It is no secret that our country is undergoing transformations that are very important for every citizen, events of historical importance. Therefore, it is necessary to study the problems of human cognitive activity in more depth.
The development of civilization has reached a point where the most important means of solving its problems are competence and good will, based on knowledge and universal human values. A scientific and humanistic worldview, focused on truth, goodness and justice, can contribute to the growth of human spirituality, as well as the increasing integration of human culture and the convergence of the interests of the people.
Some scientists argue that in our time the process of formation of social integrity is becoming more and more clear, and the foundations of a common style of thinking for humanity are being laid. In the structure of the latter leading place belongs to dialectics.
Problems of the theory of knowledge in our time appear in various forms. But there are a number of traditional problems, including truth and error, knowledge and intuition, the sensual and the rational, etc. They form the foundation on which one can comprehend the development of science and technology, the relationship between knowledge and practice, forms and types of human thinking. Some of these problems will be discussed below.
Cognition is very important for a person, since otherwise the development of man himself, science, technology would be impossible, and it is unknown how far we would have gone from the Stone Age if we did not have the ability to cognition. But “excess” knowledge can also be harmful. Here is what F. Joliot-Curie said on this matter: “Scientists know how much benefit science has brought to humanity; they also know what she could achieve now if everything globe peace reigned. They don’t want the words to ever be uttered: “Science has led us to death from atomic and hydrogen bombs" Scientists know that science cannot be to blame. The only people to blame are those who make poor use of its achievements.”
It should be noted that many deep problems of epistemology have not yet been fully clarified. Further epistemological progress is associated with significant future breakthroughs in theoretical thought.
Epistemology
Epistemology or the theory of knowledge is a branch of philosophy in which the nature of knowledge and its possibilities, the relationship of knowledge to reality are studied, and the conditions for the reliability and truth of knowledge are identified. The term “Gnoseology” comes from the Greek words “gnosis” - knowledge and “logos” - concept, doctrine and means “concept of knowledge”, “doctrine of knowledge”. This teaching explores the nature of human cognition, the forms and patterns of transition from a superficial idea of things (opinion) to comprehension of their essence (true knowledge) and therefore considers the question of the paths of truth, its criteria. The most pressing question for all epistemology is the question of what practical life meaning reliable knowledge about the world, about man himself and human society has. And, although the term “theory of knowledge” itself was introduced into philosophy relatively recently (in 1854) by the Scottish philosopher J. Ferrer, the doctrine of knowledge has been developed since the times of Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle.
The theory of knowledge studies the universal in human cognitive activity, regardless of what this activity itself is: everyday or specialized, professional, scientific or artistic. Therefore, we can call epistemology (the theory of scientific knowledge) a subdivision of epistemology, although quite often in the literature these two sciences are identified, which is not true.
Let us give definitions of the subject and object of cognition, without which the process of cognition itself is impossible.
The subject of knowledge is the one who realizes it, i.e. a creative personality who forms new knowledge. Subjects of knowledge in their totality form the scientific community. It, in turn, develops historically and is organized into various social and professional forms (academies, universities, research institutes, laboratories, etc.).
From an epistemological point of view, it can be noted that the subject of cognition is a socio-historical being who realizes social goals and carries out cognitive activity on the basis of historically developing methods scientific research.
The object of knowledge is a fragment of reality that is the focus of the researcher’s attention. Simply put, the object of knowledge is what the scientist studies: an electron, a cell, a family. It can be both phenomena and processes of the objective world, and the subjective world of a person: way of thinking, mental state, public opinion. Also, the object of scientific analysis can be, as it were, “secondary products” of the intellectual activity itself: artistic features literary work, patterns of development of mythology, religion, etc. The object is objective in contrast to the researcher’s own ideas about it.
Sometimes in epistemology an additional term “object of knowledge” is introduced to emphasize the non-trivial nature of the formation of the object of science. The subject of knowledge represents a certain slice or aspect of an object involved in the sphere of scientific analysis. The object of knowledge enters science through the object of knowledge. We can also say that the subject of knowledge is a projection of the selected object onto specific research tasks.
Epistemology as a doctrine of knowledge belongs to the philosophical disciplines. She is engaged in research, epistemology and criticism. Epistemology considers knowledge from the perspective of the researcher’s relationship to the object under study.
Epistemology as a doctrine of knowledge includes a subject endowed with will and consciousness, and an object of nature that opposes it, independent of the will and consciousness of the subject, united with it only by a cognitive relationship.
Epistemology studies problems such as:
interpretation of the object and subject of cognition,
structure of the cognition process,
Epistemology studies the problems of the essence of knowledge, determining its capabilities, as well as how knowledge and reality relate. Epistemology reveals the conditions under which knowledge is reliable and true. serves as the basis of epistemology. The objectives of this science lie in the analysis of universal foundations, which make it possible to evaluate the result of cognition as knowledge that expresses the true, real state of affairs.
Epistemology emerged as a sphere of philosophical knowledge even before the formation modern science. The theoretical and cognitive interpretation of epistemology begins from the moment when theoretical constructions are interpreted from the position of their correspondence to truth, reality, i.e. their status of existence can be attributed to certain abstract objects. Epistemology relies on empirical data that confirms the theory from the standpoint of its validity, identifying and analyzing reliable and problematic knowledge in it.
The process of cognition itself is one of the basic human needs.
As part of philosophy, epistemology originated in antiquity. The condition for its emergence was a transition that changed the view of knowledge. They did not consider it as a natural process inherent in human nature, but moved on to the desire to control cognitive activity. There are certain stages in the development of epistemology, due to the expansion of the range of studied factors of cognition.
1. At first, cognition was analyzed as an activity of the mind. They studied the technique of thinking and logic was the main epistemological discipline.
2. At this stage, methodology becomes the main epistemological discipline. Epistemology studies practical and sensory experience, the connection between feelings and reason, technologies of experimental and experimental research.
3. At this stage, the diversity of foundations and methods of knowledge is taken into account, new epistemological schools are founded: the theory of tacit knowledge, hermeneutics, phenomenology, semiotics, scientism.
Cognition occurs in two forms, considered as aspects of cognitive activity: rational and sensory.
Sensory cognition is due to the receipt of information through the senses and nervous system. Knowledge in reality is stored and processed in the form of visual images.
based on Understanding of reality is carried out through generalized symbolic sign means.
Cognitive human activity is mainly based on the ability to rational cognition. While sensory human cognition is relatively similar to the cognition of higher animals. Operations such as unification, discrimination, comparison of data are the same for rational and sensory cognition.
The main ones are perception, sensation and idea.
The main forms of rational knowledge are judgment, concept, and inference.
Cognition as a subject of philosophical analysis.
Sensory and rational cognition.
Scientific and extra-scientific knowledge. Scientific criteria.
The structure of scientific knowledge, its levels and forms.
Methods of scientific knowledge.
Cognition as a subject of philosophical analysis.
The need for orientation in the world led to the emergence and development of a specific human activity - cognition. It consists in acquiring, accumulating and expanding knowledge about the surrounding reality.
Epistemology (gr. Gnosis - knowledge, logos - teaching, word) or theory of knowledge is one of the main sections of philosophical knowledge along with ontology and anthropology.
The main questions of epistemology or theory of knowledge are the following:
Do we know the world?
How does a person understand the world?
What is the depth of our knowledge?
What is truth and what are the criteria for the truth of knowledge?
In the history of philosophy, ancient thinkers already addressed the problem of knowledge. In Ancient Greece, contemplation was considered the highest form of knowledge, because They believed that it introduces a person to what is eternal, to the essence of things. Zeno first identified the problem that sensory knowledge often contradicts rational knowledge. Plato argued that knowledge is only the recollection of what the immortal soul originally knew, but, having entered the human body, forgot. Then the task of human cognitive activity becomes only remembering, which does not depend on the external world, but is carried out through the activity of the mind, for which it is best to “close your eyes and plug your ears.”
In the Middle Ages, two main problems emerged in epistemology:
The problem of universals: a dispute about what cognition should be aimed at - things or concepts. Realists believed that concepts have a real primary existence, therefore knowledge should be directed at concepts, and not at things. Nominalists, on the contrary, believed that concepts are only names of things and the objective world should be cognized.
The next problem is the theory of two truths: the truth of reason and the truth of faith. The knowledge of God was believed to occur through faith, and of nature through reason.
In modern times, epistemology rises to a new level. The main question becomes about the main source of knowledge. Empiricism is distinguished - a direction in philosophy that considers experience to be the main source of new knowledge, experiment, knowledge is obtained through induction, and rationalism - which recognizes reason as such, the activity of the mind, knowledge is derived through deduction.
The development of the theory of knowledge continues with German classics. I. Kant in the “Critique of Pure Reason” overcomes empiricism and rationalism and shows that scientific knowledge lies in their synthesis. At the same time, agnosticism develops; the thing in itself is unknowable.
German classics discover the active nature of cognition. G.V.F. Hegel substantiates the understanding of cognition as a world-historical dialectical process, during which both the subject and the object of cognition change. For him, knowledge appears as self-knowledge of the absolute spirit (world mind), thus, he reduces the essence of knowledge to reflection.
Modern epistemology is the result of a long journey of search by many generations of thinkers. It is based on the following grounds:
Cognition is the process of active, purposeful reflection of objective reality in the human mind.
The process of cognition is based on reflective human activity.
The components of the cognitive process are object, subject and practice. An object is a thing, object, phenomenon or process towards which human activity is directed in cognitive or practical activity. Subject means the bearer of activity aimed at an object.
There are two stages in cognition: sensory and rational cognition.
Sensory and rational cognition.
Sensory cognition occurs in three forms: sensations, perception and representation.
The most elementary, initial form of sensory knowledge is sensation. Every process of cognition begins and is based on sensations.
Feelings are the result direct impact matter on our senses, direct reflection in human consciousness of individual aspects, properties of objects and phenomena of the material world, as well as internal states of the body.
In terms of information content, the human senses are: vision, touch, hearing, taste, smell.
There are various types of sensations: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, vibration, temperature, pain, equilibrium, organic (processes occurring in the body).
Perception involves synthetic activity of the brain.
Perception is a reflection of objects in the surrounding world in the form of integral sensory images with the direct influence of material objects on the senses, an ordered system of sensations and their unity and interconnection, awareness of objects based on existing knowledge. Technical devices help here, thanks to which it has become possible, for example, to perceive infrared, ultraviolet and x-rays.
Representation is a holistic ideal image of an object, which arises on the basis of recalling previous sensations and perceptions or imagination.
Rational cognition. Abstract thinking.
Abstract thinking is the highest level of knowledge of the surrounding world. It gives knowledge about the general and essential properties of an object, the patterns of its development.
Rational knowledge is carried out in the form of concepts, judgments, and inferences.
A concept is an elementary form of thought, the result of a generalization based on a set of features inherent in a given class of objects. - reflection of the general, essential properties of objects and phenomena.
A judgment is a thought that connects concepts and is an affirmation or denial.
Inference is the conclusion of new knowledge, proof using judgments following each other, a mental operation in which various judgments are connected with each other into a single whole, a definite conclusion.
A classic example of inference:
All people are mortal. (package)
Socrates is a man. (substantiating knowledge)
Socrates is mortal. (conclusion - inferential knowledge).
Memory is a person’s ability to reproduce previously developed information. Short-term memory is characterized by verbal-acoustic coding, while long-term memory is characterized by semantic (notional) coding.
The results of cognitive activity from the point of view of their objective content are characterized by the category truth.
Aristotle also said that truth is the correspondence between certain statements and an objective state of affairs.
Truth is an adequate reflection of reality by the subject, its reproduction as it is outside and independently of consciousness.
Basic properties of truth:
Objectivity in content – conditioned by reality, experience, practice, independence from individuals.
Subjectivity in form is a property of human knowledge.
Processuality is the development of knowledge and truth in the course of the socio-historical process. Truth is the process of moving along the truth scale towards absolute truth.
Absolute truth is comprehensive knowledge about reality and an element of knowledge about a subject that cannot be refuted. Man studied nuclear reactions, the genetic basis of heredity, and much more. etc. There is a growth of knowledge, our knowledge becomes more and more true. New discoveries lie ahead, but comprehensive knowledge about the world is not achievable as infinity.
The relativity of truth is incompleteness, variability, conditionality of knowledge, conditioned by the level of development of science, technology, production in at this stage. Every relative truth is a step forward towards achieving absolute truth.
Specific truth - any true knowledge must always be determined in its content and application by the specific conditions of place, time, etc. circumstances.
How to distinguish between truth and error?
In modern philosophy, three concepts of truth are distinguished: the concept of correspondence, coherence and pragmatism.
According to these concepts, those sign constructions are true which are confirmed, i.e. correspond to the described facts, do not contradict and are in full agreement with the system of statements and are confirmed in practice, effective in achieving their goals.
Dialectical-materialist philosophy puts forward practice (the concept of pragmatism) as the main criterion of truth. Practice is an integral system of the total material activity of mankind in all its historical development, in the process of which a person creates a new reality - the world of material and spiritual culture, new conditions of his existence, which are not given to him by nature in a ready-made form (“second nature”). Practice proves the truth of knowledge if the theory is successfully applied in practice. Methods for testing a particular theory in practice can be different, for example, in the natural sciences, certain provisions are confirmed in an experiment associated with observation, measurement, and mathematical processing of the results obtained; in experience.
Knowledge that does not meet the above requirements is misleading or false. Misconception is inadequate knowledge. A lie is a deliberate distortion of the truth.
A person experiences the world through feelings, thoughts, language, and actions.
Truth never appears in a complete and absolutely finished form. Scientific theories are developed, enriched, and refined. A certain part of knowledge remains less convincing, untested, not logically justified, or there is no objective evidence of it. Faith, the subjective act of accepting something as true without any proof, often helps a person move further into the realm of the unknown.
Faith is a value phenomenon, a personality characteristic that includes faith in oneself, in one’s capabilities, abilities, loved ones and friends, and the future.
Faith can be divided into the following forms:
Pragmatic faith is the belief that one is right.
Doctrinal – belief in general principles.
Religious faith is seen as a revelation that does not need justification, faith in a higher purpose, in God.
Moral faith is belief in spiritual and moral values.
Scientific and extra-scientific knowledge. Scientific criteria
Science is a human activity to develop, systematize and test knowledge about nature, society and knowledge, with the immediate goal of comprehending the truth and discovering objective laws.
Before the New Age, there were no conditions for the formation of science as a system of knowledge, a unique spiritual phenomenon and a social institution. Until this time, only elements of science existed, thanks to Aristotle, Archimedes, Euclid, etc. In modern times, science became the most important factor in the formation of industrial society.
Science forms a single interconnected developing system of knowledge about the laws of the world, and at the same time is divided into branches of knowledge or special sciences, which differ in what form of reality they study and are divided into:
natural sciences - natural science
social sciences - social science
about thinking and cognition – logic, epistemology
Technical science
Mathematics is a kind of science.
The most important characteristic of scientific knowledge is its growth and development. The general model of the historical-scientific process was developed by the American philosopher Thomas Kuhn, one of the representatives of postpositivism. In the book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” he substantiated the concept of scientific paradigms, according to which at the first stage of the formation of any scientific discipline there is no one system values, categories and agreement regarding goals, theoretical orientations, general research methods and facts. Creating a paradigm means achieving such agreement and forming a closed community. The transition from one paradigm to another is accompanied by a collective change in vision, i.e. interpretation of facts. Science developing within the framework of a paradigm leads to the improvement of theories and the growth of empirical facts. The discovery of anomalous facts, inexplicable within the framework of established views, leads to scientific revolutions, when new paradigms emerge and the “conceptual grid” changes.
There are three stages in the evolution of science:
classical science (17th-19th centuries)
non-classical science (first half of the 20th century)
postclassical (modern) science.
Main features of scientific knowledge (scientific criteria):
1) The main task of scientific knowledge is the discovery of objective laws of reality: natural, social, cognitive. Hence the orientation of science towards the essential, necessary properties of objects and their expression in a system of abstractions.
the goal and highest value of scientific knowledge is objective truth. Hence the objectivity of scientific knowledge.
Science is focused on practice, on being a “guide to action.”
Scientific knowledge is a complex contradictory process of development of a system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, laws and other ideal forms, enshrined in natural or artificial language.
In scientific knowledge, scientific equipment is used, as well as general scientific techniques and methods.
Scientific knowledge is characterized by strict evidence, validity of results and reliability of conclusions. Although there remain many hypotheses, guesses, and probabilistic judgments.
Scientific knowledge is characterized by methodological reflection. Science studies its own methods and techniques and improves them.
Internal systemicity of knowledge.
Consistency of constructions.
Openness to criticism.
Other forms of knowledge and cognition that do not meet these criteria: ordinary, philosophical, religious, artistic, figurative, gaming and mythological.
Non-scientific forms of knowledge include magic, alchemy, astrology, parapsychology, palmistry, etc.
The structure of scientific knowledge, its levels and forms
Scientific knowledge includes two interconnected levels - empirical and theoretical.
At the empirical level, research is aimed directly at the object being studied and is implemented through observation and experiment.
Theoretical research centers around generalizing ideas, hypotheses, laws, principles, theories that allow the interpretation of empirical facts.
The main methods of empirical research:
Observation is a purposeful and organized perception of phenomena without the intervention of a cognizing subject in natural conditions, providing primary material for scientific research.
experiment (lat. experimentum - test, experiment) - testing the phenomena being studied under controlled and controlled conditions.
The following operations are used:
Comparison – identifying similarities or differences between objects;
Description – recording the results of an experiment using certain notation systems accepted in science;
Measurement is a set of actions performed using measuring instruments in order to find the numerical value of the measured quantity in accepted units of measurement.
Empirical knowledge is aimed at accumulating factual material.
A fact is the basis of scientific knowledge, it is a registered event, a meaningful fragment of reality. Conceptual design of a fact - the description can be supplemented with diagrams, graphs, symbols, photos and video materials, maps, etc.
Theories are built on the basis of systematization and generalization of facts, so initially the facts must be “pure”, i.e. independent of theory. But in reality, already when stating and describing facts, interpretation occurs and the facts are initially loaded theoretically. In the process of searching for facts, scientists are already guided by certain assumptions and theoretical concepts. Therefore, in principle, there is no absolutely “pure” fact.
In a number of cases, facts are predicted by theory, for example, the discovery of the planet Neptune according to preliminary calculations by the French astronomer Le Verrier.
Accumulated facts and empirical generalizations require comprehension, systematization, classification, generalization and explanation. If the description answers the questions “what”, “how”, the explanation should give answers to the questions: “why”, “for what reason”, “what is the meaning” of this phenomenon. A scientific explanation is not about making the unclear clear (this is achieved in the description), but about revealing the internal nature, causes, essence, and patterns of an event.
The structural components of theoretical research are:
A problem (gr. obstacle, difficulty) is a form of knowledge, the content of which is not known, but requires knowledge. The entire history of man's knowledge of reality is a process of posing and solving problems. The problem is knowledge about ignorance. A scientific problem arises when the use of established scientific methods for generalizing a system of knowledge does not lead to an explanation of new facts. However, the formulation of the problem itself plays an important role in the process of scientific knowledge. A. Soddy: “in science, a problem properly posed is more than half solved. The mental preparation process required to figure out that a certain problem exists often takes more time than solving the problem itself.”
The way the problem is stated is influenced by two factors:
the general character of the thinking of the era in which the problem is formed and formulated;
the existing level of knowledge about those objects that are affected by the problem that has arisen.
The formulation of a scientific problem is a condition for the formation of both a hypothesis and a theory, the intended path of scientific discovery.
A hypothesis is a form of knowledge containing an assumption formulated on the basis of a number of facts, the true meaning of which is uncertain and requires proof. Hypothetical knowledge is probable, not reliable, and requires verification and justification.
To meet the scientific criterion, a hypothesis must satisfy a number of requirements, which are called the conditions for the validity of the hypothesis:
Empirical validity, i.e. compliance with factual material, observational and experimental data, on the basis of which and for the explanation of which it is put forward. A hypothesis must explain all the facts available in a given area based on a single principle and have the ability to predict new facts;
Theoretical validity – i.e. consistency with existing knowledge;
Fundamental testability in experiment and in the course of socio-historical practice;
Logical simplicity;
Internal consistency;
The question is how to move from hypothesis to true knowledge? There are direct and indirect methods of confirming a hypothesis.
Direct methods: 1. Deductive derivation of consequences from a hypothesis and their subsequent verification (comparison with facts), confirmation of consequences is considered as evidence in favor of the truth of the hypothesis; 2. Detection of an object and direct observation of those phenomena that are assumed by the hypothesis, for example, the planets Neptune and Pluto through a telescope, but this method is applicable only to individual objects.
The indirect method is the elimination method. All kinds of hypotheses are constructed that can explain the phenomenon, then they are tested one by one and false ones are discarded, the remaining hypothesis is considered true. This method is widely used in forensic investigations, where various versions are considered and those that are not confirmed are discarded.
A proven hypothesis represents a theory or an element of it. It ceases to be problematic knowledge, but this does not mean that it becomes an absolute truth, incapable of further development and clarification. Proving a hypothesis makes it a relative truth that correctly captures at a given stage of cognition the real mechanism of the phenomenon being explained.
Often, not one, but many hypotheses are put forward to explain a phenomenon. Simultaneous development of a number of hypotheses is a typical form of development scientific knowledge. Each of them may contain a rational grain that needs to be identified and used. In this case, two types of relationships between hypotheses are possible: competition and complementarity. Competition arises when hypotheses are based on the same factual material, but explain it in the opposite way. But more often the hypotheses are not competing, but complementary - they explain different aspects of one structurally complex object. The principle of complementarity, developed by N. Bohr, is applicable to these hypotheses, when the actual task is not the choice between hypotheses, but the task of their synthesis. Many branches of modern science have now reached this stage of synthesizing existing knowledge and creating general theories of the objects being studied - general theory life in biology, in geology - the general theory of the Earth.
Theory is the most developed form of scientific knowledge, providing a holistic reflection of the natural and essential connections of a certain area of reality, an integral developing system of scientific principles: concepts, laws and principles.
Main functions of the theory:
synthetic – combining reliable knowledge into an integral system;
explanatory – explains the essence of the phenomena of its subject area;
methodological – is a means of achieving new knowledge;
predictive - allows you to draw conclusions about the future state of phenomena and the existence of previously unknown facts, objects or properties; (so, based on the laws of theoretical mechanics, scientists consider and anticipate the movement of celestial bodies, space equipment; based on the laws of physics and chemistry, they calculate and anticipate the movement chemical reactions, the possibility of discovering new chemical elements and their compounds);
practical – promotes the application of knowledge in practice.
Theorization is the discovery of a specific algorithm with the help of which, based on certain parameters, it would be possible to predict others.
Methods of scientific knowledge
Method (gr. Metodos - “path to something”) is a set of certain rules, techniques, methods, norms of cognition and action. A system of prescriptions, principles, requirements that guide a subject in solving a specific problem, achieving a certain result in a given field of activity.
The main function of the method is the internal organization and regulation of the process of cognition or practical transformation of an object.
The general theory of the method is called “methodology” - it is a system of certain rules, principles and operations applied in a particular field of activity.
All methods of scientific knowledge are divided into the following main groups:
philosophical (dialectics, metaphysics, phenomenology, hermeneutics...)
general scientific
private scientific
2. General scientific methods include methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge, general logical methods and research techniques.
Methods of empirical research: experiment, observation.
Methods of theoretical knowledge:
formalization – display of content knowledge in a symbolic form for the purpose of its unambiguous understanding;
axiomatic method - the construction of a scientific theory, which is based on certain axioms, from which the rest of the statements are then logically deduced;
hypothetico-deductive method - the creation of a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which a statement about empirical facts is derived;
ascent from the abstract to the concrete - movement from the initial abstraction through the deepening and expansion of knowledge to a holistic reproduction of the theory of the subject under study;
pragmatic method - determining means based on set goals consistent with certain values;
descriptive methods - used when the other above methods are unacceptable; the phenomena being studied are described verbally, graphically, schematically, symbolically.
General scientific methods and techniques:
1) Analysis – real or mental division of an object into its component parts.
2) Synthesis - the unification of the diverse into an organic whole.
3) Abstraction – mental abstraction from a number of properties and relationships of the phenomenon being studied and the selection of properties of interest.
4) Generalization is the process of establishing the general properties and characteristics of objects.
5) Idealization - the formation of abstract idealized objects that do not exist in reality (“point”, “absolutely rigid body”, absolutely black body, ideal student, etc.). Idealization allows you to express the sameness of class elements.
6) Induction
7) Deduction
8) Analogy - for example, object A has features a, b, c, d, object B has features a, b, c, therefore object B may also have feature d. Such an inference is probabilistic in nature.
9) Modeling - reproducing the characteristics of an object on another object - a model, which is an analogue of the original or part of it. Modeling can be mathematical, computer, subject, etc.
10) probabilistic-statistical methods - the discovery of laws that manifest themselves in a mass of cases, breaking through random factors.
a systems approach is a set of general scientific methodological principles based on the consideration of objects of knowledge as systems of interconnected and interdependent elements.
In addition to general scientific methods, there are a lot of specific scientific methods of cognition, i.e. finding application in certain scientific fields. For example, the idiographic method is a description of the individual characteristics of historical events; introspection - self-observation; empathy - getting used to the psychological world of another; testing, projective methods, etc.
That. in science there is a complex, integral, dynamic, subordinated system of diverse methods of scientific knowledge at different levels and areas of application.
EPISTEMOLOGY
EPISTEMOLOGY
(Greek gnosis - knowledge, logos - teaching) - a philosophical discipline dealing with research, criticism and theories of knowledge - the theory of knowledge as such. In contrast to epistemology, G. considers the process of cognition from the point of view of the relationship of the subject of cognition (researcher) to the object of cognition (researched object) or in the categorical opposition ‘subject - object’. The basic epistemological scheme for the analysis of cognition includes a subject endowed with consciousness and will, and an object of nature opposing him, independent of the consciousness and will of the subject and connected with him only by a cognitive (or praxeo-cognitive) relationship. The main range of epistemological problems is outlined through such problems as the interpretation of the subject and object of cognition, the structure of the cognitive process, the problem of truth and its criterion, the problem of forms and methods of cognition, etc. If for ancient philosophy characteristic of the idea of the unity of an object and knowledge about it, as well as of the cognitive process as a meaningful configuration of objects and, accordingly, focusing on the functional transformation of objectivity in the content of knowledge, then within the framework of medieval scholasticism the problems of geography receive a more differentiated development, many components of the categorical apparatus of classical geography, and attempts to substantiate the possibility of combining the teachings of Aristotle with Christian dogma lead to the formulation of the concept of dual truth, which actually explicitly forms the idea of the paradigmatic nature of cognitive procedures and the possible plurality of paradigms, and such directions of scholasticism as realism, nominalism and conceptualism set various models of cognitive process. The formation of experimental natural science, acutely fixing the problem of the method of achieving true knowledge, inspired the constitution of the opposition “sensualism - rationalism”, and then “empiricism - rationalism” (17-18 centuries). The problem of the subject's activity in the cognitive process acquires the status of relevance (Berkeley, Hume). Gnoseologism, as an orientation given by Kant to highlighting the subjective foundations of knowledge, played an important role in overcoming the value systems of naturalistic epistemology, which affirmed the goal of knowledge to be the achievement of absolute truth, as well as in the criticism of metaphysical philosophical constructions. The distinction between the content and forms of thinking in the works of representatives of German transcendental-critical philosophy raised the problem of the plurality of the foundations of knowledge and the relativity of truth. The rejection of metaphysics, on the one hand, and the rapid development of the natural sciences, on the other, brought the cognitive attitude towards the world to the center of philosophy. Epistemological issues become decisive for neo-Kantianism and positivism. Classical psychology associates the foundations of cognitive activity with the ‘isolated subject’. The consciousness of such a subject is transparent to itself and is the last source of reliability. In such assumptions, the reality of knowledge and its content turn out to be limited by the framework of individual consciousness. This prevents the identification of categorical characteristics of knowledge and leads to psychologism (subjectivism). Trying to overcome the limitations of the original abstractions, philosophers were forced to either accept formal ontological assumptions and principles (Descartes’ “innate ideas”, Kant’s “a priori forms”), or generalize the category of “self-consciousness”, giving it the status of ontology (Fichte, Hegel, Schelling). Nevertheless, the fundamental limitations of the original epistemological abstractions and assumptions were increasingly realized. A special role in this process was played by methodological reflection on the development of the humanities, in which the interaction of the researcher with the reality under study is structured fundamentally differently than in the natural sciences. Criticism of the foundations of classical philosophy, which unfolded from the end of the 19th century. and continuing to this day, led to the breakdown of traditional ideas of G. and the rejection of the abstractions of the “self-conscious” and “isolated” subject. Modern studies of cognition, fixing the limitations of subject-object schemes, introduce other structural divisions and abstractions as initial ones: objective activity ('practice'), cultural norm ('paradigm'), language, etc. Traditional epistemological problems are included in a broader sociocultural context, and, accordingly, a broader system of concepts. The central position within the framework of geography is occupied by the methodology of science and epistemology (see also Science).
History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia. - Minsk: Book House. A. A. Gritsanov, T. G. Rumyantseva, M. A. Mozheiko. 2002 .
Synonyms:See what “GNOSEOLOGY” is in other dictionaries:
Epistemology… Spelling dictionary-reference book
- (Greek gnosis knowledge, and logos word). Theory of knowledge; engaged in the study of the origin, composition and boundaries of human cognition. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. GNOSEOLOGY [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
See Theory of Knowledge. Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983. GNOSEOLOGY ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
epistemology- GNOSEOLOGY, epistemology GNOSEOLOGICAL, epistemological... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech
- (from the Greek gnosis knowledge and...logy) the same as the theory of knowledge... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Greek gnosis knowledge, logos teaching) philosophical discipline dealing with research, criticism and theories of knowledge, theory of knowledge. In contrast to epistemology, G. considers the process of cognition from the point of view of the relations of the subject of cognition... ... The latest philosophical dictionary
GNOSEOLOGY, epistemology, many others. no, female (from the Greek gnosis knowledge and logos teaching) (philosophy). The science of the sources and limits of human knowledge; the same as the theory of knowledge. Dictionary Ushakova. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
GNOSEOLOGY, and, female. In philosophy: theory of knowledge. | adj. epistemological, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
Noun, number of synonyms: 3 theory of knowledge (1) philosophy (40) epistemology ... Synonym dictionary
Or gnoseology (the more common term is the doctrine of recognition, Erkenntnisslehre) a philosophical discipline that studies the possibility and conditions of true knowledge... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Books
- Epistemology of accounting science. History and modernity, N. A. Mislavskaya. The monograph discusses problematic issues development of accounting science during the period of reform of the national accounting system in accordance with the requirements of International standards...
When revealing the first question, “The nature and purpose of the process of cognition,” note that cognition should be considered as a human activity that is aimed at acquiring knowledge about the world around him, about man himself, about the relationship between man and nature, man and society. Thus, cognition is a set of processes through which a person receives, processes and uses information about the world and about himself.
Cognition- this is the process of interaction between the object of knowledge and the subject of knowledge as a result of which new knowledge arises. This is the creative activity of a person, forming his knowledge, on the basis of which the goals of human actions arise. Cognition is the result of human mental activity.
The philosophical theory that studies the problem of knowledge is called epistemology. Epistemology studies the nature of human cognition, the forms and patterns of transition from superficial knowledge (ideas, opinions) about the world to meaningful, deep knowledge. Epistemology is interested in ways to achieve truthful knowledge, as well as its criteria. Cognitive activity is ultimately aimed at satisfying the material and spiritual needs and interests of people, and in this regard, is inextricably linked with expedient practical activity.
When revealing the second question, “Basic provisions of the theory of knowledge. Subject and object of knowledge,” pay special attention to the fact that the process of knowledge itself is carried out through the interaction of three components: the subject, the object and the content of knowledge (knowledge).
Object of knowledge those objects, phenomena and processes to which people’s cognitive activity is directly directed become visible. How does an object differ from objective reality? The fact that objective reality is everything that exists independently of human consciousness. An object is only that part of objective reality that for some time became a subject for study and actual application, undergoing changes under the influence of man.
Subject of knowledge there is one who carries out cognitive activity. The subject can be an individual, a social group (for example, a community of scientists) or society as a whole.
Hence the knowledge is a process of interaction between a subject and an object, the purpose of which is to obtain information.
Considering the third question, “The variety of types of knowledge: sensory - knowledge, rational,” note that from the point of view, two types of knowledge are traditionally distinguished: sensory and rational, on the basis of which empirical and theoretical knowledge are formed. Both varieties are closely related and each of them has its own forms.
Human cognition of the objective world begins with the help of the senses: vision, hearing, touch, etc. By interacting with certain objects, we receive sensations, perceptions and ideas.
The results of the received sensory data are recorded and processed in our consciousness at the stage of rational cognition with the help of concepts, judgments and inferences. Rational cognition is usually called abstract thinking. The process of cognition is closely related to the practical activities of man. Practice is the base, foundation, foundation of the cognitive process and, at the same time, a criterion for the truth of its results.
This can be represented schematically as follows (see Fig. scheme 66).
The entire process of the movement of knowledge towards the goal (practice) can be represented as follows: “From living contemplation - to abstract thinking and from it - to practice.”
Living contemplation- this is sensory knowledge, carried out through the senses and having the forms of sensations, perceptions, and ideas.
Abstract thinking- this is logical, rational knowledge in the forms of concepts, judgments, and inferences. In practice, our knowledge is tested to determine its truth, and at the same time, practice provides new objects for knowledge.
The diagram of the structure of the cognition process (see diagram 67), given below, is quite conditional, since it does not represent, for example, intuition - direct comprehension of the truth without conscious preliminary cognitive activity. However, in general, the diagram will give a correct idea of the fundamental forms of the cognition process.
Steps sensory cognition are: sensations, perceptions, ideas.
Feel arise as a result of the external influence of objects on the human senses. Sensations convey only individual properties of an object: color, taste, smell, shape, sound. For example, we perceive the color of an apple (red or green) and its taste (sour or sweet). A holistic image of an object is created by perceptions, which are a combination of sensations (this is how we perceive all the qualities of an apple). A higher level of sensory cognition are ideas - images that arise in a person’s memory on the basis of past sensations and perceptions (in our example, the memory of a missing apple). Ideas arise in the absence of an object, when it does not have a direct impact on a person’s external feelings. The importance of sensory cognition is especially great in medical practice, since this is where diagnosis begins (examination, palpation, percussion).
With the help of sensory knowledge one can judge only the external properties of individual objects. To comprehend the essence of things and phenomena, to clarify the general laws of their existence, sensory experience is not enough.
The task of summarizing information obtained through sensory means is performed by rational (rational, logical) cognition.
Rational cognition is a process of abstract, generalizing thinking. The main stages of rational cognition are concepts, judgments, and inferences. The elementary unit of rational thinking is the concept. All logical reasoning is built from concepts.
Concept- this is a form of thinking with the help of which the general, essential characteristics of objects and phenomena are reflected. The concept is formed by summarizing data from sensory cognition and practical activities of people. The concept is expressed using a word or phrase (for example, the word student is a concept denoting any person studying at secondary or higher educational institution, regardless of individual differences: age, gender, specialty; "disease" means a disorder of the structure of an organ or organism). Every science, including medicine, is a system of concepts (health, disease, norm, pathology, etiology, etc.).
The concept is a rational reflection of reality, a form of concentrated knowledge.
The next stage of rational knowledge is judgment.
Judgment call a set of concepts reflecting the relationships between objects and their properties. A proposition affirms or denies something. Judgments are expressed in the form of sentences. For example: “All students at the university are students.”
The third stage of rational knowledge is inference.
Inference is the process of obtaining a new judgment from two or more judgments based on the laws of logic. Inferences do not depend directly on sensory experience; they are the highest form of abstract (abstract) thinking. An inference would be, for example, the following reasoning: “All students at the university are students. I study at the university. Therefore, I am a student.” An example would be determining the essence of a disease. To do this, it is necessary to identify and learn symptoms, anamnesis, and laboratory examination data. Based on a comparison of judgments, a conclusion is made, that is, a diagnosis is made.
Abstract thinking is inextricably linked with language. Language is a system of signs that convey information.
In the history of philosophy, there have been different points of view on the role of the sensory and rational in knowledge.
Sensualists exaggerated the importance of sensory forms for cognition.
Rationalists, on the contrary, gave priority in cognition to forms of abstract thinking. In fact, in real human consciousness, the sensual is permeated by the rational, and the rational by the sensual.
When considering the fourth question, “The problem of the truth of knowledge. Types of truth,” it should be recalled that one of the most important questions of philosophy is the question of the knowability of the world.
In an attempt to answer the question “Is the world knowable?” Three main trends were clearly identified: optimism, skepticism and agnosticism.
If optimists affirm the fundamental knowability of the world, the possibility of obtaining reliable knowledge about the world, then representatives of agnosticism argue that knowledge about the world obtained by a person through sensory or rational experience does not provide grounds for saying what the world really is. In other words, agnostics believe that our knowledge does not provide reliable information about the reality around us. They deny the very possibility of obtaining this kind of knowledge. In historical development it looks like this (see diagram 68).
Representatives of skepticism take a kind of intermediate position: without denying the fundamental possibility of knowing the objective world, they express doubts that all knowledge about this world is reliable.
In many ways, the problem of the reliability of our knowledge about the world is determined by the answer to the fundamental question of epistemology: “What is truth?” This is a question about the knowability of the world, about a person’s ability to obtain reliable knowledge.
There are different interpretations of the concept of “truth”. For some, truth is the correspondence of knowledge to reality. For others, truth is what is confirmed by experience. For others, truth is a kind of agreement, a convention. For others, it is assessed in terms of the usefulness of the acquired knowledge and the effectiveness of its use in practice.
So, what is truth?
This is the correspondence of knowledge to objective reality, which has been confirmed in practice. In its content, truth is objective, i.e. independent of the subject who knows it. In its form, truth is always subjective, since it does not exist outside consciousness. Truth is always concrete; abstract truth does not exist. This means that truth is always associated with maternity conditions and always refers to a specific place, time, situation, circumstances. Let's turn to the diagram (see diagram 69).
There are concepts "objective truth"“relative truth” and “absolute truth”, which characterize knowledge about an object from different sides.
In our knowledge there is always an element of exact knowledge, which cannot be discarded by subsequent development of knowledge. This content of human knowledge represents absolute truth.
Absolute truth- this is comprehensive, reliable knowledge about nature, man and society; knowledge that can never be refuted. An example could be historical dates, specific scientific facts.
Knowledge, which contains only grains of absolute truth, in which something is continuously clarified, changed, and represents relative truth.
Relative truth- this is knowledge that is incomplete, inaccurate, approximately correctly reflects the object, knowledge that depends on certain conditions, the place and time of its receipt.
There are many subjective aspects in such knowledge, but in some ways it contains ideas that are largely devoid of subjectivity, i.e. identical to the object. In other words, any knowledge is both objective and subjective truth at the same time. Relativists absolutize the role of relative truth, arguing that all truth is relative.
Absolute and relative truths exist in indissoluble unity; these are moments of one objective truth.
Objective truth- this is the content of our knowledge that does not depend either on the subject, or on a person, or on humanity. In addition, truth is always in development, and therefore has not an abstract, but a concrete character. Dogmatists ignore the concreteness of truth, arguing that it does not depend on the conditions under which knowledge is formed. But abstract truth does not exist. Truth is always concrete.
In medicine, the dependence of truth on specific conditions of knowledge is manifested at every step. The same disease can occur differently in different patients depending on many factors. The same medications can have different effects on the body of different patients, depending on their personal morphophysiological and other characteristics. Therefore, the diagnosis should always be specific - not a diagnosis of the disease, but a diagnosis of the patient.
The process of cognition of truth cannot be understood without taking into account the fact that in the process of cognition of truth there are always errors and misconceptions generated both by the complexity of the objects being cognized and by the one-sidedness of the means and methods of cognition used. Hence, truth and error are dialectical opposites of knowledge that transform into each other, deny each other, but cannot exist without each other. Misconception is a necessary moment of cognition, due to the incompleteness of our knowledge and the one-sidedness of the reflection of the object. In addition, concepts such as lie and delusion should be distinguished from each other. A lie is a deliberate untruth that is conscious, thought out and purposefully elevates a deliberately incorrect idea into the truth. And the misconception is not intentional.
What is the criterion of truth?
The criterion for the truth of our knowledge about the world is socio-historical practice.
Practice- this is the purposeful activity of the subject to transform material systems. Let's turn to the diagram (see diagram 70).
Practice should be understood as activity that changes the world. Practice is the criterion of truth. Testing our knowledge, separating true from false propositions is accomplished only in practice.
When studying the last question, “The specifics of scientific knowledge. Methods and forms of scientific cognitive activity,” it is necessary to understand the essence and meaning of science as a phenomenon of spiritual culture.
The science, is a specific sphere of human activity aimed at the production, systematization and verification of objectively significant knowledge. In this aspect, science is a developing system of knowledge. This is a system of practice-tested theoretical knowledge about the world. The main value in science is truth. Let's turn to the diagram (see diagram 71).
Scientific knowledge differs from ordinary knowledge in the following ways:
- science has a special object of reality;
- science has its own language, which is a necessary condition for scientific research;
- systematic knowledge;
- way of constructing knowledge;
- methods of cognitive activity.
The goals of science are: research, description, explanation, prediction of processes and phenomena of reality that form the subject of its study.
The specificity of scientific knowledge is characterized by the following components: - objectivity:
- - consistency;
- - validity;
- - empirical confirmability;
- - social orientation;
- - connection with practice.
Scientific knowledge is built on subject-object relations, the main feature of these relations being scientific rationality.
Scientific knowledge has its own levels, forms and methods (see diagram 72,73).
In scientific knowledge there are two levels: empirical and theoretical.
Empirical level of knowledge- this is the level of accumulation of knowledge and facts about the objects under study. At this level of cognition, the object is reflected from the side of connections and relationships accessible to contemplation. A characteristic feature This level is its connection with sensory perception. Empirical knowledge is expressed and associated with such elements as an empirical fact, observational data, instrument readings, which can be recorded in a protocol, in tables or presented graphically. The empirical level is characterized by such types of work as putting together various graphs, diagrams, diagrams, maps about the object that interests the researcher.
The main methods and forms of empirical knowledge include:
- - observation;
- - experiment;
- - modeling;
- - scientific fact.
Observation - First stage empirical research, which consists in obtaining sensory data about the object of knowledge. In the process of observation, they gain knowledge about appearance, object quality
Experiment- (the Latin word "experimentum" literally means trial, experiment) a scientifically conducted experiment, testing the phenomena being studied under controlled and controlled conditions. The experimenter strives to isolate the phenomenon being studied in its pure form, so that there are fewer obstacles in obtaining real information. The experiment is preceded by appropriate preparatory work: an experimental program is developed, and if necessary, special instruments and measuring equipment are manufactured.
Unlike observation, an experiment is an experience based on the researcher’s intervention in the course of phenomena and processes by creating conditions. The components of an experiment are: the experimenter, the phenomenon being studied, and instruments. The most important point experiments are measurements; they allow one to obtain quantitative data.
In modern conditions, an experiment is most often carried out by a group of researchers who act in concert.
Modeling a research method in which the object of study is replaced by another object (model) that is similar to the original. Modeling is used when difficulties arise in working with the original.
Fact- this is an objectively existing action, phenomenon, object. This is what the network is now or has been in the past. Scientific fact- this is the same object or phenomenon, but is described by the researcher using a special language. A scientific fact must correspond to a really existing subject. Facts play a big role in confirming or denying a theory.
The highest empirical level of scientific knowledge is theoretical. As already noted, at the empirical level, specific material and facts are accumulated and studied. At the theoretical level, a person cognizes the essence of objects at the level of laws and patterns of objective reality.
The main methods of theoretical knowledge include:
- - analysis and synthesis;
- - induction and deduction;
- - hypothesis;
- - theory;
- - formalization;
- - historical method;
- - logical method;
- - scientific foresight.
Analysis is a research method consisting in dismembering (decomposing) the whole into its constituent elements (parts, sides, properties).
Synthesis- this is a research method consisting of connecting (combining) individual elements (parts, sides, properties) into a single whole.
These methods are different and in a certain sense opposite, but at the same time they are inextricably linked with each other. They represent different aspects of a single holistic process of cognition. All sciences use methods of analysis and synthesis.
Induction is a method of cognition based on inferences from the particular to the general.
Deduction- this is a method of cognition based on inferences from the general to the specific.
These methods are different, but also interconnected with each other and constitute different aspects of a single process of cognition. Both of these methods are based on the presence of a connection between the general, the particular and the individual.
Inductive method It has great importance in sciences based on experience, when there is an accumulation of factual material and its generalization.
Deductive method necessary in theoretical sciences, when logical conclusions are made in relation to particular facts.
Hypothesis- this is a scientific assumption, a way of thinking in general, which involves the development and proof of the assumption.
Constructing a hypothesis- a necessary path to the creation of a scientific theory. First, the scientific understanding of phenomena is formulated as a hypothesis. A hypothesis that is theoretically proven and confirmed in practice becomes a scientific theory. Let's give an example. So the hypothesis about the atomic structure of matter appeared back in ancient Greece(Democritus, Leucippus). Since the end of the 19th century. this hypothesis becomes a scientific theory. In 1897, the English physicist Thomson confirmed the real existence of atoms.
Theory- represents reliable knowledge, i.e. such knowledge, the truth of which has been proven and verified by social practice.
Formalization- consolidation of the results of knowledge in precise concepts and statements.
Scientific knowledge unfolds according to the scheme: problem - hypothesis - theory (see diagram 77).
Methods of the theoretical level of scientific knowledge include:
Historical method- a method whose application requires mental reproduction of a specific historical process of development
Boolean method is special method reflection of the same real historical process, in theoretical form, in a system of concepts.
Scientific foresight- based on knowledge of the laws of the objective world, knowledge of what will happen or will be discovered in the future.
In cognition, the relationship between the abstract and the concrete is of great importance. We move from the concrete (in sensory contemplation) to the abstract (in abstract concepts) and from it again to the concrete.
The totality of methods and ways of knowing creates a scientific ideology.
The diagram below (see diagram 74) makes it possible to determine the basic methods of cognition; pay attention to the empirical-theoretical level, which determines the qualified activity of a doctor.
Basic concepts and terms
Agnostics- these are philosophers who claim that the world is knowable only to a limited extent. Agnosticism is also called epistemological pessimism.
Analysis- decomposition, dismemberment of an object or phenomenon into its component parts for the purpose of studying these parts.
Gnostics- these are philosophers who claim that the world is knowable. IN modern literature this direction is often called epistemological optimism.
Epistemology- studies the nature of human knowledge, forms and patterns of transition from superficial knowledge (ideas, opinions) about the world to essential, deep knowledge. Epistemology is also interested in ways to achieve truthful knowledge, as well as its criteria.
Misconception- a necessary moment of cognition, due to the incompleteness of our knowledge and the one-sidedness of the reflection of the object. Truth is an adequate reflection of an object by a cognizing subject. The object of cognition is that to which cognition is directed, that which is being cognized.
Method- is a system of principles, techniques and requirements that guide the process of scientific knowledge.
The science- a system of knowledge that is logically consistent and tested in practice; a set of social institutions that satisfy society's needs for knowledge.
Scientific picture of the world a system of theoretical views about the properties and patterns of the world, developed by: generalizing the most important knowledge accumulated by the scientific community at a certain stage in the development of science. It is represented by dominant scientific theories, hypotheses, attitudes, and principles.
Scientific knowledge- a complex, inextricably linked with practice, process of reflection (awareness) of objective reality in human thinking.
An object- only that part of objective reality that became for some time a subject for study and practical application undergoing changes under human influence.
Inquiry is a process of interaction between a subject and an object, the purpose of which is to obtain information.
Practice- the side of objective activity, characterized by change and transformation of nature and society.
Rationalism- this is a philosophical direction that recognizes reason as the basis of human cognition and behavior.
Sensationalism- assigns the main role in cognition to feelings.
Skepticism- rejects the possibility of reliable knowledge about the world.
Subject of knowledge(i.e., the one who knows) is called a specific carrier of cognitive activity. The subjects of cognition are individuals, groups of people, and society as a whole.
Empiricism- a direction in the theory of knowledge that recognizes primarily sensory experience as the source of knowledge.
Empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge. The empirical level is the level of accumulation of knowledge and facts about the objects under study. At the theoretical level, a synthesis of scientific knowledge in the form of a scientific theory is achieved.
