What are the methods of knowledge. Idealization

Theoretical methods of cognition are what is commonly called "cold reason". A mind versed in theoretical research. Why is that? Remember the famous phrase of Sherlock Holmes: “And from this place, please, speak in as much detail as possible!” At the stage of this phrase and the subsequent story of Helen Stoner, the famous detective initiates a preliminary stage - sensual (empirical) knowledge.

By the way, this episode gives us grounds for comparing two degrees of cognition: only primary (empirical) and primary together with secondary (theoretical). Conan Doyle does this with the help of the images of the two main characters.

How does retired military doctor Watson react to the girl's story? He fixates on the emotional stage, having decided in advance that the story of the unfortunate stepdaughter was caused by her unmotivated suspicion of her stepfather.

Two stages of the method of cognition

Ellen Holmes listens in a completely different way. He first perceives verbal information by ear. However, the empirical information obtained in this way is not the final product for him, he needs them as raw material for subsequent intellectual processing.

Skillfully using theoretical methods of cognition in processing every grain of information received (none of which passed by his attention), the classical literary character seeks to resolve the mystery of the crime. Moreover, he applies theoretical methods with brilliance, with analytical sophistication that fascinates readers. With their help, there is a search for internal hidden connections and the definition of those patterns that resolve the situation.

What is the nature of theoretical methods of cognition

We deliberately turned to a literary example. With his help, we hope that our story did not begin impersonally.

It should be recognized that science at its present level has become the main driving force of progress precisely because of its "tool set" - research methods. All of them, as we have already mentioned, are divided into two large groups: empirical and theoretical. A common feature of both groups is the goal - true knowledge. They differ in their approach to knowledge. At the same time, scientists practicing empirical methods are called practitioners, and theoretical ones - theorists.

We also note that often the results of empirical and theoretical studies do not coincide with each other. This is the reason for the existence of two groups of methods.

Empirical (from the Greek word "empirios" - observation) are characterized by purposeful, organized perception, defined by the research task and subject area. In them, scientists use the best forms of fixing the results.

The theoretical level of cognition is characterized by the processing of empirical information using data formalization techniques and specific information processing techniques.

For a scientist practicing theoretical methods of cognition, the ability to use creatively as a tool that is in demand by the optimal method is of paramount importance.

Empirical and theoretical methods have common generic features:

the fundamental role of various forms of thinking: concepts, theories, laws;
for any of the theoretical methods, the source of primary information is empirical knowledge;
in the future, the data obtained are subject to analytical processing using a special conceptual apparatus, the information processing technology provided for them;
the purpose, due to which theoretical methods of cognition are used, is the synthesis of inferences and conclusions, the development of concepts and judgments as a result of which new knowledge is born.

Thus, at the primary stage of the process, the scientist receives sensory information using the methods of empirical knowledge:

observation (passive, non-interference tracking of phenomena and processes);
experiment (fixing the passage of the process under artificially given initial conditions);
measurements (determining the ratio of the parameter being determined to the generally accepted standard);
comparison (associative perception of one process compared to another).

Theory as the result of knowledge

What kind of feedback coordinates the methods of theoretical and empirical levels of cognition? Feedback when testing the truth of theories. At the theoretical stage, based on the received sensory information, the key problem is formulated. To resolve it, hypotheses are made. The most optimal and elaborated ones develop into theories.

The reliability of a theory is checked by its correspondence to objective facts (data of sensory cognition) and scientific facts (reliable knowledge, verified many times before for truth.) For such adequacy, it is important to select the optimal theoretical method of cognition. It is he who should ensure the maximum correspondence of the studied fragment to objective reality and the analytical presentation of its results.

Concepts of method and theory. Their commonality and differences

Properly chosen methods provide a “moment of truth” in cognition: the development of a hypothesis into a theory. Actualized, the general scientific methods of theoretical knowledge are filled with the necessary facts in the developed theory of knowledge, becoming its integral part.

If, however, such a well-functioning method is artificially singled out from a ready-made, universally recognized theory, then, having considered it separately, we will find that it has acquired new properties.

On the one hand, it is filled with special knowledge (incorporating the ideas of the current research), and on the other hand, it acquires common generic features of relatively homogeneous objects of study. It is in this that the dialectical relationship between the method and the theory of scientific knowledge is expressed.

The commonality of their nature is tested for relevance throughout the entire time of their existence. The first one acquires the function of organizational regulation, prescribing to the scientist a formal order of manipulations in order to achieve the goals of the study. Being involved by the scientist, the methods of the theoretical level of knowledge bring the object of study beyond the framework of the existing previous theory.

The difference between method and theory is expressed in the fact that they are different forms of knowledge of scientific knowledge.

If the second expresses the essence, the laws of existence, the conditions of development, the internal connections of the object under study, then the first one orients the researcher, dictating to him a “road map of knowledge”: requirements, principles of subject-transforming and cognitive activity.

It can be said in another way: the theoretical methods of scientific knowledge are addressed directly to the researcher, regulating his thought process in an appropriate way, directing the process of obtaining new knowledge by him in the most rational direction.

Their significance in the development of science led to the creation of its separate branch, which describes the theoretical tools of the researcher, called methodology based on epistemological principles (epistemology is the science of knowledge).

List of theoretical methods of cognition

It is well known that the following variants of theoretical methods of cognition include:

modeling;
formalization;
analysis;
synthesis;
abstraction;
induction;
deduction;
idealization.

Of course, the qualifications of a scientist are of great importance in the practical effectiveness of each of them. A knowledgeable specialist, after analyzing the main methods of theoretical knowledge, will choose the right one from their totality. It is he who will play a key role in the effectiveness of cognition itself.

Modeling Method Example

In March 1945, under the auspices of the Ballistic Laboratory (US Armed Forces), the principles of PC operation were outlined. It was a classic example of scientific knowledge. A group of physicists, reinforced by the famous mathematician John von Neumann, participated in the research. A native of Hungary, he was the principal analyst for this study.

The above-mentioned scientist used, as a research tool, the modeling method.

Initially, all devices of the future PC - arithmetic-logical, memory, control device, input and output devices - existed verbally, in the form of axioms formulated by Neumann.

The mathematician clothed the data of empirical physical research in the form of a mathematical model. In the future, it was she, and not her prototype, that was subjected to research by the researcher. Having received the result, Neumann "translated" it into the language of physics. By the way, the thinking process demonstrated by the Hungarian made a great impression on the physicists themselves, as evidenced by their feedback.

Note that it would be more accurate to give this method the name "modeling and formalization". It is not enough to create the model itself, it is equally important to formalize the internal relations of the object through the coding language. After all, this is how the computer model should be interpreted.

Today, such computer simulation, which is performed using special mathematical programs, is quite common. It is widely used in economics, physics, biology, automotive, radio electronics.

Modern computer modeling

The computer simulation method involves the following steps:

definition of the object being modeled, formalization of the installation for modeling;
drawing up a plan of computer experiments with the model;
analysis of the results.

There are simulation and analytical modeling. Modeling and formalization in this case are a universal tool.

Simulation reflects the functioning of the system when it sequentially performs a huge number of elementary operations. Analytical modeling describes the nature of an object using differential control systems that have a solution that reflects the ideal state of the object.

In addition to mathematical, they also distinguish:

conceptual modeling (through symbols, operations between them and languages, formal or natural);
physical modeling (object and model - real objects or phenomena);
structural-functional (graphs, diagrams, tables are used as a model).

abstraction

The abstraction method helps to understand the essence of the issue under study and solve very complex problems. It allows, discarding everything secondary, to focus on the fundamental details.

For example, if we turn to kinematics, it becomes obvious that researchers use this particular method. Thus, it was originally identified as primary, rectilinear and uniform motion (by such abstraction, it was possible to isolate the basic parameters of motion: time, distance, speed.)

This method always involves some generalization.

By the way, the opposite theoretical method of cognition is called concretization. Using it to study changes in speed, the researchers came up with a definition of acceleration.

Analogy

The analogy method is used to formulate fundamentally new ideas by finding analogues to phenomena or objects (in this case, analogues are both ideal and real objects that have an adequate correspondence to the studied phenomena or objects.)

An example of the effective use of analogy can be well-known discoveries. Charles Darwin, taking as a basis the evolutionary concept of the struggle for the means of subsistence of the poor with the rich, created the evolutionary theory. Niels Bohr, relying on the planetary structure of the solar system, substantiated the concept of the orbital structure of the atom. J. Maxwell and F. Huygens created the theory of wave electromagnetic oscillations, using, as an analogue, the theory of wave mechanical oscillations.

The analogy method becomes relevant when the following conditions are met:

as many essential features as possible should resemble each other;
a sufficiently large sample of known features must actually be associated with an unknown feature;
analogy should not be interpreted as identical similarity;
it is also necessary to consider the fundamental differences between the subject of study and its analogue.

Note that this method is most often and fruitfully used by economists.

Analysis - synthesis

Analysis and synthesis find their application both in scientific research and in ordinary mental activity.

The first is the process of mentally (most often) breaking the object under study into its components for a more complete study of each of them. However, the stage of analysis is followed by the stage of synthesis, when the studied components are combined together. In this case, all the properties revealed during their analysis are taken into account and then their relationships and methods of connection are determined.

The complex use of analysis and synthesis is characteristic of theoretical knowledge. It was these methods in their unity and opposition that the German philosopher Hegel laid at the foundation of dialectics, which, in his words, "is the soul of all scientific knowledge."

Induction and deduction

When the term "methods of analysis" is used, deduction and induction are most often meant. These are logical methods.

Deduction involves the course of reasoning, following from the general to the particular. It allows us to single out some consequences from the general content of the hypothesis that can be substantiated empirically. Thus, deduction is characterized by the establishment of a common connection.

Sherlock Holmes, mentioned by us at the beginning of this article, very clearly substantiated his deductive method in the story “The Land of Crimson Clouds”: “Life is an endless connection of causes and effects. Therefore, we can cognize it by examining one link after another. The famous detective collected as much information as possible, choosing the most significant from the many versions.

Continuing to characterize the methods of analysis, let us characterize the induction. This is the formulation of a general conclusion from a series of particular ones (from the particular to the general.) Distinguish between complete and incomplete induction. Full induction is characterized by the development of a theory, and incomplete - hypotheses. The hypothesis, as you know, should be updated by proving. Only then does it become a theory. Induction, as a method of analysis, is widely used in philosophy, economics, medicine, and jurisprudence.

Idealization

Often in the theory of scientific knowledge, ideal concepts that do not exist in reality are used. Researchers endow non-natural objects with special, limiting properties, which are possible only in "limiting" cases. Examples are a straight line, a material point, an ideal gas. Thus, science singles out certain objects from the objective world that are completely amenable to scientific description, devoid of secondary properties.

The idealization method, in particular, was applied by Galileo, who noticed that if all external forces acting on a moving object are removed, then it will continue to move indefinitely, rectilinearly and uniformly.

Thus, idealization allows in theory to obtain a result that is unattainable in reality.

However, in reality, for this case, the researcher takes into account: the height of the falling object above sea level, the latitude of the point of impact, the effect of wind, air density, etc.

Training of methodologists as the most important task of education

Today, the role of universities in the training of specialists who creatively master the methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge is becoming obvious. At the same time, as the experience of Stanford, Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities testifies, they are assigned a leading role in the development of the latest technologies. Perhaps that is why their graduates are in demand in science-intensive companies, the share of which has a constant tendency to increase.

An important role in the training of researchers is played by:

flexibility of the educational program;
the possibility of individual training for the most talented students capable of becoming promising young scientists.

At the same time, the specialization of people who develop human knowledge in the field of IT, engineering, production, and mathematical modeling implies the presence of teachers with relevant qualifications.

Conclusion

The examples of methods of theoretical knowledge mentioned in the article give a general idea of the creative work of scientists. Their activity is reduced to the formation of a scientific reflection of the world.

It, in a narrower, special sense, consists in the skillful use of a certain scientific method.
The researcher summarizes empirical proven facts, puts forward and tests scientific hypotheses, formulates a scientific theory that advances human knowledge from ascertaining the known to understanding the previously unknown.

Sometimes the ability of scientists to use theoretical scientific methods is like magic. Even centuries later, no one doubts the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein.

Religious, artistic, and also scientific. The first three forms are considered as extra-scientific, and although scientific knowledge has grown out of the everyday, ordinary, it differs significantly from all extra-scientific forms. has its own structure, in which two levels are distinguished: empirical and theoretical. Throughout the 17th-18th centuries, science was predominantly at the empirical stage, and it was only in the 19th century that they began to talk about the theoretical. Methods of theoretical cognition, which were understood as methods of a comprehensive study of reality in its essential laws and relationships, began to gradually build on empirical ones. But even despite this, the studies were in close interaction, thus suggesting an integral structure of scientific knowledge. In this regard, even general scientific methods of theoretical cognition appeared, which were equally characteristic of the empirical method of cognition. At the same time, some methods of empirical knowledge were also used by the theoretical stage.

Basic scientific methods of the theoretical level of knowledge

Abstraction is a method that boils down to abstraction from any properties of an object during cognition in order to study in more depth one side of it. Abstraction in the final result should develop abstract concepts that characterize objects from different angles.

Analogy is a mental conclusion about the similarity of objects, which is expressed in a certain relation, based on their similarity in slightly different respects.

Modeling is a method based on the principle of similarity. Its essence is that not the object itself is subjected to research, but its analogue (substitute, model), after which the data obtained are transferred according to certain rules to the object itself.

Idealization is the mental construction (construction) of theories about objects, concepts that do not actually exist in reality and cannot be embodied in it, but those for which in reality there is an analogue or close prototype.

Analysis is a method of dividing one whole into parts in order to know each part separately.

Synthesis is a procedure opposite to analysis, which consists in combining individual elements into one system for the purpose of further knowledge.

Induction is a method in which the final conclusion is drawn from knowledge obtained to a lesser degree of generality. Simply put, induction is the movement from the particular to the general.

Deduction is the opposite method of induction, which has a theoretical focus.

Formalization is a method of displaying meaningful knowledge in the form of signs and symbols. The basis of formalization is the distinction between artificial and natural languages.

All these methods of theoretical cognition, to one degree or another, can also be inherent in empirical cognition. Historical and theoretical knowledge - is also no exception. The historical method is a reproduction in detail of the history of an object. It is especially widely used in the historical sciences, where the concreteness of events is of great importance. The logical method also reproduces history, but only in the main, main and essential, without paying attention to those events and facts that are caused by random circumstances.

These are not all methods of theoretical knowledge. Generally speaking, in scientific knowledge, all methods can manifest themselves simultaneously, being in close interaction with each other. The specific use of individual methods is determined by the level of scientific knowledge, as well as the characteristics of the object, process.

The concept of "method" (from the Greek "methodos" - the path to something) means a set of techniques and operations for the practical and theoretical development of reality. The doctrine of the method began to develop in the science of modern times.

17th century English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) compared the method of knowledge to a lantern that illuminates the way for a traveler walking in the dark.

He is rightfully considered the founder of the scientific method, he believed that all knowledge should be based on facts and experiment, and argued that when collecting data, one must not only look for what confirms our thoughts, but take into account facts that contradict them. By this, Bacon anticipated the works of the philosopher of the 20th century. Karl Popper, who made falsification, not verification, the true test of the hypothesis. "The decisive test of a theory occurs when you find facts that contradict it." Bacon saw mechanical causality in nature, that is, the essence of things lies directly in the past, and is not determined by goals related to the future. Bacon and others (including Newton) were inclined to recognize two divine books: one was the Bible - the truth told to people, the other - nature. But it was mechanical causality that led to the elimination of the influence of religion and personality on the scientific method. Only science began to explore the world methodically, rationally and impartially, but at the same time constantly demonstrating the practical benefits of its discoveries.

It is no coincidence that F. Bacon put forward the famous aphorism: "Knowledge is power" and promoted the experiment as the main method of scientific research, believed that only with the scientific inquisition (torture of nature) the secrets of nature are revealed (comparison - the Russian word "naturalist").

Scientific discoveries are based on the observations made and the logical conclusions from them. Science does not take anything for granted and its key rule is to check, and in science the methods of obtaining new knowledge are combined into a certain system, the so-called research methodology.

The scientific method is a set of techniques or operations used in research activities from observing an object and event to building a theory and testing it.

Any scientific method is a set of regulatory rules for the development of new knowledge (empirical or theoretical).

Knowing how knowledge is obtained means the ability, firstly, to reproduce and verify the reliability of existing knowledge, and secondly, to obtain new knowledge.

The essence of the scientific method can be represented as such a procedure for obtaining scientific knowledge that allows it to be reproduced, tested and transferred to others, and science stands out because the methods for obtaining new knowledge have become the subject of analysis and open discussion.

And only in the XVI-XVII centuries, the importance of the experimental-mathematical method was realized (G. Galileo and R. Descartes), on the basis of which classical natural science grew.

The scientific method is a tool in the hands of man. He can suggest how to achieve this or that result. Science can significantly increase the degree of comfort of our existence, it knows or will know how to do it. But in the name of what all this must be done, what ultimately a person wants to establish on Earth - these questions are beyond the competence of science.

The expectations of the civilized world of the last century from the prospects for the development of science have clearly become unenthusiastic: at least, science has clearly failed to ensure the general well-being, but this is not part of the function of science as a social institution.

On the way to the omnipotence of science is the very nature of man - as beings of the macrocosm with macro-representations that are in no way suitable for the micro- and mega-world. It is impossible to form a macro-image fully adequate to the micro-world and the mega-world. Our "cognitive apparatus" in the transition to areas of reality that are far from everyday experience, loses its reliability.

Undoubtedly, while opening up great possibilities for man, science simultaneously highlights the areas of the impossible. All this testifies to one thing - the real world is much richer and more complex than its image created by science.

Scientific methods are divided into empirical and theoretical.

Empirical methods include: observation, description, measurement, experiment, modeling.

1) Observation is a purposeful perception of the phenomena of objective reality in order to establish the essential properties of objects of knowledge.

2) Description - fixation by means of a natural or artificial language of information about objects.

3) Measurement - a quantitative characteristic of the properties of objects or a comparison of objects according to some similar properties or sides.

4) Experiment - observation (research) in specially created and controlled conditions in order to establish a causal relationship between the given conditions and the characteristics of the object under study.

5) Modeling - reproduction of the properties of an object (original) on its specially created analogue (model), which allows you to explore the processes characteristic of the original.

Theoretical methods include: idealization, formalization, theorization, mathematical modeling, hypothetical-deductive method, method of checking the theory for adequacy.

1) Idealization - mental selection of essential and abstraction from non-essential properties of phenomena or objects.

2) Formalization - the construction of abstract mathematical models that reveal the essence of the studied processes and phenomena of reality.

3) Theorization - the construction of theories based on axioms - statements, the proof of the truth of which is not required.

4) Mathematical modeling of processes or properties of objects based on the study of a system of equations describing the original being studied.

5) Hypothetical-deductive (conceptual-deductive) method - obtaining the necessary information using known laws (hypotheses) and the deductive method (movement from the general to the particular).

6) The method of checking the theory for adequacy (the method of confirmation) is a comparison of the consequences arising from the theory and the results of mathematical modeling for compliance with empirical facts.

Methods are also classified according to the degree of generality of their application:

For example, general scientific methods of cognition are used in all areas of scientific knowledge, they are universal and work both at the empirical and theoretical levels of cognition, and even at the level of ordinary consciousness.

The universal methods of human activity are: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, comparison, generalization, induction, deduction, analogy, modeling, classification.

Modern science is developing at a very fast pace, at present the volume of scientific knowledge is doubling every 10-15 years. It was science that was the main reason for such a rapidly flowing scientific and technological revolution, the transition to a post-industrial society, the widespread introduction of information technologies, the emergence of a “new economy”, for which the laws of classical economic theory do not apply, the beginning of the transfer of human knowledge into an electronic form, so convenient for storage, systematization, search and processing, and much more.

All this convincingly proves that the main form of human knowledge - science in our days is becoming more and more significant and essential part of reality.

However, science would not be so productive if it did not have such a developed system of methods, principles and imperatives of knowledge inherent in it. It is the correctly chosen method, along with the talent of a scientist, that helps him to understand the deep connection of phenomena, reveal their essence, discover laws and patterns. The number of methods that science develops to understand reality is constantly increasing. Their exact number is perhaps difficult to determine. After all, there are about 15,000 sciences in the world, and each of them has its own specific methods and subject of research.

In my work, I will consider the main methods of scientific knowledge; methods used at the empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge.

THE CONCEPT OF "METHODOLOGY" OF KNOWLEDGE

Methodology is a system of principles of scientific research. It is the methodology that determines to what extent the collected facts can serve as a real and reliable basis for knowledge. From a formal point of view, methodology is not concerned with the essence of knowledge about the real world, but rather deals with the operations by which knowledge is constructed. Therefore, the term "methodology" is used to denote a set of research procedures, techniques and methods, including methods for collecting and processing data. A meaningful understanding of the methodology comes from the fact that it implements the heuristic (i.e. search) function of the subject area of research. Any theoretical system of knowledge makes sense only insofar as it not only describes and explains a certain subject area, but at the same time is a tool for searching for new knowledge. Since the theory forms the principles and laws that reflect the objective world in its subject area, it also turns out to be a method of further penetration into the still unexplored spheres of reality on the basis of existing knowledge, verified by practice.

A.P. Kupriyan singled out three main methodological functions of the theory: orienting, predictive and classifying. The first directs the efforts of the researcher in the selection of data, the second is based on the establishment of causal dependencies in some special area, and the third helps to systematize the facts by identifying their essential properties and relationships, i.e. not by chance.

Methodology in general terms can be defined as the doctrine of method, the science of building human activity. Traditionally, the most developed area of methodology is the methodology of cognitive activity, the methodology of science.

BASIC METHODS OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

The concept of method means a set of techniques and operations for the practical and theoretical development of reality. This is a system of principles, techniques, rules, requirements that must be followed in the process of cognition. Possession of methods means for a person the knowledge of how, in what sequence to perform certain actions to solve certain problems, and the ability to apply this knowledge in practice.

Methods of scientific knowledge are usually divided according to the degree of their generality, that is, according to the breadth of applicability in the process of scientific research.

1. General (or universal) methods, i.e. general philosophical. These methods characterize human thinking in general and are applicable in all spheres of human cognitive activity. There are two universal methods in the history of knowledge: dialectical and metaphysical.

The dialectical method is a method that explores the developing, changing reality. He recognizes the concreteness of truth and assumes an accurate account of all the conditions in which the object of knowledge is located.

The metaphysical method is a method opposite to the dialectical one, considering the world as it is at the moment, i.e. without development, as if frozen.

2. General scientific methods characterize the course of knowledge in all sciences, that is, they have a very wide, interdisciplinary range of application.

There are two types of scientific knowledge: empirical and theoretical.

The empirical level of scientific knowledge is characterized by the study of real-life, sensually perceived objects. Only at this level of research do we deal with the direct interaction of a person with the studied natural or social objects. 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 actual data obtained in the form of tables, diagrams, and graphs is also carried out.

The theoretical level of scientific knowledge is characterized by the predominance of the rational moment - concepts, theories, laws and other forms and "mental operations". An object at a given level of scientific knowledge can be studied only indirectly, in a thought experiment, but not in a real one. However, living contemplation is not eliminated here, but becomes a subordinate aspect of the cognitive process. At this level, the most profound essential aspects, connections, patterns inherent in the studied objects, phenomena are revealed by processing the data of empirical knowledge.

Empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge are interconnected. The empirical level acts as the basis, the foundation of the theoretical one. Hypotheses and theories are formed in the process of theoretical understanding of scientific facts, 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.

3. Private scientific methods, i.e. methods are applicable only within the framework of individual sciences or the study of a particular phenomenon. In private scientific methods, there may be observations, measurements, inductive or deductive reasoning, etc. Thus, private 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, as it were, is refracted through them.

METHODS OF EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE

Observation and description

Knowledge begins with observation. Observation is a purposeful study of objects, based mainly on such sensory abilities of a person as sensation, perception, representation. This is the initial method of empirical knowledge, which allows obtaining some primary information about the objects of the surrounding reality.

Scientific observation is characterized by a number of features:

purposefulness (observation should be carried out to solve the task of research, and the attention of the observer should be fixed only on the phenomena associated with this task);
regularity (observation should be carried out strictly according to the plan drawn up on the basis of the research task);
activity (the researcher must actively search, highlight the moments he needs in the observed phenomenon, drawing on his knowledge and experience for this, using various technical means of observation).

Scientific observations are always accompanied by a description of the object of knowledge. With the help of the description, sensory information is translated into the language of concepts, signs, diagrams, drawings, graphs and numbers, thereby taking on a form convenient for further, rational processing. It is important that the concepts used for description always have a clear and unambiguous meaning. According to the method of conducting observations, they can be direct (properties, sides of the object are reflected, perceived by the human senses), and indirect (carried out using certain technical means).

Experiment

An experiment is an active, purposeful and strictly controlled influence of a researcher on the object under study in order to identify and study certain aspects, properties, relationships. At the same time, the experimenter can transform the object under study, create artificial conditions for its study, and interfere with the natural course of processes. A scientific experiment presupposes the presence of a clearly formulated goal of the study. The experiment is based on some initial theoretical provisions, requires a certain level of development of technical means of cognition, necessary for its implementation. And, finally, it should be carried out by people who have a sufficiently high qualification.

There are several types of experiments:

laboratory,
natural,
research (make it possible to discover new, unknown properties in an object),
verification (serve to verify, confirm certain theoretical constructions),
insulating,
qualitative (allow only to identify the effect of certain factors on the phenomenon under study),
quantitative (set exact quantitative relationships) and so on.

Measurement and comparison

Scientific experiments and observations usually involve making a variety of measurements. Measurement is a process that consists in determining the quantitative values of certain properties, aspects of the object under study, the phenomenon with the help of special technical devices.

The operation of measurement is based on comparison. To make a comparison, you need to determine the units of measurement of a quantity. Measurements are divided into static and dynamic. Static measurements include measuring the dimensions of bodies, constant pressure, etc. Examples of dynamic measurements are the measurement of vibration, pulsating pressures, and so on.

METHODS OF THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE

abstraction

Abstraction consists in a mental abstraction from some less essential properties, aspects, features of the object under study with the simultaneous selection, formation of one or more essential aspects, properties, features of this object. The result obtained in the process of abstraction is called abstraction. Moving from the sensory-concrete to the abstract, theoretical, the researcher gets the opportunity to better understand the object under study, to reveal its essence.

Idealization. thought experiment

Idealization is the mental introduction of certain changes in the object under study in accordance with the objectives of the research. As a result of such changes, for example, some properties, aspects, attributes of objects can be excluded from consideration. So, the idealization widespread in mechanics - a material point implies a body devoid of any dimensions. Such an abstract object, the dimensions of which are neglected, is convenient in describing the movement of a wide variety of material objects from atoms and molecules to the planets of the solar system. When idealized, an object can be endowed with some special properties that are not feasible in reality. It is expedient to use idealization in those cases when it is necessary to exclude some properties of an object that obscure the essence of the processes occurring in it. A complex object is presented in a "purified" form, which makes it easier to study.

A mental experiment involves operating with an idealized object, which consists in the mental selection of certain positions, situations that make it possible to detect some important features of the object under study. Any real experiment, before being carried out in practice, is first done by the researcher mentally in the process of thinking, planning

Formalization. Axioms

Formalization - this method of cognition consists in the construction of abstract mathematical models that reveal the essence of the studied processes of reality. To build a formal system, it is necessary to set the alphabet, set the rules for the formation of formulas, set the rules for deriving some formulas from others. An important advantage of a formal system is the possibility of conducting an investigation of an object within its framework in a purely formal way, using signs. Another advantage of formalization is to ensure the brevity and clarity of the recording of scientific information.

The axiomatic method is a method of constructing a scientific theory, in which it is based on some initial provisions - axioms (postulates), from which all other statements of this theory are derived from them in a purely logical way, through proof. To derive theorems from axioms (and in general some formulas from others), inference rules are formulated. The axiomatic method was first applied in mathematics in the construction of Euclid's geometry.

Hypothetical-deductive method

A hypothesis is any assumption, conjecture, or prediction put forward to eliminate a situation of uncertainty in scientific research.

The hypothetical-deductive method is a method of theoretical research, the essence of which is to create a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which statements about empirical facts are ultimately derived. Thus, this method is based on the derivation of conclusions from hypotheses and other premises, the truth value of which is unknown. And this means that the conclusion obtained on the basis of this method will inevitably have only a probabilistic character. Usually, the hypothetical-deductive method is associated with a system of hypotheses of different levels of generality and different proximity to the empirical basis.

METHODS USED AT THE EMPIRICAL AND THEORETICAL LEVELS

Analysis and synthesis

Analysis is a method of thinking associated with the decomposition of the object under study into its constituent parts, sides, development trends and modes of functioning with the aim of studying them relatively independently. As such parts, there may be some material elements of the object or its properties, signs.

In the process of synthesis, the constituent parts (sides, properties, features, etc.) of the object under study, dissected as a result of the analysis, are joined together. On this basis, further study of the object takes place, but already as a single whole. At the same time, synthesis does not mean a simple mechanical connection of disconnected elements into a single system. Analysis fixes mainly that specific thing that distinguishes the parts from each other. Synthesis, on the other hand, reveals that essentially common thing that links the parts into a single whole.

Induction and deduction

Induction can be defined as a method of moving from knowledge of individual facts to knowledge of the general. Deduction is a method of transition from knowledge of general patterns to their particular manifestation.

Distinguish between complete and incomplete induction. Complete induction builds a general conclusion based on the study of all objects or phenomena of a given class. The essence of incomplete induction is that it builds a general conclusion based on the observation of a limited number of facts, if among the latter there are none that contradict inductive reasoning.

Deduction, on the contrary, is the receipt of particular conclusions based on the knowledge of some general provisions. But the especially great cognitive significance of deduction is manifested in the case when the general premise is not just an inductive generalization, but some kind of hypothetical assumption, for example, a new scientific idea. In this case, deduction is the starting point for the birth of a new theoretical system.

Analogy

Analogy is a method of cognition in which there is a transfer of knowledge obtained during the consideration of any one object to another, less studied and currently being studied. The analogy method is based on the similarity of objects in a number of any signs, which allows you to get quite reliable knowledge about the subject being studied.

Modeling

The modeling method is based on the creation of a model that is a substitute for a real object due to a certain similarity with it. Modeling is used where the study of the original is impossible or difficult and involves high costs and risks. A typical modeling technique is to study the properties of new aircraft designs on their reduced models placed in a wind tunnel.

Modern science knows several types of modeling:

subject modeling (the study is conducted on a model that reproduces certain geometric, physical, dynamic or functional characteristics of the original object);
symbolic modeling (schemes, drawings, formulas act as models);
mental modeling (instead of symbolic models, mentally visual representations of these signs and operations with them are used).

CONCLUSION

Thus, in scientific knowledge there is a complex, dynamic, integral system of diverse methods of different levels, spheres of action, direction, etc., which are always implemented taking into account specific conditions.

All the described methods of cognition in real scientific research work in interaction. Their specific systemic organization is determined by the characteristics of the object under study, as well as the specifics of a particular stage of the study. In the process of development of science, the system of its methods also develops, new methods and methods of research activity are formed.

The main methods of the empirical and theoretical level of scientific knowledge were considered. Empirical knowledge includes making observations and experiments. Knowledge begins with observation. To confirm a hypothesis or to study the properties of an object, a scientist puts it in certain conditions - conducts an experiment. The block of procedures for experiment and observation includes description, measurement, comparison. At the level of theoretical knowledge, abstraction, idealization, and formalization are widely used. Simulation is of great importance, and with the development of computer technology - numerical simulation, since the complexity and cost of the experiment increase.

USED MATERIALS:

Alekseev P.V., Panin A.V. "Philosophy" M.: Prospekt, 2000.
V.V. Ilyin. Theory of knowledge. Epistemology. Moscow. Moscow State University, 1974.
Materials from the site http://www.filreferat.popal.ru
Dubnishcheva T.Ya. Concepts of modern natural science: Textbook for students. Universities - M .: "Academy", 2003.
Makukha A.A. The concept of modern natural science: Educational materials - Novosibirsk, 2004.
Golubintsev V.O. Concepts of modern natural science: textbook - Rostov n / D .: Phoenix, 2005.