There are two levels of knowledge: empirical and theoretical.
The empirical (from greepreria - experience) level of knowledge is knowledge obtained directly from experience with some rational processing of the properties and relationships of the object being known. It is always the basis, the basis for the theoretical level of knowledge.
Theoretical level is knowledge obtained through abstract thinking
A person begins the process of cognition of an object with its external description, fixes its individual properties and aspects. Then he goes deep into the content of the object, reveals the laws to which it is subject, proceeds to an explanatory explanation of the properties of the object, combines knowledge about individual aspects of the object into a single, holistic system, and the resulting deep, versatile, specific knowledge about the object is a theory that has a certain internal logical structure.
It is necessary to distinguish the concepts “sensual” and “rational” from the concepts “empirical” and “theoretical.” “Sensual” and “rational” characterize the dialectics of the reflection process in general, and “empirical” and “theoretical” do not relate to the sphere only scientific knowledge It is more empirical" and "theoretical" to lie in the realm of non-scientific knowledge.
Empirical knowledge is formed in the process of interaction with the object of research, when we directly influence it, interact with it, process the results and draw a conclusion. But getting separate. The EMF of physical facts and laws does not yet allow us to build a system of laws. In order to understand the essence, it is necessary to move to the theoretical level of scientific knowledge.
The empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge are always inextricably linked and mutually determine each other. Thus, empirical research, revealing new facts, new observational and experimental data, stimulates the development of the theoretical level and poses new problems and challenges. In turn, theoretical research, by considering and specifying the theoretical content of science, opens up new perspectives. IVI explains and predicts facts and thereby orients and guides empirical knowledge. Empirical knowledge is mediated by theoretical knowledge - theoretical knowledge indicates exactly which phenomena and events should be the object of empirical research and under what conditions the experiment should be carried out. At the theoretical level, those boundaries are also identified and indicated within which the results at the empirical level are true, in which empirical knowledge can be used practically. This is precisely the heuristic function of the theoretical level of scientific knowledge.
The boundary between the empirical and theoretical levels is very arbitrary; their independence from each other is relative. The empirical turns into the theoretical, and what was once theoretical, at another, higher stage of development, becomes empirically accessible. In any sphere of scientific knowledge, at all levels, there is a dialectical unity of the theoretical and empirical. The leading role in this unity of dependence on the subject, conditions and existing, obtained scientific results belongs to either the empirical or the theoretical. The basis for the unity of the empirical and theoretical levels of scientific knowledge is the unity of scientific theory and research practice.
50 Basic methods of scientific knowledge
Each level of scientific knowledge uses its own methods. Thus, at the empirical level, such basic methods as observation, experiment, description, measurement, and modeling are used. At the theoretical level - analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, induction, deduction, idealization, historical and logical methods, etc.
Observation is a systematic and purposeful perception of objects and phenomena, their properties and connections in natural conditions or in experimental conditions with the aim of understanding the object under study
The main surveillance functions are:
Recording and recording facts;
Preliminary classification of facts already recorded on the basis of certain principles formulated on the basis of existing theories;
Comparison of recorded facts
With the complication of scientific knowledge, the goal, plan, theoretical principles, and understanding of the results acquire more and more weight. As a result, the role of theoretical thinking in observation increases
Observation is especially difficult in the social sciences, where its results largely depend on the ideological and methodological attitudes of the observer, his attitude towards the object
The observation method is a limited method, since with its help it is only possible to record certain properties and connections of an object, but it is impossible to reveal their essence, nature, and development trends. Comprehensive observation of the object is the basis for the experiment.
An experiment is a study of any phenomena by actively influencing them by creating new conditions that correspond to the goals of the study, or by changing the process in a certain direction
Unlike simple observation, which does not involve active influence on the object, an experiment is an active intervention of the researcher into natural phenomena, into the course of those being studied. An experiment is a type of practice in which practical action is organically combined with theoretical work of thought.
The significance of the experiment lies not only in the fact that with its help science explains phenomena material world, but also in the fact that science, relying on experiment, directly masters certain previously studied phenomena. Therefore, experiment serves as one of the main means of connecting science with production. After all, it makes it possible to verify the correctness of scientific conclusions and discoveries, new laws and facts. Experiment serves as a means of research and invention of new devices, machines, materials and processes in industrial production, necessary step practical testing of new scientific and technical discoveries.
Experiment is widely used not only in the natural sciences, but also in social practice, where it plays an important role in the knowledge and management of social processes
The experiment has its own specific features compared to other methods:
The experiment allows you to study objects in the so-called pure form;
The experiment allows you to explore the properties of objects in extreme conditions, which contributes to more deep penetration into their essence;
An important advantage of the experiment is its repeatability, due to which this method acquires a special significance in scientific knowledge. special meaning and value
Description is an indication of the characteristics of an object or phenomenon, both significant and non-essential. The description, as a rule, is applied to single, individual objects for a more complete acquaintance with them. His method is to provide the most complete information about the object.
Measurement is a certain system of fixing and recording the quantitative characteristics of the object under study using various measuring instruments and apparatus, with the help of measurement, the ratio of one quantitative characteristic of an object to another, homogeneous with it, taken as a unit of measurement, is determined. The main functions of the measurement method are, firstly, recording the quantitative characteristics of the object, and secondly, classification and comparison of measurement results.
Modeling is the study of an object (original) by creating and studying its copy (model), which, in its properties to a certain extent, reproduces the properties of the object under study
Modeling is used when direct study of objects is for some reason impossible, difficult or impractical. There are two main types of modeling: physical and mathematical. At the present stage of development of scientific knowledge, a particularly large role is given to computer modeling. A computer that operates using a special program is capable of simulating very real processes: oscillations market prices, orbits spaceships, demographic processes, other quantitative parameters of the development of nature, society, and individual people.
Methods of the theoretical level of knowledge
Analysis is the division of an object into its components (sides, characteristics, properties, relationships) with the aim of comprehensively studying them
Synthesis is the combination of previously identified parts (sides, features, properties, relationships) of an object into a single whole
Analysis and synthesis are dialectically contradictory and interdependent methods of cognition. Cognition of an object in its specific integrity presupposes its preliminary division into components and consideration of each of them. This task is performed by analysis. It makes it possible to highlight the essential, that which forms the basis for the connection of all sides of the object being studied; dialectical analysis is a means of penetrating into the essence of things. But while playing an important role in cognition, analysis does not provide knowledge of the concrete, knowledge of the object as a unity of the diverse, the unity different definitions. This task is performed by synthesis. Consequently, analysis and synthesis organically interact with each other and mutually determine each other at every stage of the process of theoretical cognition and knowledge.
Abstraction is a method of abstracting from certain properties and relationships of an object and, at the same time, focusing the main attention on those that are the direct subject of scientific research. Abstraction promotes the penetration of knowledge into the essence of phenomena, the movement of knowledge from phenomenon to essence. It is clear that abstraction dismembers, coarsens, and schematizes the integral moving reality. However, this is precisely what allows us to more deeply study individual aspects of the subject “in its pure form” and, therefore, to penetrate into their essence.
Generalization is a method of scientific knowledge that records the general characteristics and properties of a certain group of objects, carries out the transition from the individual to the special and general, from the less general to the more general.
In the process of cognition, it is often necessary, based on existing knowledge, to draw conclusions that constitute new knowledge about the unknown. This is done using methods such as induction and deduction
Induction is a method of scientific knowledge when, based on knowledge about the individual, a conclusion about the general is drawn. This is a method of reasoning through which the validity of a proposed assumption or hypothesis is established. In real knowledge, induction always appears in unity with deduction and is organically connected with it.
Deduction is a method of cognition when, based on general principle logically from some provisions as true, new true knowledge about the individual is necessarily deduced. With the help of this method, the individual is cognized on the basis of knowledge of general laws.
Idealization is a method of logical modeling through which idealized objects are created. Idealization is aimed at the processes of conceivable construction of possible objects. The results of idealization are not arbitrary. In the extreme case, they correspond to individual real properties of objects or allow their interpretation based on data empirical level scientific knowledge. Idealization is associated with a “thought experiment”, as a result of which, from a hypothetical minimum of some signs of the behavior of objects, the laws of their functioning are discovered or generalized. The limits of the effectiveness of idealization are determined by practice and practice.
Historical and logical methods are organically combined. The historical method involves considering the objective process of development of an object, its real history with all its turns and features. This is a certain way of reproducing in thinking the historical process in its chronological sequence and specificity.
The logical method is a way by which thinking reproduces the real historical process in its theoretical form, in a system of concepts
The task of historical research is to reveal the specific conditions for the development of certain phenomena. The task of logical research is to reveal the role that individual elements systems play a part in the development of the whole.
Scientific knowledge can be divided into two levels: theoretical and empirical. The first is based on inferences, the second - on experiments and interaction with the object under study. Despite their different natures, these methods are equally important for the development of science.
Empirical research
The basis of empirical knowledge is the direct practical interaction of the researcher and the object he is studying. It consists of experiments and observations. Empirical and theoretical knowledge are opposites - in the case of theoretical research, a person makes do with only his own ideas about the subject. As a rule, this method is the province of the humanities.
Empirical research cannot do without instruments and instrumental installations. These are means associated with organizing observations and experiments, but in addition to them there are also conceptual means. They are used as a special scientific language. It has a complex organization. Empirical and theoretical knowledge are focused on the study of phenomena and the dependencies that arise between them. By conducting experiments, a person can identify an objective law. This is also facilitated by the study of phenomena and their correlation.
Empirical methods of cognition
According to the scientific concept, empirical and theoretical knowledge consists of several methods. This is the set of steps required to solve specific task(V in this case we are talking about identifying previously unknown patterns). The first empirical method is observation. It is a purposeful study of objects, which primarily relies on various senses (perceptions, sensations, ideas).
On your own initial stage observation gives an idea of the external characteristics of the object of knowledge. However, the ultimate goal of this is to determine the deeper and more intrinsic properties of an object. A common misconception is the idea that scientific observation is passive - far from it.
Observation
Empirical observation is detailed in nature. It can be both direct and indirect through various technical devices and instruments (for example, a camera, telescope, microscope, etc.). As science develops, observation becomes more complex and complex. This method has several exceptional qualities: objectivity, certainty and unambiguous design. When using devices additional role the transcript of their testimony plays.
In the social and human sciences, empirical and theoretical knowledge takes root heterogeneously. Observation in these disciplines is particularly difficult. It becomes dependent on the personality of the researcher, his principles and life attitudes, as well as the degree of interest in the subject.
Observation cannot be carried out without a certain concept or idea. It must be based on a certain hypothesis and record certain facts (in this case, only related and representative facts will be indicative).
Theoretical and empirical studies differ in detail. For example, observation has its own specific functions that are not typical for other methods of cognition. First of all, it is providing a person with information, without which further research and hypotheses are impossible. Observation is the fuel on which thinking runs. Without new facts and impressions there will be no new knowledge. In addition, it is through observation that one can compare and verify the truth of the results of preliminary theoretical studies.
Experiment
Different theoretical and empirical methods of cognition also differ in the degree of their intervention in the process being studied. A person can observe it strictly from the outside, or he can analyze its properties from his own experience. This function is performed by one of the empirical methods of cognition - experiment. In terms of importance and contribution to the final result of research, it is in no way inferior to observation.
An experiment is not only a purposeful and active human intervention in the course of the process under study, but also its change, as well as its reproduction in specially prepared conditions. This method of cognition requires much more effort than observation. During the experiment, the object of study is isolated from any outside influence. A clean and unpolluted environment is created. The experimental conditions are completely specified and controlled. Therefore, this method, on the one hand, corresponds to the natural laws of nature, and on the other hand, it is artificial, determined by man essence.
Experiment structure
All theoretical and empirical methods have a certain ideological load. The experiment, which is carried out in several stages, is no exception. First of all, planning and step-by-step construction take place (the goal, means, type, etc. are determined). Then comes the stage of carrying out the experiment. Moreover, it occurs under perfect human control. At the end of the active phase, it is time to interpret the results.
Both empirical and theoretical knowledge differ in a certain structure. In order for an experiment to take place, the experimenters themselves, the object of the experiment, instruments, and more are required. necessary equipment, a technique and a hypothesis that is confirmed or refuted.
Devices and installations
Every year scientific research becomes more and more complex. They require increasingly modern technology, which allows them to study what is inaccessible to simple human senses. If previously scientists were limited to their own vision and hearing, now they have at their disposal unprecedented experimental facilities.
When using the device, it may cause negative impact to the object being studied. For this reason, the result of an experiment sometimes diverges from its original goals. Some researchers are trying to achieve such results on purpose. In science, this process is called randomization. If the experiment takes on a random nature, then its consequences become an additional object of analysis. The possibility of randomization is another feature that distinguishes empirical and theoretical knowledge.
Comparison, description and measurement
Comparison is the third empirical method of knowledge. This operation allows you to identify differences and similarities between objects. Empirical and theoretical analysis cannot be carried out without deep knowledge of the subject. In turn, many facts begin to play with new colors after the researcher compares them with another texture known to him. Comparison of objects is carried out within the framework of features that are significant for a particular experiment. Moreover, objects that are compared based on one trait may be incomparable based on their other characteristics. This empirical technique is based on analogy. It underlies what is important to science
Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge can be combined with each other. But research is almost never complete without description. This cognitive operation records the results of previous experience. Scientific notation systems are used for description: graphs, diagrams, drawings, diagrams, tables, etc.
The last empirical method of knowledge is measurement. It is carried out through special means. Measurement is necessary to determine the numerical value of the desired measured value. Such an operation must be carried out in accordance with strict algorithms and rules accepted in science.
Theoretical knowledge
In science, theoretical and empirical knowledge have different fundamental supports. In the first case, this is the detached use of rational methods and logical procedures, and in the second, direct interaction with the object. Theoretical knowledge uses intellectual abstractions. One of its most important methods is formalization - the display of knowledge in a symbolic and iconic form.
At the first stage of expressing thinking, familiar human language is used. It is characterized by complexity and constant variability, which is why it cannot be a universal scientific tool. The next stage of formalization is associated with the creation of formalized (artificial) languages. They have a specific purpose - a strict and precise expression of knowledge that cannot be achieved through natural speech. Such a symbol system can take the format of formulas. It is very popular in mathematics and others where you cannot do without numbers.
With the help of symbolism, a person eliminates ambiguous understanding of the recording, makes it shorter and clearer for further use. Not a single study, and therefore all scientific knowledge, can do without speed and simplicity in the use of its tools. Empirical and theoretical study equally need formalization, but it is at the theoretical level that it takes on extremely important and fundamental significance.
An artificial language created within a narrow scientific framework becomes universal remedy exchange of thoughts and communication between specialists. This is the fundamental task of methodology and logic. These sciences are necessary to transmit information in an understandable, systematized form, free from the shortcomings of natural language.
The meaning of formalization
Formalization allows you to clarify, analyze, clarify and define concepts. The empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge cannot do without them, therefore the system of artificial symbols has always played and will play a large role in science. Ordinary and expressed in spoken language concepts seem obvious and clear. However, due to their ambiguity and uncertainty, they are not suitable for scientific research.
Formalization is especially important when analyzing alleged evidence. The sequence of formulas based on specialized rules is distinguished by the accuracy and rigor necessary for science. In addition, formalization is necessary for programming, algorithmization and computerization of knowledge.
Axiomatic method
Another method theoretical research- axiomatic method. He is in a convenient way deductive expression of scientific hypotheses. Theoretical and empirical sciences cannot be imagined without terms. Very often they arise due to the construction of axioms. For example, in Euclidean geometry at one time the fundamental terms of angle, straight line, point, plane, etc. were formulated.
Within the framework of theoretical knowledge, scientists formulate axioms - postulates that do not require proof and are the initial statements for further theory construction. An example of this is the idea that the whole is always greater than the part. Using axioms, a system for deriving new terms is constructed. Following the rules of theoretical knowledge, a scientist can obtain unique theorems from a limited number of postulates. At the same time, it is much more effectively used for teaching and classification than for discovering new patterns.
Hypothetico-deductive method
Although theoretical and empirical scientific methods are different, they are often used together. An example of such an application is using it to build new systems of closely intertwined hypotheses. Based on them, new statements concerning empirical, experimentally proven facts are derived. The method of drawing a conclusion from archaic hypotheses is called deduction. This term is familiar to many thanks to the novels about Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, the popular literary character often uses the deductive method in his investigations, with the help of which he builds a coherent picture of the crime from many disparate facts.
The same system operates in science. This method of theoretical knowledge has its own clear structure. First of all, you become familiar with the invoice. Then assumptions are made about the patterns and causes of the phenomenon being studied. For this, all kinds of logical techniques are used. Guesses are evaluated according to their probability (the most probable one is selected from this heap). All hypotheses are tested for consistency with logic and compatibility with basic scientific principles (for example, the laws of physics). Consequences are derived from the assumption, which are then verified through experiment. The hypothetico-deductive method is not so much a method of new discovery as a method of substantiating scientific knowledge. This theoretical tool was used by such great minds as Newton and Galileo.
There are two levels of scientific knowledge: empirical and theoretical.
“This difference is based on the dissimilarity, firstly, of the methods (methods) of the cognitive activity itself, and secondly, of the nature of the scientific results achieved”.
Some general scientific methods are used only at the empirical level (observation, experiment, measurement), others - only at the theoretical level (idealization, formalization), and some (for example, modeling) - at both the empirical and theoretical levels.
Empirical level of scientific knowledge characterized by direct exploration of real-life, sensory-perceptible objects. The special role of empirics in science lies in the fact that only at this level of research we deal with the direct interaction of a person with the natural or social objects being studied. Living contemplation (sensory cognition) predominates here; the rational element and its forms (judgments, concepts, etc.) are present here, but have a subordinate meaning. Therefore, the object under study is reflected primarily from its external connections and manifestations, accessible to living contemplation and expressing internal relationships. At this level, the process of accumulating information about the objects and phenomena under study is carried out by conducting observations, performing various measurements, and delivering experiments. Here, the primary systematization of the obtained factual data is also carried out in the form of tables, diagrams, graphs, etc. In addition, already at the second level of scientific knowledge - as a consequence of the generalization of scientific facts - it is possible to formulate some empirical patterns.
Theoretical level of scientific knowledge characterized by the predominance of the rational moment - concepts, theories, laws and other forms and “mental operations”. The lack of direct practical interaction with objects determines the peculiarity that an object at a given level of scientific knowledge can only be studied indirectly, in a thought experiment, but not in a real one. However, living contemplation is not eliminated here, but becomes a subordinate (but very important) aspect of the cognitive process.
At this level, the most profound essential aspects, connections, patterns inherent in the objects and phenomena being studied are revealed by processing the data of empirical knowledge. This processing is carried out using systems of “higher order” abstractions - such as concepts, inferences, laws, categories, principles, etc. However, at the theoretical level we will not find a fixation or abbreviated summary of empirical data; theoretical thinking cannot be reduced to empirical summation of this material. It turns out that theory does not grow out of empirics, but as if next to it, or rather, above it and in connection with it.”
The theoretical level is a higher level in scientific knowledge. “The theoretical level of knowledge is aimed at the formation of theoretical laws that meet the requirements of possibility and necessity, i.e. operate everywhere and always.” The results of theoretical knowledge are hypotheses, theories, laws.
While distinguishing these two different levels in scientific research, one should not, however, separate them from each other and oppose them. After all, the empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge are interconnected. The empirical level acts as the basis, the foundation of the theoretical. Hypotheses and theories are formed in the process of theoretical understanding of scientific facts and statistical data obtained at the empirical level. In addition, theoretical thinking inevitably relies on sensory-visual images (including diagrams, graphs, etc.), with which the empirical level of research deals.
In turn, the empirical level of scientific knowledge cannot exist without achievements at the theoretical level. Empirical research is usually based on a certain theoretical construct, which determines the direction of this research, determines and justifies the methods used.
According to K. Popper, it is absurd to believe that we can begin Scientific research from “pure observations”, without having “anything resembling a theory.” Therefore, some conceptual perspective is absolutely necessary. Naive attempts to do without it can, in his opinion, only lead to self-deception and the uncritical use of some unconscious point of view.
The empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge are interconnected, the boundary between them is conditional and fluid. Empirical research, revealing new data through observations and experiments, stimulates theoretical knowledge (which generalizes and explains them), confronts it with new, more complex tasks. On the other hand, theoretical knowledge, developing and concretizing its own new content on the basis of empirics, opens up new, broader horizons for empirical knowledge, orients and directs it in the search for new facts, contributes to the improvement of its methods and means, etc.
The third group of methods of scientific knowledge includes methods used only within the framework of research into a specific science or a specific phenomenon. Such methods are called private scientific methods. Each private science(biology, chemistry, geology, etc.) has its own specific research methods.
At the same time, private scientific methods, as a rule, contain certain general scientific methods of cognition in various combinations. Particular scientific methods may include observations, measurements, inductive or deductive inferences, etc. The nature of their combination and use depends on the research conditions and the nature of the objects being studied. Thus, specific scientific methods are not divorced from general scientific ones. They are closely related to them and include the specific application of general scientific cognitive techniques for studying a specific area of the objective world. At the same time, particular scientific methods are also connected with the universal, dialectical method, which seems to be refracted through them.
Modern science is disciplinary organized. It consists of various areas of knowledge that interact with each other and at the same time have relative independence. If we consider science as a whole, then it belongs to the type of complex developing systems, which in their development give rise to more and more new relatively autonomous subsystems and new integrative connections that control their interaction. In the structure of scientific knowledge, they distinguish primarily two levels of knowledge - empirical And theoretical. They correspond to two interrelated, but at the same time specific types cognitive activity: empirical and theoretical research.
Moreover, the indicated levels of scientific knowledge are not identical to the sensory and rational forms of knowledge in general. empirical knowledge can never be reduced only to pure sensibility. Even the primary layer of empirical knowledge - observational data - is always recorded in specific language: Moreover, this is a language that uses not only everyday concepts, but also specific scientific terms. But empirical knowledge cannot be reduced to observational data. It also involves the formation based on observation data special type knowledge is a scientific fact. Scientific fact arises as a result of very complex rational processing of observational data: their comprehension, understanding, interpretation. In this sense, any facts of science represent the interaction of the sensory and the rational. Forms of rational knowledge (concepts, judgments, conclusions) dominate in the process of theoretical development of reality. But when constructing a theory, visual model representations are also used, which are forms of sensory knowledge, for representations, like perception, are forms of living contemplation.
The distinction between the empirical and theoretical levels should be made taking into account the specifics of cognitive activity at each of these levels. According to academician I.T. Frolov, the main criteria by which these levels differ are the following: 1) the nature of the subject of research, 2) the type of research tools used and 3) features of the method.
Differences by subject are that empirical and theoretical research can cognize the same objective reality, but its vision, its representation in knowledge will be given differently. Empirical research is fundamentally focused on studying phenomena and the relationships between them. At the level of theoretical knowledge, essential connections are identified in their pure form. The essence of an object is the interaction of a number of laws to which this object is subject. The task of the theory is precisely to recreate all these relationships between laws and thus reveal the essence of the object.
Differences by type of means used research lies in the fact that empirical research is based on the direct practical interaction of the researcher with the object being studied. It involves making observations and experimental activities. Therefore, the means of empirical research necessarily include instruments, instrumental installations and other means of real observation and experiment. In theoretical research, there is no direct practical interaction with objects. At this level, an object can only be studied indirectly, in a thought experiment, but not in a real one.
According to their characteristics, empirical and theoretical types of knowledge vary in research methods. As already mentioned, the main methods of empirical research are real experiment and real observation. Important role Methods of empirical description also play a role, focused on an objective characteristic of the phenomena under study, cleared as much as possible from subjective layers. As for theoretical research, special methods are used here: idealization (method of constructing an idealized object); a thought experiment with idealized objects, which seems to replace a real experiment with real objects; methods of theory construction (ascent from the abstract to the concrete, axiomatic and hypothetico-deductive methods); methods of logical and historical research, etc. So, the empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge differ in the subject, means and methods of research. However, isolating and considering each of them independently is an abstraction. In reality, these two layers of knowledge always interact. Isolating the categories “empirical” and “theoretical” as means of methodological analysis makes it possible to find out how scientific knowledge is structured and how it develops.
The empirical level is a reflection of external signs and aspects of connections. Obtaining empirical facts, their description and systematization
Based on experience as the only source of knowledge.
The main task of empirical knowledge is to collect, describe, accumulate facts, perform their primary processing, and answer the questions: what is what? what and how is happening?
This activity is provided by: observation, description, measurement, experiment.
Observation:
This is the deliberate and directed perception of an object of cognition in order to obtain information about its form, properties and relationships.
The process of observation is not passive contemplation. This is an active, directed form of the epistemological relationship of the subject in relation to the object, strengthened additional funds observation, recording of information and its broadcast.
Requirements: purpose of observation; choice of methodology; observation plan; control over the correctness and reliability of the results obtained; processing, comprehension and interpretation of received information (requires special attention).
Description:
The description, as it were, continues the observation; it is a form of recording observation information, its final stage.
With the help of description, information from the senses is translated into the language of signs, concepts, diagrams, graphs, acquiring a form convenient for subsequent rational processing (systematization, classification, generalization, etc.).
The description is carried out not on the basis of natural language, but on the basis of an artificial language, which is distinguished by logical rigor and unambiguity.
The description can be oriented towards qualitative or quantitative certainty.
Quantitative description requires fixed measurement procedures, which necessitates the expansion of the fact-recording activity of the subject of cognition by including such a cognition operation as measurement.
Dimension:
The qualitative characteristics of an object, as a rule, are recorded by instruments; the quantitative specificity of the object is established using measurements.
a technique in cognition with the help of which a quantitative comparison of quantities of the same quality is carried out.
this is a kind of system for providing cognition.
Its importance was pointed out by D.I. Mendeleev: knowledge of measure and weight is the only way to the discovery of laws.
reveals some common connections between objects.
Experiment:
Unlike ordinary observation, in an experiment the researcher actively intervenes in the course of the process being studied in order to gain additional knowledge.
This is a special technique (method) of cognition, representing a systematic and repeatedly reproduced observation of an object in the process of deliberate and controlled trial influences of the subject on the object of study.
In an experiment, the subject of knowledge studies a problem situation in order to obtain comprehensive information.
the object is controlled under specially specified conditions, which makes it possible to record all properties, connections, relationships by changing the parameters of the conditions.
experiment is the most active form epistemological relationship in the “subject-object” system at the level of sensory cognition.
8. Levels of scientific knowledge: theoretical level.
The theoretical level of scientific knowledge is characterized by the predominance of the rational element - concepts, theories, laws and other forms of thinking and “mental operations”. Living contemplation, sensory cognition is not eliminated here, but becomes a subordinate (but very important) aspect of the cognitive process. Theoretical knowledge reflects phenomena and processes from their universal internal connections and patterns, comprehended through rational processing of empirical knowledge data.
A characteristic feature of theoretical knowledge is its focus on itself, internal scientific reflection, i.e., the study of the process of knowledge itself, its forms, techniques, methods, conceptual apparatus, etc. On the basis of theoretical explanation and known laws, prediction and scientific foresight of the future is carried out.
1. Formalization - display of content knowledge in a sign-symbolic form (formalized language). When formalizing, reasoning about objects is transferred to the plane of operating with signs (formulas), which is associated with the construction artificial languages(language of mathematics, logic, chemistry, etc.).
It is the use of special symbols that makes it possible to eliminate the ambiguity of words in ordinary, natural language. In formalized reasoning, each symbol is strictly unambiguous.
Formalization, therefore, is a generalization of the forms of processes that differ in content, and the abstraction of these forms from their content. It clarifies the content by identifying its form and can be carried out with varying degrees of completeness. But, as the Austrian logician and mathematician Gödel showed, there is always an undetected, unformalizable remainder in the theory. The ever-deepening formalization of the content of knowledge will never reach absolute completeness. This means that formalization is internally limited in its capabilities. It has been proven that there is no universal method that allows any reasoning to be replaced by calculation. Gödel's theorems provided a fairly rigorous justification for the fundamental impossibility of complete formalization of scientific reasoning and scientific knowledge in general.
2. Axiomatic method - method of construction scientific theory, in which it is based on certain initial provisions - axioms (postulates), from which all other statements of this theory are derived from them in a purely logical way, through proof.
3. The hypothetico-deductive method is a method of scientific knowledge, the essence of which is to create a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which statements about empirical facts are ultimately derived. The conclusion obtained on the basis of this method will inevitably be probabilistic in nature.
General structure of the hypothetico-deductive method:
a) familiarization with factual material that requires a theoretical explanation and an attempt to do so with the help of already existing theories and laws. If not, then:
b) putting forward conjectures (hypotheses, assumptions) about the causes and patterns of these phenomena using a variety of logical techniques;
c) assessing the validity and seriousness of assumptions and selecting the most probable from among many of them;
d) deducing consequences from a hypothesis (usually deductively) with clarification of its content;
e) experimental verification of the consequences derived from the hypothesis. Here the hypothesis either receives experimental confirmation or is refuted. However, confirmation of individual consequences does not guarantee its truth (or falsity) as a whole. The best hypothesis based on the test results becomes a theory.
4. Ascent from the abstract to the concrete - a method of theoretical research and presentation, consisting in the movement of scientific thought from the initial abstraction through successive stages of deepening and expanding knowledge to the result - a holistic reproduction of the theory of the subject under study. As its premise, this method includes an ascent from the sensory-concrete to the abstract, to the isolation in thinking of individual aspects of an object and their “fixation” in the corresponding abstract definitions. The movement of knowledge from the sensory-concrete to the abstract is the movement from the individual to the general; logical techniques such as analysis and induction predominate here. The ascent from the abstract to the mentally-concrete is the process of movement from individual general abstractions to their unity, the concrete-universal; the methods of synthesis and deduction dominate here.
The essence of theoretical knowledge is not only the description and explanation of the variety of facts and patterns identified in the process of empirical research in a certain subject area, based on a small number of laws and principles, it is also expressed in the desire of scientists to reveal the harmony of the universe.
Theories can be presented in a variety of ways. We often encounter the tendency of scientists towards axiomatic construction of theories, which imitates the pattern of organization of knowledge created in geometry by Euclid. However, most often theories are presented genetically, gradually introducing the subject and revealing it successively from the simplest to more and more complex aspects.
Regardless of the accepted form of presentation of the theory, its content, of course, is determined by the basic principles that underlie it.
Aimed at explaining objective reality, it does not directly describe the surrounding reality, but ideal objects that are characterized not by infinity, but by completely a certain number properties:
fundamental theories
specific theories
Methods of the theoretical level of knowledge:
Idealization is a special epistemological relationship where the subject mentally constructs an object, the prototype of which is available in the real world.
Axiomatic method - This is the way production of new knowledge, when it is based on axioms, from which all other statements are derived in a purely logical way, followed by a description of this conclusion.
Hypothetico-deductive method - This is a special technique for producing new but probable knowledge.
Formalization - This technique consists of constructing abstract models with the help of which real objects are studied.
Unity of the historical and logical - Any process of reality breaks down into phenomenon and essence, into its empirical history and the main line of development.
Thought experiment method. A thought experiment is a system of mental procedures carried out on idealized objects.