Naturally scientific method of cognition and its components. Basic sciences of nature (physics, chemistry, biology), their similarities and differences

Lecture No. 1

Topic: Introduction

Plan

1. Basic sciences about nature (physics, chemistry, biology), their similarities and differences.

2. Natural scientific method of cognition and its components: observation, measurement, experiment, hypothesis, theory.

Basic sciences about nature (physics, chemistry, biology), their similarities and differences.

The word "natural science" means knowledge about nature. Since nature is extremely diverse, in the process of understanding it, various natural sciences were formed: physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geography, geology and many others. Each of the natural sciences studies some specific properties of nature. When new properties of matter are discovered, new natural sciences appear with the aim of further studying these properties, or at least new sections and directions in existing natural sciences. This is how a whole body of natural sciences was formed. Based on the objects of research, they can be divided into two large groups: sciences about living and inanimate nature. The most important natural sciences about inanimate nature are: physics, chemistry, astronomy.

Physics– a science that studies the most general properties of matter and the forms of its motion (mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, atomic, nuclear). Physics has many types and sections (general physics, theoretical physics, experimental physics, mechanics, molecular physics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, physics of electromagnetic phenomena, etc.).

Chemistry– the science of substances, their composition, structure, properties and mutual transformations. Chemistry studies the chemical form of the movement of matter and is divided into inorganic and organic chemistry, physical and analytical chemistry, colloidal chemistry, etc.

Astronomy- science of the Universe. Astronomy studies the movement of celestial bodies, their nature, origin and development. The most important branches of astronomy, which today have essentially turned into independent sciences, are cosmology and cosmogony.

Cosmology– physical doctrine about the Universe as a whole, its structure and development.

Cosmogony– a science that studies the origin and development of celestial bodies (planets, Sun, stars, etc.). The newest direction in space exploration is astronautics.

Biology- science of living nature. The subject of biology is life as a special form of movement of matter, the laws of development of living nature. Biology seems to be the most branched science (zoology, botany, morphology, cytology, histology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, virology, embryology, ecology, genetics, etc.). At the intersection of sciences, related sciences arise, such as physical chemistry, physical biology, chemical physics, biophysics, astrophysics, etc.

So, in the process of understanding nature, separate natural sciences were formed. This is a necessary stage of cognition - the stage of differentiation of knowledge, differentiation of sciences. It is due to the need to cover an increasingly larger and more diverse number of natural objects being studied and to penetrate deeper into their details. But nature is a single, unique, multifaceted, complex, self-governing organism. If nature is one, then the idea of ​​it from the point of view of natural science should also be one. Such a science is natural science.

Natural science– the science of nature as a single integrity or the totality of sciences about nature, taken as a single whole. The last words in this definition once again emphasize that this is not just a set of sciences, but a generalized, integrated science. This means that today the differentiation of knowledge about nature is being replaced by its integration. This task is determined, firstly, by the objective course of knowledge of nature and, secondly, by the fact that humanity learns the laws of nature not for the sake of simple curiosity, but for using them in practical activities, for its own life support.

2. Natural scientific method of cognition and its components: observation, measurement, experiment, hypothesis, theory.

Method- is a set of techniques or operations of practical or theoretical activity.

Methods of scientific knowledge include the so-called universal methods , i.e. universal methods of thinking, general scientific methods and methods of specific sciences. Methods can also be classified according to the ratio empirical knowledge (i.e. knowledge obtained as a result of experience, experimental knowledge) and theoretical knowledge, the essence of which is knowledge of the essence of phenomena, their internal connections.

Features of the natural scientific method of cognition:

1. Is objective in nature

2. The subject of knowledge is typical

3. Historicity is not required

4. Only knowledge creates

5. The natural scientist strives to be an outside observer.

6. Relies on the language of terms and numbers

There are two universal methods in the history of knowledge: dialectical and metaphysical. These are general philosophical methods.

The dialectical method is a method of understanding reality in its inconsistency, integrity and development.

The metaphysical method is a method opposite to the dialectical one, considering phenomena outside of their mutual connection and development.

Since the mid-19th century, the metaphysical method has been increasingly displaced from natural science by the dialectical method.

The relationship between general scientific methods can also be presented in the form of a diagram (Fig. 2).

Analysis is the mental or real decomposition of an object into its constituent parts.

Synthesis is the combination of elements learned as a result of analysis into a single whole.

Generalization is the process of mental transition from the individual to the general, from the less general to the more general, for example: the transition from the judgment “this metal conducts electricity” to the judgment “all metals conduct electricity”, from the judgment: “the mechanical form of energy turns into thermal” to the proposition “every form of energy turns into heat.”

Abstraction (idealization) is the mental introduction of certain changes to the object being studied in accordance with the goals of the study. As a result of idealization, some properties and attributes of objects that are not essential for this study can be excluded from consideration. An example of such idealization in mechanics is a material point, i.e. a point with mass but without any dimensions. The same abstract (ideal) object is an absolutely rigid body.

Induction is the process of deriving a general position from the observation of a number of particular individual facts, i.e. knowledge from the particular to the general. In practice, incomplete induction is most often used, which involves making a conclusion about all objects of a set based on knowledge of only a part of the objects. Incomplete induction, based on experimental research and including theoretical justification, is called scientific induction. The conclusions of such induction are often probabilistic in nature. This is a risky but creative method. With a strict setup of the experiment, logical consistency and rigor of conclusions, it is able to give a reliable conclusion. According to the famous French physicist Louis de Broglie, scientific induction is the true source of truly scientific progress.

Deduction is the process of analytical reasoning from the general to the particular or less general. It is closely related to generalization. If the initial general provisions are an established scientific truth, then the method of deduction will always produce a true conclusion. The deductive method is especially important in mathematics. Mathematicians operate with mathematical abstractions and base their reasoning on general principles. These general provisions apply to solving private, specific problems.

In the history of natural science, there have been attempts to absolutize the meaning in science of the inductive method (F. Bacon) or the deductive method (R. Descartes), to give them universal meaning. However, these methods cannot be used as separate methods, isolated from each other. each of them is used at a certain stage of the cognition process.

Analogy is a probable, plausible conclusion about the similarity of two objects or phenomena in some characteristic, based on their established similarity in other characteristics. An analogy with the simple allows us to understand the more complex. Thus, by analogy with the artificial selection of the best breeds of domestic animals, Charles Darwin discovered the law of natural selection in the animal and plant world.

Modeling is the reproduction of the properties of an object of cognition on a specially designed analogue of it - a model. Models can be real (material), for example, airplane models, building models. photographs, prosthetics, dolls, etc. and ideal (abstract) created by means of language (both natural human language and special languages, for example, the language of mathematics. In this case, we have a mathematical model. Usually this is a system of equations that describes the relationships in the system being studied.

The historical method involves reproducing the history of the object under study in all its versatility, taking into account all the details and accidents. The logical method is, in essence, a logical reproduction of the history of the object being studied. At the same time, this history is freed from everything accidental and unimportant, i.e. it is, as it were, the same historical method, but freed from its historical form.

Classification is the distribution of certain objects into classes (departments, categories) depending on their general characteristics, fixing the natural connections between classes of objects in a unified system of a specific branch of knowledge. The formation of each science is associated with the creation of classifications of the objects and phenomena being studied.

Classification is the process of organizing information. In the process of studying new objects, a conclusion is made in relation to each such object: whether it belongs to already established classification groups. In some cases, this reveals the need to rebuild the classification system. There is a special theory of classification - taxonomy. It examines the principles of classification and systematization of complexly organized areas of reality, which usually have a hierarchical structure (organic world, objects of geography, geology, etc.).

One of the first classifications in natural science was the classification of flora and fauna by the outstanding Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). For representatives of living nature, he established a certain gradation: class, order, genus, species, variation.

Observation is a purposeful, organized perception of objects and phenomena. Scientific observations are carried out to collect facts that strengthen or refute a particular hypothesis and form the basis for certain theoretical generalizations.

An experiment is a method of research that differs from observation by its active nature. This is observation under special controlled conditions. The experiment allows, firstly, to isolate the object under study from the influence of side phenomena that are not significant for it. Secondly, during the experiment the course of the process is repeated many times. Thirdly, the experiment allows you to systematically change the very course of the process being studied and the state of the object of study.

Measurement is the material process of comparing a quantity with a standard, a unit of measurement. The number expressing the ratio of the measured quantity to the standard is called the numerical value of this quantity.

Modern science takes into account the principle of the relativity of the properties of an object to the means of observation, experiment and measurement. So, for example, if you study the properties of light by studying its passage through a grating, it will exhibit its wave properties. If the experiment and measurements are aimed at studying the photoelectric effect, the corpuscular nature of light will manifest itself (as a stream of particles - photons).

A scientific hypothesis is such conjectural knowledge, the truth or falsity of which has not yet been proven, but which is not put forward arbitrarily, but subject to a number of requirements, which include the following.

1. No contradictions. The main provisions of the proposed hypothesis should not contradict known and verified facts. (It should be borne in mind that there are also false facts that themselves need to be verified).

2. Compliance of the new hypothesis with well-established theories. Thus, after the discovery of the law of conservation and transformation of energy, all new proposals for the creation of a “perpetual motion machine” are no longer considered.

3. Availability of the proposed hypothesis to experimental verification, at least in principle

4. Maximum simplicity of the hypothesis.

A model (in science) is a substitute object for the original object, a tool for cognition that the researcher places between himself and the object and with the help of which he studies some of the properties of the original. (id. gas, ..)

A scientific theory is systematized knowledge in its totality. Scientific theories explain many accumulated scientific facts and describe a certain fragment of reality (for example, electrical phenomena, mechanical motion, transformation of substances, evolution of species, etc.) through a system of laws.

The main difference between a theory and a hypothesis is reliability, evidence.

A scientific theory must perform two important functions, the first of which is the explanation of facts, and the second is the prediction of new, still unknown facts and the patterns that characterize them.

Scientific theory is one of the most stable forms of scientific knowledge, but they also undergo changes following the accumulation of new facts. When changes affect the fundamental principles of a theory, a transition occurs to new principles, and, consequently, to a new theory. Changes in the most general theories lead to qualitative changes in the entire system of theoretical knowledge. As a result, global natural science revolutions occur and the scientific picture of the world changes.

Within the framework of scientific theory, some of the empirical generalizations receive their explanation, while others are transformed into the laws of nature.

A law of nature is a necessary connection expressed verbally or mathematically between the properties of material objects and/or the circumstances of the events occurring with them.

For example, the law of universal gravitation expresses the necessary connection between the masses of bodies and the force of their mutual attraction; Mendeleev's periodic law is the relationship between the atomic mass (more precisely, the charge of the atomic nucleus) of a chemical element and its chemical properties; Mendel's laws - the relationship between the characteristics of parent organisms and their descendants.

In human culture, in addition to science, there is pseudoscience or pseudoscience. Pseudosciences include, for example, astrology, alchemy, ufology, parapsychology. The mass consciousness either does not see the difference between science and pseudoscience, or sees, but perceives with great interest and sympathy pseudoscientists who, in their words, experience persecution and oppression from the ossified “official” science.

3. Interrelation of natural sciences. Reductionism and holism.

All research into nature today can be visually represented as a large network consisting of branches and nodes. This network connects numerous branches of the physical, chemical and biological sciences, including synthetic sciences, which arose at the junction of the main directions (biochemistry, biophysics, etc.).

Even when studying the simplest organism, we must take into account that it is a mechanical unit, a thermodynamic system, and a chemical reactor with multidirectional flows of mass, heat, and electrical impulses; it is, at the same time, a kind of “electric machine” that generates and absorbs electromagnetic radiation. And, at the same time, it is neither one nor the other, it is a single whole.

Modern natural science is characterized by the interpenetration of natural sciences into each other, but it also has a certain orderliness and hierarchy.

In the mid-19th century, the German chemist Kekule compiled a hierarchical sequence of sciences according to the degree of increasing their complexity (or rather, according to the degree of complexity of the objects and phenomena that they study).

Such a hierarchy of natural sciences made it possible to “deduce” one science from another. So physics (it would be more correct - part of physics, molecular-kinetic theory) was called the mechanics of molecules, chemistry, physics of atoms, biology - the chemistry of proteins or protein bodies. This scheme is quite conventional. But it allows us to explain one of the problems of science - the problem of reductionism.

Reductionism (<лат. reductio уменьшение). Редукционизм в науке – это стремление описать более сложные явления языком науки, описывающей менее сложные явления

A type of reductionism is physicalism – an attempt to explain the entire diversity of the world in the language of physics.

Reductionism is inevitable when analyzing complex objects and phenomena. However, here we must be well aware of the following. You cannot consider the vital functions of an organism by reducing everything to physics or chemistry. But it is important to know that the laws of physics and chemistry are valid and must also be fulfilled for biological objects. Human behavior in society cannot be viewed only as a biological being, but it is important to know that the roots of many human actions lie in the deep prehistoric past and are the result of the work of genetic programs inherited from animal ancestors.

Currently, there has been an understanding of the need for a holistic, holistic (<англ. whole целый) взгляда на мир. Холизм , или интегратизм можно рассматривать как противоположность редукционизма, как присущее современной науке стремление создать действительно обобщенное, интегрированное знание о природе

3. Fundamental and applied sciences. Technologies

The established understanding of basic and applied science is as follows.

Problems that are posed to scientists from outside are called applied ones. Applied sciences, therefore, have as their goal the practical application of acquired knowledge.

Problems that arise within science itself are called fundamental. Thus, fundamental science is aimed at obtaining knowledge about the world as such. Actually, it is fundamental research that is aimed, to one degree or another, at solving world mysteries.

The word “fundamental” should not be confused here with the word “big”, “important”. Applied research can be very important both for practical activities and for science itself, while fundamental research can be trivial. It is very important here to anticipate what significance the results of basic research may have in the future. So, back in the mid-19th century, research on electromagnetism (fundamental research) was considered very interesting, but had no practical significance. (When allocating funds for scientific research, managers and economists must, undoubtedly, be guided to a certain extent by modern natural science in order to make the right decision).

Technology. Applied science is closely related to technology. There are two definitions of technology: in a narrow and broad sense. “Technology is a body of knowledge about the methods and means of carrying out production processes, for example, metal technology, chemical technology, construction technology, biotechnology, etc., as well as the technological processes themselves, in which a qualitative change in the processed object occurs.”

In a broad, philosophical sense, technology is a means of achieving the goals set by society, conditioned by the state of knowledge and social efficiency." This definition is quite capacious, it allows us to cover both bioconstruction, and education (educational technologies), etc. These "methods" may vary from civilization to civilization, from era to era (It must be borne in mind that in foreign literature “technology” is often understood as a synonym for “technology” in general).

4. The thesis about two cultures.

As a result of its activities, it creates a set of material and spiritual values, i.e. culture. The world of material values ​​(technique, technology) forms material culture. Science, art, literature, religion, morality, mythology belong to spiritual culture. In the process of understanding the surrounding world and man himself, various sciences are formed.

Natural sciences - sciences about nature - form natural science culture, humanities - artistic (humanitarian culture).

At the initial stages of knowledge (mythology, natural philosophy), these two types of sciences and cultures were not separated. However, gradually each of them developed its own principles and approaches. The separation of these cultures was also facilitated by different goals: natural sciences sought to study nature and conquer it; Humanities set their goal to study man and his world.

It is believed that the methods of the natural and human sciences are also predominantly different: rational in the natural sciences and emotional (intuitive, imaginative) in the humanities. To be fair, it should be noted that there is no sharp boundary here, since elements of intuition and imaginative thinking are integral elements of natural science comprehension of the world, and in the humanities, especially in history, economics, and sociology, one cannot do without a rational, logical method. In ancient times, a single, undivided knowledge of the world (natural philosophy) prevailed. There was no problem of separating the natural and human sciences in the Middle Ages (although at that time the process of differentiation of scientific knowledge and the identification of independent sciences had already begun). However, for medieval man, Nature represented a world of things behind which one should strive to see the symbols of God, i.e. knowledge of the world was, first of all, knowledge of divine wisdom. Cognition was aimed not so much at identifying the objective properties of phenomena in the surrounding world, but at understanding their symbolic meanings, i.e. their relationship to the deity.

In the era of modern times (17-18 centuries), the extremely rapid development of natural science began, accompanied by the process of differentiation of sciences. The successes of natural science were so great that the idea of ​​their omnipotence arose in society. The opinions and objections of representatives of the humanitarian movement were often ignored. The rational, logical method of understanding the world has become decisive. Later, a kind of split emerged between the humanitarian and natural science cultures.

One of the most famous books on this topic was the journalistically incisive work of the English scientist and writer Charles Percy Snow, “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution,” which appeared in the 60s. In it, the author states a split between the humanitarian and natural science cultures into two parts, which represent, as it were, two poles, two “galaxies.” Snow writes “...At one pole are the artistic intelligentsia, at the other are scientists, and, as the most prominent representatives of this group, physicists. They are separated by a wall of misunderstanding and sometimes (especially among young people) antipathy and hostility, but the main thing, of course, is misunderstanding. They have a strange, twisted understanding of each other. They have such different attitudes towards the same things that they cannot find a common language even in the area of ​​feelings.” * In our country, this contradiction has never taken on such an antagonistic character, however, in the 60s and 70s it was reflected in numerous discussions between “physicists” and “lyricists” (about the moral side of biomedical research on humans and on animals, about the ideological essence of some discoveries, etc.).

You can often hear that technology and exact sciences have a negative impact on morality. You can hear that the discovery of atomic energy and man's entry into space are premature. It is argued that technology itself leads to the degradation of culture, damages creativity and produces only cultural cheapness. Nowadays, the successes of biology have given rise to heated discussions about the admissibility of research work on the cloning of higher animals and humans, in which the problem of science and technology is considered from the point of view of ethics and religious morality.

The famous writer and philosopher S. Lem in his book “The Sum of Technology” refutes these views, arguing that technology should be recognized as “a tool for achieving various goals, the choice of which depends on the level of development of civilization, the social system and which are subject to moral assessments. Technology provides the means and tools; the good or bad way of using them is our merit or our fault."

Thus, the environmental crisis, which has brought humanity to the brink of disaster, is caused not so much by scientific and technological progress as by the insufficient dissemination of scientific knowledge and culture in society in the general sense of the word. Therefore, now a lot of attention is paid to humanitarian education and the humanization of society. Modern knowledge and the corresponding responsibility and morality are equally important for a person.

On the other hand, the influence of science on all spheres of life is growing rapidly. We must admit that our lives, the fate of civilization, and ultimately, the discoveries of scientists and the technical achievements associated with them, influenced much more than all the political figures of the past. At the same time, the level of natural science education of most people remains low. Poorly or incorrectly assimilated scientific information makes people susceptible to anti-scientific ideas, mysticism, and superstitions. But only a “man of culture” can correspond to the modern level of civilization, and here we mean a single culture: both humanitarian and natural science. This explains the introduction of the discipline “Concepts of modern natural science” into the curricula of humanitarian specialties. In the future, we will consider scientific pictures of the world, problems, theories and hypotheses of specific sciences in line with global evolutionism - an idea that permeates modern natural science and is common to the entire material world.

Control questions

1. Subject and tasks of natural science? How and when did it arise? What sciences can be classified as natural science?

2. What “world mysteries” that constitute the subject of research in the natural sciences were discussed by E. Haeckel and E.G. Dubois-Reymond?

3. Explain the expression “two cultures”.

4. What are the similarities and differences between the methods of the humanities and natural sciences?

5. What characterizes the development of natural science in the era of New Time? What period does this era cover?

6. Explain the word “technology”.

7. What is the reason for the negative attitude towards modern science and technology?

8. What are fundamental and applied sciences?

9. What are reductionism and holism in natural science?

Literature

1. Dubnischeva T.Ya. Concepts of modern natural science. - Novosibirsk: YuKEA, 1997. – 834 p.

2. Diaghilev F.M. Concepts of modern natural science. – M.: IMPE, 1998.

3. Concepts of modern natural science / Ed. S.I. Samygina. - Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 1999. – 576 p.

4. Lem S. Sum of technologies. – M. Mir, 1968. – 311 p.

5. Volkov G.N. Three faces of culture. - M.: Young Guard, 1986. – 335 p.

Haeckel, Ernst (1834-1919) – German evolutionary biologist, representative of natural scientific materialism, supporter and propagandist of the teachings of Charles Darwin. He proposed the first “family tree” of the living world.

Dubois-Reymond, Emil Heinrich - German physiologist, founder of a scientific school, philosopher. Founder of electrophysiology; established a number of patterns characterizing electrical phenomena in muscles and nerves. Author of the molecular theory of biopotentials, representative of mechanistic materialism and agnosticism.

Hierarchy (<гр. hierarchia < hieros священный + archē власть) - расположение частей или элементов целого в порядке от высшего к низшему.

Holism (<англ. holism <гр. holos -целое) – философское направление, рассматривающее природу как иерархию «целостностей», понимаемых как духовное единство; в современном естествознании – целостный взгляд на природу, стремление к построению единой научной картины мира.

*quoted in accordance with, p.11.

Lecture 1. Natural science.

Basic sciences about nature (physics, chemistry, biology), their similarities and differences. Natural scientific method of cognition and its components: observation, measurement, experiment, hypothesis, theory

Since ancient times, man has observed the world around him, on which his life depended, and tried to understand natural phenomena. The sun gave people warmth and brought withering heat, rains watered the fields with life-giving moisture and caused floods, hurricanes and earthquakes brought innumerable disasters. Not knowing the reasons for their occurrence, people attributed these actions to supernatural forces, but gradually they began to understand the real causes of natural phenomena and bring them into a certain system. This is how the natural sciences were born.

Since nature is extremely diverse, in the process of understanding it, various natural sciences were formed: physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geography, geology and many others. This is how a whole body of natural sciences was formed. Based on the objects of research, they can be divided into two large groups: sciences about living and inanimate nature. The most important natural sciences about living and inanimate nature are: physics, chemistry, biology.

Physics – a science that studies the most general properties of matter and the forms of its motion (mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, atomic, nuclear). Physics has many types and sections (general physics, theoretical physics, experimental physics, mechanics, molecular physics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, physics of electromagnetic phenomena, etc.).

Chemistry – the science of substances, their composition, structure, properties and mutual transformations. Chemistry studies the chemical form of the movement of matter and is divided into inorganic and organic chemistry, physical and analytical chemistry, colloidal chemistry, etc.

Biology– science of living nature. The subject of biology is life as a special form of movement of matter, the laws of development of living nature. Biology seems to be the most branched science (zoology, botany, morphology, cytology, histology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, virology, embryology, ecology, genetics, etc.). At the intersection of sciences, related sciences arise, such as physical chemistry, physical biology, chemical physics, biophysics, astrophysics, etc.

Natural science – the science of nature as a single integrity or the totality of sciences about nature, taken as a single whole.

Physics is the science of nature.

Since time immemorial, people began to conduct systematic observations of natural phenomena, sought to notice the sequence of occurring phenomena and learned to foresee the course of many events in nature. for example, the change of seasons, the time of river floods and much more. They used this knowledge to determine the time of sowing, harvesting, etc. Gradually, people became convinced that studying natural phenomena brings invaluable benefits.

In the Russian language, the word “physics” appeared in the 18th century, thanks to Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, an encyclopedist scientist, the founder of Russian science, an outstanding figure of education, who translated from the first German textbook on physics. It was then that Russia began to seriously study this science.

Physical body– this is every object around us. What physical bodies do you know? (pen, book, desk)

Substance- this is everything that physical bodies are made of. (Showing physical bodies consisting of different substances)

Matter- this is everything that exists in the Universe regardless of our consciousness (celestial bodies, plants, animals, etc.)

Physical phenomena- these are changes that occur with physical bodies.

The main physical phenomena are:

Mechanical phenomena

Electrical phenomena

Magnetic phenomena

Light phenomena

Thermal phenomena

Methods of scientific knowledge:

Correlation of general scientific methods

Analysis- mental or real decomposition of an object into its constituent parts.

Synthesis- combining the elements learned as a result of analysis into a single whole.

Generalization- the process of mental transition from the individual to the general, from the less general to the more general, for example: the transition from the judgment “this metal conducts electricity” to the judgment “all metals conduct electricity”, from the judgment: “the mechanical form of energy turns into thermal” to the judgment “Every form of energy is converted into heat.”

Abstraction(idealization)- mental introduction of certain changes to the object under study in accordance with the objectives of the study. As a result of idealization, some properties and attributes of objects that are not essential for this study can be excluded from consideration. An example of such idealization in mechanics is material point, i.e. a point with mass but without any dimensions. The same abstract (ideal) object is absolutely rigid body.

Induction - the process of deriving a general position from observing a number of particular individual facts, i.e. knowledge from the particular to the general. In practice, incomplete induction is most often used, which involves making a conclusion about all objects of a set based on knowledge of only a part of the objects. Incomplete induction, based on experimental research and including theoretical justification, is called scientific induction. The conclusions of such induction are often probabilistic in nature. This is a risky but creative method. With a strict setup of the experiment, logical consistency and rigor of conclusions, it is able to give a reliable conclusion. According to the famous French physicist Louis de Broglie, scientific induction is the true source of truly scientific progress.

Deduction I - the process of analytical reasoning from the general to the particular or less general. It is closely related to generalization. If the initial general provisions are an established scientific truth, then the method of deduction will always produce a true conclusion. The deductive method is especially important in mathematics. Mathematicians operate with mathematical abstractions and base their reasoning on general principles. These general provisions apply to solving private, specific problems.

Analogy - a probable, plausible conclusion about the similarity of two objects or phenomena in some characteristic, based on their established similarity in other characteristics. An analogy with the simple allows us to understand the more complex. Thus, by analogy with the artificial selection of the best breeds of domestic animals, Charles Darwin discovered the law of natural selection in the animal and plant world.

Modeling - reproduction of the properties of an object of cognition on a specially designed analogue of it - a model. Models can be real (material), for example, airplane models, building models. photographs, prosthetics, dolls, etc. and ideal (abstract) created by means of language (both natural human language and special languages, for example, the language of mathematics. In this case we have mathematical model. Typically this is a system of equations that describes the relationships in the system being studied.

The historical method involves reproducing the history of the object under study in all its versatility, taking into account all the details and accidents.

Boolean method - this is, in essence, a logical reproduction of the history of the object being studied. At the same time, this history is freed from everything accidental and unimportant, i.e. it is like the same historical method, but freed from its historical forms.

Classification - distribution of certain objects into classes (departments, categories) depending on their general characteristics, fixing natural connections between classes of objects in a unified system of a specific branch of knowledge. The formation of each science is associated with the creation of classifications of the objects and phenomena being studied.

Methods of empirical knowledge

Observations(presentation) : we can watch the trees, find out that some of them are shedding their leaves, that a log is floating in the water, that the compass needle points to the north. When observing, we do not interfere with the process that we observe.

Having accumulated certain data about phenomena during observations, we try to find out how these phenomena occur and why. In the course of such reflections, various assumptions are born or hypotheses. To test the hypothesis, special experiments - experiments. Experiment involves active human interaction with the observed phenomenon. During experiments, measurements are usually made. An experiment presupposes a specific goal and a pre-thought-out plan of action. By putting forward one or another hypothesis, we can confirm or refute our hypothesis with the help of an experiment.

Observation- organized, purposeful, recorded perception of phenomena for the purpose of studying them under certain conditions.

Hypothesis- this word is of Greek origin, literally translated as “foundation”, “assumption”. In the modern sense, an unproven theory or assumption. A hypothesis is put forward based on observations or experiments.

Experience- a method of studying a certain phenomenon under controlled conditions. Differs from observation by active interaction with the object being studied

Sometimes, during experiments to study known natural phenomena, a new physical phenomenon is discovered. This is how it's done scientific discovery.

Physical quantity is a characteristic that is common to several material objects or phenomena in a qualitative sense, but can take on individual values ​​for each of them.

To measure a physical quantity means to compare it with a homogeneous quantity taken as a unit.

Examples of physical quantities are path, time, mass, density, force, temperature, pressure, voltage, illumination, etc.

Physical quantities There are scalar and vector ones. Scalar physical quantities are characterized only by a numerical value, while vector ones are determined by both number (modulus) and direction. Scalar physical quantities are time, temperature, mass, vector ones are speed, acceleration, force.

For scientific knowledge, the method is of great importance, i.e. way of organizing the study of an object. Method is a set of principles, rules and techniques of practical and theoretical activity. The method equips a person with a system of principles, requirements, rules, guided by which a person can achieve the intended goal.

The correct method is of great importance for understanding nature. The doctrine of method (methodology) begins to develop in modern science. The famous English philosopher Francis Bacon compared the method to a lantern that illuminates the way for a traveler. A scientist who is not armed with the right method is a traveler wandering in the dark and groping his way. Rene Descartes, the great French philosopher of the 17th century, also attached great importance to the development of the scientific method: “By method I mean precise and simple rules, the strict observance of which, without unnecessary waste of mental energy, but gradually and continuously increasing knowledge, contributes to the mind achieving the true knowledge of everything that is available to him." It was during this period of rapid development of natural science that two opposing methodological concepts emerged: empiricism and rationalism.

Empiricism is a direction in methodology that recognizes experience as a source of reliable knowledge, reducing the content of knowledge to a description of this experience.

Rationalism is a direction in methodology, according to which reliable knowledge is provided only by reason and logical thinking.

Methods of scientific knowledge can be classified according to the degree of generality into universal (philosophical) and scientific, which in turn are divided into general scientific and special scientific.

Private scientific methods are used within the framework of one science or field of scientific research, for example: the method of spectral analysis, the method of color reactions in chemistry, methods of electromagnetism in physics, etc.

General scientific methods have a wide interdisciplinary range of application and can be used in any science, for example: modeling, experiment, logical methods, etc.

One of the most important features of scientific knowledge is the presence of two levels: empirical and theoretical, which differ in the methods used. At the empirical (experimental) stage, mainly methods associated with sensory-visual methods of cognition are used, which include observation, measurement, and experiment.

Observation is the initial source of information and is associated with the description of the object of knowledge. Purposefulness, systematicity, and activity are characteristic requirements for scientific observation. According to the method of conducting observations, there are direct and indirect. During direct observations, the properties of an object are perceived by the human senses. Such observations have always played a major role in scientific research. For example, the observation of the positions of planets and stars in the sky, carried out for more than twenty years by Tycho Brahe with an accuracy unusual for the naked eye, contributed to Kepler’s discovery of his famous laws. However, most often scientific observation is indirect, i.e. carried out using technical means. The invention of the optical telescope by Galileo in 1608 expanded the possibilities of astronomical observations, and the creation of X-ray telescopes in the twentieth century and their launch into space on board an orbital station made it possible to observe such space objects as quasars and pulsars that could not be observed in any other way.

The development of modern natural science is associated with the increasing role of so-called indirect observations. For example, objects studied by nuclear physics cannot be observed either directly, with the help of human senses, or indirectly, with the help of the most advanced instruments. What scientists observe in the process of empirical research in atomic physics is not the microobjects themselves, but only the results of their influence on certain technical means. For example, registration of interactions of elementary particles is recorded only indirectly using counters (gas-charging, semiconductor, etc.) or tracking devices (Cloud chamber, bubble chamber, etc.). By deciphering the “pictures” of interactions, researchers obtain information about particles and their properties.

An experiment is a more complex method of empirical knowledge; it involves the active, purposeful and strictly controlled influence of the researcher on the object being studied to identify its certain aspects and properties. Advantages of the experiment: firstly, it allows you to study the object in its “pure form”, i.e. eliminate any side factors that complicate the study. Secondly, it allows you to study an object in some artificial, for example, extreme, conditions, when it is possible to discover the amazing properties of objects, thereby understanding their essence more deeply. Very interesting and promising in this regard are space experiments that make it possible to study objects in such special conditions as weightlessness and deep vacuum, which are unattainable in earthly laboratories. Thirdly, when studying a process, an experimenter can intervene in it and actively influence its course. Fourthly, multiplicity, repeatability of the experiment, which can be repeated as many times as necessary to obtain reliable results.

Depending on the nature of the tasks, experiments are divided into research and testing. Research experiments allow you to make discoveries and discover new, previously unknown properties in an object. For example, experiments in the laboratory of E. Rutherford showed the strange behavior of alpha particles when they bombarded gold foil: most of the particles passed through the foil, a small number of particles were deflected and scattered, and some particles were not just deflected, but bounced back, like a ball from a net . This picture, according to calculations, was obtained due to the fact that the entire mass of the atom is concentrated in the nucleus, which occupies an insignificant part of the volume of the atom, and alpha particles that collide with the nucleus bounce back. Thus, Rutherford's research experiment led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus, and thus to the birth of nuclear physics.

Verification experiments serve to confirm some theoretical constructs. For example, the existence of a number of elementary particles (positron, neutrino, etc.) was initially predicted theoretically.

Measurement is a process consisting of determining the quantitative values ​​of the properties or sides of the object under study using special technical devices. The measurement result is obtained in the form of a certain number of units of measurement. A unit of measurement is a standard with which the object being measured is compared. Units of measurement are divided into basic ones, used as base units when constructing a system of units, and derivatives, derived from the basic ones using certain mathematical relationships. The methodology for constructing a system of units was first proposed in 1832 by Carl Gauss. The proposed system is based on three arbitrary units: length (millimeter), mass (milligram), time (second). All other units could be obtained from these three. Subsequently, with the development of science and technology, other systems of units of physical quantities appeared, built according to the Gaussian principle. In addition, so-called natural systems of units appeared in physics, in which the basic units were determined from the laws of nature. An example is the system of units proposed by Max Planck, which was based on the “world constants”: the speed of light in a vacuum, the gravitational constant, Boltzmann’s constant and Planck’s constant. Based on them (and equating them to “1”), Planck obtained a number of derived units: length, mass, time, temperature. Currently, the International System of Units (SI), adopted in 1960 by the General Conference on Weights and Meters, is used predominantly in natural science. This system is the most advanced and universal of all that have existed to date and covers physical quantities of mechanics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics and optics, which are interconnected by physical laws.

At the theoretical stage, they resort to abstractions and the formation of concepts, build hypotheses and theories, and discover the laws of science. General scientific theoretical methods include comparison, abstraction, idealization, analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, analogy, generalization, ascent from the abstract to the concrete. Their main feature is that these are logical techniques, i.e. operations with thoughts, knowledge.

Comparison is a mental operation of identifying the similarities and differences of the objects being studied. A special case of comparison is analogy: a conclusion about the presence of a particular feature in the object under study is made on the basis of the discovery of a number of similar features in it with another object.

Abstraction is the mental selection of the characteristics of an object and consideration of them separately from the object itself and its other characteristics. Idealization is the mental construction of a situation (object, phenomenon) to which properties or relationships are attributed in the “limiting” case. The result of such construction is idealized objects, such as: a point, a material point, an absolutely black body, an absolutely rigid body, an ideal gas, an incompressible liquid, etc. Thanks to idealization, processes are considered in their “pure form,” which makes it possible to identify the laws by which these processes are leaking. For example: let's say someone is walking down the path with a luggage cart and suddenly stops pushing it. The cart will continue to move for a while, covering a short distance, and then stop. We can think of many ways to lengthen the distance covered by the cart after pushing. However, it is impossible to eliminate all external influences on the path length. But, considering the movement of a body in the “limiting” case, we can conclude that if external influences on a moving body are completely eliminated, then it will move endlessly and at the same time uniformly and rectilinearly. This conclusion was made by Galileo and was called the “principle of inertia”, and was most clearly formulated by Newton in the form of the law of inertia.

Associated with idealization is such a specific method as a thought experiment, which involves operating with an idealized object that replaces a real object in abstraction.

Analysis is a research method consisting of dividing the whole into parts for the purpose of their independent study.

Synthesis is the combination of previously identified parts into a whole in order to identify their relationship and interaction. The connection between analysis and synthesis follows from the very nature of objects that represent the unity of the whole and its parts. Analysis and synthesis determine each other.

Induction is a logical method based on the movement of thought from the individual or particular to the general. In inductive inference, the truth of the premises (facts) does not guarantee the truth of the resulting conclusion; it will only be probabilistic. The method of scientific induction is based on elucidating the causal relationship of the phenomena under study. Causality is such an internal relationship between two phenomena, when one of them generates or causes the other. This relation contains: a phenomenon that claims to be a cause; the phenomenon to which we attribute the nature of the action (effect), and the circumstances in which the interaction of cause and action occurs.

A causal relationship is characterized by:

· the cause always precedes its effect in time; this means that the cause of a given phenomenon should be sought among the circumstances preceding it in time, taking into account the fact of some coexistence in time of cause and effect.

· Cause gives rise to action, determines its appearance; this means that precedence in time alone is not enough for a causal connection; an occasion is a condition that precedes the occurrence of a phenomenon, but does not give rise to it.

· The connection between cause and effect is necessary; this means that it is possible to prove the absence of causation in a case where the effect occurs and the alleged cause was not observed.

· The connection between cause and effect is universal; this means that every phenomenon has a cause, therefore, as a rule, the presence of a causal relationship cannot be established on the basis of a single phenomenon; it is necessary to study a certain set of phenomena, within which the desired causal relationship is systematically manifested.

· As the intensity of the cause changes, the intensity of the effect also changes. This is observed when cause and effect coexist for a certain time.

The methods for discovering causal relationships, developed by F. Bacon (1561-1626), and then improved by the English philosopher, logician, and economist John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), are based on these properties. These methods are called methods of scientific induction. There are five of them in total:

1. Single similarity method: if some circumstance constantly precedes the occurrence of the phenomenon under study while other circumstances change, then this condition is probably the cause of this phenomenon.

2. Single difference method: If a condition is present when the phenomenon under study occurs and absent when the phenomenon does not occur, and all other conditions remain unchanged, then this condition is likely to represent the cause of the phenomenon under study.

3. Combined method of similarity and difference: if two or more cases in which a given phenomenon occurs are similar only in one condition, while two or more cases in which a given phenomenon is absent differ from the first only in that this condition is absent , then this condition is probably the cause of the observed phenomenon.

4. Method of accompanying changes: if with a change in conditions a certain phenomenon changes to the same extent, and other circumstances remain unchanged, then this condition is probably the cause of the observed phenomenon.

5. Residue method: if complex conditions produce a complex action and it is known that part of the conditions causes a certain part of this action, then the remaining part of the conditions causes the remaining part of the action.

Deduction is the movement of thought from general propositions to particular or individual ones. Deduction is a general scientific method, but the deductive method is especially important in mathematics. In modern science, the outstanding philosopher and mathematician R. Descartes developed and propagated the deductive-axiomatic method of cognition. His methodology was the direct opposite of Bacon's empirical inductivism.

From the general position that all metals have electrical conductivity, we can draw a conclusion about the electrical conductivity of a particular copper wire, knowing that copper is a metal. If the initial general provisions are true, then deduction will always give a true conclusion.

The most common type of deduction is the simple categorical syllogism, in which the relation between two extreme terms S and P is established based on their relation to the middle term M. For example:

All metals (M) conduct electric current (P).

Conditional categorical inference also occupies an important place in the theory of deductive reasoning.

Affirmative mode (modus ponens):

If a person has a fever (a), he is sick (b). This person has a fever (a). So he is sick (b).

As you can see, the thought here moves from the statement of the reason to the statement of the consequence: (a -› b, a) -› b.

Denying mode (modus tollens):

If a person has a fever (a), he is sick (b). This person is not sick (not-b). This means he does not have a fever (not-a).

As you can see, here the thought moves from the negation of the consequence to the negation of the reason: (a -› b, not-b) -› not-a.

Deductive logic plays a vital role in substantiating scientific knowledge and proving theoretical propositions.

Analogy and modeling. Both of these methods are based on identifying similarities in objects or relationships between objects. A model is an artificially created device that, in a certain respect, reproduces real-life objects that are the object of scientific research. Modeling is based on abstracting similar features from different objects and establishing a certain relationship between them. With the help of modeling, it is possible to study such properties and relationships of the phenomena under study that may be inaccessible to direct study.

In the well-known planetary model of the atom, its structure is likened to the structure of the solar system. Around the massive core at different distances from it, light electrons move along closed trajectories, just as the planets revolve around the sun. In this analogy, as usual, similarity is established, but not of the objects themselves, but of the relationships between them. The atomic nucleus is not like the Sun, and the electrons are not like planets. But the relationship between the nucleus and the electrons is much like the relationship between the Sun and the planets.

The analogy between living organisms and technical devices underlies bionics. This branch of cybernetics studies the structures and vital functions of organisms; discovered patterns and discovered properties are then used to solve engineering problems and build technical systems that approach living systems in their characteristics.

Thus, analogy not only makes it possible to explain many phenomena and make unexpected and important discoveries, it even leads to the creation of new scientific directions or a radical transformation of old ones.

Types of modeling.

Mental (ideal) modeling is the construction of various mental representations in the form of imaginary models. For example, in the ideal model of the electromagnetic field created by Maxwell, the lines of force were represented in the form of tubes of various cross-sections through which an imaginary fluid flows, which does not have inertia and compressibility.

Physical modeling is the reproduction in a model of processes characteristic of the original, based on their physical similarity. It is widely used for the development and experimental study of various structures (power plant dams, etc.), machines (the aerodynamic qualities of aircraft, for example, are studied on their models blown by an air flow in a wind tunnel), to study effective and safe methods of mining etc.

Symbolic (sign) modeling is associated with the representation of various diagrams, graphs, drawings, and formulas as models. A special type of symbolic modeling is mathematical modeling. The symbolic language of mathematics allows one to express the properties, aspects, and relationships of objects of very different nature. The relationships between various quantities that describe the functioning of the object under study are expressed by the corresponding equations.

Numerical modeling on a computer is based on a mathematical model of the object being studied and is used in cases of large volumes of calculations required to study this model, for which a special program is created. In this case, the model is an algorithm (computer program) for the functioning of the object being studied.



See also...
Philosophy cheat sheets for the candidate minimum Part 1
Philosophy and natural science: concepts of relationships (metaphysical, transcendental, anti-metaphysical, dialectical).
Nature as an object of philosophizing. Peculiarities of knowledge of nature.
Natural science: its subject, essence, structure. The place of natural science in the system of sciences
Scientific picture of the world and its historical forms. Natural science picture of nature
The problem of objectivity of knowledge in modern natural sciences
Modern science and changes in the formation of worldviews of technogenic civilization
Interaction of natural sciences with each other. Sciences of inanimate nature and sciences of living nature
Convergence of natural science and social and humanities knowledge in non-classical science
Methods of natural science and their classification.
Mathematics and science. Opportunities for using mathematics and computer modeling
Evolution of the concepts of space and time in the history of natural science
Philosophy and physics. Heuristic possibilities of natural philosophy
The problem of discrete matter
Ideas of determinism and indeterminism in natural science
The principle of complementarity and its philosophical interpretations. Dialectics and quantum mechanics
Anthropic principle. The Universe as an “ecological niche” of humanity.
The problem of the origin of the Universe. Models of the Universe.
The problem of the search for extraterrestrial civilizations as an interdisciplinary direction of scientific research. Concepts of noocosmology (I. Shklovsky, F. Drake, K. Sagan).
. Philosophical problems of chemistry. The relationship between physics and chemistry.
. The problem of the laws of biology
Evolutionary theory: its development and philosophical interpretations.
Philosophy of ecology: prerequisites for formation.
Stages of development of the scientific theory of the biosphere.
Interaction between man and nature: ways of its harmonization.
Philosophy of medicine and medicine as a science. Philosophical categories and concepts of medicine
The problem of the origin and essence of life in modern science and philosophy
Concept of information. Information-theoretic approach in modern science.
Artificial intelligence and the problem of consciousness in modern science and philosophy
Cybernetics and general systems theory, their connection with natural science.
The role of ideas of nonlinear dynamics and synergetics in the development of modern natural science.
The role of modern natural science in overcoming global crises.
Post-nonclassical natural science and the search for a new type of rationality. Historically developing, human-sized objects, complex systems as objects of research in post-non-classical natural science
Ethical problems of modern natural science. The crisis of the ideal of value-neutral scientific research
Natural sciences, technical sciences and technology
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Methods of natural science and their classification.

With the advent of the need to obtain knowledge, there was a need to analyze and evaluate various methods - e.g. in methodology.

Specific scientific methods reflect research tactics, and general scientific methods reflect strategy.

The method of cognition is a way of organizing means and techniques of theoretical and practical activity.

The method is the main theoretical tool for obtaining and organizing scientific knowledge.

Types of natural science methods:

– general (applies to any science) – the unity of the logical and historical, the ascent from the abstract to the concrete;

– special (concerning only one side of the object being studied) – analysis, synthesis, comparison, induction, deduction, etc.;

– private ones, which operate only in a certain area of ​​knowledge.

Natural Science Methods:

observation - the initial source of information, a purposeful process of perceiving objects or phenomena, is used where it is impossible to conduct a direct experiment, for example in cosmology (special cases of observation - comparison and measurement);

analysis - based on the mental or real division of an object into parts, when one moves from a complete description of the object to its structure, composition, characteristics and properties;

synthesis - based on combining various elements of an object into a single whole and generalizing the identified and studied features of the object;

induction – consists of formulating a logical conclusion based on generalizations of experimental and observational data; logical reasoning goes from the particular to the general, providing better understanding and transition to a more general level of consideration of the problem;

deduction is a method of cognition consisting in the transition from certain general provisions to particular results;

a hypothesis is an assumption put forward to resolve an uncertain situation; it is intended to explain or systematize some facts related to a given field of knowledge or located beyond its boundaries, but not to contradict existing ones. The hypothesis must be confirmed or refuted;

comparison method - used for quantitative comparison of the properties, parameters of objects or phenomena being studied;

experiment - experimental determination of the parameters of the objects or objects under study;

modeling - creating a model of a subject or object of interest to a researcher and conducting an experiment on it, making observations and further applying the results obtained to the object being studied.

General methods of cognition relate to any discipline and make it possible to connect all stages of the cognition process. These methods are used in any field of research and make it possible to identify connections and characteristics of the objects under study. In the history of science, researchers include metaphysical and dialectical methods among such methods. Private methods of scientific knowledge are methods used only in a particular branch of science. Various methods of natural science (physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, etc.) are particular in relation to the general dialectical method of cognition. Sometimes private methods can be used outside the branches of natural science in which they originated. For example, physical and chemical methods are used in astronomy, biology, and ecology. Often researchers apply a complex of interrelated private methods to the study of one subject. For example, ecology simultaneously uses the methods of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Particular methods of cognition are associated with special methods. Special methods examine certain characteristics of the object being studied. They can manifest themselves at the empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge and be universal.

Observation is a purposeful process of perceiving objects of reality, a sensory reflection of objects and phenomena, during which a person receives primary information about the world around him. Therefore, research most often begins with observation, and only then do researchers move on to other methods. Observations are not associated with any theory, but the purpose of observation is always related to some problem situation. Observation presupposes the existence of a specific research plan, an assumption that is subject to analysis and verification. Observations are used where direct experiments cannot be performed (in volcanology, cosmology). The results of the observation are recorded in a description, noting those signs and properties of the object being studied that are the subject of study. The description must be as complete, accurate and objective as possible. It is the descriptions of observation results that constitute the empirical basis of science; on their basis, empirical generalizations, systematization and classification are created.

Measurement is the determination of quantitative values ​​(characteristics) of the studied aspects or properties of an object using special technical devices. The units of measurement with which the data obtained are compared play an important role in the study.

An experiment is a more complex method of empirical knowledge compared to observation. It represents a purposeful and strictly controlled influence of the researcher on an object or phenomenon of interest to study its various aspects, connections and relationships. During experimental research, the scientist interferes with the natural course of processes and transforms the object of research. The specificity of the experiment is also that it allows you to see the object or process in its pure form. This occurs due to the maximum exclusion of exposure to extraneous factors.

Abstraction is a mental distraction from all the properties, connections and relationships of the object being studied, which are considered unimportant. These are the models of a point, a straight line, a circle, a plane. The result of the abstraction process is called abstraction. Real objects in some problems can be replaced by these abstractions (the Earth can be considered a material point when moving around the Sun, but not when moving along its surface).

Idealization represents the operation of mentally highlighting one property or relationship that is important for a given theory, and mentally constructing an object endowed with this property (relationship). As a result, the ideal object has only this property (relation). Science identifies general patterns in reality that are significant and repeated in various subjects, so we have to make abstractions from real objects. This is how such concepts as “atom”, “set”, “absolute black body”, “ideal gas”, “continuous medium” are formed. The ideal objects obtained in this way do not actually exist, since in nature there cannot be objects and phenomena that have only one property or quality. When applying the theory, it is necessary to again compare the obtained and used ideal and abstract models with reality. Therefore, it is important to select abstractions in accordance with their adequacy to a given theory and then exclude them.

Among the special universal research methods are analysis, synthesis, comparison, classification, analogy, and modeling.

Analysis is one of the initial stages of research, when one moves from a complete description of an object to its structure, composition, characteristics and properties. Analysis is a method of scientific knowledge, which is based on the procedure of mental or real division of an object into its constituent parts and their separate study. It is impossible to know the essence of an object only by highlighting the elements of which it consists. When the particulars of the object under study are studied through analysis, it is supplemented by synthesis.

Synthesis is a method of scientific knowledge, which is based on the combination of elements identified by analysis. Synthesis does not act as a method of constructing the whole, but as a method of representing the whole in the form of the only knowledge obtained through analysis. It shows the place and role of each element in the system, their connection with other components. Analysis mainly captures that specific thing that distinguishes parts from each other, synthesis – generalizes the analytically identified and studied features of an object. Analysis and synthesis originate in the practical activities of man. Man has learned to mentally analyze and synthesize only on the basis of practical separation, gradually comprehending what happens to an object when performing practical actions with it. Analysis and synthesis are components of the analytical-synthetic method of cognition.

Comparison is a method of scientific knowledge that allows us to establish the similarities and differences of the objects being studied. Comparison underlies many natural science measurements that form an integral part of any experiment. By comparing objects with each other, a person gets the opportunity to correctly cognize them and thereby correctly navigate the world around him and purposefully influence it. Comparison matters when objects that are truly homogeneous and similar in essence are compared. The comparison method highlights the differences between the objects under study and forms the basis of any measurements, that is, the basis of experimental research.

Classification is a method of scientific knowledge that combines into one class objects that are as similar as possible to each other in essential characteristics. Classification makes it possible to reduce the accumulated diverse material to a relatively small number of classes, types and forms and identify the initial units of analysis, discover stable characteristics and relationships. Typically, classifications are expressed in the form of natural language texts, diagrams and tables.

Analogy is a method of cognition in which knowledge obtained by examining an object is transferred to another, less studied, but similar to the first in some essential properties. The analogy method is based on the similarity of objects according to a number of characteristics, and the similarity is established as a result of comparing objects with each other. Thus, the basis of the analogy method is the comparison method.

The analogy method is closely related to the modeling method, which is the study of any objects using models with further transfer of the obtained data to the original. This method is based on the significant similarity of the original object and its model. In modern research, various types of modeling are used: subject, mental, symbolic, computer.