Means of scientific research (means of cognition). Means of scientific knowledge of reality Methods of scientific research means of knowledge

Tools and methods are the most important components of the logical structure of the organization of activities. Therefore, they constitute a large section of methodology as a doctrine of the organization of activity.

It should be noted that there are practically no publications that systematically disclose the means and methods of activity. Material about them is scattered across various sources. Therefore, we decided to consider this issue in some detail and try to build tools and methods scientific research in a specific system. In addition, the means and most methods relate not only to scientific, but also to practical activities, to educational activities, etc.

2.2.1 Means of scientific research (means of cognition).

In the course of the development of science, means of cognition are developed and improved: material, mathematical, logical, linguistic . In addition, recently it is obviously necessary to add information media to them as a special class. All means of cognition are specially created means. In this sense, material, informational, mathematical, logical, linguistic means of cognition have common property: they are designed, created, developed, justified for certain cognitive purposes.

Material means of knowledge - These are, first of all, instruments for scientific research. In history, the emergence of material means of cognition is associated with the formation empirical research methods – observation, measurement, experiment.

These means are directly aimed at the objects being studied; they play a major role in the empirical testing of hypotheses and other results of scientific research, in the discovery of new objects and facts. The use of material means of knowledge in science in general - microscope, telescope, synchrophasotron, Earth satellites, etc. – has a profound influence on the formation of the conceptual apparatus of sciences, on the methods of describing the subjects being studied, on the methods of reasoning and ideas, on the generalizations, idealizations and arguments used.

Information means of cognition . The massive introduction of computer technology, information technology, and telecommunications is radically transforming research activities in many branches of science, making them tools scientific knowledge. In particular, in recent decades, computer technology has been widely used to automate experiments in physics, biology, technical sciences etc., which makes it possible to simplify research procedures hundreds and thousands of times and reduce data processing time. In addition, information tools can significantly simplify the processing of statistical data in almost all branches of science. And the use of satellite navigation systems greatly increases the accuracy of measurements in geodesy, cartography, etc.

Mathematical means of cognition . The development of mathematical means of cognition has an increasing influence on the development of modern science; they also penetrate into the humanities and social sciences.

Mathematics, being the science of quantitative relations and spatial forms, abstracted from their specific content, has developed and applied specific means of abstracting form from content and formulated rules for considering form as an independent object in the form of numbers, sets, etc., which simplifies, facilitates and accelerates the process of cognition, allows you to more deeply identify the connection between objects from which the form is abstracted, isolate the starting points, and ensure the accuracy and rigor of judgments. Mathematical tools make it possible to consider not only directly abstracted quantitative relations and spatial forms, but also logically possible ones, that is, those that are derived according to logical rules from previously known relations and forms.

Under the influence of mathematical means of cognition, the theoretical apparatus of descriptive sciences undergoes significant changes. Mathematical tools make it possible to systematize empirical data, identify and formulate quantitative dependencies and patterns. Mathematical tools are also used as special forms of idealization and analogy (mathematical modeling).

Logical means of cognition . In any research, a scientist has to solve logical problems:

– what logical requirements must be met? reasoning, allowing one to make objectively true conclusions; how to control the nature of these reasonings?

– what logical requirements should it satisfy? description empirically observable characteristics?

- how logical analyze initial systems of scientific knowledge, how to coordinate some knowledge systems with other knowledge systems (for example, in sociology and closely related psychology)?

- how build a scientific theory , allowing for scientific explanations, predictions, etc.?

The use of logical means in the process of constructing reasoning and evidence allows the researcher to separate controlled arguments from intuitively or uncritically accepted ones, false ones from true ones, confusion from contradictions.

Language means of cognition . An important linguistic means of cognition are, among other things, the rules for constructing definitions of concepts ( definitions ). In any scientific research, a scientist has to clarify the introduced concepts, symbols and signs, and use new concepts and signs. Definitions are always associated with language as a means of cognition and expression of knowledge.

The rules for using languages, both natural and artificial, with the help of which the researcher builds his reasoning and evidence, formulates hypotheses, draws conclusions, etc., are the starting point of cognitive actions. Knowing them has a great influence on the effectiveness of use linguistic means knowledge in scientific research.

Next to the means of cognition are the methods of scientific knowledge (research methods).

Scientific research: goals, methods, types

The form of implementation and development of science is scientific research, i.e. study with the help scientific methods phenomena and processes, analysis of the influence of various factors on them, as well as studying the interaction between phenomena in order to obtain convincingly proven solutions that are useful for science and practice with maximum effect.

The purpose of scientific research is to identify a specific object and a comprehensive, reliable study of its structure, characteristics, connections based on the principles and methods of cognition developed in science, as well as obtaining results useful for human activity, implementation in production with further effect.

The basis for the development of each scientific research is methodology, i.e. a set of methods, methods, techniques and their specific sequence adopted in the development of scientific research. Ultimately, methodology is a scheme, a plan for solving a given research problem

Scientific research should be considered in continuous development, based on linking theory with practice.

An important role in scientific research is played by cognitive tasks that arise when solving scientific problems, the greatest interest of which is empirical and theoretical.

Empirical tasks are aimed at identifying, accurately describing and thoroughly studying the various factors of the phenomena and processes under consideration. In scientific research they are solved using various methods of cognition - observation and experiment.

Observation is a method of cognition in which an object is studied without interfering with it; They record and measure only the properties of the object and the nature of its change.

An experiment is the most general empirical method of cognition, in which not only observations and measurements are made, but also rearrangements, changes in the object of study, etc. are carried out. -In this method, the influence of one factor on another can be identified. Empirical methods of cognition play a large role in scientific research. They not only form the basis for reinforcing theoretical premises, but often form the subject of a new discovery or scientific research. Theoretical tasks are aimed at studying and identifying causes, connections, dependencies that make it possible to establish the behavior of an object, determine and study its structure, characteristics based on the principles and methods of cognition developed in science. As a result of the acquired knowledge, laws are formulated, theories are developed, facts are checked, etc. Theoretical cognitive tasks are formulated in such a way that they can be tested empirically.

In solving empirical and purely theoretical problems of scientific research, an important role belongs to the logical method of cognition, which allows, on the basis of inferential interpretations, to explain phenomena and processes, put forward various proposals and ideas, and establish ways to solve them. This method is based on the results of empirical research.

The results of scientific research are assessed the higher the higher the scientific nature of the conclusions and generalizations made, the more reliable and effective they are. They must create the basis for new scientific developments.

One of the most important requirements for scientific research is scientific generalization, which will allow one to establish the dependence and connection between the phenomena and processes being studied and draw scientific conclusions. The deeper the conclusions, the higher the scientific level of the research.

According to the intended purpose, scientific research can be theoretical or applied.

Theoretical research is aimed at creating new principles. This is usually basic research. Their purpose is to expand the knowledge of society and help more deeply understand the laws of nature. Such developments are used mainly for the further development of new theoretical research, which can be long-term, budgetary, etc.

Applied research is aimed at creating new methods, on the basis of which new equipment, new machines and materials, methods of production and organization of work, etc. are developed. They must satisfy the need of society for the development of a specific branch of production. Application developments can be long-term or short-term, budgetary or contractual.

The goal of development is to transform applied (or theoretical) research into technical applications. They do not require new scientific research.

The ultimate goal of the developments that are carried out in experimental design bureaus (EDB), design, and pilot production is to prepare material for implementation.

Research work is carried out in a certain sequence. The execution process includes six stages:

1) formulation of the topic;

2) formulation of the purpose and objectives of the study;

3) theoretical research;

4) experimental studies;

5) analysis and design of scientific research;

6) implementation and effectiveness of scientific research.

Every scientific study has a topic. The topic can be various issues of science and technology. The rationale for the topic is important stage in the development of scientific research.

Scientific research is classified according to various criteria:

a) by type of connection with social production - scientific research aimed at creating new processes, machines, structures, etc., fully used to increase production efficiency;

scientific research aimed at improving industrial relations, increasing the level of organization of production without creating new means of labor;

theoretical work in the field of social, humanities and other sciences, which are used to improve social relations, raise the level of spiritual life of people, etc.;

b) according to the degree of importance for the national economy

Work performed on the instructions of ministries and departments;

Research carried out according to the plan (at the initiative) of research organizations;

c) depending on the sources of financing

State budgetary, financed from the state budget;

Commercial contracts, financed in accordance with concluded agreements between customer organizations that use scientific research in a given industry, and organizations that carry out research;

Methods of scientific knowledge

First of all, it should be noted that in science, essentially ordinary methods of reasoning are used, which are characteristic of any kind of human activity and are widely used by people in their everyday lives.

We are talking about induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalization, idealization, analogy, description, explanation, prediction, justification, hypothesis, confirmation and refutation, etc.

In science, there are empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge, each of which has its own specific research methods.

Empirical knowledge supplies science with facts, while recording stable connections and patterns of the world around us.

The most important methods for obtaining empirical knowledge are observation and experiment.

One of the main requirements for observation is not to introduce any changes into the reality being studied by the process of observation itself.

In an experiment, on the contrary, the phenomenon being studied is placed in special, specific and variable conditions in order to identify its essential characteristics and the possibility of their change under the influence of external factors.

An important method empirical research is a measurement that allows you to identify the quantitative characteristics of the reality being studied.

In the sciences of man, culture, society great importance acquires search, careful description and study historical documents and other evidence of culture, both past and present. In the process of empirical knowledge of social phenomena, the collection of information about reality (in particular, statistical data), its systematization and study, as well as various types of sociological surveys are widely used.

All information that is obtained as a result of the use of such procedures is subjected to statistical processing. It is reproduced many times. Sources of scientific information and methods of its analysis and synthesis are carefully described so that any scientist has the maximum opportunity to verify the results obtained.

However, although they say that “facts are the air of a scientist,” comprehension of reality is impossible without constructing theories. Even an empirical study of reality cannot begin without a certain theoretical orientation.

Here’s how I. P. Pavlov wrote about this: “...at every moment a known thing is required general idea about the subject, so that there is something to attach facts to, so that there is something to move forward with, so that there is something to assume for future research. Such an assumption is a necessity in scientific affairs.”

Without theory, a holistic perception of reality is impossible, within the framework of which diverse facts would fit into some unified system.

Reducing the tasks of science only to the collection of factual material, according to A. Poincaré, would mean “a complete misunderstanding of the true nature of science.” “A scientist must organize facts,” he wrote, “science is made up of facts, like a house made of bricks. And one mere accumulation of facts does not constitute science, just as a pile of stones does not constitute a house.”

The essence of theoretical knowledge is not only the description and explanation of the variety of facts and patterns identified in the process of empirical research in a certain subject area, based on a small number of laws and principles, it is also expressed in the desire of scientists to reveal the harmony of the universe.

Theories can be presented in the most different ways. We often encounter the tendency of scientists towards axiomatic construction of theories, which imitates the pattern of organization of knowledge created in geometry by Euclid. However, most often theories are presented genetically, gradually introducing the subject and revealing it successively from the simplest to more and more complex aspects.

Regardless of the accepted form of presentation of the theory, its content, of course, is determined by the basic principles that underlie it.

Theories do not appear as direct generalizations of empirical facts.

As A. Einstein wrote, “no logical path leads from observations to the basic principles of theory.” They arise in the complex interaction of theoretical thinking and empirical knowledge of reality, as a result of the resolution of internal, purely theoretical problems, and the interaction of science and culture as a whole.

Theorists widely use procedures for modeling real processes in their research, then deducing empirically verifiable consequences based on the analysis of the constructed models. They use so-called thought experiments, in which the theorist seems to lose possible options behavior of idealized objects created by his mind. A development of this method of theoretical thinking, which was first widely used by Galileo, is the so-called mathematical experiment, when the possible consequences of varying conditions in a mathematical model are calculated on modern computer systems.

Of great importance for scientific knowledge and especially theoretical research is the philosophical understanding of established cognitive traditions, consideration of the image of reality studied by a scientist in the context of a holistic picture of the world.

Appeal to philosophy becomes especially relevant at critical stages in the development of science.

In the history of the development of scientific knowledge in general, as well as in its individual disciplines, a special style of thinking is emerging, which is determined by the most significant theoretical concepts in this area and the most effective specific methods of empirical knowledge.

This is what M. Born wrote about this.

“...I think that there are some general trends of thought that change very slowly and form certain philosophical periods with characteristic ideas in all areas of human activity, including science. Pauli, in a recent letter to me, used the expression “styles”: styles of thinking - styles not only in art, but also in science. By adopting this term, I assert that physical theory also has styles, and it is precisely this circumstance that gives a kind of stability to its principles.”

The ability to break free from the captivity of established standards is not inherent in every scientist. However, without this, the development of science is impossible. Philosophical understanding of the experience of scientific knowledge allows scientists to pave new paths in understanding reality. The great achievements of science have always been associated with the advancement of bold philosophical generalizations and have had an impact not only on individual areas of science, but also on its development as a whole.

Philosophy contributes not only to the search for an effective description and explanation of the reality being studied, but also to its understanding. It contributes to the development of intuition in a scientist, allowing him to move freely in the intellectual space, updating not only explicit, recorded knowledge, but also the so-called implicit, non-verbalized perception of reality. Philosophy takes the work of a scientist beyond standardization and craft and turns it into a truly creative activity.

Means of scientific knowledge

The most important means of scientific knowledge is undoubtedly the language of science.

This, of course, is a specific vocabulary and a special style. The language of science is characterized by the certainty of the concepts and terms used, the desire for clarity and unambiguity of statements, and strict logic in the presentation of all material.

IN modern science The use of mathematics is becoming increasingly important.

Even G. Galileo argued that the book of Nature was written in the language of mathematics.

In full accordance with this statement, all physics has developed since the time of G. Galileo as the identification of mathematical structures in physical reality. As for other sciences, the process of mathematization is taking place in them to an ever-increasing degree. And today this concerns not only the use of mathematics for processing empirical data.

The arsenal of mathematics is actively included in the very fabric of theoretical constructions in literally all sciences.

In biology, evolutionary genetics in this respect is not much different from physical theory.

No one is surprised by the phrase “mathematical linguistics” anymore.

Even in history, attempts are made to construct mathematical models of individual historical phenomena.

Modern scientific research is unthinkable without the creation of special observational means and experimental facilities. The progress of scientific knowledge significantly depends on the development of the means used by science.

The first regularities in nature were established, as is known, in the behavior of celestial bodies and they were based on observations of their movement carried out with the naked eye. G. Galileo, in his classic experiments with the movement of a ball on an inclined plane, measured time by the amount of water flowing through a thin tube from a large reservoir. There were no clocks then.

However, the time has long passed when scientific research could be carried out using improvised means.

Galileo became famous in science not only for his pioneering research, but also for his introduction of the spyglass into science. And today astronomy is unthinkable without a wide variety of telescopes that make it possible to observe processes in space that take place many billions of kilometers from the Earth. Creation in the 20th century. Radio telescopes turned astronomy into all-wave astronomy and marked a real revolution in the understanding of space.

Let us remember what a huge role the microscope played in the development of biology, opening new worlds to man. A modern electron microscope makes it possible to see atoms that several decades ago were considered fundamentally unobservable and whose existence was in doubt at the beginning of our century.

We understand perfectly well that physics elementary particles could not have developed without special installations like synchrophasotrons.

Science today is actively used to conduct experiments and observations. spaceships, submarines, various kinds of scientific stations, specially organized nature reserves.

Scientific research is impossible without the presence of instruments and standards that make it possible to record certain properties of reality and give them a quantitative and qualitative assessment. They, of course, involve the development of special means for processing the results of observation and experiment.

In this case, precision instruments that measure time, distance, and energy acquire particular importance.

The practice of modern science increasingly includes planning an experiment and its automated implementation.

The use of computers is revolutionizing the processing of scientific information and its transmission.

Specificity of methods and means in different sciences

Of course, the methods and means used in different sciences are not the same.

Everyone understands that one cannot experiment with the past. Experiments with man and society are very risky and very limited. Each science has its own special language, its own system of concepts. There is quite significant variability both in style and in the degree of rigor of reasoning. To see this, it is enough to compare mathematical or physical scientific texts with texts related to the humanities or social sciences.

These differences are determined not only by the specifics of the subject areas themselves, but also by the level of development of science as a whole.

It must be borne in mind that sciences do not develop in isolation from each other. In science as a whole, there is a constant interpenetration of methods and means of individual sciences. Therefore, the development of a specific field of science is carried out not only through the techniques, methods and means of cognition developed in it, but also through the constant borrowing of the scientific arsenal from other sciences.

Cognitive capabilities in all sciences are constantly increasing. Although different sciences have undoubted specificity, there is no need to absolutize it.

In this regard, the use of mathematics in science is extremely indicative.

As history shows, mathematical methods and tools can be developed not only under the influence of the needs of science or practice, but also regardless of the field and methods of their application. The apparatus of mathematics can be used to describe areas of reality previously completely unknown to man and subject to laws with which he has never had any contact. This, as Yu. Wigner puts it, “the incredible effectiveness of mathematics” makes the prospects for its application in a variety of sciences essentially unlimited.

Here is what J. von Neumann and O. Morgenstern write about this:

“Often the argument against the use of mathematics consists of references to subjective elements, psychological factors, etc., and also to the fact that for many important factors there are still no methods of quantitative measurement. This argumentation should be rejected as completely erroneous... Let us imagine that we live in a period preceding the mathematical or almost mathematical phase of the development of physics, i.e. in the 16th century, or in a similar era for chemistry and biology, i.e. in the 18th century... For those who are skeptical about the use of mathematics in economics, the state of affairs in the physical or biological sciences at these early stages was hardly better than the state of affairs in economics today.”

At the same time, although it is obvious that the sciences will further develop and show us completely new possibilities for understanding reality, we can hardly expect the universalization of methods and means used in the sciences. The characteristics of the objects of knowledge themselves and, accordingly, various cognitive tasks will, apparently, in the future stimulate the emergence of specific methods and tools, characteristic not only of various sciences, but also of individual areas of research.

“So,” wrote the famous French historian M. Bloch, “we are now better prepared for the idea that a certain area of cognition, where Euclidean proofs or immutable laws of repetition are not valid, can, nevertheless, claim to be called scientific. We now accept much more easily that certainty and universality are a matter of degree. We no longer feel it is our duty to impose on all objects of knowledge a uniform intellectual model borrowed from the natural sciences, because even there this template can no longer be fully applied. We do not yet know very well what the future of human sciences will become. But we know that in order to exist - while continuing, of course, to obey the basic laws of reason - they will not have to renounce their originality or be ashamed of it.”

What knowledge does science provide?

Science provides knowledge about everything: about events, processes, objects, about the objective and subjective world. She studies nature, society, man, culture, “second nature” created by man himself. She even studies herself.

At the same time, it proceeds from the fact that everything that exists in the world can be understood from itself, on the basis of the laws operating in it. This is one of the most important characteristics of science, distinguishing it from theology, which also strives to give people systematic and well-founded knowledge.

Philosophy is the closest to science. However, in general it is undoubtedly not a science. This has become especially clear in our time, when, contrary to the classical philosophical tradition, within the framework of which philosophy was interpreted as a special kind of science, modern thinkers began to implement philosophical constructs that were clearly distinguished from science.

Thus, within the framework of existentialism, a widespread trend in the philosophy of the 20th century. - it is argued that philosophy is not intended to provide any knowledge about reality. It is intended to reveal the full depth of the essence and existence of the human personality.

In this sense, each of us has our own philosophy. Its depth does not depend on the volume and level of knowledge that a person possesses, but on the degree of his involvement in the spiritual world in which he lives.

Philosophy, like poetry, is deeply individual and should not pretend to be universally valid. As K. Jaspers wrote, “what is recognized by everyone on a necessary basis becomes scientific knowledge and is no longer philosophy, but refers to a certain area of the knowable.”

On the other hand, within the framework of neopositivism, a philosophical movement that was also very influential in the 20th century, it is argued that although philosophy uses scientific methods, it has never been and should not be a science. Philosophy does not give any knowledge. Its purpose is only to clarify the meaning of statements already received. According to M. Schlick, philosophy as a special science does not have the right to exist. “The totality of sciences, including the statements of everyday life, is a system of knowledge; outside of it there is no realm of “philosophical” truths; philosophy is not a system of propositions, it is not a science.”

At the same time, within the framework of philosophy, research has always been and is being carried out that has the right to claim scientific status.

According to M. Born, these include “the study of the general features of the structure of the world and our methods of penetration into this structure.” Many scientists believe that this issue is extremely important for the development of science.

Social Institute

“Anyone who thinks that he can do without others,” wrote F. de La Rochefoucauld, “is greatly mistaken; but he who thinks that others cannot do without him is even more mistaken.”

In relation to science, this thesis is doubly true. Science by its very essence is a social phenomenon. It has been created by a community of scientists for more than two thousand years and represents, of course, not only the attitude of a scientist to the reality he knows, but also a certain system of relationships between members of the scientific community. Science has its own specific way of life, regulated by a system of, as a rule, unwritten, but traditionally transmitted norms, its own system of values.

Naturally, the methods of social organization and relationships between scientists throughout the history of science have changed in accordance with the characteristics of its development, changes in its status in the life of society, and with the development of society itself as a whole.

Science as a social institution has undergone enormous changes during its existence. From the activities of dozens of ancient Greek scientists who gathered in philosophical schools, engaged in research of their own free will, up to the modern five-million-strong international scientific community, united professionally, organizing its activities both nationally and internationally, in research groups, laboratories, and institutes. Today, science is essentially a powerful branch of knowledge production with a huge material base and a developed communications system.

The famous American chemist G. Lewis and his colleague L. Randall wrote: “There are ancient temples, solemn and inspiring, in addition to their sacred purpose, reverence. Even a curious tourist speaks about serious things in a quiet voice, and his whisper is heard under the arches of the nave and echoes back to him filled with mystery. The work of many generations of architects and artists has already been forgotten, the scaffolding built for the work has long been removed, all mistakes have been corrected or hidden under a layer of dust of centuries, and seeing only a completely finished whole, we bow before superhuman powers. Sometimes we enter such a building when it is unfinished. We hear the clatter of hammers, the smell of tobacco, and the crude jokes of the workers remind us that these great structures are only the result of ordinary human effort, purposeful and purposeful.

Science has its own temples, built by the efforts of a few architects and many workers.”

Science today is special professional activity, a business to which a person devotes his entire life.

The definition of a professional scientist, which was given by W. Heisenberg, is interesting.

“Many,” he wrote, “may answer that a professional is a person who knows a lot about his subject. However, I could not agree with this definition, because you can never really know much about any subject. I would prefer this formulation: a professional is a person who knows the gross mistakes usually made in his profession, and who therefore knows how to avoid them.”

This definition of Heisenberg, although somewhat paradoxical from the point of view of the everyday perception of a scientist, accurately captures the essence of the matter.

On the monument, which was erected to I. Newton in Cambridge in 1755, there is the following inscription: “In intelligence he surpassed the human race.”

At the same time, I. Newton himself, shortly before his death, said: “I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but to myself I seem only like a boy playing on the seashore, amusing myself by finding a pebble more colorful than usual for the time being.” , or a beautiful shell, while the great ocean of truth lies unexplored before me.”

And here is how Charles Darwin assessed his achievements: “I have never been so reckless as to imagine that I succeeded in doing more than outlining some features of the vast foundations of the origin of species.”

Scientific activity today is the joint work of creative teams.

This is specialization not only in certain areas of science or even its individual problems, but also the distribution of various functions in scientific activity.

One of the first physicists who did not conduct any experiments was M. Planck. Today there are special institutes of theoretical physics that do not engage in experimental activities.

There is a special scientific activity aimed at creating instruments, installations and other means of scientific research.

Today, science is unthinkable without managerial functions, without obtaining funds for its development and the ability to use them effectively.

In addition, scientific teams have their own differentiation of scientific activities. Some scientists turn out to be more inclined to put forward ideas, others to substantiate them, others to develop them, and others to apply them, and these qualities largely determine their place in research work.

V. Ostwald was one of the first to draw attention to the difference in the styles of activity of scientists. He identified two main types: classics and romantics.

The former are characterized by a desire for individual work, solitude, and careful and comprehensive elaboration of ideas.

The latter are prone to collective activity, popularization of their ideas, and are spontaneous in their work.

There is a well-known anecdote that successfully conveys some of the features of the classic scientist.

One day a young scientist asked his supervisor: “Professor, I see how you have been studying this worm segment by segment for so many years. What are you going to do when you finish this work?” “Oh, my dear friend,” replied the professor. “The worm is long, but life... is short.”

Life in science is filled with both creative quests and routine work. In it, the scientist wages a “struggle” not only with knowable reality, but also enters into complex relationships with his colleagues and with public opinion. A scientist is required to constantly confirm his professionalism, which is carried out through a system of both objective assessment of the products of his work, in particular through publications, and through public recognition. The activity of a scientist is stimulated and evaluated not only by remuneration, but also by various degrees, titles, and awards.

The highest, most prestigious award in the field of physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology since 1901, and in economics since 1969 is the Nobel Prize. Until 1990, 427 prizes were awarded. Here is how these awards were distributed by country:

Women received 9 awards. At the same time, M. Sklodowska-Curie was awarded twice. And at a very early age - at the age of 25, the English physicist W. L. Bragg (1915) became the laureate of this prize.

Life in science is a constant struggle of different opinions, directions, a struggle for recognition of the work and ideas of a scientist, and on the other hand, due to the very specifics of science, it is also a struggle for priority in the result obtained.

Our contemporaries witnessed the most intense confrontations between representatives of different directions in science: deterministic and probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics.

chanics, fixism and mobilism in geology, the historical school and the synchronic study of language in linguistics.

It is known how difficult it was for science to establish even such fundamental scientific theories as the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, genetics, the theory of evolution, and structural linguistics.

Many examples from the lives of outstanding scientists eloquently testify to how difficult the fate of a scientist can sometimes be.

Everyone knows the fate of the ideas of N. Copernicus, which he dared to publish only immediately before his death. The works of G. Mendel, which became the basis of genetics, were not recognized during his lifetime.

The scientific community noticed the classic of structural linguistics of F. Saussure only after his death.

F. Gauss, knowing the basics of non-Euclidean geometry and perfectly understanding the great importance of the discovery of a new geometric system, nevertheless did not publish anything on this topic. In his letter to K. Bessel in 1829, F. Gauss wrote: “Meanwhile, I will not come to the point of processing my very extensive research on this issue for publication, and perhaps this will never happen in my life , since I fear the outcry of the Biotians if I express my objections in full.”

M. Planck’s statement on this matter is widely known: “Usually new scientific truths win not in such a way that their opponents are convinced and they admit they are wrong, but for the most part in such a way that these opponents gradually die out, and the younger generation assimilates the truth immediately.”

One of the manifestations of the peculiarities of the life of science is secrecy.

In the 20th century the scale of secrecy in scientific research has become truly enormous. This is primarily due to the fact that about 40% of all scientific research is carried out today on orders from military departments. They are also largely due to the close connection between scientific developments and industry, and thereby with trade secrets.

However, there has always been secrecy in science.

There is such a legend. When, within the framework of the Pythagorean Union, the incommensurability of the diagonal of a square with its side was discovered, this led to confusion among its members. Indeed, from the point of view of the head of this union - Pythagoras, everything that exists in the world represents the harmony of numbers. And this means that in principle there could not exist a relationship that cannot be expressed in natural numbers or fractions. The discovery was forbidden to be disclosed under penalty of death. However, this secret was nevertheless disclosed, and the culprit of this disclosure suffered death. So it was not safe to do science even in the distant past.

Parascience

Today, many, emphasizing the great importance of science, at the same time talk about its conservatism and limitations, since it does not recognize the so-called non-traditional, parascientific concepts. This is primarily astrology, parapsychology, ufology.

How to feel about these studies?

Maybe they are the ones that open up enormous prospects for comprehending reality?

When we discuss this issue, it is very important to keep the following in mind.

These problems did not appear in our time. They are rooted in deep history. However, this type of research is still not considered scientific. Science does not accept them into its fold not because it does not want to do so, but because it cannot.

Scientists would be happy to meet aliens. Its significance for science could not be compared with any of their discoveries. Is it possible to imagine the theoretical and practical significance of the ability to predict the future or transmit thoughts at a distance without any devices? For this kind of discovery, even a Nobel Prize would seem too weak an assessment.

But, alas, to our greatest regret, there are no reliable, scientifically established facts here.

Science cannot grant scientific status to those studies that are not sufficiently substantiated, because, as T. Huxley put it, “by taking anything for granted, science commits suicide.”

Failure to comply with the norms of scientific activity often creates the illusion of gaining knowledge.

There is, for example, a lot of recorded data like the following:

“If we add the sum of its numbers to 1794, the year in which Robespierre fell, we get 1815 - the year of the fall of Napoleon I; repeating the same action gives 1830 - the year of the fall of Charles X."

Or another example.

“The French Chamber of Deputies in 1830 consisted of 402 members, of whom 221 formed the party called “La queue Robespierre,” while the rest, numbering 181, were called “Les Honnets gens.” If we take each letter as a number corresponding to its place in the alphabet, then it turns out that the sum of the letters of each name will give the number of members of each party.”

What do these types of examples indicate? Only about a random coincidence and nothing more. Or do you think that they are a manifestation of hidden patterns of social phenomena?

And here is what F. Bacon wrote about this kind of problem:

“And therefore the one who answered correctly was the one who, when they showed him the image of those who had escaped from a shipwreck by taking a vow displayed in the temple and at the same time sought an answer whether he now recognized the power of the gods, asked in turn: “Where is the image of those who died after that?” How did you make your vow?” This is the basis of almost all superstitions - in astrology, in dreams, in beliefs, in predictions and the like. People who delight themselves with this kind of vanity celebrate the event that has come true, and pass by without attention the one that deceived, although the latter happens much more often.”

In relation to these areas of human activity, today we must simply state a fact - they are not accepted by the scientific community and, from the point of view of science, do not add to our knowledge of reality.

The scientific status is extremely high. It is of great value not only for scientists, but for all humanity. Understanding this is important for every person today.

In the course of the development of science, various means of cognition are developed and improved: material, mathematical, logical, linguistic. All means of cognition are specially created means. In this sense, material, mathematical, logical, linguistic means of cognition have a common property: they are designed, created, developed, justified for certain cognitive purposes.

Let us briefly outline the content of the declared means of cognition of objective reality.

Material means of knowledge- These are, first of all, instruments for scientific research. In history, the emergence of material means of knowledge is associated with the formation of empirical research methods - observation, measurement, experiment.

These means are directly aimed at the objects being studied; they play a major role in the empirical testing of hypotheses and other results of scientific research, in the discovery of new objects and facts. The use of material means of knowledge in science in general - microscope, telescope, synchrophasotron, Earth satellites, etc. has a profound influence on the formation of the conceptual apparatus of the sciences, on the methods of describing the subjects being studied, on the methods of reasoning and ideas, on the generalizations, idealizations and arguments used.

Let us give several examples of material means of knowing reality and remember their authors. Thus, Galileo became famous in science not only for his pioneering research, but also for the introduction of the telescope into science. And today astronomy is unthinkable without a wide variety of telescopes that make it possible to observe processes in space. taking place many billions of kilometers from Earth. Creation in the twentieth century. Radio telescopes turned astronomy into all-wave astronomy and marked a real revolution in the understanding of space.

Let us remember what a huge role the microscope played in biology, opening new worlds to man. A modern electron microscope makes it possible to see atoms that several decades ago were considered fundamentally unobservable and whose existence was in doubt at the beginning of the century. We understand perfectly well that elementary particle physics could not develop without special installations like synchrophasotrons. Science today actively uses spaceships, submarines, various kinds of scientific stations, and specially organized nature reserves to conduct experiments and observations.

Thus, scientific research is impossible without the presence of instruments and standards that make it possible to record certain properties of reality and give them a quantitative and qualitative assessment.

In the social sciences, for example, in pedagogy, social pedagogy, unfortunately, special scientific instruments are rarely used. However, firstly, for example, a stopwatch or an ordinary watch - and these are measuring instruments - are an indispensable attribute of almost any socio-pedagogical experiment. Secondly, the mass introduction of computer technology into education not only radically transforms the educational process, but also, after this, makes computer equipment a means of pedagogical knowledge. Thirdly, the organization of any rather complex experiment in education, for example, the creation of a new type of school, may require the construction of a building of special architecture, equipping the school with special equipment, etc., which to some extent indirectly will also be a means of pedagogical knowledge.

Mathematical means of cognition. The development of mathematical means of cognition has an increasing influence on the development of modern science; they also penetrate into the humanities and social sciences. Mathematics, being the science of quantitative relations and spatial forms, abstracted from their specific content, has developed and applied specific means of abstracting form from content and formulated rules for considering form as an independent object in the form of numbers, sets, etc., which simplifies, facilitates and accelerates the process of cognition, allows you to more deeply identify the connection between objects from which the form is abstracted, isolate the starting points, and obtain the accuracy and rigor of judgments. Moreover, mathematical tools make it possible to consider not only abstract quantitative relationships and spatial forms, but also logically possible ones, i.e. those that are derived according to logical rules from previously known relationships and forms.

Under the influence of mathematical means of cognition, the theoretical apparatus of descriptive sciences undergoes significant changes. Mathematical means of cognition make it possible to systematize empirical data, identify and formulate quantitative dependencies and patterns. Mathematical tools are also used as special forms of idealization and analogy (mathematical models). In descriptive sciences, including theory social work and social pedagogy, today the greatest role is played by the means of mathematical statistics.

Mathematical means of cognition can be classified as special means of processing the results of scientific research. The use of computers is revolutionizing the processing of scientific information and its transmission.

Logical means. In any scientific research, the researcher has to solve logical problems: 1) what logical requirements should the reasoning satisfy in order to make objectively true conclusions; how to control the nature of these reasonings? 2) what logical requirements should the description of empirically observed characteristics satisfy? 3) how to logically analyze the initial systems of scientific knowledge, how to coordinate some knowledge systems with other knowledge systems? 4) how to build scientific theory, allowing you to give scientific explanations, predictions, etc.?

The use of logical means of cognition in the process of constructing reasoning and evidence allows the researcher to separate controlled arguments from intuitively or uncritically accepted ones, false from true, confusion from contradictions.

Language means. These are the most important means of scientific knowledge, the language of science. This, of course, is a specific vocabulary and a special style. The language of science is characterized by the certainty of the concepts, categories and terms used. The desire for clarity and unambiguity of statements, for strict logic in the presentation of all material.

An important linguistic means of cognition are the rules for constructing definitions of concepts. In any scientific research, the researcher has to clarify the introduced concepts and signs and use new concepts and signs. Definitions are always associated with language as a means of cognition and expression of knowledge.

The rules for using language, with the help of which the researcher builds his reasoning and evidence, formulates hypotheses, draws conclusions, etc., are the starting point of cognitive actions. Knowledge of them has a great influence on the effectiveness of using linguistic means of cognition in scientific research.

In research in the field of social work, a significant role, as a rule, is played by the researcher’s correlation of the language of social work theory with the specific languages of related sciences - sociology, psychology, pedagogy, and, more recently, computer science. In addition, for research on social work abroad, it is important to compare the conceptual apparatus in Russian and foreign languages, since even central, key concepts are translated from one language to another in a far from unambiguous manner.

In modern science, the use of “mathematical language” is becoming increasingly important. Even G. Galileo argued that the book of Nature was written in the language of mathematics. In full accordance with this statement, all physics developed as the identification of mathematical structures in physical reality. As for other sciences. Then the process of mathematization is taking place in them to an ever-increasing degree. And today this concerns not only the use of mathematics for processing empirical data. The arsenal of mathematical language is actively included in the very fabric of theoretical constructions in literally all sciences. In biology, evolutionary genetics in this respect is not much different from physical theory. No one is surprised by the phrase “mathematical linguistics” anymore. Even in history, attempts are made to construct mathematical models of individual historical phenomena.

Next to the means of scientific knowledge of reality are the methods of scientific knowledge.

Methods of scientific knowledge

First of all, it should be noted that science essentially uses ordinary methods of reasoning, which are characteristic of any kind of human activity and are widely used by people in their everyday life.

In science, there are empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge, each of which has its own specific research methods.

Empirical knowledge supplies science with facts, while recording stable connections and patterns of the world around us.

The most important methods for obtaining empirical knowledge are observation and experiment.

One of the main requirements for observation is not to introduce any changes into the reality being studied by the process of observation itself.

An important method of empirical research is measurement, which allows one to identify the quantitative characteristics of the reality being studied.

In the sciences of man, culture, and society, the search, careful description and study of historical documents and other evidence of culture, both past and present, is of great importance. In the process of empirical knowledge of social phenomena, the collection of information about reality (in particular, statistical data), its systematization and study, as well as various types of sociological surveys are widely used.

Here is how I. P. Pavlov wrote about this: “... at every moment a certain general idea of the subject is required, in order to have something to attach facts to, in order to have something to move forward with, in order to have something to assume.” for future research. Such an assumption is a necessity in scientific affairs.”

Without theory, a holistic perception of reality is impossible, within the framework of which diverse facts would fit into some unified system.

Means of scientific knowledge

The most important means of scientific knowledge is undoubtedly the language of science.

In modern science, the use of mathematics is becoming increasingly important.

Even G. Galileo argued that the book of Nature was written in the language of mathematics.

The arsenal of mathematics is actively included in the very fabric of theoretical constructions in literally all sciences.

In biology, evolutionary genetics in this respect is not much different from physical theory.

Specificity of methods and means in different sciences

Of course, the methods and means used in different sciences are not the same.

These differences are determined not only by the specifics of the subject areas themselves, but also by the level of development of science as a whole.

Cognitive capabilities in all sciences are constantly increasing. Although different sciences have undoubted specificity, there is no need to absolutize it.

In this regard, the use of mathematics in science is extremely indicative.

Here is what J. von Neumann and O. Morgenstern write about this: