Type of scientific rationality: definition. Scientific revolutions

Any type of scientific rationality presupposes the existence of a system of rules, standards defined for a particular society and considered sufficient. These norms are necessary to achieve goals that are meaningful from the point of view of society. The greatest attention is given to them by philosophy, within the framework of which they speak of the classical, nonclassical and post-non-classical types, each of which has its own unique pictures of the world.

Theory in general

The notion of what classical scientific rationality is, non-classical, post-non-classical, allows us to understand in detail why the scientific picture of the world today is what it is. In fact, this is a reflection. Careful analysis allows us to obtain enough information for the development of our understanding of the world.

Self-analysis of philosophical principles, which are the basis for the theory, makes it possible to make science logical, meaningful, having a methodological, philosophical basis. Reflection in the conditions of the development of the society of our days also allows to avoid the substitution of values, which is typical for development trends in the last decades, when the culture of postmodernism became dominant.

Rational knowledge

It is most typical for the period of 17-19 centuries, when philosophy and methodology were subordinated to the classical type of scientific rationality. During this period, the basic idea was the idea that a mind capable of cognizing the world observes the surrounding space and it is through observation that it receives information for analysis. Cognition was necessary for society to make an objective opinion about the world in which we live. In addition, scientists described the phenomena observed by them in the form in which they exist. Based on the ideas of rational knowledge, Rene Descartes developed his theory, which is considered the founder of the modern concept of the surrounding space.

Classical rationality became the basis for the development of methodology as a science. Particular attention was paid to the connection of experience and theoretical basis. The theory was a generalization of practical experience obtained from different sources.

Ideas and methods

Under the classical type of scientific rationality, science developed on the basis of an axiom: facts are the only true basis for creating a theory. The most progressive approach assumed subject isolation, when the development of facts was studied separately from each other.

Subject distinction has had a significant impact on scientists, limiting them to the field of action. Influence has been rendered and on thinking. Methods, methods, as well as technical solutions specific to a particular subject, have not been applied to others in this approach. By the way, the types of scientific rationality, and scientific revolutions, have replaced each other. In our time, the scientific division has provoked the formation of a single bridgehead for achieving different goals.

Classical rationality: the most important milestones

As a basis for this approach, quantitatism is singled out, according to which the study of any phenomenon involves the measurement of it and a numerical expression. Rene Descartes said: "The movement and the duration of the path is enough to create an entire universe."

The difference in approaches to science, observed in the Middle Ages and the era following it, is quite perceptible. The science of modern times no longer supported the organic concept of the world, when people believed that the world is an organism. If earlier it seemed that everything exists by itself, then the efforts of the new scientists have changed the types of scientific rationality, and the idea of the world has become mechanistic. Spinoza and Leibniz had the most powerful influence on this (except Descartes).

At that time, the world seemed to people similar to the mechanism, that is, the whole universe seemed to be a peculiar, very complicated clock. From this it followed that society, nature can manifest itself if to organize an experiment. Man, in turn, must experience nature in order to formulate laws governing space. So on the first place in science came the effect achieved by experiment, which allowed to call science oriented to practice. This type of scientific rationality and the scientific revolution associated with its establishment are most vividly reflected in the Baconian postulate: "Knowledge is power".

Science: we do not stand still

The type of scientific rationality that came to replace the classical, is usually called nonclassical. The transition is provoked by many factors. The idea of spiritual things changed, European culture developed, the world around experienced a crisis. This is typical for the period from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the next century. Classical rationalism was insufficient to satisfy man's desire for knowledge.

A new understanding did not come immediately, but gradually it penetrated into all spheres. Like other historical types of scientific rationality, the nonclassical was the product of its time. Human consciousness, striving to obtain maximum information about the world around us, was at a dead end: it became clear that social circumstances exert a very strong influence on reality and on the possibility of its cognition. The base for development was the quantum-relativistic revolution. The most significant names for the nonclassical type of scientific rationality are Heisenberg, Bohr, Einstein.

The first two were engaged in quantum mechanics, and the third became the author of the theory of relativity. When science moved to quantum, relativistic theories, the speeds available for study increased. Elementary particles became available to scientists. So began to develop thinking strategies.

Features of the theory

The nonclassical type of scientific rationality differs from the classical description of the object. If earlier all was considered in itself, the new approach obliged to fix the conditions in which the phenomenon was observed and determine the level of their interaction with the object of interest to the scientists.

The reason for this approach was the specific features of elementary particles. As it was found out, the object can behave differently, and communication was observed with selection of means for observation. A typical example is an electron that could manifest itself as a wave or as a particle. It was possible to reveal that the object has not only the properties peculiar to it, but also appear only on condition of combination with some subject.

Over time, the subject of knowledge for scientists also changed. If previously it was believed that it seemed to be restricted from the outside world and is away from it at a distance, a new approach made it possible to define the subject as an element of the world that is in its structure. Consequently, nature does not simply answer the questions formulated by man with its device, much depends on how the question is formulated. And this, in turn, is determined by the method of cognition. Thus, the nonclassical method of cognition allowed us to formulate new concepts of theory, fact, truth. The direct ontologism ceased to be so relevant to the day when knowledge and reality had an obvious, direct connection.

Development continues

Nowadays science is moving forward with leaps and bounds. Scientific revolutions, development of the world outlook, technical and scientific improvement, new philosophical approaches provoked a transition to a new one. Now the post-nonclassical type of scientific rationality became relevant. Scientists say that this is the fourth global revolution in science. However, some argue that a new type of rationality is still only being born, and the peak of its heyday lies ahead.

Scientific knowledge has been changing very intensively recently, which was also triggered by the development of the social aspect. Means that allow to receive, store knowledge, actively develop, due to which the scientific activity changes quite a lot. The greatest attention of scientists these days is attracted by studies affecting several disciplines at once, and also focused on specific topical problems. In classical science, the center of attention was a fragment, considered in isolation from science. But nowadays such programs are most actively developing, which solve complex problems connected with several fields of knowledge. This forces the specialists of different spheres to work in a team. This approach makes images of reality formed by scientists related to each other, which together provides a more coherent and accurate picture of the world. Ideas pass from science to science, boundaries are erased, rigid separation is a thing of the past. Applied research has a rather strong influence.

How it works

Specialists of different disciplines join forces to investigate various phenomena. As a rule, such cooperations are collected to study open systems that can develop independently. It so happened that the developing system is a rather complex object for scientific study. It so happened that the developing system is a rather complex object for scientific study.

Evolution is a transition from one self-regulating system to another. Distinctive features - the organization of the elements inside, the rules of independent regulation. A new level is formed when the bifurcation point passes, that is, at the moment when the system becomes unstable. Even accidental influence provokes the formation of a new structure. Such development initiates the development of strategies, but forceful action can bring everything back to a basic state. In some cases, such influence does not allow anything new to arise.

Situation: change under control

For the situation to develop controllably, it is necessary to influence the passage of bifurcation points. Scientists say in such cases about "energy injections". This allows you to start the rebuilding of the system, due to which the structure increases the additional level.

Systems that are able to develop independently, usually characterized by pronounced synergy. The processes occurring in them are irreversible. At the same time, human influence is not an external influence, but an integral part of the system. A person can influence it by changing the state field. When he participates in the development of the system, it does not simply interact with individual objects, but influences the line of evolution. The choice does not have a return path. In most cases it is impossible to predict all the consequences of the decision.

History and Science

I must say, for scientists, especially for those engaged in natural sciences, the interrelation of historically evolving systems was not obvious. The first to comprehend biologists, astronomers and those who studied disciplines related to the planet. It was here that for the first time the pictures of reality were formed, in which the idea of an evolving object occupied the central place. Not so long ago, physics joined these sciences.

The historical development of objects studied by physicists became part of the concept of reality through cosmology. The theory of the Big Bang, as well as other objects related to the idea of forming the Metagalaxy, played its role. In addition, Prigogine's works on non-equilibrium thermodynamic processes, as well as the theory of synergy, exerted a strong influence on modern physics. Such ideas have made it possible to compile a holistic view of the surrounding world, taking into account the history of its development. At the center of the scientific view today are the ideas of global evolutionism. It was they who became key to the post-non-classical type of scientific rationality.

Special case

A special approach is required by such historically developing systems that are closely related to the nature of the surrounding world. Of these, in the first place are complexes, in which a person is included. Scientists refer to them as "human-sized". Typical examples are ecological, medical, biological objects, including the biosphere, studied globally by ecologists. This includes biotechnology, genetic engineering and systems in which machines and people are neighbors, including AI (artificial intelligence) and IT complexes.

The study of such systems makes it possible to develop humanistic values, since in any case there is an interaction of pure science and ideas about humanism. Restrictions due to the peculiarities of civilization exclude free experiments. A number of interactions are prohibited, and this should be known to all scientists who chose this direction for their activities. The reason is that some actions may have unpredictable consequences for their catastrophic nature.

Speaking about human-sized objects, scientists are forced to take into account universal human values and factors and already with these preconditions to formulate explanations for the observed phenomena. Researchers regularly face ethical problems. The boundaries of permissible interference are not always obvious. At the same time, any science has an internal ethic, which stimulates the search for detours to achieve the desired goal. The search for new information must be combined with the principles of humanism and human values. Cognition is transformed into an element of social life and is called upon to help comprehend norms, ideals that are characteristic of society at the current stage of development.

Summing up

Speaking about the types of scientific rationality, three groups are distinguished: classical, nonclassical and post-non-classical. At present we live in the third type, the distinctive feature of which is the study of the world in general, taking into account the interrelationships. But at a time when science was established, and up until the 19th century the classical dominated. It was replaced by a nonclassical one, formulated on the basis of the ideas of Einstein, Bohr and Heisenberg.