INTRODUCTION
The main form of human knowledge is science. Science these days is becoming an increasingly significant and essential component of the reality that surrounds us and in which we, one way or another, must navigate, live and act. A philosophical vision of the world presupposes fairly definite ideas about what science is, how it works and how it develops, what it can do and what it allows us to hope for, and what is inaccessible to it. From the philosophers of the past we can find many valuable insights and tips useful for orientation in a world where the role of science is so important. They, however, were unaware of the real, practical experience of the massive and even dramatic impact of scientific and technical achievements on the daily existence of a person, which we have to comprehend today.
The purpose of this work is to reveal the concept of science, determine the goals and objectives of the academic discipline and its relationship with other disciplines.
In the modern world, science is:
– the sphere of human activity, the main function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about the surrounding reality;
– one of the forms of social consciousness;
– complex activities, including the processes of research, obtaining a new title, the amount of knowledge that underlies the scientific picture of the world;
– designation of individual special branches of scientific knowledge.
Any scientific research is a relatively complex process in time and space from the creative concept to the final design of scientific work.
To study in a scientific sense means:
- conduct exploratory research, as if making a variant forecast of the future, using your abilities, capabilities, modern resources, based on real achievements of science, technology, technology;
– involve not only the processes of finding, identifying problems, their description, classification, but also procedures for determining ways and methods of solving them, assessing the effectiveness of the adopted directions for the development of industries for society;
– be scientifically objective.
Therefore, future specialists, as novice researchers, need to become familiar with the basics of scientific research, learn standard methods and techniques for conducting scientific work in order to use the acquired knowledge for the successful completion of coursework and diploma projects, participation in student scientific works, preparation of scientific publications based on the results of independent research for period of study at the university.
The subject of study of the discipline “Fundamentals of Scientific Research” is the problem of presenting the methodology of scientific creativity to novice researchers, organizing scientific work, using methods of scientific knowledge and applying logical laws and rules in practice.
This academic discipline is to some extent part of a scientific discipline, which has been mastered to a certain extent and introduced into the educational process of higher education. It teaches us to understand the complex mechanism of scientific creativity, the principles of its functioning, and develops a scientific, both economic and commercial, type of thinking.
The relevance of studying the discipline “Fundamentals of Scientific Research” is due to the need to prepare students for planning, organizing and carrying out independent scientific work, as well as when conducting coursework and diploma projects.
The course of the academic discipline of the specialty "Fundamentals of Scientific Research" is intended for familiarization, study, mastery and practical use of scientific activities by students of economic, organizational and management specialties (economists, managers, commerce specialists, trade specialists, marketers, financiers, bankers, accountants, logisticians, transport workers etc.).
The course is studied with the aim of mastering the general principles and methods of conducting scientific research in the field of economics, production management and the organization of mechanical engineering production, and developing the skills of an economist-researcher.
The most important objectives of the course are to teach students methods of scientific research in economics, including the concepts of scientific studies and methodology of scientific research, organization of work in a scientific team, selection of areas of research and development of methods for their implementation, including the use of computers, economics, mathematics and other methods.
In addition, studying the course provides for the formation in the future economist-manager of a conscious need to apply scientific research methods in business management.
As a result of studying the discipline, the student must:
– know the essence and principles of organizing economic research, research methodology, and be able to work with scientific literature with a research focus;
– study, summarize and analyze economic information and give scientifically based recommendations;
– consolidate the existing understanding of modeling production systems and economic processes;
– document research results.
The purpose of this work is to study the goals and objectives of the discipline “Fundamentals of Scientific Research”.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:
Expand the concept of science;
Determine the goals and objectives of the academic discipline
Identify the relationship of the course with other disciplines.
SCIENCES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION
Science is a historically established and continuously developing system of knowledge about nature, society and thinking, about the objective laws of their development.
The subject of science is the forms of moving matter and their reflection in human consciousness. Based on the facts of reality, science gives the correct explanation of their origin and development, reveals significant connections between phenomena, and equips a person with knowledge of the objective laws of the real world for practical application. In the conditions of the scientific and technical revolution, a unified system emerged: “science – technology – production”.
The immediate goals of science are to obtain knowledge about the objective and subjective world, to comprehend objective truth.
The main objectives of science are:
1) collecting, describing, analyzing, summarizing and explaining facts;
2) discovery of the laws of motion of nature, society, thinking and knowledge;
3) systematization of acquired knowledge;
4) explanation of the essence of phenomena and processes;
5) forecasting events, phenomena and processes;
6) establishing directions and forms of practical use of acquired knowledge.
Science can be viewed as a system consisting of: theory; methodology, techniques and research techniques; practice of implementing the results obtained.
If science is considered from the point of view of the interaction of the subject and object of knowledge, then it includes the following elements:
1) an object (subject) is that set of connections and relationships, properties that exists objectively in theory and practice and serves as a source of information necessary for the researcher;
2) subject – a specific researcher, scientific worker, specialist of a scientific organization, organization;
3) scientific activity of subjects who use certain techniques, operations, methods to comprehend objective truth and discover the laws of reality.
Currently, depending on the sphere, subject and method of cognition, the following sciences are distinguished:
1) about nature - natural;
2) about society – humanitarian and social;
3) about thinking and cognition - logic, epistemology, epistemology, etc.
The following sciences are highlighted in the Classifier of directions and specialties of higher professional education:
1) natural sciences and mathematics (mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, geography, hydrometeorology, geology, ecology, etc.);
2) humanities and socio-economic sciences (cultural studies, theology, philology, philosophy, linguistics, journalism, bibliology, history, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, regional studies, management, economics, art, physical education, commerce, agroeconomics, statistics, jurisprudence, etc.);
3) technical sciences (construction, printing, telecommunications, metallurgy, mining, electronics and microelectronics, geodesy, radio engineering, architecture, etc.);
4) agricultural sciences (agronomy, animal science, veterinary medicine, agricultural engineering, forestry, fisheries, etc.).
Please note that in this Classifier, technical and agricultural sciences are separated into separate groups, and mathematics is not classified as natural sciences.
Some scientists do not consider philosophy a science or put it on a par with the natural, technical and social sciences. This is explained by the fact that they consider it as a worldview, knowledge about the world as a whole, a methodology of knowledge, or as the science of all sciences. Philosophy, in their opinion, is not aimed at collecting, analyzing and generalizing facts, discovering the laws of motion of reality, it only uses the achievements of specific sciences. Leaving aside the debate about the relationship between philosophy and science, we note that philosophy is still a science that has its own subject and methods of researching the universal laws and characteristics of everything infinite in space and time of the objective material world.
The Nomenclature of Specialties of Scientific Workers, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on February 25, 2009, indicates the following branches of science: physical and mathematical, chemical, biological, geological and mineralogical, technical, agricultural, historical, economic, philosophical, philological, geographical, legal , pedagogical, medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, art history, architecture, psychological, sociological, political, cultural studies and earth sciences.
There is another classification of sciences. For example, depending on their connection with practice, sciences are divided into fundamental (theoretical), which explain the basic laws of the objective and subjective world and are not directly oriented toward practice, and applied, which are aimed at solving technical, industrial, and socio-technical problems.
Within the social division of labor, five interconnected scientific spheres were identified: academic, university, industry, production and non-departmental.
In academic and university structures, primarily conducting fundamental research in the most important areas of natural, technical and social sciences, they create theoretical foundations for the development of fundamentally new types of equipment and technology, and also carry out search and highly effective applied scientific research with the participation of industry and factory science. research and development work of an industry and cross-industry nature.
Industry scientific institutions include leading research institutes, design organizations, as well as pilot production and stations reporting directly to ministries and departments, scientific and technical centers, inter-industry scientific and technical complexes, scientific and production associations, breeding centers, zonal agricultural stations and etc. These institutions determine the scientific and technical level of production in the industry, create highly efficient complexes of machines, equipment, instruments and materials, develop technological processes, obtain new plant varieties, animal breeds, etc. Industry scientific institutions are subordinate to the relevant governing bodies responsible for implementation of a unified scientific and technical policy.
Production science is developing in central factory laboratories, special and experimental design bureaus, departments of the chief designer, experimental and experimental workshops, etc. The goals of production science are to raise the technical level and improve the organization of production, improve technology, obtain high-quality products, ensure their competitiveness and update in a timely manner.
In recent years, non-departmental science has been developing. It is implemented mainly in small forms: advisory structures, scientific and technical organizations, scientific and engineering societies, scientific cooperatives, centers of expertise, scientific and technical creativity of youth.
Philosophy of science and technology: lecture notes Tonkonogov A V
3.1. Classification of sciences
3.1. Classification of sciences
Classification(from Latin сlassis - rank, class and facio - I do) is a system of subordinate concepts (classes, objects) in any field of knowledge or activity. Scientific classification records the natural connections between classes of objects in order to determine the object’s place in the system, which indicates its properties (such as, for example, biological taxonomies, classification of chemical elements, classification of sciences). A strictly and clearly carried out classification, as it were, sums up the results of the formation of a certain branch of knowledge and at the same time marks the beginning of a new stage in its development. Classification promotes the movement of science from the stage of empirical accumulation of knowledge to the level of theoretical synthesis. In addition, it allows you to make informed predictions about facts or patterns that are still unknown.
The divisions differ in the degree of significance of the grounds natural And artificial classifications. If essential features are taken as a basis, from which a maximum of derivatives follows, so that the classification can serve as a source of knowledge about the objects being classified, then such a classification is called natural (for example, the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements). If unimportant features are used for systematization, the classification is considered artificial (for example, alphabetical subject indexes, name catalogs in libraries). The classification is being expanded typology, which is understood as a scientific method based on the dissection of systems of objects and their grouping using a generalized model or type. It is used for the purpose of comparative study of essential features, connections, functions, relationships, levels of organization of objects.
Classification of sciences involves grouping and systematizing knowledge based on the similarity of certain characteristics. For example, Francis Bacon based his classification on features of the human soul, such as memory, imagination and reason. He classified history as memory, poetry as imagination, philosophy as reason. Rene Descartes used for classification tree metaphor. The “rhizome” of this tree forms metaphysics (the root cause!), the “trunk” symbolizes physics, and the “crown” includes medicine, mechanics and ethics.
The author of the book “Russian History from Ancient Times to the Present Day” created his classification. V. N. Tatishchev(1686–1750), who under Peter I oversaw education issues. In the sciences, Tatishchev distinguished ethnography, history and geography. He considered the main thing in the classification of sciences self-knowledge And utility principle, according to which sciences can be “necessary”, “dandy”, “curious” and “harmful”. Tatishchev considered logic, physics, and chemistry to be “necessary” sciences. He classified art as a “fashionable” science; astronomy, palmistry, physiognomy - to the “curious” sciences; fortune telling and witchcraft - to “harmful”.
French philosopher, one of the founders of positivism and sociology Auguste Comte(1798–1857) based the classification of sciences law on the three stages of intellectual evolution of mankind. He built his classification according to the degree of decrease in abstractness and increase in complexity of sciences: mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, sociology (social physics). As a classifying feature, he identified the actual natural connections that exist between objects. According to Comte, there are sciences that relate, on the one hand, to the external world, and on the other hand, to man. Thus, the philosophy of nature should be divided into two branches - inorganic and organic; natural philosophy covers three branches of knowledge - astronomy, chemistry, biology. Comte considered it possible to continue structuring, extending his principle of systematization of sciences to mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and sociology. He justified the allocation of the latter into a special group by its development on its own methodological basis, which cannot be extended to other sciences.
German cultural historian and philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey(1833–1911) in the book “Introduction to the Sciences of the Spirit” proposed to separate spiritual sciences from natural sciences, external to the person. He considered the subject of the spiritual sciences to be the analysis of human relationships, internal experiences, colored by emotions, about which nature is “silent.” According to Dilthey, such an orientation can establish a connection between the concepts of “life”, “expression”, “understanding”, which do not exist in science, although they are objectified in the institutions of the state, church, and jurisprudence.
According to another German philosopher, Heinrich Rickert(1863–1936), the contrast between the natural sciences and the cultural sciences reflects the contrast of interests that divide scientists into two camps. In his classification, natural science is aimed at identifying general laws, history deals with unique individual phenomena, natural science is free from values, while culture reigns in them.
Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) considered the main criterion for the classification of sciences forms of movement of matter in nature.
The academician’s experience of classifying sciences is interesting V. I. Vernadsky(1863–1945). At the center of his natural scientific and philosophical interests was the development of a holistic doctrine of the biosphere - the living matter that organizes the earth's shell - and the evolution of the biosphere into the noosphere. Therefore, he based his classification on nature of sciences. Depending on the nature of the objects being studied, he distinguished two types of sciences: 1) sciences that embrace all of reality - the planet, the biosphere, the cosmos; 2) sciences related to the globe. In this system of knowledge he gave a special place logic: it covers all areas of science - both the humanities and science and mathematics.
Soviet philosopher, chemist, historian of science, academician B. M. Kedrov(1903–1985), proposed a four-tier classification, including: a) philosophical sciences(dialectics, logic); b) mathematical sciences(mathematics, logic, cybernetics); V) natural and technical sciences(mechanics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, geography, biochemistry, biology, physiology, anthropology); G) social sciences(history, archeology, ethnography, economic geography, statistics, etc.).
Regarding the classification of sciences, the discussion continues today, while the dominant principle is their further fragmentation according to their foundations, applied role, etc. It is generally accepted that the most fruitful method of classification is that based on differences between the six basic forms of matter: subatomic physical, chemical, molecular physical, geological, biological and social.
The classification of sciences is of great importance for the organization of research, educational, pedagogical and library activities.
From Weber's book in 90 minutes (simply about complex things) author Mityurin DClassification of religions Having examined the individual appearance of the world's main religious and ethical systems, the scientist tried to classify them based on the difference in attitude towards the world. Thus, according to Weber, Confucianism is characterized by acceptance of the world, while Buddhism, on the contrary, is
From the book Logic: lecture notes author Shadrin D A4. Classification One of the special types of division is classification. This is a systematic, consistent division of concepts with the distribution of species into an interdependent system, within which the latter are divided into subspecies, subspecies are also divided into division members and
From the book Logic author Shadrin D A22. Classification of division One of the special types of division is classification. This is a systematic, consistent division of concepts with the distribution of species into an interdependent system, within which the latter are divided into subspecies, subspecies are also divided into members
From the book Individualism [Readed!!!] author Hayek Friedrich August vonChapter III. Facts of Social Science Read at the Moral Science Club, Cambridge University, November 19, 1942. Reprinted from: Ethics LIV, No. 1 (October, 1943), pp. 1-13. Some of the issues raised in this essay are discussed in more detail in my work "Scientism and the Study
From the book Philosophy of Science and Technology: Lecture Notes author Tonkonogov A V3.1. Classification of Sciences Classification (from the Latin сlassis - rank, class and facio - I do) is a system of subordinate concepts (classes, objects) in any field of knowledge or activity. Scientific classification fixes natural connections between classes of objects with the aim of
From the book Volume 20 author Engels Friedrich[FORMS OF MOTION OF MATTER. CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES] * * *Causa finalis [Final cause. Ed.] - matter and its inherent motion. This matter is not an abstraction. Already on the Sun, individual substances are dissociated and do not differ in their effects. And in the gas ball of the nebula everything
From the book Sensual, intellectual and mystical intuition author Lossky Nikolay Onufrievich9. The difference between the sciences of ideal forms and the sciences of the contents of being. Each individual, even an electron, is the bearer of the entire abstract logos, that is, the entire set of ideal formal principles as methods of its action; the actor may not know or even be aware
From the book Introduction to Logic and the Scientific Method by Cohen Morris§ 5. Division and classification According to the traditional approach, the definition consists of the decomposition of a given species into genus and specific difference. However, the genus itself can also be divided into different species. Thus, a flat figure as a genus can be divided not only into types of triangle,
From the book Results of Millennial Development, book. I-II author Losev Alexey Fedorovich§3. Chronology and classification 1. The chaotic state of the sources Having tried to determine the general nature of Gnosticism, it is natural to desire to establish both the chronology of Gnosticism, which existed for almost two hundred years, and the classification
From the book Collection of works author Katasonov Vladimir Nikolaevich From the book Philosophical Orientation in the World author Jaspers Karl Theodor1. General classification of sciences about reality. - After dividing the real into matter, life, soul, spirit, it might seem natural to establish four sciences next to each other, between which the content of everything would be exhaustively distributed
From the book Diary (1964-1987) author Berdnikov Leonid Nikolaevich From the book Philosophy of Chance by Lem StanislavClassification of codes In the sphere of language perception, certain psychophysiological patterns operate, partly similar to those that (along with others) are also discovered in physiological optics. Appropriate mechanisms compensate for dimensional changes
From the book Works, volume 20 (“Anti-Dühring”, “Dialectics of Nature”) author Engels Friedrich[Forms of motion of matter. Classification of Sciences] * * *Causa finalis – matter and its inherent motion. This matter is not an abstraction. Already on the Sun, individual substances are dissociated and do not differ in their effects. And in the gas ball of the nebula all substances, although
From the book Max Weber in 90 minutes author Mityurin D.Classification of religions. Having examined the individual appearance of the world's main religious and ethical systems, the scientist tried to classify them based on the difference in attitude towards the world. Thus, according to Weber, Confucianism is characterized by acceptance of the world, while Buddhism, on the contrary, is
From the book Logic: a textbook for law schools author Kirillov Vyacheslav Ivanovich§ 3. DIVISION. CLASSIFICATION The essence of division When studying a concept, the task often arises of revealing its scope, that is, distributing the objects that are thought of in the concept into separate groups. So, in order to better understand what a transaction is (an action of a citizen or
It is known that sciences are divided into natural and social, fundamental and applied, exact and descriptive, physical and mathematical, chemical, biological, technical, medical, pedagogical, military, agricultural and many, many others.
By what criteria are sciences classified? Why is this necessary? What trends are observed in the classification of sciences? The problem of classification of sciences is dealt with by many people: from philosophers to organizers of production and public life. Why is this so important? Because the consequences of classification are important. The independent status of science is its relative independence - material, financial, organizational, and the latter circumstances always play an important role in the life of everyone, especially among managers. At the same time, the problem of classification of sciences also performs a cognitive function. Correctly performed classification allows you to see solved and unresolved problems, key areas of development.
Let us note right away that there is no established classification of sciences. Throughout the history of the development of science, there have been discussions on this issue. In the 19th century, F. Engels managed to propose a classification of sciences that satisfied many people. It was proposed as such a sign forms of matter motion. Engels proposed the following ordered series of forms of motion of matter: mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, social. This led to the classification of sciences by fields of study: processes of mechanical movement - mechanics, physical processes - physics, chemical processes - chemistry, biological processes - biology, social processes - social sciences.
However, science developed rapidly and discovered new levels of matter itself, discovered stages of the evolution of matter. In this regard, the above and newly discovered forms of motion of matter began to be classified according to the stages of development of matter: in inorganic nature; in living nature; in man; in society.
During the discussions, two groups of sciences emerged that study all forms of matter movement natural sciences(as if there are “unnatural” ones, as the physicist Landau joked about this obviously unfortunate term), the field of study of which is considered to be nature and social science or in some sources they are called humanities and history, the field of study of which is considered to be man, society and thinking. Figure 5 shows a list of the main sciences of these two groups.
Figure 5 - List of natural and social sciences
The search for the most acceptable classification was accompanied by attempts ranking of sciences. Which of them are the initial prerequisites for the development of others? This is how the division of all sciences into two more groups appeared: fundamental and applied. It is believed that fundamental sciences discover fundamental laws and facts, and applied sciences, using the results of fundamental sciences, obtain knowledge for the purposeful transformation of reality. In turn, fundamental sciences are divided into two more groups: species sciences(area of research - knowledge of one stage, one type or one form of motion of matter); range-species science (field of research - knowledge of a certain range of stages, types, forms of motion of matter, but on a limited range of issues). This is how a new list of sciences appears, much more significant than the one given earlier (see Figure 6).
Figure 6 - List of fundamental and applied sciences
The considered features of the classification of sciences, however, do not in any way address the problems of the methods and schemes for studying phenomena used in them. Although it has long been known from scientific practice that there are different methods and research schemes in certain groups of sciences. Based on this criterion, it is customary to distinguish three groups of sciences: descriptive sciences; exact sciences; humanities. A list of these basic sciences is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 - List of descriptive, exact and human sciences
The presented classification of sciences plays an important ideological role in determining the object of a specific study, forming the subject of research and choosing adequate research methods. These issues are discussed in the second chapter.
Along with the classification considered, there is now formally a departmental regulatory document - Classifier of directions and specialties of higher professional education with a list of master's programs (specializations). It identifies 4 groups of sciences within which master’s theses should be prepared:
1. Natural sciences and mathematics (mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, geography, hydrometeorology, geology, ecology, etc.).
2. Humanities and socio-economic sciences (cultural studies, theology, philology, philosophy, linguistics, journalism, bibliology, history, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, regional studies, management, economics, art, physical education, commerce, agroeconomics, statistics , art, law, etc.).
3. Technical sciences (construction, printing, telecommunications, metallurgy, mining, electronics and microelectronics, geodesy, radio engineering, architecture, etc.).
4. Agricultural sciences (agronomy, animal science, veterinary medicine, agricultural engineering, forestry, fisheries, etc.).
It is clear that master's theses in the field of public administration should be developed within the framework of the second group of sciences - the humanities and socio-economics.
Each group of sciences indicated above has its own area of research, has its own research methods and patterns of knowledge, and has received its own laws, patterns and conclusions. At the same time, a tendency towards rapid differentiation (separation) of sciences is clearly visible. In ancient times, under Aristotle, there was only one science - philosophy. In the 11th century, six sciences were already distinguished, in the 17th century - eleven sciences, in the 19th century - thirty-two sciences, in the middle of the 20th century - more than a hundred sciences. But along with this, in recent years the negative consequences of differentiation have become increasingly recognized. After all, the world around us is one, and differentiation is based on the fact that each science studies its own piece of this world. Open laws have a limited scope. And humanity has reached a point in its practical activities when knowledge about the world as a whole is urgently needed. There is a search for a unifying science, like the one that mathematics once became. Mathematics unites natural, social, fundamental and applied sciences, but is their servant and at the same time is not able to adequately, without distortion, display a significant number of processes. Perhaps this role is currently being claimed by systemology (systems approach, systems analysis), which is trying to take the place of the methodology of all sciences.
There is another tendency as a consequence of the division of sciences and their relatively independent development. The natural sciences are ahead of the social sciences in terms of their level of development and age. That's how history turned out. And very often one can see how young social sciences borrow methods and research schemes of the natural sciences. This does not take into account the fundamentally different nature of the phenomena under study. This was the case, for example, in cases where the laws of biological and physical processes were extended to some social processes. Thus, in our opinion, there has been a wide spread of the dependencies of probability theory in the field of research into relationships between people. This is true in many other cases.
Thus, summing up the consideration of the classification of sciences, we can draw the following conclusions.
The classification of sciences is a complex and practically important problem that has not yet been completely resolved. Sciences are classified on different grounds: according to the studied forms of motion of matter; according to the stages of development of matter; according to the degree of their fundamentality; according to the applied methods and schemes of cognition.
Criteria for classification of sciences
Classification is a method that allows you to describe a multi-level, branched system of elements and their relationships. The science of classification is called systematics. There are artificial and natural classifications. The first does not take into account the essential properties of the classified objects, the second takes these properties into account. Even the thinkers of Ancient Greece raised the question of the types and types of sciences whose goal is knowledge. Subsequently, this issue developed, and its solution is still relevant today. The classification of sciences provides information about what subject a particular science studies, what distinguishes it from other sciences, and how it is related to other sciences in the development of scientific knowledge. The generally accepted classification is based on the following characteristics: subject of science, research method and research result.
Classification of sciences by subject of research
According to the subject of research, all sciences are divided into natural, humanitarian and technical.
Natural sciences study phenomena, processes and objects of the material world. This world is sometimes called the outer world. These sciences include physics, chemistry, geology, biology and other similar sciences. Natural sciences also study man as a material, biological being. One of the authors of the presentation of the natural sciences as a unified system of knowledge was the German biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919). In his book “World Mysteries” (1899), he pointed to a group of problems (mysteries) that are the subject of study of essentially all natural sciences as a unified system of natural scientific knowledge, natural science. “The Mysteries of E. Haeckel” can be formulated as follows: how did the Universe arise? what types of physical interaction operate in the world and do they have a single physical nature? What does everything in the world ultimately consist of? what is the difference between living and nonliving things and what is the place of man in the endlessly changing Universe and a number of other questions of a fundamental nature. Based on the above concept of E. Haeckel about the role of natural sciences in understanding the world, the following definition of natural science can be given.
Natural science is a system of natural scientific knowledge created by natural sciences V the process of studying the fundamental laws of development of nature and the Universe as a whole.
Natural science is the most important branch of modern science. Unity and integrity are given to natural science by the natural scientific method that underlies all natural sciences.
Humanities - these are sciences that study the laws of development of society and man as a social, spiritual being. These include history, law, economics and other similar sciences. Unlike, for example, biology, where a person is considered as a biological species, in the humanities we are talking about a person as a creative, spiritual being. Technical sciences are the knowledge that a person needs to create the so-called “second nature”, the world of buildings, structures, communications, artificial energy sources, etc. Technical sciences include astronautics, electronics, energy and a number of other similar sciences. In technical sciences, the interrelation between natural sciences and the humanities is more evident. Systems created on the basis of knowledge of technical sciences take into account knowledge from the field of humanities and natural sciences. In all the sciences mentioned above, specialization and integration are observed. Specialization characterizes an in-depth study of individual aspects and properties of the object, phenomenon, or process under study. For example, a lawyer can devote his entire life to researching problems in the development of criminal law. Integration characterizes the process of combining specialized knowledge from various scientific disciplines. Today there is a general process of integration of natural sciences, humanities and technical sciences in solving a number of pressing problems, among which global problems of the development of the world community are of particular importance. Along with the integration of scientific knowledge, the process of education of scientific disciplines at the intersection of individual sciences is developing. For example, in the twentieth century. Sciences such as geochemistry (geological and chemical evolution of the Earth), biochemistry (chemical interactions in living organisms) and others arose. The processes of integration and specialization eloquently emphasize the unity of science and the interconnection of its sections. The division of all sciences according to the subject of study into natural, humanitarian and technical faces a certain difficulty: what sciences include mathematics, logic, psychology, philosophy, cybernetics, general systems theory and some others? This question is not trivial. This is especially true for mathematics. Mathematics, as noted by one of the founders of quantum mechanics, the English physicist P. Dirac (1902-1984), is a tool specially adapted to deal with abstract concepts of any kind, and in this area there is no limit to its power. The famous German philosopher I. Kant (1724-1804) made the following statement: there is as much science in science as there is mathematics in it. The peculiarity of modern science is manifested in the widespread use of logical and mathematical methods in it. Currently, there are discussions about the so-called interdisciplinary and general methodological science
The first ones can present their knowledge O laws of the objects under study in many other sciences, but as additional information. The latter develop general methods of scientific knowledge; they are called general methodological sciences. The question of interdisciplinary and general methodological sciences is debatable, open, and philosophical.
Theoretical and empirical sciences
According to the methods used in the sciences, it is customary to divide sciences into theoretical and empirical.
The word "theory" is borrowed from ancient Greek and means "a conceivable consideration of things." Theoretical sciences create various models of real-life phenomena, processes and objects of research. They make extensive use of abstract concepts, mathematical calculations, and ideal objects. This allows us to identify significant connections, laws and patterns of the phenomena, processes and objects being studied. For example, in order to understand the laws of thermal radiation, classical thermodynamics used the concept of an absolutely black body, which completely absorbs the light radiation incident on it. In the development of theoretical sciences, the principle of putting forward postulates plays an important role.
For example, A. Einstein accepted the postulate in the theory of relativity that the speed of light is independent of the movement of the source of its radiation. This postulate does not explain why the speed of light is constant, but represents the initial position (postulate) of this theory. Empirical Sciences. The word “empirical” is derived from the first and last name of the ancient Roman physician, philosopher Sextus Empiricus (3rd century AD). He argued that only the data of experience should underlie the development of scientific knowledge. Hence empirical means experienced. Currently, this concept includes both the concept of experiment and traditional methods of observation: description and systematization of facts obtained without the use of experimental methods. The word "experiment" is borrowed from the Latin language and literally means trial and experience. Strictly speaking, an experiment “asks questions” to nature, that is, special conditions are created that make it possible to reveal the action of an object under these conditions. There is a close relationship between theoretical and empirical sciences: theoretical sciences use data from empirical sciences, empirical sciences verify the consequences arising from theoretical sciences. There is nothing more effective than a good theory in scientific research, and the development of theory is impossible without original, creatively designed experiment. Currently, the term "empirical and theoretical" sciences has been replaced by the more adequate terms "theoretical research" and "experimental research". The introduction of these terms emphasizes the close connection between theory and practice in modern science.
Basic and applied sciences
Taking into account the result of the contribution of individual sciences to the development of scientific knowledge, all sciences are divided into fundamental and applied sciences. The former greatly influence our way of thinking, the latter - our lifestyle.
Fundamental sciences explore the deepest elements, structures, and laws of the universe. In the 19th century It was customary to call such sciences “purely scientific research,” emphasizing their focus exclusively on understanding the world and changing our way of thinking. We were talking about such sciences as physics, chemistry and other natural sciences. Some scientists of the 19th century. claimed that “physics is the salt, and everything else is zero.” Today, such a belief is a delusion: it cannot be argued that the natural sciences are fundamental, and the humanities and technical sciences are indirect, depending on the level of development of the former. Therefore, it is advisable to replace the term “fundamental sciences” with the term “fundamental scientific research,” which is developing in all sciences. For example, in the field of law, fundamental research includes the theory of state and law, in which the basic concepts of law are developed.
Applied sciences, or applied scientific research, aim to use knowledge from the field of fundamental research to solve specific problems in the practical life of people, i.e. they influence our way of life. For example, applied mathematics develops mathematical methods for solving problems in the design and construction of specific technical objects. It should be emphasized that the modern classification of sciences also takes into account the target function of a particular science. Taking this into account, we talk about exploratory scientific research to solve a specific problem and task. Exploratory scientific research makes a connection between fundamental and applied research in solving a specific task and problem. The concept of fundamentality includes the following features: the depth of research, the scale of application of research results in other sciences and the functions of these results in the development of scientific knowledge as a whole.
One of the first classifications of the natural sciences is the classification developed by the French scientist A. M. Ampere (1775-1836). The German chemist F. Kekule (1829-1896) also developed a classification of natural sciences, which was discussed in the 19th century. In his classification, the main, basic science was mechanics, that is, the science of the simplest of types of movement - mechanical.
In the modern understanding, science is usually considered as one of the components (along with ideology, etc.) of humanity.
- this is a certain system of knowledge about nature, about, about, as well as a special type of spiritual production, the goals of which are to obtain true knowledge, its accumulation and improvement.
In addition, science refers to the totality within which this production is carried out.
In the strict sense of the word science as a phenomenon appeared in the 17th century, which was associated with the ability to experimentally verify the truth of the knowledge acquired. Science and society are interconnected. Science can neither arise nor develop outside society. In turn, modern society can no longer exist without science, which contributes to all spheres of social life and acts as a factor in social development. Based on knowledge of the laws of functioning and evolution of the objects under consideration, science makes a forecast of the future of these objects for the purpose of practical mastery of reality.
Guided by certain ideals And standards scientific activity, which represent certain approaches, principles, attitudes, characteristic of scientists at different stages of the development of science and changing over time (such, for example, the transition from the physics of I. Newton to the physics of A. Einstein). The unity of ideals and norms of scientific knowledge that prevail at a certain stage of the development of science is expressed by the concept “ style of scientific thinking".
Development of scientific knowledge
The American historian of science T. Kuhn analyzed the nature of the development of scientific knowledge. He identified periods when science develops gradually, accumulating facts, when theorems are proven within the framework of already existing theories. Kuhn called this state of science, developing on the basis of norms, rules, and methodological guidelines recognized in the scientific community. As science develops within the framework of a certain paradigm, facts inevitably accumulate that do not fit into the framework of existing theories. Sooner or later, to explain them, it is necessary to change the foundations of scientific knowledge, fundamental principles, methodological settings, i.e. scientific paradigms. Paradigm change, according to Kuhn, is scientific revolution.
Scientific picture of the worldScientific revolution brings change scientific picture of the world - a holistic system of concepts and principles about general properties and patterns of reality.
Distinguish general scientific picture of the world, which includes ideas about all reality (i.e. about nature, about society and about knowledge itself), and natural scientific picture of the world. The latter, depending on the subject of knowledge, can be physical, astronomical, chemical, biological, etc. In the general scientific picture of the world, the defining element is the picture of the world of that area of scientific knowledge that occupies a leading position at a specific stage of the development of science.
Each picture of the world is built on the basis of certain fundamental scientific theories, and as practice and knowledge develop, some scientific pictures of the world are replaced by others. Thus, the natural scientific and, above all, physical picture was built initially (in the 17th century) on the basis of classical mechanics ( classical picture of the world), then (at the beginning of the 20th century) based on electrodynamics, quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity (non-classical picture of the world), and currently based on synergetics ( post-non-classical picture of the world). Scientific pictures of the world play a heuristic role in the process of constructing fundamental scientific theories. They are closely related to the worldview, being one of the important sources of its formation.
Classification of sciences
A complex but very important problem is classification of sciences. An extensive system of numerous and diverse studies, distinguished by object, subject, method, degree of fundamentality, scope of application, etc., practically excludes a unified classification of all sciences on one basis.
In the most general form, sciences are divided into natural, technical, public (social) and humanitarian.
Sciences include:
- about space, its structure, development (astronomy, cosmology, cosmogony, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, etc.);
- Earth (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, etc.);
- physical, chemical, biological systems and processes, forms of motion of matter (physics, etc.);
- man as a biological species, his origin and evolution (anatomy, etc.).
Technical sciences are meaningfully based on the natural sciences. They study various forms and directions of development of technology (heat engineering, radio engineering, electrical engineering, etc.).
Public (social) sciences also have a number of directions and study society (economics, sociology, political science, jurisprudence, etc.).
Humanitarian sciences - sciences about the spiritual world of man, about the relationship to the surrounding world, society, and one’s own kind (pedagogy, psychology, heuristics, conflictology, etc.).
There are connecting links between the blocks of sciences; the same sciences may be partially included in different groups (ergonomics, medicine, ecology, engineering psychology, etc.), the line between the social and human sciences (history, ethics, aesthetics, etc.) is especially fluid.
A special place in the system of sciences is occupied by , mathematics, cybernetics, computer science etc., which, due to their general nature, are used in any research.
The following classification involves distinguishing fundamental And applied science. The criterion for their selection turns out to be degree of distance from practice.
One of the classifications of types of sciences reflects stages of formation modern science:
- classical science- a science formed in the 17th-19th centuries. Its distinctive feature is extreme objectivism, that is, the fundamental exclusion from scientific knowledge of everything connected with the knowing subject and the means of knowledge;
- non-classical science, which developed in the first half of the 20th century. It proceeds from the fact that the subject and object of cognition form a single system and, moreover, the act of cognition itself changes the object under study. An example of non-classical science is quantum physics;
- post-non-classical science, which appeared in the second half of the 20th century. This science requires taking into account the researcher’s values and goals and assessing the social significance of the results obtained. Such sciences may include ecology, genetic engineering, etc.
In the course of historical development, science gradually turns from a solitary activity (Archimedes) into a special, relatively independent form of social consciousness and sphere of human activity. It acts as a product of the long development of human culture, civilization, a special social organism with its own types of communication, division and cooperation of certain types of scientific activity.
The role of science in the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution is constantly growing. Among its main functions are the following:
- ideological(science explains the world);
- epistemological(science contributes to understanding the world);
- transformative(science acts as a factor in social development: it underlies the processes of modern production, the creation of advanced technologies, significantly increasing the productive forces of society).