the complex, contradictory, purely dialectical nature of social phenomena and processes, the nature of thinking, its forms and principles, their permeation with value-worldview components and their influence on the results of cognition, the meaning-life orientations of people, the features of dialogue. (inconceivable without the formulation and resolution of contradictions-problems), etc. This is all the more important because social cognition is characterized by the absence of universally recognized paradigms (often leading to "theoretical anarchism"), the mobility and vagueness of its empirical basis, the complex nature of theoretical generalizations (primarily associated with the inclusion in them value components and "personal modalities").

In short, this is all about the subject and specifics of scientific knowledge. Now we will stop on ITS STRUCTURE.

Scientific knowledge is a process, i.e. evolving system of knowledge. It includes TWO BASIC LEVELS - empirical and theoretical. Although they are related, they differ from each other, each of them has its own specifics. What is it?

At the EMPIRICAL LEVEL, living contemplation (sensory cognition) prevails, the rational moment and its forms (judgments, concepts, etc.) are present here, but have a subordinate meaning. Therefore, the object is studied primarily from the side of its external connections and relations, accessible to living contemplation. The collection of facts, their primary generalization, description of observed and experimental data, their systematization, classification and other fact-fixing activities are characteristic features of empirical knowledge.

Empirical research is directed directly (without intermediate links) to its object. It masters it with the help of such techniques and means as comparison, measurement, observation, experiment, analysis, induction (more on these techniques below). However, one should not forget that experience, especially in modern science, is never blind: it is planned, constructed by theory, and facts are always theoretically loaded in one way or another. Therefore, the STARTING POINT, THE BEGINNING OF SCIENCE, is, strictly speaking, not objects in themselves, not bare facts (even in their totality), but theoretical schemes, "conceptual frameworks of reality." They consist of abstract objects ("ideal constructs") of various kinds - postulates, principles, definitions, conceptual models, etc.

It turns out that we "make" our experience ourselves. It is the theoretician who points the way to the experimenter. Moreover, theory dominates experimental work from its original plan to the finishing touches in the lab. Accordingly, there can be no "pure language of observations", since all languages ​​are "permeated with theories", and bare facts, taken outside and in addition to the conceptual framework, are not the basis of the theory.

The specificity of the THEORETICAL LEVEL of scientific knowledge is determined by the predominance of the rational moment - concepts, theories, laws and other forms and " mental operations". Living contemplation is not eliminated here, but becomes a subordinate (but very important) aspect of the cognitive process. Theoretical knowledge reflects phenomena and processes from the side of their universal internal connections and patterns, comprehended with the help of rational processing of empirical knowledge data. This processing includes a system abstractions of a "higher order", such as concepts, inferences, laws, categories, principles, etc.

On the basis of empirical data, the objects under study are mentally combined, their essence, "internal movement", the laws of their existence, which constitute the main content of theories - the "quintessence" of knowledge at a given level, are comprehended.

The most important task theoretical knowledge- the achievement of objective truth in all its concreteness and completeness of content. At the same time, such cognitive techniques and means as abstraction - abstraction from a number of properties and relations of objects, idealization - the process of creating purely mental objects ("point", " ideal gas"etc.), synthesis - combining the elements obtained as a result of analysis into a system, deduction - the movement of knowledge from the general to the particular, the ascent from the abstract to the concrete, etc. The presence of idealizations in cognition serves as an indicator of the development of theoretical knowledge as a set of certain ideal models.

A characteristic feature of theoretical knowledge is its focus on itself, INTRA-SCIENTIFIC REFLECTION, i.e. study of the process of cognition itself, its forms, techniques, methods, conceptual apparatus, etc. On the basis of a theoretical explanation and known laws, a prediction, a scientific prediction of the future, is carried out.

EMPIRICAL AND THEORETICAL LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE ARE INTERRELATED, the boundary between them is conditional and mobile. At certain points in the development of science, the empirical becomes theoretical and vice versa. However, it is unacceptable to absolutize one of these levels to the detriment of the other.

EMPIRISM reduces scientific knowledge as a whole to its empirical level, belittling or completely rejecting theoretical knowledge. "Scholastic theorizing" ignores the significance of empirical data, rejects the need for a comprehensive analysis of facts as a source and basis for theoretical constructions, and breaks away from real life. Its product is illusory-utopian, dogmatic constructions, such as, for example, the concept of the "introduction of communism in 1980." or "theory" of developed socialism.

Considering theoretical knowledge as the highest and most developed, one should first of all determine its structural components. The main ones are: problem, hypothesis and theory ("key points" of the construction and development of knowledge at its theoretical level).

PROBLEM - a form of knowledge, the content of which is that which is not yet known by man, but which needs to be known. In other words, this is knowledge about ignorance, a question that has arisen in the course of cognition and requires an answer. The problem is not a frozen form of knowledge, but a process that includes two main points (stages of the movement of knowledge) - its formulation and solution. The correct derivation of problematic knowledge from previous facts and generalizations, the ability to correctly pose the problem is a necessary prerequisite for its successful solution.

Scientific problems should be distinguished from non-scientific (pseudo-problems), for example, the problem of creating a perpetual motion machine. The solution of any specific problem is an essential moment in the development of knowledge, during which new problems arise, and new problems are put forward, certain conceptual ideas, incl. and hypotheses.

HYPOTHESIS - a form of 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. Hypothetical knowledge is probable, not reliable, and requires verification, justification. In the course of proving the hypotheses put forward, some of them become a true theory, others are modified, refined and concretized, turn into errors if the test gives a negative result.

The stage of the hypothesis was also discovered by D. I. Mendeleev periodic law, and the theory of Ch. Darwin, etc. The decisive test of the truth of a hypothesis is practice (the logical criterion of truth plays an auxiliary role in this). A tested and proven hypothesis passes into the category of reliable truths, becomes a scientific theory.

THEORY 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. Examples of this form of knowledge are Newton's classical mechanics, Darwin's evolutionary theory, Einstein's theory of relativity, the theory of self-organizing complete systems(synergetics), etc.

In practice, scientific knowledge is successfully implemented only when people are convinced of its truth. Without turning an idea into a personal conviction, a person's faith, successful practical implementation of theoretical ideas is impossible.

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Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

Modern science is developing very rapidly At present, the volume of scientific knowledge is doubling every 10-15 years. About 90% of all scientists who have ever lived on Earth are our contemporaries. For some 300 years, namely such an age of modern science, mankind has made such a huge breakthrough that our ancestors did not even dream of (about 90% of all scientific and technological achievements were made in our time). The whole world around us shows what progress humanity has made. It was science that came main reason so rapidly flowing scientific and technological revolution, the transition to post-industrial society, the widespread introduction of information technology, the emergence of a “new economy”, for which the laws of classical economic theory do not apply, the beginning of the transfer of human knowledge into an electronic form, so convenient for storage, systematization, search and processing, and many others.

All this convincingly proves that the main form of human knowledge - science in our days is becoming more and more significant and essential part of reality.

However, science would not be so productive if it did not have such a developed system of methods, principles and imperatives of knowledge inherent in it. It is the correctly chosen method, along with the talent of a scientist, that helps him to understand the deep connection of phenomena, reveal their essence, discover laws and patterns. The number of methods that science develops to understand reality is constantly increasing. Their exact number is perhaps difficult to determine. After all, there are about 15,000 sciences in the world, and each of them has its own specific methods and subject of research.

At the same time, all these methods are in dialectical connection with general scientific methods, which they usually contain in various combinations and with the general, dialectical method. This circumstance is one of the reasons that determine the importance of having philosophical knowledge in any scientist.

science philosophy knowledge

1. Scientific knowledge and its features

Cognition is a specific type of human activity aimed at comprehending the surrounding world and oneself in this world. “Knowledge is, primarily due to socio-historical practice, the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion, and improvement.”

Every form of social consciousness: science, philosophy, mythology, politics, religion, etc. correspond to specific forms of knowledge. Usually, the following ones are distinguished: everyday, playful, mythological, artistic-figurative, philosophical, religious, personal, scientific. The latter, although related, are not identical to each other, each of them has its own specifics.

The main features of scientific knowledge are:

1. The main task of scientific knowledge is the discovery of the objective laws of reality - natural, social (social), the laws of cognition itself, thinking, etc. Hence the orientation of research mainly on the general, essential properties of the subject, its necessary characteristics and their expression in a system of abstractions . “The essence of scientific knowledge lies in a reliable generalization of facts, in the fact that behind the random it finds the necessary, regular, behind the individual - the general, and on this basis it predicts various phenomena and events.” Scientific knowledge strives to reveal the necessary, objective connections that are fixed 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 the characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is objectivity, the elimination, if possible, of subjectivistic moments in many cases in order to realize the “purity” of considering one’s subject. Even Einstein wrote: “What we call science has as its exclusive task to firmly establish what is.” Its task is to give a true reflection of the processes, an objective picture of what is. 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” in 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. The whole progress of scientific knowledge is connected with the increase in the power and range of scientific foresight. It is foresight that makes it possible to control processes and manage them. Scientific knowledge opens up the possibility of not only foreseeing the future, but also its conscious formation. “The orientation of science to 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 obeying the 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.

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 production processes born in scientific laboratories. In this way, modern science not only serves the demands of production, but also increasingly acts as a prerequisite for the technical revolution. Great discoveries for recent decades in the leading fields of knowledge led to a scientific and technological revolution that 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 microcosm and into space. As a result, the prerequisites for the gigantic development of the productive forces of society were formed.

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 fixed in a language - natural or - more characteristically - artificial (mathematical symbolism, chemical formulas, etc.). Scientific knowledge does not simply fix its elements, but continuously reproduces them on its own basis, forms them in accordance with its own 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, calm periods, during which knowledge is deepened and 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, tools, and other so-called “scientific equipment” are used, which are often very complex and expensive (synchrophasotrons, radio telescopes, rocket and space technology, etc.). In addition, science, to a greater extent than other forms of cognition, is characterized by the use of such ideal (spiritual) means and methods for the study of its objects and itself as modern logic, mathematical methods, dialectics, systemic, hypothetical-deductive and other general scientific methods. and methods.

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

In modern methodology, various levels of scientific criteria are distinguished, referring to them, in addition to those named, such as the internal systemic nature of knowledge, its formal consistency, experimental verifiability, reproducibility, openness to criticism, freedom from bias, rigor, etc. In other forms of cognition, the considered criteria may take place (to a different extent), but there they are not decisive.

2. Scientific knowledge and its specificity. Methods of scientific knowledge

First, scientific knowledge is guided by the principle of objectivity.

Secondly, scientific knowledge, in contrast to blind faith in mythology and religion, has such a feature as rationalistic validity.

Thirdly, science is characterized by a special systemic nature of knowledge.

Fourth, scientific knowledge is testable.

Theoretical level - generalization of empirical material, expressed in the relevant theories, laws and principles; evidence-based scientific assumptions, hypotheses that need further verification by experience.

General logic methods:

Analysis is the mental decomposition of an object into its constituent parts or sides.

Synthesis is a mental union into a single whole of elements dissected by analysis.

Abstraction is the mental selection of an object in abstraction from its connections with other objects, some property of an object in abstraction from its other properties, any relation of objects in abstraction from the objects themselves.

Idealization is the mental formation of abstract objects as a result of abstraction from the fundamental impossibility of implementing them in practice. ("Point" (no length, no height, no width)).

Generalization is the process of mental transition from the singular to the general, from the less general to the more general (triangle --> polygon). The mental transition from the more general to the less general is a process of limitation.

Induction - the process of excretion general position from a number of particular (less general) statements, from single facts.

Deduction is the process of reasoning from the general to the particular or less general.

Complete induction - the conclusion of some general judgment about all objects of a certain set (class) based on the consideration of each element of this set.

An analogy is a plausible probabilistic conclusion about the similarity of two objects in some feature based on their established similarity in other features.

Modeling is a practical or theoretical operation of an object, in which the object being studied is replaced by some natural or artificial analogue, through the study of which we penetrate into the subject of knowledge.

The empirical level is the accumulated factual material (the results of observations and experiments). This level corresponds to empirical research.

Scientific methods:

Surveillance - purposeful perception phenomena of objective reality

Empirical description - fixation by means of a natural or artificial language of information about objects given in the observation.

Comparison of objects according to some similar properties or sides

experiment

Ordinary knowledge is everyday knowledge that develops under the influence of various forms of activity - productive, political, aesthetic. It is the result of the collective experience accumulated by generations of people. Individual everyday knowledge is associated with emotional experience and comprehension of the life experience of the individual. The prerequisites for everyday knowledge are rooted in the diverse forms of human activity, which is regulated by customs, rituals, holidays and rituals, collective actions, moral and other prescriptions and prohibitions.

The oldest form of comprehension of reality is a myth, the specificity of which lies in the indistinguishability of a thing and an image, a body and a property. The myth interprets the similarity or sequence of events as a causal relationship. The content of the myth is expressed in symbolic language, which makes its generalizations broad and ambiguous. The characteristic features of mythological knowledge are the principle of plurality, the reflection of all elements of being in interconnection, ambiguity and polysemy, sensual concreteness and anthropomorphism, i.e. transfer to natural objects human qualities, as well as the identification of the image and the object. As a way of understanding reality, myth models, classifies and interprets a person, society, and the world.

Artistic comprehension of being is a special form of reflection, which receives a specific implementation at all stages of the existence of art. Artistic creativity there is an objectification in the language of art of the artist's thoughts and experiences in inseparable connection with the object of comprehension - the world as a whole. The peculiarity of artistic comprehension of reality is largely due to the specifics of the language of art. Art transforms the languages ​​of culture into means of artistic thinking and communication.

One of the necessary and historically earliest forms of knowledge is religion, the main meaning of which is to determine the meaning of human life, the existence of nature and society. Religion regulates the most important manifestations of human life, substantiates its understanding of the ultimate meanings of the universe, which contributes to understanding the unity of the world and humanity, and also contains a system of truths that can change a person and his life. Religious doctrines express collective experience and are therefore authoritative for every believer and non-believer alike. Religion has developed its own specific ways of intuitive-mystical understanding of the world and man, which include revelation and meditation.

The area of ​​specialized cognitive activity is science. It owes its origin and development, impressive achievements to the European civilization, which created unique conditions for the formation of scientific rationality.

In the very general view rationality is understood as a constant appeal to the arguments of reason and reason and the maximum exclusion of emotions, passions, personal opinions when making decisions regarding the fate of cognitive statements. A prerequisite for scientific rationality is the fact that science masters the world in terms. Scientific and theoretical thinking, first of all, is characterized as a conceptual activity. In terms of rationality, scientific thinking is also characterized by such features as evidence and consistency, which are based on the logical interdependence of scientific concepts and judgments.

In the history of philosophical thinking, a number of stages in the development of ideas about scientific rationality can be distinguished. At the first stage, starting from antiquity, the deductive model of scientific rationality dominated, in which scientific knowledge was presented as a deductively ordered system of provisions, which was based on general premises, the truth of which was established in an extra-logical and extra-experimental way. All other propositions were deduced from these general premises deductively. The rationality of the scientist in this model consisted in trusting the authority of reason when making assumptions and strictly following the rules of deductive logic when deriving and accepting all other judgments. This model underlies Aristotle's metaphysics, Euclid's "Principles of Geometry", R. Descartes' physics.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. f. Bacon and D.S. Mill create an inductivist model of scientific knowledge and scientific method, in which the determining factor in the proof or validity of scientific knowledge is experience, facts obtained in the course of observation and experiment, and the functions of logic are reduced to establishing the logical dependence of provisions of various generalities on facts. Scientific rationality in such a model was identified with the empirical coercion of scientific thinking, with an appeal to the arguments of experience.

This approach was opposed by D. Hume, who recognized that empirical natural science is based on inductive reasoning, but argued that they do not have a reliable logical justification and that all our experimental knowledge is a kind of "animal faith". By doing so, he recognized that experiential knowledge is fundamentally irrational. Subsequently, a number of attempts were made to overcome the shortcomings of the inductivist model by using the concept of probability. Another way was to develop a hypothetical-deductive model of scientific knowledge and scientific method.

In the 50s of the XX century. K. Popper made an attempt to solve the problem of rationality. From the very beginning, he rejected the possibility of proving the truth of scientific propositions on the basis of facts, since there are no necessary logical means for this. deductive logic cannot translate truth in an inductive direction, and inductive logic is a myth. The main criterion of scientific rationality is not the provability and confirmation of knowledge, but its refutation. Scientific activity retains its rationality as long as the falsification of its products in the form of laws and theories persists. But this is possible only if science maintains a constant critical attitude towards the put forward theoretical hypotheses, and willingness to discard the theory in the event of its actual falsification.

In the 60-80s. the concept of scientific rationality was developed, in particular, by T. Kuhn and I. Lakatos. T. Kuhn put forward a paradigm model of scientific knowledge, in which scientific activity is rational to the extent that a scientist is guided by a certain disciplinary matrix, or a paradigm adopted by scientific community. I. Lakatos connected the new understanding of scientific rationality with the concept of "research program" and argued that a scientist acts rationally if he adheres to a certain research program in his activities, even despite the contradictions and empirical anomalies that arise in the course of its development.

Methods of scientific knowledge can be divided into three groups: special, general scientific, universal. Special methods are applicable only within the framework of individual sciences, the objective basis of these methods are the corresponding special-scientific laws and theories. These methods include, in particular, various methods qualitative analysis in chemistry, the method of spectral analysis in physics and chemistry, the method of statistical modeling in the study of complex systems. General scientific methods characterize the course of cognition in all sciences; their objective basis is the general methodological patterns of cognition, which also include epistemological principles. Such methods include the methods of experiment and observation, the modeling method, the hypothetical-deductive method, the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete. Universal methods characterize human thinking in general and are applicable in all areas of human cognitive activity, taking into account their specifics. Their universal basis is the general philosophical laws of understanding the objective world, man himself, his thinking and the process of cognition and transformation of the world by man. These methods include philosophical methods and principles of thinking, in particular, the principle of dialectical inconsistency, the principle of historicism.

Techniques, methods and forms of scientific knowledge can certain moments merge into each other or coincide with each other. For example, such techniques as analysis, synthesis, idealization can be both methods of cognition, and hypotheses act both as a method and as a form of scientific knowledge.

Human knowledge, thinking, knowledge, reason have been the subject of philosophical research for many centuries. With the advent of cybernetics, computers and computer systems, which began to be called intelligent systems, with the development of such a direction as artificial intelligence, thinking and knowledge became the subject of interest of mathematical and engineering disciplines. During the stormy debate 60 - 70-ies. 20th century various answers were presented to the question of who can be the subject of knowledge: only a person and, in a limited sense, animals, or a machine. Computer modelling thinking gave a powerful impetus to the study of the mechanisms of cognitive activity in the framework of such a direction as cognitive (cognitive) psychology. Here, a "computer metaphor" has been established, which focuses on the study of human cognitive activity by analogy with the processing of information on a computer. Computer modeling of thinking, the use of methods of mathematical and technical sciences in his research gave rise to hopes for the creation in the near future of rigorous theories of thinking, so fully describing this subject that it makes any philosophical speculation about it superfluous.

In computer science, significant attention has been paid to such a subject traditionally included in the sphere of philosophy as knowledge. The word "knowledge" began to be used in the names of areas and components of computer systems. The topic "computer and knowledge" became the subject of discussion in a broader context, where its philosophical-epistemological, social, political-technological aspects came to the fore. The theory of artificial intelligence has sometimes become characterized as the science of knowledge, about the methods of its extraction and representation in artificial systems, processing within the system and using it to solve problems, and the history of artificial intelligence as the history of research on knowledge representation methods. There was such a component of the intellectual system as the knowledge base.

In this regard, three large groups of questions about knowledge arose: technological, existential and metatechnological. The first group of questions concerns, to a large extent, ways of representing knowledge and methods of acquiring knowledge, the second group consists of questions about how knowledge exists, what it is, in particular, questions about the relationship of knowledge with opinion or belief, about the structure of knowledge and its types. , about the ontology of knowledge, about how cognition occurs, the third group is questions about technological issues and their solutions, in particular, what is a technological approach to knowledge, how technological and existential knowledge are related. Metatechnological issues may be related to the assessment of technologies for obtaining, storing and processing knowledge in a broader context of human goals and conditions of human well-being, these may be questions about the impact of information technology on the development of knowledge, including the evolution of forms and types of knowledge used in professional activities. In many cases they can be understood as a kind existential questions about knowledge.

3. The difference between scientific knowledge and other types of knowledge

Throughout their history, people have developed several ways of knowing and mastering the world around them: everyday, mythological, religious, artistic, philosophical, scientific, etc. One of the most important ways knowledge is definitely a science.

With the emergence of science, unique spiritual products accumulate in the treasury of knowledge passed from generation to generation, which play an increasingly important role in understanding, understanding and transforming reality. At a certain stage of human history, science, like other earlier elements of culture, develops into a relatively independent form of social consciousness and activity. This is because whole line problems facing society can only be solved with the help of science, as special way knowledge of reality.

Intuitively, it seems clear how science differs from other forms of human cognitive activity.

However, a clear expression specific traits science in the form of features and definitions is quite a challenge. This is evidenced by the variety of definitions of science, the ongoing discussions on the problem of demarcation between it and other forms of knowledge.

Scientific knowledge, like all forms of spiritual production, is ultimately necessary in order to regulate human activity. Different types of cognition fulfill this role in different ways, and the analysis of this difference is the first and necessary condition for identifying the features of scientific cognition.

An activity can be considered as a complexly organized network of various acts of object transformation, when the products of one activity pass into another and become its components. For example, iron ore just as the product of a mining industry becomes an object that is transformed into a steelmaker's activities, machine tools produced in a factory from the steel mined by the steelmaker become means of activity in another industry. Even the subjects of activity - people who transform objects in accordance with the goals set, can to a certain extent be represented as the results of training and education, which ensures that the subject acquires the necessary patterns of actions, knowledge and skills of using certain means in the activity.

The cognitive attitude of a person to the world is carried out in various forms - in the form of everyday knowledge, artistic, religious knowledge, and finally, in the form of scientific knowledge. The first three areas of knowledge are considered, in contrast to science, as non-scientific forms.

Scientific knowledge has grown out of ordinary knowledge, but at present these two forms of knowledge are quite far apart from each other. What are their main differences?

1. Science has its own, special set of objects of knowledge, in contrast to ordinary knowledge. Science is focused, ultimately, on the knowledge of the essence of objects and processes, which is not at all characteristic of ordinary knowledge.

2. Scientific knowledge requires development special languages science.

3. Unlike ordinary knowledge, scientific knowledge develops its own methods and forms, its own research tools.

4. Scientific knowledge is characterized by regularity, consistency, logical organization, validity of research results.

5. Finally, different in science and everyday knowledge and ways to justify the truth of knowledge.

It can be said that science is also the result of knowing the world. A system of reliable knowledge tested in practice and at the same time a special area of ​​activity, spiritual production, production of new knowledge with its own methods, forms, tools of knowledge, with a whole system of organizations and institutions.

All these components of science as a complex social phenomenon have been particularly clearly highlighted by our time, when science has become a direct productive force. Today it is no longer possible, as in the recent past, to say that science is what is contained in thick books resting on the shelves of libraries, although scientific knowledge remains one of the most important components of science as a system. But today this system represents, firstly, the unity of knowledge and activities for obtaining it, and secondly, it acts as a special social institution that occupies an important place in public life in modern conditions.

In science, its division into two large groups of sciences is clearly visible - natural and technical sciences, focused on the study and transformation of natural processes, and social sciences, investigating the change and development of social objects. Social cognition is distinguished by a number of features associated both with the specifics of the objects of cognition and with the originality of the position of the researcher himself.

Science differs from everyday knowledge, first of all, in that, firstly, scientific knowledge always has a substantive and objective character; secondly, scientific knowledge goes beyond the scope of everyday experience, science studies objects, regardless of whether there are currently opportunities for their practical development.

Let us single out a number of features that make it possible to distinguish science from everyday cognitive activity.

Science uses methods of cognitive activity that differ significantly from ordinary knowledge. In the process of everyday cognition, the objects to which it is directed, as well as the methods of their cognition, are often not recognized and not fixed by the subject. In a scientific study, this approach is unacceptable. The selection of an object whose properties are subject to further study, the search for appropriate research methods are of a conscious nature and often represent a very complex and interrelated problem. To isolate an object, a scientist must know the methods of its selection. The specificity of these methods lies in the fact that they are not obvious, since they are not habitual methods of cognition that are repeatedly repeated in everyday practice. The need for awareness of the methods by which science singles out and studies its objects increases as science moves away from the familiar things of ordinary experience and moves on to the study of "unusual" objects. In addition, these methods must themselves be scientifically sound. All this led to the fact that science, along with knowledge about objects, specifically forms knowledge about methods. scientific activity- methodology as a special branch of scientific research, designed to guide scientific research.

Science uses a special language. The specificity of the objects of science does not allow it to use only natural language. The concepts of ordinary language are fuzzy and ambiguous, while science strives to fix its concepts and definitions as clearly as possible. Ordinary language is adapted for describing and foreseeing objects that are part of everyday human practice, while science goes beyond this practice. Thus, the development, use and further development of science special language is a prerequisite for scientific research.

Science uses special equipment. Along with the use of a special language, when conducting scientific research, special equipment can be used: various measuring instruments, tools. The direct impact of scientific equipment on the object under study makes it possible to identify its possible states under conditions controlled by the subject. It is special equipment that allows science to experimentally study new types of objects.

Scientific knowledge as a product of scientific activity has its own characteristics. From the products of ordinary cognitive activity of people, scientific knowledge is distinguished by validity and consistency. To prove the truth of scientific knowledge, their application in practice is not enough. Science substantiates the truth of its knowledge using special methods: experimental control over the knowledge obtained, the derivation of some knowledge from others, the truth of which has already been proven. The derivation of some knowledge from others makes them interconnected, organized into a system.

Scientific research requires special preparation of the subject conducting them. In the course of it, the subject masters the historically established means of scientific knowledge, learns the techniques and methods of their use. In addition, the inclusion of the subject in scientific activity presupposes the assimilation of a certain system of value orientations and goals inherent in science. These attitudes include, first of all, the scientist's attitude to the search for objective truth as the highest value of science, to the constant striving to acquire new knowledge. The need for special training of the subject conducting scientific research has led to the emergence of special organizations and institutions that provide training for scientific personnel.

The result of scientific activity can be a description of reality, explanation and prediction of processes and phenomena. This result can be expressed as text, a block diagram, a graphical relationship, a formula, and so on. The specific results of scientific activity can be: a single scientific fact, scientific description, empirical generalization, law, theory.

Conclusion

The concept of science in philosophy occupies one of the important places. Science is the main form of knowledge of the world. The system of sciences in philosophy is divided into social, natural, humanitarian and technical.

Scientific knowledge acts as a specific form of mastering reality along with everyday, artistic, religious and other ways of studying it. The features of scientific knowledge are largely determined by the goals that science sets for itself. These goals are connected, first of all, with the production of new, true knowledge.

There are three main levels of scientific knowledge: empirical, theoretical and metatheoretical. The characteristic features of the empirical level of cognition are the collection of facts, their primary generalization, the description of observed and experimental data, their systematization, classification and other fixing activities. A characteristic feature of theoretical cognition is the study of the very process of cognition, its forms, techniques, methods, conceptual apparatus. In addition to empirical and theoretical recent times allocate one more, third level of knowledge, metatheoretical. It is above theoretical knowledge and acts as a prerequisite for theoretical activity in science.

The methodology of science develops a multi-level concept of methodological knowledge, which distributes all methods of scientific knowledge according to the degree of generality in the field of action. With this approach, 5 main groups of methods can be distinguished: philosophical, general scientific, particular scientific (or concrete scientific), disciplinary and methods of interdisciplinary research.

The result of scientific knowledge is scientific knowledge. Depending on the level of scientific knowledge (empirical or theoretical), knowledge can be represented in various forms. The main forms of knowledge are scientific fact and empirical law.

List of sources used

1. Alekseev P.V. Philosophy / Alekseev P.V., Panin A.V. 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: TK Velby, Prospekt, 2005. - 608 p.

2. Demidov, A.B. Philosophy and methodology of science: a course of lectures / A.B. Demidov., 2009 - 102 p.

3. Kaverin B.I., Demidov I.V. Philosophy: Textbook. / Under. ed. Doctor of Philological Sciences, Prof. B.I. Kaverina - M.: Jurisprudence, 2001. - 272 p.

4. Spirkin A.G. Philosophy / Spirkin A.G. 2nd ed. - M.: Gardariki, 2006. - 736 p.

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