The concept of science is possible definitions of science. Classification of sciences: criteria and types of classification

Humanity has always strived to explain complex phenomena, to reduce their diversity to some kind of certainty, a system. Science is no exception, which seeks to explain not only the external and inner world, surrounding a person, but also to classify itself according to some criteria.

The classification of sciences that is most famous among scientists is this F. Engels in the work “Dialectics of Nature”. Based on the development of moving matter from lower to higher, he identified mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences. The classification of sciences by the domestic scientist is based on the same principle of subordination of the forms of motion of matter B.M. Kedrova. He distinguished six main forms of matter movement: subatomic physical, chemical, molecular physical, geological, biological and social.

Currently, depending on the sphere, subject and method of cognition, sciences are distinguished:

1) about nature - natural;

2) about society – humanitarian and social;

3) about thinking and cognition - logic, epistemology, epistemology, etc.

In the classifier of directions and specialties of higher professional education, developed by scientific and methodological councils - departments of the UMO in areas of education, the following are highlighted:

1) natural sciences and mathematics (mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, geography, hydrometeorology, geology, ecology, etc.);

2) humanities and socio-economic sciences (cultural studies, theology, philology, philosophy, linguistics, journalism, bibliology, history, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, regional studies, management, economics, art, physical education, commerce, agricultural economics, statistics, art, law, etc.);

3) Technical science(construction, printing, telecommunications, metallurgy, mining, electronics and microelectronics, geodesy, radio engineering, architecture, etc.);

4) agricultural sciences (agronomy, animal science, veterinary medicine, agricultural engineering, forestry, fisheries, etc.).

Please note that in this classifier, technical and agricultural sciences are separated into separate groups, and mathematics is not classified as natural sciences.

Some scientists do not consider philosophy a science (only science) or put it on a par with the natural, technical and social sciences. This is explained by the fact that they consider it as a worldview, knowledge about the world as a whole, a methodology of knowledge, or as the science of all sciences. Philosophy, in their opinion, is not aimed at collecting, analyzing and generalizing facts, discovering the laws of motion of reality, it only uses the achievements of specific sciences. Leaving aside the debate about the relationship between philosophy and science, we note that philosophy is still a science that has its own subject and methods of studying the universal laws and characteristics of everything infinite in space and time of the objective material world.

The nomenclature of specialties of scientific workers, approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation on January 25, 2000, indicates the following branches of science: physical and mathematical, chemical, biological, geological and mineralogical, technical, agricultural, historical, economic, philosophical, philological, geographical, legal , pedagogical, medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, art history, architecture, psychological, sociological, political, cultural studies and earth sciences.

Each of the named groups of sciences can be subjected to further division.

There are other classifications of sciences. For example, depending on the connection with practice, sciences are divided into fundamental (theoretical), which clarify the basic laws of the objective and subjective world and are not directly focused on practice, and applied, which are aimed at solving technical, industrial, socio-technical problems.

The original classification of sciences was proposed by L.G. Jahaya. Having divided the sciences of nature, society and knowledge into theoretical and applied, within this classification he distinguished philosophy, the basic sciences and the private sciences that spun off from them. For example, he considered history, political economy, law, ethics, art history, and linguistics to be the main theoretical sciences about society. These sciences have a more detailed division. For example, history is divided into ethnography, archeology and world history. In addition, he gave a classification of the so-called “junction” sciences: intermediate sciences that arose on the border of two neighboring sciences (for example, mathematical logic, physical chemistry); crossed sciences, which were formed by combining the principles and methods of two sciences distant from each other (for example, geophysics, economic geography); complex sciences that were formed by crossing a number of theoretical sciences (for example, oceanology, cybernetics, science).

Today, science is divided into many branches of knowledge (special sciences), which differ in what aspect of reality, the form of movement of matter they study. Attempts to classify areas of human knowledge on various grounds have been made since antiquity.

Thus, Aristotle (384-322 BC) identified three large groups of such areas: theoretical (physics and philosophy), practical (ethics and politics) and poetic (aesthetics).

Received the greatest fame classification of sciences, given F. Engels in the scientific work “Dialectics of Nature”. Based on the development of moving matter from lower to higher, he identified mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences.

The modern system of sciences has a complex organization. Based on subject unity, all disciplines are united into complexes of natural, social, technical, humanities and anthropological sciences.

Natural science is a system of knowledge and activity, the object of which is nature as part of existence, existing according to laws not created by human activity.

Social science– a system of sciences about society as a part of existence, constantly being recreated in the activities of people. In the process of various kinds of interactions of people with nature and with each other, a new reality arises - society. It becomes an object scientific knowledge, since it has its own special laws and must be ordered in a certain way. Otherwise, the multidirectional activity of individuals will be ineffective and even disastrous. Within the framework of social sciences, the laws and specifics of macro- and micro-unions and communities of people are studied (sociology, demography, ethnography, history, etc.).

Technical science study the laws and specifics of the creation and functioning of complex technical devices used by individuals and humanity in various fields life activity. The world of technology is unique and has its own laws that must be studied professionally to achieve technical progress.

Humanitarian sciences The subject of research is the values of society: social ideals, norms and rules of thinking, communication and behavior, based on a certain understanding of the usefulness of any objective actions for the individual, group and humanity. The field of humanities is large. It includes philosophy, religious studies, ethics, aesthetics, legal sciences, etc.

Anthropological Sciences is a set of sciences about man, the unity and differences of his natural and social properties. These include physical anthropology, philosophical anthropology, pedagogy, cultural anthropology, medicine, criminology, etc.

The Nomenclature of Specialties of Scientific Workers (as amended by Orders of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated August 11, 2009 No. 294, dated November 16, 2009 No. 603) presents the following branches of science: physical and mathematical sciences, chemical sciences, biological sciences, technical sciences, agricultural sciences, humanities , philological sciences, philosophical sciences, art history, cultural studies, socio-economic and social sciences, economic sciences, pedagogical sciences, sociological sciences, legal sciences, medical sciences, earth sciences.

Each of the named groups of sciences can be subjected to further division. For example, legal sciences that study state legal phenomena are divided into the following groups:

· historical(history of the domestic state and law, history of the state and law of foreign countries, history of political and legal doctrines);

· industry(constitutional law of Russia, civil law, civil procedural law, administrative law, labor law, criminal law, criminal procedural law, international law, etc.);

· applied(criminology, criminology, law enforcement, legal psychology, prosecutorial supervision, legal statistics, forensic medicine, etc.).

In statistical collections the following are usually distinguished: sectors of science: academic, industry, university and factory.

Let us note that some scientists do not believe philosophy with science(only science) or put it on a par with the natural, technical and social sciences. This is explained by the fact that they consider it as worldview, knowledge of the world in general, the methodology of knowledge or as the science of all sciences. Philosophy, in their opinion, is not aimed at collecting, analyzing and generalizing facts, discovering the laws of motion of reality, it only uses the achievements of specific sciences. Leaving aside the debate about the relationship between philosophy and science, we note that philosophy is still a science that has its own subject and methods of studying the universal laws and characteristics of everything infinite in space and time of the objective material world.

Thus, science as such, as a holistic developing formation, it includes a number of special sciences, which are in turn subdivided into many scientific disciplines.

Legislative framework regulation of relations between subjects of scientific and scientific-technical activities, authorities and consumers of scientific and scientific-technical products is formed by the Federal Law of August 23, 1996 “On Science and State Scientific and Technical Policy”. According to the Law, state scientific and technical policy is carried out based on the following basic principles:

· recognition of science as a socially significant industry that determines the level of development of the state’s productive forces;

· guarantees of priority development of fundamental scientific research;

· integration of scientific, scientific-technical and educational activities based on various forms of participation of workers, graduate students and university students in scientific research and experimental developments through the creation of educational and scientific complexes on the basis of universities, scientific organizations of academies of sciences with state status, as well as scientific organizations ministries and other federal government bodies;

· supporting competition and entrepreneurship in the field of science and technology;

· development of scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activities through the creation of a system of state research centers and other structures;

· concentration of resources on priority areas of development of science and technology;

· stimulation of scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activities through a system of economic and other benefits.

IN Russian Federation management of scientific and (or) scientific and technical activities is carried out on the basis of a combination of the principles of state regulation and self-government. State authorities that establish state scientific organizations approve their charters, exercise control over the effective use and safety of the property provided to them, and perform other functions within the limits of their powers. (Slide 10)

In accordance with Art. 7 of the Law of August 23, 1996, state authorities of Russia and constituent entities of the Russian Federation, scientific organizations and organizations of scientific services and the social sphere, within the limits of their powers, determine priority directions for the development of science and technology, ensure the formation of a system of scientific organizations, intersectoral coordination of scientific and (or) scientific and technical activities, development and implementation of scientific and scientific and technical programs and projects, development of forms of integration of science and production, implementation of achievements of science and technology.

At the level of Russian constituent entities, management in the field of science is directly organized by ministries, departments and other structural divisions of local authorities. According to Art. 12 of the Law of August 23, 1996, the jurisdiction of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation includes:

· participation in the development and implementation of state scientific and technical policy;

· determination of priority directions for the development of science and technology in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

· formation of scientific and scientific-technical programs and projects of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

· financing of scientific and scientific-technical activities from the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

· formation of management bodies in the field of scientific and scientific-technical activities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and interregional bodies;

management government organizations regional significance, including their creation, reorganization and liquidation;

· control over the activities of state scientific organizations of federal significance on issues related to the powers of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

· formation of interregional and regional funds for scientific, scientific, technical and technological development;

· exercise of other powers not assigned by federal laws to the jurisdiction of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Basic legal form relations between a scientific organization, a customer and other consumers of scientific and (or) scientific and technical products, including ministries and other federal executive authorities, are agreements (contracts) for the creation, transfer and use of scientific and (or) scientific and technical products, the provision of scientific, scientific and technical, engineering, consulting and other services, as well as other contracts. The Government of the Russian Federation and executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that have established state scientific organizations have the right to establish for them mandatory government order to carry out scientific research and experimental development.

According to Art. 114 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation Russian government and ensures a unified public policy in the field of science. The Federal Law of August 23, 1996 “On Science and State Scientific and Technical Policy” determined the functional responsibilities and rights of the Government, in particular the right to establish a mandatory state order for scientific research for scientific organizations established by it, to limit and license certain types of activities, to introduce where necessary, a regime of secrecy, as well as the obligation to ensure the creation of federal information funds and systems in the field of science and technology, to organize the execution of the federal budget in terms of expenses for scientific research and experimental development.

Under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Russian Federation are Russian Foundation basic research and the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation. The charters of these foundations indicate that they are non-profit organizations in the form federal institutions. They select, on a competitive basis, scientific research projects supported by these funds, according to the publication scientific works, organizing scientific events (conferences, seminars, etc.), developing an experimental base for scientific research. The foundations finance selected projects and activities, control the use of allocated funds, and support international cooperation in the field of scientific research.

Performs important management functions in the field of university science Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The structural division of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia is Higher Attestation Commission (HAC), whose main objectives are:

· ensuring a unified state policy, monitoring and coordinating activities in the field of certification of highly qualified scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel;

· promoting the improvement of the quantitative composition of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel, increasing the efficiency of their training and use, taking into account the needs of society and the state, the prospects for the development of science, education, technology and culture.

· In accordance with the tasks assigned to it VAK:

· develops, within its competence, the procedure for forming and organizing the work of dissertation councils, instructions and forms of documents on the issues of awarding academic degrees and conferring academic titles;

· controls the activities of dissertation councils, and also reviews the network of dissertation councils for each scientific specialty;

· develops the procedure for registration and issuance of diplomas of Doctor of Science and Candidate of Science and certificates of professor and associate professor in a state specialty;

· performs other functions listed in the Regulations on the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

· Federal executive authorities in the fields of science and education work in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences, branch academies of sciences, cooperate with educational institutions higher professional education, public scientific associations.

Higher scientific institution country is Russian Academy Sciences (RAN). The RAS conducts fundamental and applied scientific research on the most important problems of the natural, humanities and technical sciences, takes part in the coordination of fundamental research work carried out scientific organizations and higher educational institutions financed from the federal budget. A number of research institutes are subordinated to the Academy of Sciences. The Academy has 9 departments in areas and areas of science (by the way, at first glance it seems that becoming an academician is not for young people, although Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences at the age of 28, and an academician at the age of 32).

Supreme body Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences is the general meeting, which elects its leadership - the president (Yuriy Sergeevich Osipov), vice-presidents, members of the Presidium. All activities of the Academy during the period between sessions of the general meeting are led by the President of the RAS.

In addition to the Russian Academy of Sciences, there are branch academies of sciences: Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Russian Academy of Arts. These academies have state status: they are established by federal executive authorities and financed from the federal budget.

Branch academies of sciences are self-governing organizations that conduct fundamental and applied scientific research in relevant fields of science and technology and participate in the coordination of this scientific research. Branch academies of sciences have regional research centers.

Significant contributions to the development of science are made by sectoral (departmental) research institutes. So, for example, to conduct research in the field of law, the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law operates under the Government of the Russian Federation, the Research Institute for the Problems of Strengthening Law and Order operates under the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute (VNII MIA RF) operates under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. , the traffic police research center and other scientific institutions working in the field of jurisprudence.

A large volume of scientific research in the country is carried out by higher educational institutions (universities, academies, institutes).

According to Art. 8 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of August 22, 1996 “On higher and postgraduate vocational education» one of the objectives of the university is the development of sciences and arts through scientific research and creative activities of scientific and pedagogical workers and students, the use of the results obtained in educational process. To implement this task, universities are organizing scientific departments– research and design institutes, laboratories, design bureaus and other organizations whose activities are related to education.

Direct supervision scientific research at the university is carried out by the vice-rector for scientific work(deputy head of the institute, academy for scientific work), at the faculty - the dean or his deputy for scientific work, at the department - the head of the department. To manage the research work of structural divisions of universities, special bodies are created - research units, sectors, departments.

In accordance with Federal law of the Russian Federation of August 23, 1996 “On science and state scientific and technical policy”, scientists have the right to create public associations on a voluntary basis (including scientific, scientific, technical and scientific and educational societies, public academies of sciences) in the manner prescribed by law about public associations.

In the last decade, more than 60 public (non-state) academies of sciences and other public associations engaged in scientific development have been created in Russia. Among them, for example, are the Petrovsky Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Russian Academy of Social Sciences, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RAE), the Russian Academy of Legal Sciences (RAUN), etc.

Thus, management and regulation scientific activity are carried out in accordance with the principles of organic unity of scientific, technical, economic, social and spiritual development of society, unification of centralization and decentralization of management of scientific activities; compliance with national security requirements; recognition of freedom of creative, scientific and scientific-technical activity; balanced development of fundamental and applied research; using the achievements of world science and opportunities for international scientific cooperation; freedom of dissemination of scientific and scientific-technical information; openness to international scientific and technical cooperation, ensuring integration Russian science to the world.

Science concept

Object of research in science, the object of research means the main field of application of the efforts of scientists. In one science (scientific direction), however, there may be several objects of research that constitute a logically connected being and the purpose of research in this science (scientific direction).

Such an object becomes any unknown phenomenon, previously unknown to science, or part of it, which this science intends to investigate. A preliminary division of something unknown (unknown) into logically substantiated parts of the phenomenon is often used. This is used as a completely independent scientific method, if such a division is possible based on a priori visible signs of a given phenomenon.

The subject of the study is the result of theoretical abstraction, allowing scientists to highlight certain aspects, as well as the patterns of development and functioning of the object being studied.

The goal of scientific activity and science is to obtain accurate, comprehensive knowledge about the world around us and its constituent elements.

Research methods: literature review, collection of information

The field of application of science comes from the topic a person studies and in that area it finds application.

Introduction

Science is a special kind of human cognitive activity, aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about the world around us. The basis of this activity is the collection of facts, their systematization, critical analysis and, on this basis, the synthesis of new knowledge or generalizations that not only describe observed natural or social phenomena, but also allow us to build cause-and-effect relationships and make predictions.

Science is the basic form of human knowledge. Science these days is becoming an increasingly significant and essential component of the reality that surrounds us and in which we, one way or another, must navigate, live and act. A philosophical vision of the world presupposes fairly definite ideas about what science is, how it works and how it develops, what it can do and what it allows us to hope for, and what is inaccessible to it. From the philosophers of the past we can find many valuable insights and tips useful for orientation in a world where the role of science is so important.

1. Concept of science

The content of science should be understood as its definition, including the goals, ideological basis (or, perhaps more narrowly, the paradigm) of science, i.e. a set of accepted ideas, views on what science is, what its goals are, methods of construction and development, etc. In the same circle of ideas, it is apparently necessary to include problems of scientific ethics - systems of accepted, but not legally binding rules governing relationships between people in the field of scientific activity. Scientific ethics is usually given little attention in critical, historical and philosophical works, although, due to the important place occupied by science in modern society, is an essential part of human relationships. We will pay deeper attention to this issue, since in the development modern science There are quite serious violations of ethical standards that affect the pace of its development. Any ideology is, in essence, a formulation of experimental data about the interaction of people with nature and among themselves. We are accustomed to treating postulated and already tested rules or laws as the final truth, forgetting that the establishment of truth is accompanied by numerous misconceptions. Testing ideological principles empirically is difficult for a number of reasons. Therefore, it has not yet been possible to come to an unambiguous solution to these issues, and this, in turn, affects the development of the sciences themselves.

Most issues related to the ideology of science are described in detail in numerous and accessible philosophical works. We will dwell only on specific problems important for the development of our topic. Let us only note that although the ideology of science has roots in ancient natural science, the formulations currently accepted mainly go back to the Middle Ages, to the works of F. Bacon, R. Descartes and some others.

Science - sphere human activity, the function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality; one of the forms of social consciousness; includes both the activity of obtaining new knowledge and its result - the sum of knowledge underlying scientific picture peace; designation of individual branches of scientific knowledge. The immediate goals are the description, explanation and prediction of the processes and phenomena of reality that constitute the subject of its study, based on the laws it discovers. The system of sciences is conventionally divided into natural, social, humanities and technical sciences. Originating in ancient world in connection with the needs of social practice, began to take shape from the 16th...17th centuries. and during historical development has become the most important social institution, exerting a significant influence on all spheres of society and culture as a whole.

1.1 Structure and functions of science

Depending on the sphere of existence, and therefore on the type of reality being studied, three areas of scientific knowledge are distinguished: natural science - knowledge about nature, social science, knowledge about various types and forms of social life, as well as knowledge about man as a thinking being. Naturally, these three spheres are not and should not be considered as three parts of a single whole, which are only side by side, adjacent to each other. The boundary between these spheres is relative. The entire body of scientific knowledge about nature is formed by natural science. Its structure is a direct reflection of the logic of nature. The total volume and structure of natural science knowledge is large and varied.

This includes knowledge about matter and its structure, about the movement and interaction of substances, about chemical elements and compounds, about living matter and life, about Earth and Space. Fundamental natural science directions also originate from these objects of natural science.

The second fundamental direction of scientific knowledge is social science. Its subject is social phenomena and systems, structures, states, processes. Social sciences provide knowledge about individual varieties and the entirety of social connections and relationships. By its nature, scientific knowledge about society is numerous, but it can be grouped into three areas: sociological, the subject of which is society as a whole; economic - reflect the labor activity of people, property relations, social production, exchange, distribution and relations in society based on them; state-legal knowledge - has as its subject state-legal structures and relations in social systems, they are considered by all sciences about the state and political sciences.

The third fundamental area of scientific knowledge is scientific knowledge about man and his thinking. Man is the object of study of a large number of different sciences, which consider him in various aspects. Along with the indicated main scientific directions, knowledge of science about itself should be included in a separate group of knowledge. The emergence of this branch of knowledge dates back to the 20s of our century and means that science in its development has risen to the level of understanding its role and significance in people's lives. Science today is considered an independent, rapidly developing scientific discipline.

Closely related to the structure of scientific knowledge is the problem of the functions of science. There are several that stand out:

1. descriptive - identifying the essential properties and relationships of reality;

2. systematizing - classifying what is described into classes and sections;

3. explanatory - a systematic presentation of the essence of the object being studied, the reasons for its emergence and development;

4. production-practical - the possibility of applying the acquired knowledge in production, for the regulation of social life, in social management;

5. prognostic - prediction of new discoveries within the framework of existing theories, as well as recommendations for the future;

6. worldview - introducing acquired knowledge into the existing picture of the world, rationalizing a person’s relationship to reality.

2. Definition of science

For many practical and theoretical purposes related to the management of scientific activity and scientific and technological progress, knowledge of the intuitive idea of science alone seems insufficient. Of course, the definition is secondary compared to the concept. Science, no matter how it is defined, involves the progress of the generation of concepts, and by defining its concept, we become involved in this process.

Much of what concerns the relationship between science and society has to do with the place of science among other human activities. There is currently a tendency to overemphasize science great importance in the development of society. To establish the truth in this matter, it is necessary, first of all, to find out what type of activity should be called science.

In a general sense, science refers to activities related to the accumulation of knowledge about nature and society, as well as the body of knowledge itself, which makes it possible to predict the behavior of natural objects by modeling both them and their interactions with each other (in particular, mathematical ones). It is generally accepted that science in the modern sense of the word appeared in Ancient Greece, although it is known that huge reserves of knowledge were accumulated long before this in the Ancients, Egypt and China. From a practical point of view, knowledge of examples is quite equivalent to knowledge of theorems written in abstract notation. Therefore, we will conditionally accept the equivalence (in a practical sense) of these knowledge systems. In other words, for ease of comparison, we have equated the usefulness of Babylonian and Greek geometry. Apparently, if there is still a difference between them, then it is in it that one should look for the basis for the definition of science. It turns out that in the general case, in Euclidean geometry it is not necessary to remember the theorems themselves, much less the solutions to practical problems: it is enough to know the definitions, axioms, construction rules and have practical skills so that, if the need arises, deduce this or that theorem and solve the required problem based on this knowledge system. Using the found theorem (or theorems) it is not difficult to solve many problems. In contrast, Babylonian “science” involves memorizing a set of examples needed for all occasions. The Babylonian way of accumulating knowledge is always associated with a large consumption of memory resources and, nevertheless, does not make it possible to quickly obtain answers to newly arising questions. The Greek method is associated with the systematization of knowledge and, thanks to this, is as economical as possible. Such examples, and their number can be multiplied - let us remember, for example, the activities of Linnaeus and Darwin to systematize knowledge in biology and the associated progress in this area - make it possible to define science as the activity of systematizing and organizing knowledge. Since the time of F. Bacon, the idea has been realized that science should not only passively observe and collect what is ready, but also actively seek and cultivate knowledge. To do this, according to Bacon, a person must ask nature questions and, through experiment, find out its answers. Another side of the activities of scientists is traditionally the transfer of knowledge to other people, i.e. teaching activities. So, science is the coding of knowledge, the construction of models of various objects and systems, and the calculation (prediction) on this basis of the behavior of specific objects and systems.

2.1 Approaches to defining science

1. Terminological approach in defining science

What remains general and important for all possible definitions of science is that we already somehow know what science is. We are talking about the explication of knowledge that we already find in ourselves, moreover, knowledge that is quite objective or at least shared by us with a significant part of the scientific community. Science includes not only cognition in the sense of action or activity, but also the positive results of this activity. In addition, some results that can hardly be called positive in the literal sense, for example, scientific errors, the use of science for inhumane purposes, falsifications, sometimes very sophisticated by many criteria, still fall within the scope of science.

It is necessary to differentiate science terminologically from several related and sometimes confused concepts. First of all, let’s fix the category of innovation activity, i.e. such activities, the purpose of which is the introduction of certain innovations (innovations) into existing cultural complexes. Thanks to its innovative aspect, science is different from other activities related to knowledge and information. At the same time, science is not identical to scientific research activity: the latter can be defined as innovative activity in the field of knowledge, and this does not include many aspects of science - organizational, personnel, etc., besides, “activity” is precisely activity, and not one or another of its specific results, while science includes the results obtained and obtained in that the same, if not to a greater extent, than the activity of obtaining them.

Methods of evidence and persuasion in various spheres of human activity, such as science, political structure, oratory, philosophy, replaced the earlier “method” of arbitrary or purely traditional solution of relevant problems on the basis of a hidden postulate of the uniformity of human actions, reflecting an even greater uniformity of the natural and supernatural order.

Since then and to this day, the terms “systematicity” and “inquiry into causes” have remained key to any definition of science. The first of them can be considered more universal, since the complete absence of systematicity removes the very question of the existence of science (and even knowability, if the latter is understood, as is often done now, in a sense at least similar to science).

2. Phenomenological aspect of the definition of science

Defining science, we are inside it, as inside something known to us, although not yet explicit. A subject who sees science not as something external, but “inside” himself, is in a situation that is different from the situation of terminological or speculative construction of science and from the situation of purely empirical contemplation of his object (science). Within the framework of science as a system of a higher rank (compared to any of its constituent disciplines), a set of disciplines that study science itself from one side or another forms a certain subsystem. Thanks to the introduction of operations research principles into it, systematic approach and phenomenology has largely succeeded in overcoming the reductionist dogma that “all knowledge is ultimately reduced to a set of elementary statements.” In particular, the value (moral, culturally significant) side is by no means alien to science. This tendency towards self-increasing value must be taken into account in the definition of science, which, as has been said, is a predominant area of innovation. Phenomenologically, science grows out of relatively elementary value-based manifestations, such as curiosity, the need to be informed, and practical orientation in the world.

3. Value aspects of the definition of science

Since science as a whole and in all its systemic states represents one of the products of the development of the value consciousness of mankind, definitions of science should not ignore, as is sometimes done, its value aspect, or limit it to the value of knowledge alone. At the same time, if for the stage of ancient Eastern, and partly also medieval science, in order to reflect the value plan, it is necessary and, perhaps, sufficient to include in the definition of science an orientation towards comprehending such cosmic value as the universal Law in its hierarchical interpretation, then for the stages of the ancient, Renaissance , as well as modern (classical and post-classical) science, the range of relevant values is much wider and includes the principles of objective and impartial research, humanistic orientation and the imperative of obtaining and generalizing new knowledge about the properties, cause-and-effect relationships and patterns of natural, social and logical-mathematical objects.

3. Basic principles of the development of science

The first of these is, apparently, the principle that determines man’s relationship to nature, largely dictating the methods and possibilities of its study. By the 4th century BC. e. Two main formulations of the first principle took shape: materialistic and idealistic.

Materialism postulates the existence of nature independent of man in the form of various moving forms of matter, and considers man as a product of the natural development of nature. This principle is usually formulated as follows: nature is primary, and consciousness is secondary.

Idealism believes that nature exists in the form of ideas accumulated by the brain about those forms of matter that a person perceives. Depending on whether the existence of ideas is recognized as independent, or whether they are considered a product of the soul (mind), a distinction is made between objective and subjective idealism. One of the forms of objective idealism is religious ideology, which postulates the existence of the primary bearer of ideas - a deity.

Thus, the first principle in the idealist formulation has many variants, while the materialist formulation is essentially unique (maybe this is why idealists consider materialism a primitive ideology.).

From the height of the knowledge accumulated by mankind, modern materialists view idealism as a delusion. Without denying this, we would like to emphasize the following important idea for our topic: the choice between materialism and idealism cannot be justified logically. It is only possible to show through numerous experimental tests that materialism, as the basis for knowledge of nature, provides a more complete and useful system of knowledge than idealism. This situation is not exclusive to the realm of ideas: all the first principles of physics cannot be proven, but are practical conclusions.

Another support for idealism is the form in which our knowledge is embodied. The latter exist in the form of ideas and symbols that have absolutely nothing in common with natural objects, and, nevertheless, allow us to properly communicate with nature. There is a great temptation to give these symbols some independent meaning, which is so characteristic of abstract mathematics and theoretical physics of our time.

So, the choice of one or another formulation of the first principle cannot be predetermined; in other words, scientists should be recognized as having freedom of conscience in this sense. Only experience can convince one of the correctness of one or another formulation.

Conclusion

The basis for the progress of human society is the development of various means of using the energy stored in nature to satisfy the practical needs of man. But as the history of technology shows, the appearance of these tools was extremely rarely associated with science. Most often, they were born as inventions (often made by poorly educated people, having nothing to do with the subject of their invention; it is doubtful that those Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons who invented methods of lighting fire, processing stone, forging metal, smelting metal, etc., can be called scientists. .p. discoveries that made us what we are today). The improvement of inventions also occurred through trial and error, and only very recently did scientific calculations really begin to be used for this.

Speaking so far about science and scientific knowledge, we considered them as an already really existing object of study, which we analyzed from a formal point of view. However, humanity in its history has accumulated knowledge of a very different nature, and scientific knowledge is only one of the types of this knowledge. Therefore, the question arises about the criteria for the scientific nature of knowledge, which accordingly allows us to classify it as scientific or some other.

Bibliography

1) Bezuglov I.G., Lebedinsky V.V., Bezuglov A.I. Fundamentals of scientific research: a textbook for graduate and undergraduate students / Bezuglov I.G., Lebedinsky V.V., Bezuglov A.I. – M.: – Academic project, 2008. – 194 p.

2) Gerasimov I.G. Scientific research. – M.: Politizdat, 1972. – 279 p.

3) Krutov V.I., Grushko I.M., Popov V.V. Fundamentals of scientific research: Textbook. for tech. universities, ed. Krutova, I.M., Popova V.V. – M.: Higher. school, 1989. – 400 p.

4) Shklyar M.F. Fundamentals of scientific research: Tutorial/ M.F. Shklyar. – 3rd ed. – M.: Publishing and trading corporation “Dashkov and K”, 2010. – 244 p.

All of us, when we go to school, then to university, do not think about the fact that an ordinary person is given only a small part of the basics of various sciences. In fact, there are many of these same sciences. To understand what sciences are, you must first find out how they are classified and into what groups they are divided.

Types of sciences

We will try to present you with the most common science map. All existing knowledge systems on a certain topic are divided into only three groups. This:

Natural
Humanities
Formal Sciences

Each group contains a huge layer of subsections, which, in turn, are stratified into even narrower specializations. We will name only the basic ones, since it would be quite labor-intensive to list what sciences exist.

Natural Sciences

Natural sciences include: physics, geography, chemistry, biology and everything that can somehow influence a person. Their paradox lies in the fact that it is almost impossible to find in this group of sciences at least one that would accurately and completely characterize this entire series. For example, geography gravitates and even overlaps with economics and sociology. Remember that geography includes sections on the economic prosperity of states and its connection with the availability of minerals and minerals.

What sciences study humans? Of the natural sciences, this is biology, or more precisely, its subsection. Most of the human sciences fall into the next group - the humanities.

In general, the general core of the natural sciences is the description of real, existing phenomena, fragments or elements of reality, but not their evaluation.

Humanitarian sciences

This is also a wide range of sciences. These include social sciences and typically the humanities.

Social sciences include economics, sociology, political science, and others. These sciences describe actions, events, and they also evaluate them. However, they do not have a clear black and white picture of perception. Their assessment is rather comparative than absolute.

What sciences are humanities? This is history, psychology, linguistics. The entire range of sciences is replete with absolute, but dynamically developing categories. For example, they clearly indicate temporal parameters (what was, what is, or what will be), and strive to give an absolute assessment of the facts and categories being studied.

There is also a subsection of the humanities, which is quite small, but stands apart. These are sciences that form perception and give assessment. These include art criticism, ethics and the like.

Formal Sciences

Everything is very clear here. Formal sciences include logic, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. This category of sciences has clear terms, the only accepted standards and concepts.

These categories of sciences are understandable, but not all researchers agree with this classification. For example, we can subdivide this entire body of knowledge according to criteria that evaluate the closeness of science to people. Which sciences study society, and which ones study abstract things? Various options are possible here, fortunately, there is room to roam, given the fact that there are more than 20 thousand sciences that people study.

Physicists have known about quantum effects for more than a hundred years, for example, the ability of quanta to disappear in one place and appear in another, or to be in two places at the same time. However, the amazing properties of quantum mechanics apply not only to physics, but also to biology.

The best example of quantum biology is photosynthesis: plants and some bacteria use energy from sunlight to build the molecules they need. It turns out that photosynthesis actually relies on a surprising phenomenon - small masses of energy "explore" all possible ways to use themselves, and then "select" the most efficient one. Perhaps bird navigation, DNA mutations, and even our sense of smell rely in one way or another on quantum effects. Although this area of science is still highly speculative and controversial, scientists believe that once gleaned from quantum biology, ideas could lead to the creation of new drugs and biomimetic systems (biomimetrics is another new scientific field where biological systems and structures are used to create new materials and devices ).

3. Exometeorology

Jupiter

Along with exoceanographers and exogeologists, exometeorologists are interested in studying the natural processes occurring on other planets. Now that, thanks to powerful telescopes, it has become possible to study internal processes on nearby planets and moons, exometeorologists can monitor their atmospheric and weather conditions. and Saturn, with its incredible scale, are prime candidates for research, as is Mars, with its regular dust storms.

Exometeorologists even study planets beyond ours solar system. And what’s interesting is that they may eventually find signs of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets by detecting organic traces or elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - a sign of industrial civilization.

4. Nutrigenomics

Nutrigenomics is the study of the complex relationships between food and genome expression. Scientists working in this field are seeking to understand the role of genetic variations and dietary responses in how nutrients affect the genome.

Food really does have a huge impact on your health - and it literally starts there. molecular level. Nutrigenomics works in both directions: it studies how exactly our genome influences gastronomic preferences, and vice versa. The main goal of the discipline is to create personalized nutrition - this is to ensure that our food is ideally suited to our unique set of genes.

5. Cliodynamics

Cliodynamics is a discipline that combines historical macrosociology, economic history (cliometrics), mathematical modeling of long-term social processes, as well as systematization and analysis of historical data.

The name comes from the name of the Greek muse of history and poetry, Clio. Simply put, cliodynamics is an attempt to predict and describe the broad social connections of history - both to study the past and as a potential way to predict the future, for example, to forecast social unrest.

6. Synthetic biology

Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems. It also includes the modernization of existing biological systems for an endless number of useful applications.

Craig Venter, one of the leading experts in this field, announced in 2008 that he had reconstructed the entire genome of a bacterium by gluing together its chemical components. Two years later, his team created “synthetic life”—DNA molecules digitally coded, then 3D printed and inserted into living bacteria.

In the future, biologists intend to analyze various types of genomes to create useful organisms for introduction into the body and biorobots that can produce chemical substances- biofuel - from scratch. There are also ideas to create pollution-fighting artificial bacteria or vaccines to treat serious diseases. The potential of this scientific discipline is simply enormous.

7. Recombinant memetics

This area of science is just in its infancy, but it is already clear that it is only a matter of time - sooner or later scientists will gain a better understanding of the entire human noosphere (the totality of all known to people information) and how the dissemination of information affects virtually every aspect of human life.

Like recombinant DNA, where different genetic sequences come together to create something new, recombinant memetics studies how ideas passed from person to person can be adjusted and combined with other memes and memeplexes - established complexes of interconnected memes. This may be useful for “social therapeutic” purposes, for example, combating the spread of radical and extremist ideologies.

8. Computational sociology

Like cliodynamics, computational sociology studies social phenomena and trends. Central to this discipline is the use of computers and related information processing technologies. Of course, this discipline only developed with the advent of computers and the widespread use of the Internet.

Particular attention in this discipline is paid to the huge flows of information from our Everyday life, for example, letters by e-mail, phone calls, posts on social networks, credit card purchases, search engine queries, and so on. Examples of work include studying the structure social networks and how information is spread through them, or how intimate relationships arise on the Internet.

9. Cognitive economics

Generally, economics is not associated with traditional scientific disciplines, but this may change due to the close interaction of all scientific fields. This discipline is often confused with behavioral economics (the study of our behavior in the context of economic decisions). Cognitive economics is the science of how we think. Lee Caldwell, author of a blog about this discipline, writes about it:

“Cognitive (or financial) economics... looks at what is actually going on in a person's mind when he makes a choice. What is the internal structure of decision-making, what influences it, what information does the mind perceive at this moment and how is it processed, what internal forms of preference does a person have and, ultimately, how are all these processes reflected in behavior?

In other words, scientists begin their research at a lower, simplified level, and form micromodels of decision-making principles to develop a model of large-scale economic behavior. Often this scientific discipline interacts with related fields, such as computational economics or cognitive science.

10. Plastic electronics

Electronics typically involve inert and inorganic conductors and semiconductors such as copper and silicon. But a new branch of electronics uses conducting polymers and conducting small molecules that are based on carbon. Organic electronics involves the design, synthesis and processing of functional organic and inorganic materials along with the development of advanced micro- and nanotechnologies.

In truth, this is not such a new branch of science; the first developments were made back in the 1970s. However, it was only recently possible to bring all the accumulated data together, in particular, due to the nanotechnology revolution. Thanks to organic electronics, we may soon have organic solar cells, self-organizing monolayers in electronic devices and organic prosthetics, which in the future will be able to replace damaged limbs for humans: in the future, so-called cyborgs may well consist of more organic matter than synthetic ones parts.

11. Computational biology

If you equally like mathematics and biology, then this discipline is just for you. Computational biology seeks to understand biological processes through the language of mathematics. This is equally used for other quantitative systems, such as physics and computer science. Scientists from the University of Ottawa explain how this became possible:

“With the development of biological instrumentation and easy access to computing power, biology as such has to operate with more and more data, and the speed of knowledge gained is only growing. Thus, making sense of data now requires a computational approach. At the same time, from the point of view of physicists and mathematicians, biology has matured to a level where theoretical models of biological mechanisms can be tested experimentally. This led to the development of computational biology.”

Scientists working in this field analyze and measure everything from molecules to ecosystems.

How does “brainmail” work - transmitting messages from brain to brain via the Internet