With the transformation of science into a direct productive force, the transition from "small science" to "big science" is connected, becoming the leading factor in the development of social production.
The term “big science”, which has entered into world use, is characterized by scientists as a new vast sphere of scientific and scientific-technical activity, theoretical and applied research and development. The attraction of scientists to production laboratories and design departments of enterprises and firms, where they solve specific problems dictated by the needs of the time, is becoming widespread. These needs are a constant source of new ideas that point the way to scientific and technological progress (STP) - a single, interdependent progressive development of science and technology.
Here are some data that characterize modern science. At the beginning of the XX century. in the world there were 100 thousand, and at the end of the century - more than 5 million scientists. Such high rates have led to the fact that about 90% of all scientists who have ever lived on Earth are our contemporaries.
World scientific information in the XX century. doubled in 10-15 years, several hundred thousand magazines are constantly published (about 10 thousand in 1900), 90% of all objects created by man and surrounding us were invented in the 20th century. The volume of world industrial production at the end of the XX century. was 20 times higher than at the beginning of the century.
Within the framework of “big science”, a classical scheme of transition from an idea to a final product, from the emergence of new knowledge to its practical use, has taken shape. This scheme is as follows: fundamental science - applied science - experimental design. The new product is then introduced into mass production. So, along with the generation of new knowledge, science began to generate new technologies. The principle of the unity of truth and benefit was further developed.
The greatest importance is acquired by research aimed at ensuring innovative development. Innovation is an innovation, that is, the creation, use and distribution of new means, products, processes: technical, economic, cultural, organizational.
Let us give some examples of research solutions to important problems of post-industrial society. Discoveries in electronics, optics, chemistry made it possible to create and develop a powerful system of printed and electronic media that have a profound impact (positive and negative) on the minds and feelings of the individual, on the life of mankind.
Relatively recently, few people knew the word "laser". But after the discoveries made by the Nobel Prize winners A. M. Prokhorov and N. G. Basov, it became known to many. The development of problems related to the laser, its diverse applications in biology, astronomy, communications and other fields, required the transition to completely new technologies that did not previously exist in any country in the world.
The commonwealth of fundamental and applied sciences and production ensured the success of such major innovations as nuclear energy, astronautics, the creation of electronic computers, and informatics.
Researches of scientists give grounds to single out, in addition to functions, the most generally significant features of modern science. One of them, according to a number of scientists, was the inclusiveness of science. “Science,” said the naturalist, member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences K. M. Baer, ​​“is eternal in its source, is not limited in its activity by either time or space, is immeasurable in its scope, infinite in its task.” There is no area that could fence itself off from it for a long time. Everything that happens in the world is subject to observation, consideration, research. This position, according to other scholars, has limitations. The invasion of science in a number of areas can cause negative consequences. These include attempts to clone a person, a number of studies in the field of biotechnology. Therefore, supporters of this point of view believe that some areas of scientific research should be banned.
Another feature of science is that it is fundamentally incomplete. Awareness of the incompleteness of science contributes to the emergence of various scientific schools, overt and covert competition for efficient and fast research.
The productive development of science requires an optimal combination of individual research and the activities of large creative teams. New fundamental problems were often solved alone by prominent scientists (for example, A. Einstein's theory of relativity), and sometimes by a small group of researchers. Here the initiative of the scientist, his insight is especially important. Search for a new, connected
ny with talent is an important factor in advancement in science. But the vast majority of scientific research in the modern era requires the organization of large teams and thoughtful coordination of research, as well as the availability of high-tech equipment.
Modern science is differentiated. It has about 15 thousand disciplines. This is due to the diversity of the phenomena of the real world studied by science, the growth of information, the specialization of scientists in narrowing research areas. The differentiation of scientific knowledge must be combined with its integration. “The spread of the river of knowledge is inevitable,” wrote the Russian scientist, academician N. N. Moiseev, “it is dictated by the need for high professionalism, detailed knowledge ... but integration studies are no less necessary, since a comprehensive diverse analysis is needed, based on data from various sciences, requiring the synthesis of knowledge.
In the past century, domestic science has taken a leading position in the world in a number of leading areas: space research, quantum physics, mathematics, etc.
In recent decades, Russian science has experienced significant difficulties: insufficient funding, outdated equipment, low wages for scientists, and the outflow of personnel to foreign countries. Entrepreneurs, government agencies do not provide quick and efficient use of the latest innovative developments of Russian scientists. All this leads to the fact that Russia in the field of world science is losing its previously won positions. Overcoming these difficulties is the immediate task of the state, teams of scientists and society as a whole. The main thing is to increase the efficiency of science, strengthen its role in the creation of innovative products, coordinate the activities of scientific institutions and universities, increase funding for science, ensure a significant increase in scientists' salaries, and create favorable conditions for attracting young people to science. It is useful to bring together the interests of business and applied science: science must meet the production needs of large firms, and they must replenish its budget.
Modern social development indicates that science forms promising directions for the development of civilization and concentrates its own forces on them. Evidence of this is the transition to a post-industrial, information society, which would be impossible without the latest scientific achievements.

Considering such a multifaceted phenomenon as science, we can single out three of its functions: a branch of culture; way of knowing the world; a special institute (this concept includes not only a higher educational institution, but also scientific societies, academies, laboratories, journals, etc.).

Like other areas of human activity, science has specific features.

Versatility- communicates knowledge that is true for the entire universe in which they are obtained by man.

Fragmentation- studies not being as a whole, but various fragments; itself is divided into scientific disciplines.

Validity- the knowledge gained is suitable for all people; the language of science is unambiguous, fixing terms and concepts, which contributes to the unification of people.

Systematic- science has a certain structure, and is not an incoherent collection of parts.

incompleteness- although scientific knowledge grows without limit, it cannot reach absolute truth, after the knowledge of which there will be nothing to investigate.

Continuity- new knowledge in a certain way and according to strict rules correlate with old knowledge.

Criticality - a willingness to question and reconsider one's own, even fundamental, results.

Reliability- scientific conclusions require, allow and are tested according to certain formulated rules.

immorality- scientific truths are morally and ethically neutral, and moral assessments can refer either to the activity of obtaining knowledge, or to the activity of its application.

Rationality - obtaining knowledge based on rational procedures and laws of logic, the formation of theories and their provisions.

Sensuality - scientific results require verification using perception and only after that are recognized as reliable.

In addition, science is characterized by its own special methods and structure of research, language, and equipment.

Characteristics of science

It can be said about such a multifunctional phenomenon as science that it is: 1) a branch of culture; 2) a way of knowing the world; 3) a special institute (the concept of an institute here includes not only a higher educational institution, but also the presence of scientific societies, academies, laboratories, journals, etc.).

For each of these nominations, science is correlated with other forms, methods, industries, institutions.

In order to clarify these relationships, it is necessary to identify the specific features of science, primarily those that distinguish it from the rest. What are they?

2. Science is FRAGMENTAL - in the sense that it studies not being as a whole, but various fragments of reality or its parameters, and is itself divided into separate disciplines.

In general, the concept of being as a philosophical concept is not applicable to science, which is a private knowledge. Each science as such is a certain projection onto the world, like a searchlight that highlights the areas of interest to scientists at the moment.

4. Science is IMPERSONAL - in the sense that neither the individual characteristics of the scientist, nor his nationality or place of residence are in any way represented in the final results of scientific knowledge.

Science is SYSTEMATIC - in the sense that it has a definite structure, and is not an incoherent collection of parts.

6. Science is INCOMPLETE - in the sense that although scientific knowledge grows without limit, it still cannot reach absolute truth, after which there will be nothing to investigate.

Science is CRITICAL in the sense that it is always ready to question and revise even its most fundamental results.

9. Science is RELIABLE - in the sense that its conclusions require, allow and are tested according to certain rules formulated in it.

All this determines the specifics of scientific research and the significance of science.

Science and religion

Mind predominates in science, but faith also takes place in it, without which knowledge is impossible - faith in sensory reality, which is given to a person in sensations, faith in the cognitive capabilities of the mind and in the ability of scientific knowledge to reflect reality. Without such faith, it would be difficult for a scientist to embark on scientific research. Science is not exclusively rational; intuition also takes place in it, especially at the stage of formulating hypotheses.

On the other hand, reason, especially in theological studies, was used to justify faith, and not all church leaders agreed with Tertullian's aphorism: "I believe because it is absurd."

The scientific picture of the world, being limited to the sphere of experience, is not directly related to religious revelations, and a scientist can be both an atheist and a believer.

Another thing is that in the history of culture there are cases of sharp confrontations between science and religion, especially in those times when science gained its independence, say, at the time of the creation of the heliocentric model of the structure of the world by Copernicus. But it doesn't have to be that way all the time.

Science and philosophy

Generally speaking, this is not required. It can be believed that Someone or Something transmits sensory information to people, and scientists read, group, classify and process it. Science rationalizes this information and issues it in the form of laws and formulas, regardless of what lies at its basis.

Therefore, a scientist may well be both a spontaneous materialist or idealist, and a conscious follower of some philosophical concept. Scientists such as Descartes and Leibniz were also prominent philosophers of their time.

Characteristic features (properties) of science

1. Do universal - it communicates knowledge that is true for everyone, taking into account the conditions under which they were obtained

2. Fragmentary - it studies being not as a whole / general, but individual properties / parameters, is divided into separate disciplines

It is generally significant - the knowledge it receives is suitable for all people, and the language of science is unambiguous

4. Science is impersonal - the personal qualities of a scientist do not affect the final result

Systematic - has a certain structure, is not an incoherent collection of any parts

6. Not completed - scientific knowledge obtained at a certain stage cannot reach absolute truth

Continuity - the new knowledge gained is consistent with the old knowledge obtained earlier

8. Critical - she is always ready to question and revise her even the most fundamental results

Reliable - its conclusions require, allow and pass the test, according to certain rules that it formulated

10. Extramoral - scientific truths are neutral in moral and ethical terms, and moral assessments refer to the scientist himself

11. Rational - it receives knowledge on the basis of rational approaches and laws of logic and eventually comes to the formulation of theories and provisions that go beyond the empirical level empirical fact

12. Sensible - its results require empirical verification using perception, only after that they are recognized as reliable

Science is characterized by its own special methods and structure of research, as well as language and equipment.

This is what determines the specificity of scientific knowledge and the significance of science. Science is different from mythology, mysticism, religion, philosophy, art, ideology, technology - it is a theoretical knowledge of reality.

Natural science is a branch of science based on the reproducible empirical testing of hypotheses and the creation of theories or empirical generalizations that describe natural phenomena.

The subject of natural science is facts and phenomena that are perceived by the senses.

The basic principle of natural science is that knowledge about nature must allow, assume empirical verification, that is, experience is the decisive argument in accepting or not accepting truth.

Previous1234567Next

VIEW MORE:

Characteristics of science

It can be said about such a multifunctional phenomenon as science that it is: 1) a branch of culture; 2) a way of knowing the world; 3) a special institute (the concept of an institute here includes not only a higher educational institution, but also the presence of scientific societies, academies, laboratories, journals, etc.).

For each of these nominations, science is correlated with other forms, methods, industries, institutions. In order to clarify these relationships, it is necessary to identify the specific features of science, primarily those that distinguish it from the rest.

What are they?

1. Science is UNIVERSAL - in the sense that it communicates knowledge that is true for the entire universe under the conditions under which they are obtained by man.

2. Science is FRAGMENTAL - in the sense that it studies not being as a whole, but various fragments of reality or its parameters, and is itself divided into separate disciplines. In general, the concept of being as a philosophical concept is not applicable to science, which is a private knowledge. Each science as such is a certain projection onto the world, like a searchlight that highlights the areas of interest to scientists at the moment.

Science is GENERAL - in the sense that the knowledge it receives is suitable for all people, and its language is unambiguous, since science seeks to fix its terms as clearly as possible, which contributes to the unification of people living in various parts of the planet.

Science is IMPERSONAL - in the sense that neither the individual characteristics of a scientist, nor his nationality or place of residence are in any way represented in the final results of scientific knowledge.

5. Science is SYSTEMATIC - in the sense that it has a definite structure, and is not an incoherent collection of parts.

Science is INCOMPLETE - in the sense that although scientific knowledge grows without limit, it still cannot reach absolute truth, after which there will be nothing to investigate.

7. Science is CONTINUOUS - in the sense that new knowledge in a certain way and according to certain rules correlates with old knowledge.

8. Science is CRITICAL in the sense that it is always ready to question and revise even its most fundamental results.

Science is RELIABLE - in the sense that its conclusions require, allow and are tested according to certain rules formulated in it.

10. Science is OUT-MORAL - in the sense that scientific truths are morally and ethically neutral, and moral assessments can relate either to the activity of obtaining knowledge (the ethics of a scientist requires him to be intellectually honest and courageous in the process of searching for truth), or to activities to its application.

Science is RATIONAL - in the sense that it receives knowledge on the basis of rational procedures and laws of logic and comes to the formulation of theories and their provisions that go beyond the empirical level.

12. Science is SENSITIVE - in the sense that its results require empirical verification using perception, and only after that they are recognized as reliable.

These properties of science form six dialectical pairs that correlate with each other: universality - fragmentation, general significance - impersonality, systematicity - incompleteness, continuity - criticality, reliability - out-of-morality, rationality - sensibility.

In addition, science is characterized by its own special methods and structure of research, language, and equipment.

All this determines the specifics of scientific research and the significance of science.

Science and religion

Let us dwell in more detail on the relationship between science and religion, especially since there are different points of view on this issue. In atheistic literature, the opinion was propagated that scientific knowledge and religious faith are incompatible, and each new knowledge reduces the area of ​​\u200b\u200bfaith, up to the assertion that since the astronauts did not see God, therefore, he does not exist.

The watershed between science and religion runs in accordance with the ratio in these branches of the culture of reason and faith.

Mind predominates in science, but faith also takes place in it, without which knowledge is impossible - faith in sensory reality, which is given to a person in sensations, faith in the cognitive capabilities of the mind and in the ability of scientific knowledge to reflect reality.

Without such faith, it would be difficult for a scientist to embark on scientific research.

Science is not exclusively rational; intuition also takes place in it, especially at the stage of formulating hypotheses. On the other hand, reason, especially in theological studies, was used to justify faith, and not all church leaders agreed with Tertullian's aphorism: "I believe because it is absurd."

So, the realms of reason and faith are not separated by an absolute barrier. Science can coexist with religion, since the attention of these branches of culture is focused on different things: in science - on empirical reality, in religion - mainly on the extrasensory.

The scientific picture of the world, being limited to the sphere of experience, is not directly related to religious revelations, and a scientist can be both an atheist and a believer. Another thing is that in the history of culture there are cases of sharp confrontations between science and religion, especially in those times when science gained its independence, say, at the time of the creation of the heliocentric model of the structure of the world by Copernicus.

But it doesn't have to be that way all the time.

There is also an area of ​​superstition, which has nothing to do with either religious faith or science, but is associated with the remnants of mystical and mythological ideas, as well as with various sectarian offshoots from the official religion and everyday prejudices.

Superstitions, as a rule, are far from both true faith and rational knowledge.

Science and philosophy

It is also important to correctly understand the relationship between science and philosophy, since many times, including in recent history, various philosophical systems have claimed to be scientific and even to the rank of “higher science”, and scientists have not always drawn a line between their own scientific and philosophical statements.

The specificity of science is not only that it does not undertake the study of the world as a whole, like philosophy, but is a private knowledge, but also that the results of science require empirical verification.

Unlike philosophical statements, they are not only confirmed by special practical procedures or are subject to strict logical derivation, as in mathematics, but also admit the fundamental possibility of their empirical refutation. All this makes it possible to draw a demarcation line between philosophy and science.

Scientists have sometimes been presented as so-called "spontaneous materialists" in the sense that they have an inherent belief in the materiality of the world.

Generally speaking, this is not required. It can be believed that Someone or Something transmits sensory information to people, and scientists read, group, classify and process it.

Science rationalizes this information and issues it in the form of laws and formulas, regardless of what lies at its basis. Therefore, a scientist may well be both a spontaneous materialist or idealist, and a conscious follower of some philosophical concept. Scientists such as Descartes and Leibniz were also prominent philosophers of their time.

The functions of science. Specific features of science

2. Worldview
3. predictive	The essence of the predictive function of science is to foresee the consequences of changes in the surrounding world. Science allows a person not only to change the world around him according to his desires and needs, but also to predict the consequences of such changes. With the help of scientific models, scientists can show possible dangerous trends in the development of society and give recommendations on how to overcome them.
5. Social strength

Specific features of science:

Versatility

Fragmentation- science does not study being as a whole, but various fragments of reality or its parameters; itself is divided into separate disciplines. The concept of being as a philosophical one is not applicable to science, which is a private knowledge. Each science as such is a certain projection onto the world, like a spotlight that highlights the areas of interest to scientists at the moment.

Validity

Impersonality

Systematic

incompleteness

Continuity

criticality

Reliability

immorality

Rationality

Sensuality

All this determines the specifics of scientific research and the significance of science.

Natural science and its role in culture

Culture is expressed in the types and forms of organization of people's lives and activities. It is natural science and the technical sciences that function on its basis to a large extent provide a person with basic knowledge of how satisfaction of physiological and protective needs is achieved in modern conditions.

Natural science is not only an integral part of culture, but also its most important source. It was natural science in all ages that created the conditions for the formation and preservation of civilization, the transfer of acquired knowledge - both in time and within contemporary society. It was natural science, together with the technical sciences, that solved all the urgent problems of mankind in the process of its development. The main factor in the renewal of production at the present time and profit is becoming a person, his intellectual (intelligence is the ability of rational thinking) and creative capabilities.

As a result, the role of natural science knowledge that can influence production is increasing in society.

Levels of Scientific Research

Two levels of knowledge empirical and theoretical. They are carried out with the help of observations and experiments, as well as hypotheses, laws and theories.

There are also meta-theoretical levels of scientific knowledge in philosophy, which are represented by the philosophical attitudes of scientific research and depend on the style of thinking of the scientist. Empiric ur.-. in the first place is the factual material, which is carefully studied and analyzed, and on this basis the systematization and generalization of the results obtained are made.

This level operates with sensual methods and the studied object is displayed, first of all, in external manifestations that are accessible to contemplation. Signs - collection of facts, their description, systematization and generalization of data in the form of classification. Theoretical ur.- draws conclusions based on the reflection of phenomena from all sides, including internal connections and patterns, as well as external indicators obtained empirically.

Scientific knowledge in this case is carried out with the help of concepts, inferences, laws, principles, etc. and it turns out to be objective and specific, more complete and meaningful. The methods of abstraction, creation of ideal conditions and mental structures, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction taken together make cognition aimed at achieving objective truth that exists regardless of the activity of the cognizing subject.

The concept of "pseudoscience"

Pseudoscience- a set of beliefs about the world, mistakenly considered as based on the scientific method or as having the status of modern scientific truths.

It is necessary to distinguish pseudoscience from the inevitable scientific errors and from parascience as a historical stage in the development of science. The main difference between science and pseudoscience (non-science) is the repeatability of results. The salient features of pseudoscientific theory are:

• Ignoring or misrepresenting facts, known to the author of the theory, but contradicting his constructions
• Non-falsifiability(inconsistency with the Popper criterion), that is, the impossibility of setting up an experiment (even a mental one), one of the fundamentally possible results of which would contradict this theory;
• Rejection of attempts to verify theoretical calculations with the results of observations, if possible, replacing checks with appeals to "intuition", "common sense" or "authoritative opinion"
• Use in the basis of the theory of unreliable data(those.

not confirmed by a number of independent experiments (researchers), or lying within the measurement errors), or unproven positions, or data resulting from computational errors. This paragraph does not include a scientific hypothesis that clearly defines the basic provisions;

• Introduction to the publication or discussion of scientific work of political and religious attitudes.

This point, however, requires careful clarification, since otherwise Newton, for example, falls into the category of pseudoscientists, and precisely because of the "Principles", and not because of later theology.

A milder formulation of this criterion of "unscientificity" could be the fundamental and strong inseparability of the scientific content of the work from its other components. However, for modern science, it is customary, as a rule, for the author to independently isolate the scientific component and publish it separately, without explicitly mixing it with religion or politics.

Types of scientific theories.

1) Logical and mathematical- not based on experience.

In particular, uninterpreted axiomatic theories do not assert anything about the world. For example, the concepts of “point”, “straight line”, “plane” do not mean anything by themselves. And, for example, in physics, having received an interpretation, they have some meaning.

For example, a straight line is a ray of light.

2) Empirical- based on experience.

3) Descriptive- ordering, systematization of facts. Describe a specific group of objects. Theory of Darwin, Pavlov, etc.

4) Hypothetical-deductive- based on general provisions, from which private ones are derived.

Example: Newtonian mechanics.

Matter and its properties

Everything in the world is made up of matter. Matter is made up of atoms. The complete absence of matter is called vacuum. Matter exists in three basic states - solid, liquid and gaseous.

The state of matter can change: a solid body can become a liquid, and a liquid can become a gas, and so on. One of the main properties of matter is its state.

Another property is the kind of atoms it is composed of. Atoms of the same kind are called chemical elements. The third property, density, is the amount of matter contained in a certain volume.

The functions of science. Specific features of science

1. Cognitive and explanatory	is to know and explain how the world works and what are the laws of its development.
2. Worldview	helps a person not only to explain the knowledge known to him about the world, but also to build them into an integral system, to consider the phenomena of the surrounding world in their unity and diversity, to develop his own worldview
3. Predictive	The essence of the predictive function of science is to foresee the consequences of changes in the surrounding world. Science allows a person not only to change the world around him according to his desires and needs, but also to predict the consequences of such changes. With the help of scientific models, scientists can show possible dangerous trends in the development of society and give recommendations on how to overcome them.
4. Production (catalyst for development)	Direct productive force Accelerates the process of improving production.
5. Social strength	Science is included in the processes of social development and its management in the interaction of the humanities and technical sciences (solving global problems, developed by the EEC)

Specific features of science:

Versatility- scientific knowledge is true for the entire universe under the conditions under which it was obtained by man.

Scientific laws operate throughout the universe, such as the law of universal gravitation.

Fragmentation- science does not study being as a whole, but various fragments of reality or its parameters; itself is divided into separate disciplines.

The concept of being as a philosophical one is not applicable to science, which is a private knowledge. Each science as such is a certain projection onto the world, like a spotlight that highlights the areas of interest to scientists at the moment.

Validity- scientific knowledge is suitable for all people; the language of science - unambiguously fixing the terms, which contributes to the unification of people.

Impersonality- neither the individual characteristics of a scientist, nor his nationality or place of residence are represented in any way in the final results of scientific knowledge.

For example, in the law of universal gravitation there is nothing of Newton's personality.

Systematic- science has a certain structure, and is not an incoherent collection of parts.

incompleteness- although scientific knowledge grows without limit, it cannot reach absolute truth, after which there will be nothing to investigate.

Continuity- new knowledge in a certain way and according to certain rules correlate with old knowledge.

criticality- science is ready to question and revise its (even fundamental) results.

Intra-scientific criticism is not only possible, but necessary.

Reliability- scientific conclusions require, allow and are subject to mandatory verification according to certain formulated rules.

immorality- scientific truths are morally and ethically neutral, and moral assessments can relate either to the acquisition of knowledge (the ethics of a scientist requires intellectual honesty and courage in the process of searching for truth), or to its application.

Rationality- science acquires knowledge on the basis of rational procedures.

The components of scientific rationality are: conceptuality, i.e. the ability to define terms by identifying the most important properties of a given class of objects; consistency - the use of the laws of formal logic; discursiveness - the ability to decompose scientific statements into their component parts.

Sensuality- scientific results require empirical verification using perception and only after that are recognized as reliable.

These properties of science form six dialectical pairs that correlate with each other: universality - fragmentation, general significance - impersonality, systematicity - incompleteness, continuity - criticality, reliability - non-morality, rationality - sensibility.

In addition, science is characterized by its own, special methods and structure of research, language, and equipment.

All this determines the specifics of scientific research and the significance of science.

What are the main features of big science?

Big science is characterized by the fact that it is speculative in the first place, that is, a lot of theoretical reasoning, hypotheses, theories. And only after some time, some moments go down to the application level.

Big science is not limited to the collection of scientific material: this material is systematized, hypotheses are put forward, if necessary, mathematical models are built, hypotheses and mathematical models are tested experimentally.

science deals with the fundamental questions of the universe. Its achievements, unlike applied science, can be applied in practice both in a year and in a century. And some never. For example, string theory.

Big science, it seems to me, is those scientific fields that are directly capable of changing the world. For example, work on alternative energy resources, the search for antimatter, the search for the end of the universe or the root cause of all existence.

In the concept of big science you can make an ambiguous meaning. Probably, each person understands it in his own way. If we consider this term as a combination of many sciences, then the main features include a detailed or superficial study questions of those sciences that are included in the so-called big science. And if we understand this term as something archaic, then the main features of big science are a deep study (in every sense) of questions, with the resulting answers to the tasks set, using all kinds of methods and previously accumulated knowledge

Big science, if we consider it not from an organizational point of view, is the foundation, the basis from which new scientific directions grow further, which, in turn, are of an applied nature and can be closely related to the life of people.

Great scientific discoveries are the goal of great science.

Concepts such as small science and big sciencequot ;, were first considered in the lecture course of the American scientist at Columbia University Derek John de Solla Price, who published a book in 1963 called Small Science, Big Science at Columbia University Press. This book laid the foundation for science of science - the science of science.

The main idea of ​​the book is that there were two periods in the history of science: small science since ancient times and big sciencequot ;, when scientific societies, scientific schools and scientific institutions appeared, and science became a professional activity.

Science is a sphere of human activity aimed at the continuous collection of facts about reality, critical analysis, the development of theoretical knowledge, their systematization and constant updating.

The main features of big science could be seen in modern society from the beginning of the 20th century.

The main feature of big science is the presence of scientific societies and scientific institutions. Science has become a controlled professional process of human activity.

Truth is something that can be tested and confirmed in practice. Experiment, practice are the criterion of truth. One experience is no experience. To confirm the truth, at least three experiments are required.

To standardize the scientific method, it is necessary to reproduce the developed methodology in different laboratories and by different experimenters.

The main features of modern big science:

• existence of division and cooperation of scientific work;
• availability of scientific institutions, experimental and laboratory equipment;
• availability of research methods;
• the presence of a conceptual and categorical apparatus (each science has its own concepts and categories);
• the presence of a coherent system of scientific information;
• availability of a base of previously obtained and accumulated scientific knowledge.

• Big science is oriented towards the fundamentally new; blind worship of the old is alien to it. It has a clear understanding that the existing knowledge is correct within certain limits and is not absolute. It is not focused on momentary profit.

  Big science deals with global, not minor issues. Achievements Big Science are not always applied immediately after opening. Sometimes years of preparation may be needed for implementation.

  I believe the main features are as follows.

  Firstly, the so-called Big Science is the locomotive for all science as a whole, it opens up new horizons for applied science.

  Secondly, it requires considerable financial injections and is usually financed by the state or venture funds.

  Thirdly, the results of fundamental research are more inertial and less subject to conjuncture and dynamic changes.

Any society, starting with the family and ending with humanity as a whole, has a social consciousness. Its forms are experience, morality, religion, and so on. But, undoubtedly, one of the most important forms is science. It is she who forms new knowledge in society.

What is science

Science is nothing but the most complex based on a number of basic aspects. The concept, signs of science and its aspects determine the whole essence of scientific knowledge. Based on the main aspects, science is considered as:

1. Knowledge system. In other words, as a process of obtaining new knowledge. This aspect involves studying with the help of epistemology - the doctrine of the knowledge of science. The basis is the subject and object of knowledge. Scientific knowledge has a result in the form of objective knowledge about the world. It is objective because it does not depend on the state of the subject.
2. A special kind of outlook. In fact, this is a product caused by the spirituality of human life, embodying creative development. From this point of view, science is considered to be among such important products created by man as religion, art, law, philosophy, etc. When science develops, other areas of culture undergo changes along with it. This pattern also works in the opposite direction.
3. social institution. In this case, we are talking about social life, in which science is perceived as a network of very different interconnected institutions. Examples of such institutions are universities, libraries, academies and others. They are engaged in solving problems of a certain level and perform functions corresponding to their position. Thus, science is a clearly structured organization whose purpose is to meet the needs of society.

Distinctive features of science

In order to determine the distinguishing features of science, it is necessary first of all to delve into the essence of such a concept as the criteria of scientificity. Basically, they are considered in their study, primarily based on the desire to determine the epistemological side of scientific knowledge, endowed with unique specifics in comparison with other products of knowledge. Even ancient scientists thought about finding the essential features of scientificity through the correlation of knowledge with such forms as opinions, conjectures, assumptions, etc. In the process of development, scientists deduced the general signs of science, which helped to understand the term more deeply. Research has identified seven main ones.

• The first sign of science is the integrity and consistency of scientific knowledge, which is an undoubted difference from ordinary consciousness.
• The second is openness, or, in other words, the incompleteness of scientific knowledge, that is, its refinement and complementarity in the process of the emergence of new facts.
• The third - includes the desire to explain the provisions using facts and a logically consistent way.
• Criticality in relation to knowledge is the fourth sign of science.
• The fifth is the ability to reproduce scientific knowledge under appropriate conditions in absolutely any place and regardless of time.
• The sixth and seventh signs of science are the absence of dependence of scientific knowledge on the personal characteristics of the scientist and the presence of their own language, equipment, and method, respectively.

General classification of all sciences

Answering the question on what grounds sciences are classified, B. M. Kedrov deduced a general definition. According to him, all sciences can be divided into four classes. The first class is the philosophical sciences, which include dialectics and logic. To the second he attributed the mathematical sciences, including mathematics and mathematical logic. The third one is the most extensive, as it immediately includes technical and natural sciences, in the list of which:

• Mechanics;
• astronomy;
• astrophysics;
• physics (chemical and physical);
• chemistry;
• geochemistry;
• geography;
• geology;
• biochemistry;
• physiology;
• biology;
• anthropology.

And the final class according to Kedrov are which are divided into three subcategories:

1. History, ethnography, archeology.
2. Political economy, art history, jurisprudence and art history.
3. Linguistics, pedagogical sciences and psychology.

Signs of modern science are classified on a variety of grounds. The most common is the subject and method of cognition, on the basis of which the sciences of nature (natural science), society (social science) and thinking (logic) are distinguished. stand out in a separate category. Of course, each of the presented groups of sciences can be further divided into subgroups.

in different historical periods

For the first time, Aristotle addressed the issue of dividing sciences into classes back in antiquity. He singled out three large groups: practical, theoretical and creative. The Roman encyclopedist Mark Vorron defined the classification as a list of generalizing sciences: dialectics, grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, astrology, architecture and medicine. The classification of Muslim Arab scholars was the simplest and most understandable. They singled out two classes of sciences - Arabic and foreign. The former include oratory and poetics, the latter - mathematics, medicine and astronomy. In the Middle Ages, scientists also sought to put forward their own version of the division. Hugo Saint-Victoria, in his vision, identified four independent groups of sciences:

1. Theoretical - physics and mathematics.
2. Practical.
3. Mechanical - hunting, agriculture, medicine, navigation, theater.
4. Logical - grammar and rhetoric.

In turn, R. Bacon introduced a classification based on cognitive abilities. The first group includes history describing facts, the second - theoretical sciences, the third - art, poetry and literature in the broadest sense. Rojan Bacon believed that it was necessary to classify the sciences in four directions. Logic, grammar, ethics, metaphysics should stand separately, and mathematics, as well as natural philosophy, should stand out as independent units. Mathematics, in his opinion, is the most important science of nature.

Classification of animal sciences

Speaking about the criteria by which animal sciences are classified, one important feature stands out - belonging to a particular species. The classifier divides animals into vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrates are studied by five basic sciences: ornithology (birds), theriology (mammals), batrachology (amphibians), herpetology (reptiles), ichthyology (fish). There are cases when the science that studies primates is singled out separately, but in most cases it is included in theriology, since by their nature primates are mammals. Invertebrates can also be divided according to how the animal sciences are classified. Protozoology studies the simplest organisms, arthropodology studies arthropods, malacology knows everything about molluscs, and entomology can tell about all the features of insect life. But there is also a science that unites all these areas - zoology, which studies all animals.

Semiotics as one of the most important sciences

Any disease is easiest to cure at the initial stage. In order to identify it in a timely manner, it is necessary to carefully monitor the emerging symptoms. Semiotics, as the science of the signs and manifestations of disease, deals deeply with this issue. It refers to practical medicine, which, using the methods of medical research, studies the symptoms of diseases. The science of the signs of the disease is divided into general and particular. The general one includes a descriptive description and a complete classification of all symptoms, as well as methods and mechanisms for their appearance due to the patterns of growth of pathologies. An example of such symptoms is inflammation, dystrophy, degeneration, and others. General semiotics also has its symptomatic varieties in terms of diagnostic significance:

• pathological;
• compensatory (reflect organic and functional changes in substrates);
• pathognomonic;
• general.

By the time of onset, the symptoms are divided into early and late. In turn, private semiotics deals with the description of the signs and symptoms of certain types of diseases. Any medical discipline begins clinical research with the study of semiotics of a particular kind. There is also a semiotics based on hereditary pathologies. Within this framework, hereditary diseases, their symptoms and pathologies are studied.

On guard of order

Legal science is a system of knowledge about the state and law, the laws of their emergence, development and work. Signs of legal science are divided into three categories. In accordance with the first, this science is called social applied nature. As part of this feature, it should study the needs of society, legal practice and education, as well as provide workers in this area with up-to-date information for the issuance of new laws.

In the second, it is considered as related to This is due to the fact that it relies on specific knowledge, which is expressed in exact ratios. There is an opinion that most of all jurisprudence is similar to medicine, since both of them combine both theoretical and applied components. Just like a doctor, a lawyer is faced with solving issues related to health and life. The work of a lawyer includes carrying out preventive work to “cure” the vices in the life of society and the spiritual world of each person. This manifests the humanistic signs of science (in this case, jurisprudence and medicine), which originated in ancient times.

The third principle of the existence of legal science is its ability to embody the virtues of the intellectual sciences. This statement is based on the fact that jurisprudence studies the issues of reflecting objective reality in legal aspects that arise in the process of formation and implementation of new laws in practice. That is why forensic science, as one of the disciplines of legal science, is aimed at understanding the specific features of human thinking and applying specially acquired knowledge in the investigation process.

Who studies the past

Everyone knows that without knowing the past, it is impossible to build the future. Each person without fail will find out how his city, country and the whole world lived at different times. To convey information about the past takes on the well-known science of history. It is she who studies the sources that have survived from previous periods of human life, on the basis of which she establishes the sequence of events. In fact, the main features of science and its historical method are to follow the norms and rules for working with primary sources, as well as other evidence found in the process of research work and drawing conclusions that allow writing a correct historical work. For the first time these methods were applied in practice by Thucydides. It was the work in accordance with historical methods that made it possible to isolate historical periods: primitiveness, the ancient world, the Middle Ages, modern and then modern times. There are dozens of historical disciplines, the functioning of which allows not only to recognize the past, but also to structure it and convey it to people. The main ones include:

• archeology - the science of searching for and studying the material sources of the past;
• genealogy - the science of family relationships of people;
• Chronology is the science of the temporal sequence of historical events.

In the footsteps of Jules Verne

The popularization of science is called nothing more than the dissemination of scientific knowledge among a wide range of people in an accessible format. The main task of popularizing scientists is the processing of specialized data from the scientific language into the language of a listener who is not related to science. They must also create an interesting narrative from dry scientific knowledge that will arouse the desire to immerse themselves in its study.

One of the main methods of popularization of science is science fiction. Jules Verne, beloved by many, played a huge role in the development of this trend. It is important to understand that the more is invested in the popularization of science, the more likely it is that young people will come to this area. Scientists are doing their best to preserve their works and achievements and introduce them to the younger generation. But there are people in history who believe that scientific knowledge should only be available to the people at the helm, because they, unlike the rest of the masses, know exactly how to use it. This opinion was shared by Tycho Brahe. Ludwig Fadeev, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that, of course, it is necessary to popularize scientific knowledge (for example, every taxpayer must understand why taxation exists). But there are moments that absolutely cannot be reworked, and therefore information about quarks, strings, Yang-Mills fields reaches people with a small amount of deception.

Science has always existed, just up to a certain point in time, people did not attach much importance to the experience and knowledge that were acquired in the process of being. It is difficult to name the moment when the systematization of knowledge became the norm and directions for the development of social consciousness were formed in philosophy, mathematics, diplomacy, military affairs, sociology and other areas. But some researchers sometimes took on such responsibility.

Another thing is more important - there is a system of established directions for the development of knowledge. There are not only established layers of knowledge and the exact direction of development, thinking style, logic and concept, but also a significant number of schools, institutions and understanding in the public mind, equivalent in different countries and languages.

Basic sciences

What are the main features of big science? Philosophy, mathematics, natural science and other scientific disciplines can undoubtedly be attributed to the concept of "big science". Scientific activity in many such areas is not only actively conducted, but also developed in many countries of the world.

There is a constant exchange of opinions, the number of scientific conferences is growing, and there is an influx of personnel. Scientists write dissertations, and others consider them “not of this world” and attribute their work to the field of speculative reasoning, useless theoretical research, to the sphere of mythical hypotheses.

Meanwhile, research work leads to real results. If mathematics (at one time) had not begun to develop towards differential and integral calculus, it would not have been possible to launch a spacecraft, build an aircraft, or calculate a submarine with an atomic engine.

The fantasies of astronomers, the ideas of alchemists and the physical theories of particles, energy, gravitational fields are far from ordinary consciousness, but nuclear power plants work, and genetics has led to the creation of many useful cultures.

Even naturalists (lovers of butterflies, ants and migratory birds) with their private studies have prompted scientists from completely different fields of knowledge to unexpected and practical solutions.

Private research and fundamental background

Science does not lay claim to laurels and it is completely indifferent to what category a person puts it into at one time or another. It is human nature to develop, understanding today one event in this way, he already knows that tomorrow he may treat the result radically differently.

Scientific activity is work. It is no worse than the work of a nurse, cook or builder. Various people come to science who, outside of their work, encounter the opinions of others who do not understand anything in the work of people. Far from every worker becomes a scientist, far from every scientific center is one.

The number of universities that train physicists or philosophers fall under the methods of mathematical statistics: the larger the initial mass, the more likely the result is the emergence of another unambiguously recognized scientist.

The appearance of a scientist can cause a new big phenomenon in science, but in essence this is a private research and local interest, which even colleagues at work may not be extremely interested in. Colleagues may consider any research that does not fit into the framework of the fundamental past as a waste of time.

Philosophy is a great science, but an even greater philosophical direction can be formed in it, just as limits, Laplace transformations, infinitesimal and infinitely large quantities appeared in mathematics at one time. The first is not zero, and the second is not infinity. But each of them tends to its own limits.

Fundamental physics could neither give rise to quantum theory nor lay the foundation for the theory of elementary particles. Science and scientific knowledge did not foresee the theory of relativity, did not imagine what kind of resonance the use of observational data from space satellites and flights to other planets would cause in science.

The impact of the small on the big

The scientist is like a flux. The completeness of his knowledge is limited, but there are only two completely different paths to recognition.

A person can come into science and exclusively carefully devote all his research in the context of established ideas, theories, and hypotheses. On this path, the birth of a big one is possible only if an amazing phenomenon, event, object that radically violates his picture of the world gets into his mind.

A person can come into science and, having grasped an idea, move on his own path, criticizing and analyzing the achievements of his predecessors and colleagues. This is a very good way, because it allows you to evaluate the reliability, practicality and quality of existing scientific ideas. The birth of a big one is less likely, but if one's own path was intuitively chosen correctly and a person resisted the temptations to follow traditions, the effect would be colossal.

In the 80s there was another boom, and even the public consciousness paid attention to the idea of ​​artificial intelligence. Fantasists offered their ideas, programmers wrote their programs, scientists eventually retired. The boom ended, everyone went back to their normal work.

But the big always brings the small to life. In those years, there were many theories and ideas that were not recognized or simply destroyed. It is possible that one of them is still alive, the person is alive, the idea is alive and the great science of artificial intelligence is just around the corner.

If this is so, then this is a new round in the development of philosophy, a radically new position in sociology and the division of public consciousness into those who are “for” robots and those who are categorically “against”.

Naturally, what kind of person wants to try the fate of the dinosaurs and leave the planet at the mercy of the robots?

Galileo and the Great Controversy

What are the main features of big science? First of all, the subject and depth of research. In the understanding of public consciousness and recognized scientists, the subject should be relevant and in demand, and the depth should be determined by the number of authoritative predecessors.

It is doubtful that Newton, Planck, Einstein, and even more so Galileo thought so. Many scientists who radically changed the structure and content of knowledge in a particular area paid the least attention to public consciousness and to the assessment of their work as a truly substantive and in-depth study.

Probably, people, like points in social space, flare up for a reason and stubbornly move towards the fulfillment of their mission. If such a "point" began to move, and it received really great opposition, but the "point" coped with it, and the idea outlived its author, formed the basis of a new scientific direction.

Death does not stop the movement of an idea, it is not necessary for an idea to have only one author and become large or significant during a particular lifetime.

The process of cognition of the world is heterogeneous and it is almost impossible to manage it. However, it is quite acceptable to perceive the surrounding reality, accumulate knowledge and follow a naturally conditioned, objective path.

Big science is not an ordinary research work, it is, first of all, a confrontation, but it is almost impossible to determine its level and strength, as well as the subject and depth of research.

Oracle and hundreds of thousands of skilled workers

The Internet is not science. A specialist (programmer, developer) is not a scientist. But information theory, algorithm development and programming are more and more often referred to as science, although with the prefix "applied". What are the main features of big science, if so far there has not been a single "big event" here?

The science of information is still in the status of "computer science". This word cannot even be put next to such monsters as Philosophy, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry. These are really big and significant sciences. They have experienced so many cardinally powerful events that, according to an unspoken law, they are in the status of big science and, moreover, new big ideas are constantly being born in their depths.

It is not necessary to take this as an axiom, it is not necessary to believe it, but you can be completely calm about the fact that the big does not initially need recognition.

Undoubtedly, Oracle is the leader in the field of information, the line of their solutions is made up of hundreds of positions, and they employ hundreds of thousands of specialists distributed in numerous offices around the planet. It's been 38 years since the 1980s. In 1985, chipiotics was developed - a student impromptu that was not destined to conquer the world, but it could turn these 38 years into three years of work for a very small number of programmers.

The banal idea of ​​active knowledge is still relevant, but not in demand. Programming is becoming more complex, more intricate every day, and the Internet has already become a self-functioning organism.

What are the main features of big science, a person determines. This person is the author. Not a single author of a new big idea in the bowels of the existing sciences or going his own way is alone.

Each new researcher relies on an arsenal of accumulated knowledge, and the greater their volume, the more closely he pursues his direction, the less he pays attention to opposition to his work, the greater the chances of success.

Creative development, the desire for knowledge and an adequate attitude to the path traveled are the right beginning of a new great knowledge. Whether this will be the beginning of a great science, descendants will say.