Empirical and theoretical knowledge

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 the different nature, these methods have equally great significance for the development of science.

Empirical research

At the heart 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 is the opposite - in the case of theoretical research a person manages only his own ideas about the subject. As a rule, such a method is the destiny of the humanities.

Empirical research can not do without instruments and instrumentation. These are the means connected with the organization of observations and experiments, but apart from them there are also conceptual means. They are used as a special scientific language. He has a complex organization. Empirical and theoretical knowledge is focused on the study of phenomena and the dependencies that arise between them. By conducting experiments, a person can reveal 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 a set of steps necessary to solve a specific problem (in this case we are talking about the discovery of previously unknown laws). The first empirical method is observation. It is a purposeful study of objects, which primarily relies on various senses (perceptions, sensations, representations).

At its initial stage, observation gives an idea of the external characteristics of the object of cognition. However, the ultimate goal of this method of investigation is to determine the deeper and inner properties of the object. A common misconception is the idea that scientific observation is a passive contemplation. This is far from the case.

Observation

Empirical observation is characterized by a detailed character. It can be either direct or indirect by various technical devices and devices (for example, a camera, a telescope, a microscope, etc.). As science develops, observation becomes more complex and complex. This method has several exceptional qualities: objectivity, certainty and unambiguousness of the plan. When using instruments, decoding of their indications plays an additional role.

In the social and human sciences, empirical and theoretical cognition is not uniformly inhabited. Observation in these disciplines is particularly difficult. It becomes dependent on the personality of the researcher, his principles and attitudes, as well as the degree of interest in the subject.

Observation can not be carried out without a specific concept or idea. It must be based on a certain hypothesis and record certain facts (only indicative and representative facts will be indicative).

Theoretical and empirical studies differ from each other in detail. For example, observation has its own specific functions, which are not characteristic of other methods of cognition. First of all, this is providing the person with information, without which further research and hypothesis promotion is impossible. Observation is the fuel on which thinking works. Without new facts and impressions, there will be no new knowledge. In addition, it is through observation that one can compare and verify the validity of the results of preliminary theoretical studies.

Experiment

The various theoretical and empirical methods of cognition differ also in the degree of their intervention in the process under study. A person can observe him strictly from the outside, and can analyze his properties on his own experience. This function is carried out by one of the empirical methods of cognition - experiment. By importance and contribution to the final result of research, he is not inferior to observation.

The experiment is not only a purposeful and active intervention of a person in the course of the process under study, but also its modification, as well as 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 uncomplicated environment is created. The experimental conditions are completely set and controlled. Therefore, this method, on the one hand, corresponds to the natural laws of nature, and on the other hand, it differs by an artificial, human-defined entity.

Structure of the experiment

All theoretical and empirical methods have a certain ideological load. The experiment, which is carried out in several stages, is not an exception. First of all, planning and step-by-step construction take place (the goal, means, type, etc. are determined). Then comes the stage of the experiment. In this case, it occurs under the perfect control of a person. At the end of the active phase, the interpretation of the results occurs.

Both empirical and theoretical knowledge differs in a certain structure. In order for the experiment to take place, the experimenters themselves, the object of the experiment, instruments and other necessary equipment, a technique and a hypothesis that is confirmed or refuted are required.

Devices and installations

Every year, scientific research is becoming more complicated. They need more and more modern technology, which allows you to study something that is inaccessible to simple human senses. Earlier, scientists limited themselves to their own vision and hearing, but now they have unprecedented experimental installations.

During the use of the device, it can have a negative effect on the object under study. For this reason, the result of the experiment sometimes differs from its original purpose. Some researchers are trying to purposely achieve such results. In science, this process is called randomization. If the experiment takes a random character, 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 cognition. This operation allows you to identify the differences and similarities of objects. Empirical, theoretical analysis can not be carried out without a 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 limits of the signs essential for the concrete experiment. In this case, items that are compared on a single line, can be incomparable in its other characteristics. This empirical method is based on analogy. It is the basis of the comparative-historical method, which is important for science.

The methods of empirical and theoretical cognition can be combined with each other. But almost never research is complete without a description. This cognitive operation records the results of previous experience. For the description scientific systems of designation are used: graphs, diagrams, figures, diagrams, tables, etc.

The last empirical method of cognition is measurement. It is carried out by means of special means. The measurement is necessary to determine the numerical value of the desired measured quantity. Such an operation is necessarily carried out in accordance with the strict algorithms and rules adopted in science.

Theoretical knowledge

In science, theoretical and empirical knowledge has different fundamental supports. In the first case, this is a remote use of rational methods and logical procedures, and in the second, direct interaction with the object. Theoretical cognition uses intellectual abstraction. One of his most important methods is formalization - the representation of knowledge in symbolic and symbolic form.

At the first stage of the expression of thinking, the familiar human language is used. It is characterized by complexity and constant variability, because of what can not 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 can not be achieved through natural speech. Such a symbol system can take the format of formulas. He is very popular in mathematics and other exact sciences, where you can not do without numbers.

With the help of symbols, a person excludes an ambiguous understanding of the record, makes it shorter and clearer for future use. Without speed and simplicity in the application of their tools, no research can be dispensed with, and therefore all scientific knowledge. Empirical and theoretical study equally needs formalization, but it is on a theoretical level that it takes an extremely important and fundamental significance.

Artificial language, created in narrow scientific frameworks, becomes a universal means of exchanging the thoughts and communication of specialists. This is the fundamental task of methodology and logic. These sciences are necessary for the transmission of information in an understandable, systematized form, free from the shortcomings of natural language.

The meaning of formalization

Formalization allows us to clarify, analyze, clarify and define concepts. Empirical and theoretical levels of cognition can not do without them, therefore the system of artificial symbols has always played and will play a big role in science. Ordinary and expressed in the colloquial language of the concepts seem obvious and clear. However, due to their ambiguity and uncertainty, they are not suitable for scientific research.

Especially important is the formalization of the analysis of the alleged evidence. The sequence of formulas based on specialized rules is distinguished by the precision and rigor necessary for science. In addition, formalization is necessary for programming, algorithmizing and computerizing knowledge.

Axiomatic method

Another method of theoretical investigation is the axiomatic method. It is a convenient way of deductive expression of scientific hypotheses. Theoretical and empirical science can not be imagined without terms. Very often they arise due to the construction of axioms. For example, in Euclidean geometry the fundamental terms of an angle, a straight line, a point, a plane, etc., were formulated at one time.

Within the framework of theoretical knowledge, scientists formulate axioms - postulates that do not require proof and are initial statements for the further construction of theories. An example of such a situation can serve as the idea that the whole is always more than a part. With the help of axioms, a system for the derivation of new terms is being constructed. Following the rules of theoretical knowledge, a scientist can obtain unique theorems from a limited number of postulates. At the same time, the axiomatic method is much more effectively used for teaching and classifying than for discovering new patterns.

Hypothetical-deductive method

Although theoretical, empirical scientific methods differ from each other, they are often used together. An example of such an application is the hypothetical-deductive method. With the help of it new systems of closely interwoven hypotheses are constructed. Neither are they based on new assertions concerning empirical, experimentally proven facts. The method of deducing a conclusion from archaic hypotheses is called deduction. This term is familiar to many through the novels about Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, a popular literary character in his investigations often uses the deductive method, with which he builds a coherent picture of the crime from a multitude of disparate facts.

In science, the same system operates. This method of theoretical knowledge has its own clear structure. First of all, we get acquainted with the texture. Then, assumptions are made about the laws and causes of the phenomenon being studied. For this, various logical techniques are used. Guesses are judged according to their probability (the most probable one is chosen from this heap). All hypotheses are checked for consistency in logic and compatibility with basic scientific principles (for example, laws of physicists). From the assumption, consequences are deduced, which are then verified by experiment. The hypothetico-deductive method is not so much a method of a new discovery as a method of substantiating scientific knowledge. This theoretical tool was used by such great minds as Newton and Galileo.