Scientific activity. Development of scientific activity

Scientific activity is a specific activity of people whose main goal is to obtain new knowledge about reality. It is knowledge that is its main product. However, he is not the only one. Other scientific products include the scientific style of rationality that extends to various spheres of people's activity, and a variety of instruments, techniques, installations that are used outside science (mainly in production). In addition, scientific activity is a source of moral values.

Science and truth

Despite the fact that the orientation of science - the acquisition of true knowledge about reality, it should not be identified with the truth. The fact is that true knowledge is not necessarily scientific. It can be obtained in various fields of activity: engineering, art, politics, economics, everyday life. However, in these cases, obtaining it is not the main objective of these fields of activity. For example, in art the main goal is new artistic values, in the economic sphere - efficiency, in engineering - inventions, technologies.

It should be emphasized that the notion of "unscientific" does not always have a negative assessment. Science has its own specificity, as well as in other areas - everyday life, politics, economics, art. All of them have their own purposes, their purpose. The role that scientific activity occupies in the life of society is growing. However, the scientific justification is appropriate and perhaps not always and not everywhere.

History shows that the knowledge obtained with its help is not always true. The very concept of "scientific" is often used in situations that do not guarantee the truth of extracted knowledge. This is especially true when we are dealing with theories. In science, many of them were refuted. Some thinkers (in particular, Karl Popper), argue that in the future this fate can comprehend any theoretical statement.

The relationship of science with parascientific concepts

Another feature of scientific activity is that it does not recognize any parascientific concepts - ufology, parapsychology, astrology, etc. They are rejected by it because, as T. Huxley noted, taking on faith something , She "commits suicide". In the concepts built with the use of these branches of knowledge, there are no accurately established, reliable facts. Only random coincidences are possible.

Science as a profession

An important feature of modern science is that it is a profession. Until quite recently it was a free activity of scientists. Science was not considered a profession, it was not specifically funded. Scientists, as a rule, provided themselves with means of subsistence due to teaching activity in universities. The organization of scientific activity, therefore, was very bad. Now the situation has changed for the better. Today's scientist is already a separate profession. In the 20th century such a notion as a "research assistant" arose. In the world now there are about 5 million people engaged in research professionally. Of course, this entails a rapid development of scientific activity, which leads to new discoveries and achievements.

Struggle of opinions in science

The development of scientific knowledge is characterized by confrontation of different directions. In a tense struggle, new theories and ideas are affirmed. On this occasion, M. Planck noted that new scientific truths usually win not because their opponents are convinced of their wrongness, but because their opponents are gradually dying out, and the new generation immediately assimilates the truth. Scientific research activity is a constant struggle of directions and opinions.

Criteria of scientific knowledge: systematized

It is necessary to single out the criteria for scientific knowledge, to note its characteristic features. First of all, it is systematization. This is one of the main criteria of scientific character. However, not only in this sphere can the knowledge obtained be systematized. There are many examples: a telephone directory, a cookbook, a road atlas, etc. Nevertheless, the scientific systematization has its own specifics. As a system, such knowledge is a certain structure, the components of which are pictures of the world, theories, laws, facts. In science, individual disciplines are interdependent and interrelated.

Proof

Another important criterion, which has scientific and research activity, is the desire for evidence, validity of knowledge. Bringing it into the system was characteristic of science always. Its very occurrence is sometimes associated with this desire for evidence. Various methods of verification are used. To confirm the validity of empirical knowledge, for example, use multiple tests, resort to statistical data, etc. If it is necessary to justify a particular theoretical concept, pay attention to consistency, the ability to predict and describe phenomena, compliance with empirical data.

Original ideas in science

In science, original ideas are of great value. However, in it the orientation toward innovation is also combined with the tendency to remove from the results all subjective, which is related to the specifics of the researcher himself. This is one of the differences between art and art. In order for the creation of the artist to exist, it must be created. However, if a scientist has not created a theory, in the future it will necessarily be created, since it is an indispensable stage in the development of scientific activity, which can be called intersubjective.

Means and methods of scientific knowledge

In scientific activity, the means of reasoning are used, which people use in various activities, including in everyday life. The methods of reasoning used in science are characteristic of any other sphere. This deduction and induction, synthesis and analysis, generalization and abstraction, idealization, description, analogy, prediction, explanation, confirmation, hypothesis, refutation, etc.

Experiment and observation

Experiment and observation are the main methods of acquiring empirical knowledge in science. Let's briefly describe what their specificity is. Observation is a method in which the main thing is not to make changes in the studied reality by the observation process itself. Within the framework of the experiment, a phenomenon that should be studied is placed in certain conditions. F. Bacon noted that the nature of things reveals itself best, being "artificially constrained", rather than existing in "natural freedom".

Empirical and theoretical knowledge

It is important to note that without a concrete theoretical orientation, an empirical study can not begin . Although it is known that facts are the main thing for the scientist, however, comprehension of reality without theoretical constructions is impossible. On this occasion, I.P. Pavlov noticed that it is necessary to have a general idea about the subject under study, so that facts can be cling to it.

Scientific theories are not a simple generalization of empirical data. A. Einstein wrote that it is impossible to arrive at the basic principles of theory logically. They arise in the interaction of empiricism and theoretical thinking, in the course of solving theoretical problems, in the interaction of science and culture.

Scientists use various methods of theoretical comprehension during the construction of a particular concept. For example, Galileo Galilei's scientific activity was marked by extensive use for constructing concepts of thought experiments. The theorist who applies them, as it were, loses the various variants of the behavior of the idealized objects that he developed. A mathematical experiment is a modern version of the mental. When it is used on computers, the possible consequences of certain conditions are calculated.

Appeal to philosophy

Characterizing scientific activity in general, it is also important to note that scientists in its course often turn to philosophy. Both Russian science and the world often rely on it. Especially for theoreticians, the understanding of cognitive traditions from the point of view of philosophy, the study of the reality under study in the context of one or another picture of the world is of great importance. This is very important at the critical stages that science periodically takes in its development. Great achievements in it have always been associated with philosophical generalizations. The appeal to philosophy promotes an effective explanation, description and understanding of the reality studied by science. The results of scientific activity, therefore, are correlated with its achievements.

The style of scientific thinking

There is such a thing as the "style of scientific thinking". It reflects important features of the sphere of knowledge that interests us. M. Born noted that there are certain tendencies of thought that change very slowly and form philosophical periods with ideas inherent in all areas of human activity, including science.

The Language of Science

Speaking about the means used in scientific knowledge, it should be noted that the language of science is the most important of them. Galileo said that the book of nature was written in the language of mathematics. The development of physics confirmed these words. The process of mathematization in other sciences is very active. In all of them, mathematics is an integral part of theoretical constructions.

The development of means of cognition

In science, the course of cognition depends to a large extent on the development of technical means. The scientific work of Galileo Galilei, for example, was carried out using a telescope. Then, telescopes were created, as well as radio telescopes, which largely determined the development of astronomy. The use of microscopes, especially electronic ones, has significantly affected the progress in biology. Without such important means of cognition as synchrophasotrons, one can not imagine the development of elementary particle physics. Modern world and Russian science is currently experiencing a revolution due to the appearance of a computer.

Interdependence of means and methods of sciences

It should be noted that the means and methods used in various sciences differ. This is determined by the specifics of the subject of study, as well as by the level of development of science itself. In general, there is a continuous interpenetration of tools and methods. The apparatus of mathematics is increasingly used. Its incredible effectiveness, as noted by J. Wiener, makes this science an important means of cognition in all others. However, it is unlikely that in the future the means and methods of various scientific branches will be completely universalized.

Specificity of philosophy

Speaking about the specifics of science, it is necessary to note the special position of philosophical knowledge. Philosophy as a whole is not science. In the classical tradition, it was treated as a science of a special kind, but modern thinkers often develop in it constructions that are sharply delimited from it. For example, this applies to neopositivists, existentialists. Within the framework of philosophy, there have always been and will continue to exist research and construction that can have the status of scientific.

Scientific and methodical activity

This is the main activity of the educational - a set of activities that are carried out in order to master technology, methods and methods of teaching and educational work. It is aimed at finding new methods and forms of organization, provision and implementation of the educational process.

Scientific and technical activity

This is a technical activity, which is at the intersection of engineering and scientific. It belongs to the sphere of technical scientific disciplines. Her research is of an applied nature. This concept in a broader sense embraces innovative, engineering and scientific activity.