The main stages in the development of science in the world table. The emergence and historical stages of the development of science

Science is a historical phenomenon, passing through a number of qualitatively peculiar stages in its development:

-classic (XVII–XIX centuries)- science ceases to be a private, "amateur" occupation, it becomes a profession. The process of desacralization is underway cognitive activity, there is an experimental natural science, in which the objective style of thinking dominates, the desire to know the subject in itself, regardless of the conditions of its study. Fundamental and special theories are being created.

- non-classical (first half of the 20th c.), which is associated with the emergence of "Big Science", the main theories of the modern interpretation of the world are being created (the theory of relativity, new cosmology, nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, genetics, etc.). The idea of ​​the studied reality as independent of the means of its cognition is rejected. Non-classical science comprehends the relationship between the knowledge of the object and the nature of the means and operations of activity. The disclosure of the essence of these connections is considered as the conditions for an objectively true description and explanation of the world. There is a frontal introduction of scientific ideas into technical innovation, production and everyday life.

- post-non-classical (second half of the 20th century), when science becomes the subject of comprehensive care of the state, an element of its system. It implements large-scale projects such as nuclear or space programs, environmental monitoring, etc. In epistemological terms, this period is associated with the formation of ideas of post-non-classical science, taking into account the correlation of the nature of the acquired knowledge about the object not only with the peculiarity of the means and operations of the subject's activity, but also with value-target structures.

MAIN VERSIONS OF THE ORIGIN OF SCIENCE.

There are five points of view regarding the emergence of science:

· Science has always existed since the birth of human society, since scientific curiosity is organically inherent in man;

· Science arose in ancient Greece, since it was here that knowledge first received its theoretical justification (generally accepted);

· hScience arose in Western Europe in the 12th-14th centuries, as an interest in experimental knowledge and mathematics appeared;

· Science begins in the 16th-17th centuries, and thanks to the works of G. Galileo, I. Kepler, X. Huygens and I. Newton, the first theoretical model of physics is created in the language of mathematics;

· Science begins in the first third of the 19th century, when research activities were combined with higher education.

CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES.

A complex but very important problem is the classification of sciences. . An extensive system of numerous and diverse studies, distinguished by object, subject, method, degree of fundamentality, scope, etc., practically excludes a single classification of all sciences on one basis. In the most general form, sciences are divided into natural, technical, public (social) and humanitarian.

To natural sciences include sciences:

§ about space, its structure, development (astronomy, cosmology, cosmogony, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, etc.);

§ Earth (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, etc.);

§ physical, chemical, biological systems and processes, forms of motion of matter (physics, etc.);

§ Man as a biological species, its origin and evolution (anatomy, etc.).

Technical The sciences are substantively based on the natural sciences. They study various forms and directions of development of technology (heat engineering, radio engineering, electrical engineering, etc.).

Public (social) sciences also have a number of areas and study society (economics, sociology, political science, jurisprudence, etc.).

Humanities sciences - sciences about the spiritual world of a person, about the attitude towards the world around him, society, his own kind (pedagogy, psychology, heuristics, conflictology, etc.).

There are links between the blocks of sciences; the same sciences may partly be included in different groups(ergonomics, medicine, ecology, engineering psychology, etc.), the line between the social sciences and the humanities (history, ethics, aesthetics, etc.) is especially mobile.

Special place in the system of sciences occupy philosophy, mathematics, cybernetics, computer science etc., which, by virtue of their general used in all research.

In the course of historical development, science is gradually turning from an occupation of individuals (Archimedes) into a special, relatively independent form of social consciousness and a sphere of human activity. It acts as a product of the long development of human culture, civilization, a special social organism with its own types of communication, division and cooperation of individual species. scientific activity.

The role of science in the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution is constantly growing. Among its main functions are the following:

§ ideological(science explains the world);

§ epistemological(science contributes to the knowledge of the world);

§ transformative(science is a factor community development: it underlies the processes of modern production, the creation of advanced technologies, significantly increasing the productive forces of society).

CLASSIFICATION OF LEGAL SCIENCES.

The classification of legal sciences is a method of grouping (division) according to some criterion, called the basis of classification (division). Legal sciences can be classified on various grounds, but in the theory of state and law, the classification of legal sciences has been recognized only on such a basis as a subject.

Therefore, legal sciences in the literature are classified as follows:

a) general theoretical (general theory of state and law, general theory legal system society);

b) historical (history of the state and law of Russia, General history state and law, etc.);

c) sectoral (civil, family, criminal law, etc.);

d) applied (judicial statistics, criminalistics, etc.);

e) legal sciences studying foreign law ( public law foreign countries etc.);

f) international legal sciences (private, public, maritime, space law, etc.).

23. BUTTON SCIENCES: CONCEPT AND TYPES.

"Butt" sciences express the most general, essential properties and relations inherent in the totality of forms of movement. Due to the fact that there are no sharp boundaries between individual sciences and scientific disciplines, especially in recent times, interdisciplinary and complex research has received significant development in modern science, bringing together representatives of scientific disciplines that are very distant from each other and using methods from different sciences. All this makes the problem of classification of sciences very difficult.

Examples: Biochemistry and Biophysics

In ordinary language, the word "the science" is used in several senses and means:

The system of special knowledge; - type of specialized activity - public institution(a set of specialized institutions in which people either do science or prepare for these classes).

Science in all three senses did not always exist, and the experimental and mathematical natural science familiar to us did not appear everywhere. Differences in the forms of science that existed in local cultures gave rise to the problem of defining the concept of science in the specialized literature.

Today there are many such definitions. One of them is given in the textbook "Concepts modern natural science"Under the editorship of professors V.N. Lavrinenko and V.P. Ratnikov: "Science is a specialized system of ideal, sign-semantic and natural-subject activity of people, aimed at achieving the most reliable true knowledge of reality". In the New Philosophical Encyclopedia, science is defined more simply: "Science is a special kind of cognitive activity aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about the world." Science as a special type of activity differs from other types of activity in five main characteristics: 1) systematization of knowledge; 2) evidence; 3) using special methods (research procedures); 4) cooperation of efforts of professional scientists; 5) institutionalization (from Latin institutum - "establishment", "institution") - in the sense of creating a special system of relations and institutions. Human cognitive activity did not acquire these qualities immediately, which means that science also did not appear in finished form. In the development of knowledge, culminating in the emergence of science, there are three stages:

The first stage, according to I. T. Kasavin, begins about 1 million years ago, when human ancestors left the tropical corridor and began to settle on the Earth. Changing living conditions forced them to adapt to them, creating cultural inventions. Pre-hominids (pre-humanoids) begin to use fire, produce tools and develop language as a means of communication. Knowledge at this stage was obtained as a by-product of practical activity. So, in the manufacture of, for example, a stone ax, in addition to the main result - obtaining an ax - there was also a side result in the form of knowledge about the types of stone, its properties, processing methods, etc. At this stage, knowledge was not perceived as something special and was not considered as a value.

The second stage of the evolution of cognitive activity begins with the emergence of Ancient civilizations 5-6 thousand years ago: Egyptian (IV millennium BC), Sumerian, Chinese and Indian (all in the III millennium BC), Babylonian ( II millennium BC). At the second stage, knowledge begins to be recognized as a value. It is collected, recorded and transmitted from generation to generation, but knowledge is not yet considered a special kind of activity, it is still included in practical activity, very often in cult practice. Priests almost universally acted as the monopolists of such knowledge.

At the third stage, knowledge appears in the form of a specialized activity for obtaining knowledge, that is, in the form of science. initial form science - an ancient science - bears little resemblance to science in the modern sense of the word. In Western Europe, ancient science appears among the Greeks at the end of the 7th century. BC e. together with philosophy, does not differ from it for a long time and develops along with it. So, the merchant Thales (about 640-562 BC), who was also involved in politics, astronomy, meteorology and inventions in the field of hydroengineering, is called the first mathematician and philosopher of Greece. Ancient science cannot be considered completely "science", because of the five specific features of science that we have named, it had only three (conclusiveness, systematicity and research procedures), and even then in its infancy, the rest were still absent.

The Greeks were an extremely inquisitive people. From wherever fate threw them, they brought texts containing pre-scientific information. Their comparison revealed inconsistencies and raised the question: what is true? For example, the calculations of mathematical quantities (such as the number p) by the priests of Egypt and Babylon led to significantly different results. This was a completely natural consequence, since Eastern pre-science did not contain a system of knowledge, formulations of fundamental laws and principles. It was a conglomeration of disparate provisions and solutions to special problems, without any rational justification for the chosen method of solution. For example, in Egyptian papyri and cuneiform tables from Sumer, containing computational problems, they were presented in the form of prescriptions and only sometimes accompanied by a check, which can be considered a kind of justification. The Greeks put forward new criteria for organizing and obtaining knowledge - consistency, evidence, the use of reliable cognitive methods - which turned out to be extremely productive. Computational questions became secondary in Greek science.

Initially, in Ancient Greece there was no division into various "sciences": diverse knowledge existed in a single complex and was called "wisdom", then approximately in the 6th - 5th centuries. BC e. it became known as "philosophy". Later, various sciences began to separate from philosophy. They did not separate at the same time; the process of specialization of knowledge and the acquisition of the status of independent disciplines by the sciences stretched over many centuries. Medicine and mathematics were the first to take shape as independent sciences.

The founder of European medicine is considered the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC), who systematized the knowledge accumulated not only by ancient Greek, but also by Egyptian physicians, and created a medical theory. Theoretical mathematics is formalized by Euclid (330-277 BC) in the essay "Beginnings", which is still used today in the school geometry course. Then in the 1st half of the 3rd c. BC e. geography was systematized by the ancient scientist Eratosthenes (about 276-194 BC). Big role in the process of evolution of science played the development of Aristotle (384-322 BC) of logic, proclaimed as a tool scientific knowledge in any area. Aristotle gave the first definition of science and scientific method, distinguished all sciences according to their subjects.

The close connection of ancient science with philosophy determined one of its features - speculation, underestimation of the practical usefulness of scientific knowledge. Theoretical knowledge was considered valuable in itself, and not for the benefits that can be derived from it. For this reason, philosophy was considered the most valuable, about which Aristotle said this: "Other sciences may be more necessary, but none is better."

The inherent value of science was so obvious to the ancient Greeks that, according to contemporaries, the mathematician Euclid asked him: "Who needs this geometry?" instead of answering, he handed the unfortunate obol with a mournful face, saying that there was nothing to help the poor fellow.

In late antiquity (II - V centuries) and the Middle Ages (III - XV centuries), Western science, together with philosophy, turned out to be "the servant of theology." This significantly narrowed the range of scientific problems that could be considered and were considered by scientists-theologians. With the advent in the I century. Christianity and the subsequent defeat in the fight against it by ancient science <> theoreticians-theologians faced the task of substantiating the Christian doctrine and transferring the skills of substantiating it. The then "science" - scholasticism (in Latin, "school philosophy") took up the solution of these problems.

The Scholastics were not interested in the study of nature and mathematics, but they were very interested in the logic that they used in disputes about God.

In the period of the late Middle Ages, called the Renaissance (XIV - XVI centuries), practitioners - artists, architects ("titans of the Renaissance" like Leonardo da Vinci) - again awakened interest in nature and the idea of ​​the need for an experimental study of nature. Natural science then develops within the framework of natural philosophy - literally, the philosophy of nature, which includes not only rationally substantiated knowledge, but also pseudo-knowledge of the occult sciences, such as magic, alchemy, astrology, palmistry, etc. This peculiar combination of rational knowledge and pseudo-knowledge was due to the fact that religion still occupied an important place in the ideas about the world, all Renaissance thinkers considered nature to be the work of divine hands and full of supernatural powers. Such a worldview is called magical-alchemical, not scientific.

Science in the modern sense of the word appears in modern times (XVII - XVIII centuries) and immediately begins to develop very dynamically. First in the 17th century the foundations of modern natural science are being laid: experimental and mathematical methods of the sciences of nature are being developed (through the efforts of F. Bacon, R. Descartes, J. Locke) and classical mechanics, which underlies classical physics (through the efforts of G. Galileo, I. Newton, R. Descartes, H. Huygens), based on classical mathematics (in particular, on the geometry of Euclid). During this period, scientific knowledge becomes in the full sense of the word evidence-based, systematized, based on special research procedures. At the same time, finally, a scientific community appears, consisting of professional scientists, which begins to discuss scientific problems, special institutions appear (Academies of Sciences), which contribute to the acceleration of the exchange scientific ideas. Therefore, since the 17th century talk about the emergence of science as a social institution.

The development of Western European science proceeded not only through the accumulation of knowledge about the world and about itself. From time to time there were changes in the entire system of available knowledge - scientific revolutions, when science changed greatly. Therefore, in the history of Western European science distinguish 3 periods and related types of rationality: 1) the period of classical science (XVII - early XX century); 2) the period of non-classical science (the first half of the twentieth century); 3) the period of post-non-classical science (2nd half of the 20th century). In each of the periods, the field of objects under study expands (from simple mechanical to complex, self-regulating and self-developing objects) and the foundations of scientific activity, the approaches of scientists to the study of the world - as they say, "types of rationality" change. (see Appendix No. 1)

Classical science emerges as a result of the scientific revolution of the 17th century. It is still connected by an umbilical cord to philosophy, because mathematics and physics continue to be considered branches of philosophy, and philosophy is a science. The philosophical picture of the world is built by natural scientists as a scientific mechanistic picture of the world. Such a scientific-philosophical doctrine of the world is called "metaphysical". It is obtained on the basis classical type of rationality, which develops in classical science. He is characterized determinism(the idea of ​​a causal relationship and interdependence of phenomena and processes of reality), understanding of the whole as a mechanical sum of parts when the properties of the whole are determined by the properties of the parts, and each part is studied by one science, and belief in the existence of objective and absolute truth, which is considered reflection, copy of the natural world. The founders of classical science (G. Galileo, I. Kepler, I. Newton, R. Descartes, F. Bacon, etc.) recognized the existence of God the creator. They believed that he creates the world in accordance with the ideas of his mind, which are embodied in objects and phenomena. The task of the scientist is to discover the divine plan and express it in the form of scientific truths. Their idea of ​​the world and cognition became the reason for the appearance of the expression "scientific discovery" and understanding of the essence of truth: as soon as a scientist discovers something that exists besides him and underlies all things, scientific truth is objective and reflects reality. However, as knowledge of nature increased, classical natural science increasingly came into conflict with the idea of ​​the immutable laws of nature and the absoluteness of truth.

Then at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. a new revolution is taking place in science, as a result of which the existing metaphysical ideas about the structure, properties, regularities of matter were destroyed (views of atoms as unchanging, indivisible particles, mechanical mass, space and time, movement and its forms, etc.) and a new type of science appeared - non-classical sciences. For non-classical type of rationality characteristic of the fact that object of knowledge, and consequently, and knowledge about it, depend on the subject, on the means and procedures used by him.

The rapid development of science in the 20th century again changes the face of science, so they say that science in the second half of the 20th century becomes different, post-non-classical. For post-non-classical science and post-nonclassical type of rationality characteristic: the emergence of interdisciplinary and systemic research, evolutionism, the use of statistical (probabilistic) methods, the humanization and ecologization of knowledge. About these features modern science should be said in more detail.

The emergence of interdisciplinary and systems research are closely related. In classical science, the world was presented as consisting of parts, its functioning was determined by the laws of its constituent parts, and each part was studied by a certain science. In the 20th century, scientists have an understanding that the world cannot be considered as "consisting of parts", but must be considered as consisting of various wholes that have a certain structure - that is, from systems of various levels. Everything is interconnected in it, a part cannot be singled out, because the part does not live outside the whole. There are problems that cannot be solved within the framework of the old disciplines, but only at the intersection of several disciplines. Awareness of new tasks required new research methods, a new conceptual apparatus. The involvement of knowledge from different sciences to solve such problems has led to the emergence of interdisciplinary research, the compilation of comprehensive research programs, which was not the case in classical science, and the introduction systems approach.

An example of a new synthetic science is ecology: it is built on the basis of knowledge drawn from many fundamental disciplines - physics, chemistry, biology, geology, geography, as well as hydrography, sociology, etc. It considers environment how single system, which includes a number of subsystems, such as living matter, biogenic matter, bio-inert matter and inert matter. All of them are interconnected and cannot be explored outside the whole. Each of these subsystems has its own subsystems that exist in interconnections with others, for example, in the biosphere - communities of plants, animals, man as part of the biosphere, etc.

In classical science, systems were also singled out and studied (for example, the solar system), but in a different way. The specificity of the modern systems approach is the emphasis on systems of a different kind than in classical science. If earlier the main attention in scientific research was paid to stability, and it was about closed systems (in which conservation laws operate), today scientists are primarily interested in open systems characterized by instability, variability, development, self-organization (they are studied by synergetics).

The increase in the role of the evolutionary approach in modern science is connected with the spread of the idea of ​​the evolutionary development of living nature that arose in the 19th century in the 20th century to inanimate nature. If in the 19th century the ideas of evolutionism were characteristic of biology and geology, then in the 20th century evolutionary concepts began to take shape in astronomy, astrophysics, chemistry, physics and other sciences. In the modern scientific picture of the world, the Universe is considered as a single evolving system, starting from the moment of its formation (Big Bang) and ending with sociocultural development.

More and more statistical methods are being used. Statistical methods are methods for describing and studying mass phenomena and processes that can be expressed numerically. They do not give the same truth, but give different percentages of probability. The humanitarization and ecologization of post-non-classical science imply the promotion of new goals for all scientific research: if earlier the goal of science was scientific truth, now serving the goals of improving human life, establishing harmony between nature and society are coming to the fore. The humanitarization of knowledge is demonstrated, in particular, by the adoption in cosmology (the doctrine of the cosmos) of the anthropic principle (from the Greek "anthropos" - "man"), the essence of which is that the properties of our Universe are determined by the presence of a person in it, an observer. If earlier it was believed that man cannot influence the laws of nature, the principle anthropicity recognizes the dependence of the universe and its laws on man.

The history of the origin and development of science dates back many centuries. Even at the beginning of its development, mankind improved the conditions of life due to the knowledge and slight transformation of the surrounding world. For centuries and millennia, the accumulated and, accordingly, generalized experience was passed on to the next generations. The mechanism of inheriting the accumulated experience was gradually improved by establishing certain customs, traditions, and writing. Thus, the first form of science that arose historically (the science of the ancient world), the subject of which was all of nature as a whole.

The originally created ancient science was not yet divided into separate spheres and small features of natural philosophy. Nature was considered holistically with the advantage of the general and the underestimation of the specific. Natural philosophy has an inherent method of naive dialectics and spontaneous materialism, if brilliant guesses were intertwined with fantastic tales about the world around.

The considered period of the development of science belongs to the first phase of the process of cognition - direct observation. The science of the ancient world had not yet reached in its development the division of the world into separate, more or less separate regions. Only in the V Art. BC. from the natural-philosophical system of ancient science into an independent field of knowledge, mathematics begins to stand out. In the middle of IV Art. BC. the needs of time reference, orientation on the Earth, explanation of seasonal phenomena led to the creation of the foundations of astronomy. During this period, the fundamentals of chemistry were separated, the results of which were used in the extraction of metals from ores, dyeing of fabrics and leather goods.

The first elements of science appeared in the ancient world in connection with the needs of society and were of a purely practical nature.

For the science of the ancient world (Babylon, Egypt, India, China), a characteristic spontaneous-empirical process of cognition, in which cognitive and practical aspects were combined. Knowledge had a practical orientation and actually served as methodological developments (rules) for a particular type of activity.

In ancient Greece, the scientific level of knowledge was born in science. The Hellenistic period of ancient Greek science is characterized by the creation of the first theoretical systems in the field of geometry (Euclid), mechanics (Archimedes), astronomy (Ptolemy). The luminaries of ancient Greek science - Aristotle, Archimedes and others used abstractions in their studies to describe objective regularities, laying the foundations for proving the idea of ​​idealized material, which is an important feature of science.

In the Middle Ages, scientists from the Arab East and Central Asia made a great contribution to the development of science: Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Biruni and others.

Europe in the Middle Ages a specific form of science, scholasticism, which provided the main attention to the development of Christian dogmatics, became widespread, but at the same time it made a significant contribution to the development of understanding of culture, to the improvement of the art of theoretical discussions.

In the scientific and philosophical system of Aristotle, there has been a division sciences to physics and metaphysics. In the future, logic and psychology, zoology and botany, mineralogy and geography, aesthetics, ethics and politics gradually begin to stand out as independent scientific disciplines within this system. Thus, the process of differentiation (distribution) of science and the allocation of separate disciplines independent in their subjects and methods began.

From the second halfXVArt. during the renaissance a period of significant development of natural history as a science begins, the beginning of which (mid-XV century - mid-XVI century) is characterized by the accumulation of significant factual material about nature, obtained by experimental research. At this time, a further differentiation of science takes place; universities begin to teach the basics of fundamental scientific disciplines - mathematics, chemistry, physics.

The transition from natural philosophy to the first scientific period in the development of natural history took quite a long time - almost a thousand years, which is explained by the insufficient progress in the development of technology. Fundamental sciences at that time did not have sufficient development. Until the beginning of the XVII century. mathematics was a science only about numbers, scalar quantities, relatively simple geometric figures and was used mainly in astronomy, agriculture, and trade. Algebra, trigonometry and the foundations of mathematical synthesis were just in their infancy.

The second period in the development of natural history, which is characterized as revolutionary in science, falls on the middle of the XVII century. and until the end of the XI century. It was during this period that significant discoveries were made in physics, chemistry, mechanics, mathematics, biology, astronomy, and geology. This era gave rise to a galaxy of outstanding scientists, whose work greatly influenced the further development of science.

Geocentric world building system, created by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, is replaced by the heliocentric one, invented by M. Copernicus, G. Galileo. By this period lies the creation of analytical geometry by R. Descartes, logarithms by J. Napier, differential and integral calculations by I. Newton and G. Leibniz, chemistry, botany, physiology and geology arose as independent sciences.

During the period of the endXVII Art. I. Newton was an open law gravity. In fact, it was the first scientific revolution associated with the names of Leonardo Da Vinci, G. Galileo, J. Kepler, M.V. Lomonosov, P. Laplace and other prominent scientists.

It should be noted that during this period, along with observations, experiment was widely used, which significantly expanded the cognitive power of science (G. Galileo and F. Bacon are the initiators and founders of modern experimental science).

In the XV-XVІІІ centuries. science begins to turn into a real basis for worldview. The decisive role in the formation of the scientific worldview belongs to mechanics, within which the knowledge of not only physical and chemical, but also biological phenomena is carried out.

In the middleXVIII Art. scientists expressed the idea of ​​a universal interconnection of phenomena and processes that take place in the real world. These ideas were first expressed by R. Descartes, then developed by Lomonosov (the law of the kinematic theory of matter, the idea of ​​the development of the Earth), I. Kant, K. Wolf.

End industrial revolutionXVIII Art. - startXI st. - the invention of a steam engine by D. Watt, which turned thermal energy into mechanical energy, became a powerful stimulus for the further development of science. Physicists discovered electric current and the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction (representatives of science were A. Volt, V. Petrov, G. Devi, A. Ampère, M. Faraday, and others), the wave theory of light was successfully developed (T. Jung, O. Fresnel) . The formation of biology as a science of the laws of life and development of living organisms, comparative anatomy, morphology, and paleontology also belongs to that time. The accumulation of fundamental results on the study of living and lifeless nature contributed to the creation of conditions for the great discoveries of the 11th century, which, in turn, stimulated the rapid development of all natural sciences. This is the law of conservation and transformation of energy, discovered by J.-R. Mayer, G. Helmholtz, J. Joule, which is the basic law of natural science, which expresses the unity of all physical forms of the motion of matter; this is a cellular theory developed by T. Schwann and M. Schleiden, which proved the unity of all complex organisms; this is the evolutionary teaching of Charles Darwin, who proved the unity of plant and animal species, their natural origin and development.

Such a big leap in the development of science contributed to the further process of its differentiation.

Great scientific achievementXI st. is the discovery of D. Mendeleev's periodic law of chemical elements, which proved the existence of an internal connection between substances. Of great importance were the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry (M. Lobachevsky) and the laws electromagnetic field(J. Maxwell), electromagnetic waves and light pressure. These discoveries were fundamental for natural science and caused profound shifts in it.

The revolutionary processes in science that took place in the 16th-11th centuries led to a radical change in views on the world. The first stage of the revolution (midXVII - endXVIII Art.) made it possible to discover that behind the appearance of phenomena there is a reality that science can study. Since then, natural science has practically become a science, based on the concept and explanation of these observations. The revolutionary idea of ​​development and the universal connection of nature characterizes the second stage of the revolution in science (the endXVIII Art. - the endXI st.).

In the endXI st. - at firstXXArt. the revolution in natural science has entered a new, specific stage, physics crossed the threshold of the microcosm, the electron was discovered, the foundations of quantum mechanics were laid (M. Plank, 1900). It was established that the laws of the microworld essentially differ from the laws of classical mechanics, and in nature there are no "last" any small quantities at all.

The electron is as inexhaustible as the atom, nature is infinite.

ATXXArt. The development of science all over the world is characterized by rather high rates. Based on the achievements of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and other sciences, molecular biology, genetics, chemical physics, cybernetics, biocybernetics, bionics, etc. have been developed. (Synergetics)

In the middle of the XX century. a scientific and technological revolution began, which is a radical, qualitative transformation of the productive forces. During this period, the leading role is occupied by the science of technology and production. Based on many scientific results, technical solutions have been introduced.

Today, science is developing in three directions: the microcosm - the solution of the problem at the level of elementary parts and atomic structures; megaworld - the study of the Universe, starting from the solar system to the spheres of extragalactic space; the macroworld is the study of the functions of the higher structures of living matter.

At the end of XX century. - at the beginning of the XXI century. Science has the following characteristics:

- Differentiation and integration of science. This is a complex dialectical process, characteristic of the entire process of the development of science. The differentiation of science is objective, since scientific disciplines double every 5-10 years. Differentiation of knowledge due to the practically inexhaustible object of knowledge, the needs of practice and the development of science itself.

Also, the objective integration of science, which reflects the relationship and interdependence of scientific knowledge, the increased penetration of some sciences into others. The differentiation and integration of science can be clearly traced in the process of transition of modern science from subject to problem orientation in solving large complex theoretical and practical issues. On the one hand, there is a process of differentiation of sciences (singling out of new sciences), and on the other hand, their integration, which allows complex problem solving. Thus, the problem of nature conservation is solved by the combined efforts of technical sciences, biology, earth sciences, medicine, economics, management, mathematics and others.

- Accelerated development of natural sciences. Natural sciences, studying the basic structures of nature, the patterns of their interaction and management, are the foundation of science as a whole and must develop at a faster pace. Only on the basis of advanced fundamental research and inventions in natural science, applied sciences and technology will be able to successfully solve the problems that arise in connection with the development of production progress. An example would be the cloning of higher class living organisms.

- Mathematization of Sciences. Mathematics is the brain of science and the soul of technology. Mathematization of science promotes the use of POEM, strengthening the connection between science, technology and production. Mathematics increases the requirements for the usefulness of the tasks set, increases the level of generalizations, the effectiveness of the explanatory and predictive functions of science.

The modern period of the development of science is characterized by group leadership, the complexity of scientific research, and the solution of global problems. global problems are: the study of space, economic problems, problems of human health, life expectancy, etc., in the solution of which all sciences without exception should take part: natural and mathematical, and humanitarian, and technical.

- Strengthening the COMMUNICATION of science, technology and production. At the present stage, science is a productive force of society, which manifests itself in profound changes in the relationship between science and production. It should be noted that new types of production and technological processes are first born in the depths of science, research institutes. Development of nuclear energy, production of superhard materials, robotization, creation artificial intelligence- all this illustrates the above. There is a process of reducing the time between scientific discovery and its introduction into production . Previously, hundreds and decades passed from a discovery or invention. Thus, the discovery of photography went this way in more than a hundred years, the telephone and the electric motor - in about 60 years, the radar - in 15, nuclear reactor- for 10, transistor - for 5 years. It should be pointed out that in this case, not only the implementation of the results obtained is accelerated, but each time this acceleration leads to new qualitative characteristics, to updating the parameters, type and capabilities of technical means.

It is also important that scientific research is successfully developing in production, the network of scientific institutions is growing, and scientific technopolises are being created. Science is social in its origin, development and use. All scientific discoveries are a universal work; for each moment of time, science acts as a summary expression of human success in understanding the world.

The main modern trends in the development of science consist in the transition from their differentiation to their integration, the transition from the coordination of sciences to their subordination and from the one-aspect nature of sciences to their consideration in a complex. It is this trend that manifested itself in the creation of interdisciplinary areas of knowledge that cement the fundamental sciences; in the interaction between different sciences that study the same object and simultaneously from different angles; in strengthening this interaction up to the complex study of the object by the system of sciences. Today, this trend is typical for objects that are global in nature.

The concept, goals and functions of science

The science is a sphere of continuous development of human activity, the main feature and main function which is the discovery, study and theoretical systematization of objective laws about objective reality with the aim of their practical application.

Science has great importance in the development of human society. It penetrates both the material and spiritual spheres of human activity.

There are a number of interpretations of the concept of "science" in the literature. Some of them define science as the sum of knowledge achieved by mankind, others - as a type of human activity aimed at expanding human knowledge of the laws of nature and the development of society. But the most common definition is: science is the realm of human activities, the functions of which are the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality. The immediate goal of science is the description, explanation and provision of processes, phenomena of reality, which are the subject of its study, on the basis of the discovery of laws by science.

Science can be viewed in different dimensions:

As a specific form of social consciousness, the basis of which is a system of knowledge;

As a process of cognition of the laws of the objective world;

As a certain type of social division of labor;

As an important factor in social development and as a process for the production of new knowledge and its use.

The concept of "science" includes both activities aimed at obtaining new knowledge, and the result of this activity - the amount of knowledge obtained, which serve as the basis for a scientific understanding of the world. The term "science" is used to name individual areas of scientific knowledge.

Science is the dynamic development of a system of knowledge about the objective laws of nature, society and thinking, received and turned into a direct productive force of society as a result of the special activities of people.

The use of knowledge in practical activities provides for the existence of a certain group of rules that regulate exactly how, in what situations, by what means and for what purposes certain knowledge can be applied. Therefore, science systematizes objective knowledge about reality.

So, the main goal of science is a description, explanation and provision of processes and phenomena of objective reality, which are the subject of its study, with the aim of using them in the practical activities of mankind.

So, the main content of science is:

Theory as a system of knowledge, which acts in the form of social consciousness and the achievements of the human intellect;

Public role in the practical use of recommendations in production as the basis for the development of society.

Science in modern conditions performs a number of specific functions:

Cognitive - meeting the needs of people in the knowledge of the laws of nature, society and thinking;

Cultural and educational - the development of culture, the humanization of education and the formation of human intelligence;

Practically-acting - improvement of production and the system of social relations.

The totality of individual, specific functions of science form its main function - the development of a system of knowledge that contributes to the creation of rational social relations and the use of productive forces in the interests of all members of society.

The scientific explanation of the phenomena of nature and society recorded by man and the acquisition of new knowledge, their use in the practical development of the world is subject of science: interconnected forms of development of matter or features of their reflection in human consciousness.

Science provides for the creation of a unified, logically clear system of knowledge about one or another side of the world, brought together in one system.

The main feature and main function of science is the knowledge of the objective world. Science was created to directly reveal the essential aspects of all phenomena of nature, society and thinking.

Purpose of science- knowledge of the laws of development of nature and society, their impact on nature based on the use of knowledge in order to obtain useful results for society. As long as the relevant laws are not discovered, a person can only describe phenomena, collect, systematize facts, but he cannot explain or foresee anything.

Science faces the following challenges:

Collection and generalization of facts (statement);

Explanation of external interconnections of phenomena (interpretation);

Explanation of the essence of physical phenomena, their internal relationships and contradictions (building models);

Forecasting processes and phenomena;

Establishment of possible forms and directions of practical use of acquired knowledge.

Science as a specific activity is characterized by a number of features:

The presence of systematized knowledge (scientific ideas, theories, concepts, laws, patterns, principles, hypotheses, concepts, facts);

The presence of a scientific problem, the object and subject of research;

The practical significance of both the phenomenon (process) that is determined, and knowledge about it.

Science, like religion and art, is born in the depths of mythological consciousness and is separated from it in the further process of cultural development. Primitive cultures do without science, and only in a sufficiently developed culture does it become an independent sphere. cultural activities. At the same time, science itself undergoes significant changes in the course of its historical evolution, and ideas about it (the image of science) also change. Many disciplines that were considered sciences in the past no longer belong to them from a modern point of view (for example, alchemy). At the same time, modern science assimilates the elements of true knowledge contained in various teachings of the past.

There are four main periods in the history of science.

1) From the 1st millennium BC until the 16th century. This period can be called the period pre-science. During it, along with ordinary practical knowledge passed down from generation to generation over the centuries, the first philosophical ideas about nature (natural philosophy) began to emerge, which were in the nature of very general and abstract speculative theories. The rudiments of scientific knowledge were formed within natural philosophy as its elements. With the accumulation of information, techniques and methods used to solve mathematical, astronomical, medical and other problems, corresponding sections are formed in philosophy, which are then gradually separated into separate sciences: mathematics, astronomy, medicine, etc.

However, the scientific disciplines that emerged during the period under review continued to be interpreted as parts of philosophical knowledge. Science developed mainly within the framework of philosophy and in very weak connection with life practice and handicraft art with it. This is a kind of "embryonic" period in the development of science, preceding its birth as a special form of culture.

2) XVI-XVII centuries- era scientific revolution. It begins with the studies of Copernicus and Galileo and culminates in the fundamental physical and mathematical works of Newton and Leibniz.

During this period, the foundations of modern natural science were laid. Separate, disparate facts obtained by artisans, medical practitioners, and alchemists begin to be systematically analyzed and generalized. New norms for the construction of scientific knowledge are being formed: experimental testing of theories, mathematical formulation of the laws of nature, a critical attitude towards religious and natural-philosophical dogmas that do not have experimental justification. Science is acquiring its own methodology and is increasingly beginning to address issues related to practical activities. As a result, science takes shape as a special, independent field of activity. Professional scientists appear, the system of university education develops, in which their training takes place. There is a scientific community with its specific forms and rules of activity, communication, information exchange.

3) XVIII-XIX centuries. The science of this period is called classical. During this period, many separate scientific disciplines are formed, in which a huge amount of factual material is accumulated and systematized. Fundamental theories are being created in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, psychology and other sciences. The technical sciences arise and begin to play an ever more prominent role in material production. Increasing social role science, its development is considered by the thinkers of that time as an important condition for social progress.

4) Since the 20th century- a new era in the development of science. Science of the 20th century called postclassical, because on the threshold of this century it has experienced a revolution, as a result of which it has become significantly different from the classical science of the previous period. Revolutionary discoveries at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. shake the foundations of a number of sciences. In mathematics, set theory and the logical foundations of mathematical thinking are subjected to critical analysis. In physics, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics are created. Biology develops genetics. New fundamental theories are emerging in medicine, psychology and other human sciences. The whole face of scientific knowledge, the methodology of science, the content and forms of scientific activity, its norms and ideals are undergoing major changes.

Second half of the 20th century leads science to new revolutionary transformations, which are often characterized in the literature as a scientific and technological revolution. Achievements of science on a previously unheard of scale are being introduced into practice; science causes especially great shifts in energy (nuclear power plants), in transport (automotive industry, aviation), in electronics (television, telephony, computers). The distance between scientific discoveries and their practical application has been reduced to a minimum. In the past, it took 50-100 years to find ways to put the achievements of science into practice. Now it is often done in 2-3 years or even faster. Both the state and private firms go to great expense to support promising directions development of science. As a result, science is growing rapidly and is turning into one of the most important branches of social labor.

1. History of science.
1. Philosophy of Science.
2. The main stages in the development of science.

3. Conclusion.

4. List of used sources.

1. History of science.

History of science is a study of the phenomenon of science in its history. Science, in particular, is a set of empirical, theoretical and practical knowledge about the World obtained by the scientific community. Since, on the one hand, science represents objective knowledge, and, on the other hand, the process of obtaining and using it by people, a conscientious historiography of science must take into account not only the history of thought, but also the history of the development of society as a whole.

The study of the history of modern science relies on the many surviving original or republished texts. However, the very words “science” and “scientist” came into use only in the 18th-20th centuries, and before that, natural scientists called their occupation “natural philosophy”.

Although empirical research has been known since ancient times (for example, the work of Aristotle and Theophrastus), and the scientific method was developed in its foundations in the Middle Ages (for example, Ibnal-Haytham, Al-Biruni or Roger Bacon), the beginning of modern science dates back to the New time, a period called the scientific revolution that took place in XVI-XVII centuries in Western Europe.

The scientific method is considered so essential to modern science that many scientists and philosophers consider the work done before the scientific revolution to be "pre-scientific". Therefore, historians of science often give a broader definition of science than is accepted in our time, in order to include the period of Antiquity and the Middle Ages in their studies.

First and main reason the emergence of science is the formation of subject-object relations between man and nature, between man and his environment. This is connected, first of all, with the transition of mankind from gathering to a producing economy. So, already in the Paleolithic era, a person creates the first tools of labor from stone and bone - an ax, a knife, a scraper, a spear, a bow, arrows, masters fire and builds primitive dwellings. In the Mesolithic era, a person weaves a net, makes a boat, works on wood, invents a bow drill. During the Neolithic period (until 3000 BC), a person develops pottery, masters agriculture, makes pottery, uses a hoe, sickle, spindle, clay, log, pile buildings, masters metals. He uses animals as a draft force, invents wheeled carts, a potter's wheel, a sailboat, and furs. By the beginning of the first millennium BC, iron tools appeared.

The second reason for the formation of science is the complication of human cognitive activity. “Cognitive”, search activity is also characteristic of animals, but due to the complication of the subject-practical activity of a person, the development of various types of transformative activity by a person, profound changes occur in the structure of the human psyche, the structure of his brain, changes are observed in the morphology of his body.

The development of science was an integral part of the general process of the intellectual development of the human mind and the formation of human civilization. It is impossible to consider the development of science in isolation from the following processes:

Formation of speech;

Account development;

The emergence of art;

Formation of writing;

Formation of worldview (myth);

The emergence of philosophy.

Periodization of science.

One of the primary problems of the history of science is the problem of periodization. Usually, the following periods of development of science are distinguished:

Prescience- the origin of science in the civilizations of the Ancient East: astrology, pre-Euclidean geometry, letters, numerology.

ancient science- the formation of the first scientific theories (atomism) and the compilation of the first scientific treatises in the era of Antiquity: Ptolemy's astronomy, Theophrastus's botany, Euclid's geometry, Aristotle's physics, as well as the emergence of the first protoscientific communities represented by the Academy

Medieval magical science- formation of experimental science on the example of Jabir's alchemy

Scientific revolution and classical science- the formation of science in the modern sense in the works of Galileo, Newton, Linnaeus

Non-classical science- science of the era of the crisis of classical rationality: Darwin's theory of evolution, Einstein's theory of relativity, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the Big Bang hypothesis, René Thom's catastrophe theory, Mandelbrot's fractal geometry.

Another division into periods is possible:

preclassical(early antiquity, the search for absolute truth, observation and reflection, the method of analogies)

classical(XVI-XVII centuries, planning of experiments appears, the principle of determinism is introduced, the importance of science increases)

non-classical(the end of the 19th century, the emergence of powerful scientific theories, for example, the theory of relativity, the search for relative truth, it becomes clear that the principle of determinism is not always applicable, and the experimenter influences the search for an experiment)

post-non-classical(the end of the 20th century, synergetics appears, the subject field of knowledge expands, science goes beyond its limits and penetrates into other areas, the search for the goals of science).

Background of modern science:

The accumulation of knowledge occurs with the advent of civilizations and writing; the achievements of ancient civilizations (Egyptian, Mesopotamian, etc.) in the field of astronomy, mathematics, medicine, etc. are known. However, under the conditions of the dominance of mythological, pre-rational consciousness, these successes did not go beyond the purely empirical and practical framework. So, for example, Egypt was famous for its geometers; but if you take the Egyptian textbook of geometry, then you can see there only a set of practical recommendations for the surveyor, set out dogmatically (“if you want to get this, do this and that”); the concept of a theorem, an axiom, and especially a proof, was absolutely alien to this system. Indeed, the demand for "evidence" would seem almost sacrilegious under conditions that implied an authoritarian transfer of knowledge from teacher to student.

We can assume that the true foundation of classical science was laid in ancient Greece, starting around the 6th century BC. BC e., when mythological thinking was first replaced by rationalistic thinking. Empiricism, largely borrowed by the Greeks from the Egyptians and Babylonians, is supplemented by scientific methodology: the rules of logical reasoning are established, the concept of hypothesis is introduced, etc., a whole series of brilliant insights appear, such as the theory of atomism. Aristotle played a particularly important role in the development and systematization of both methods and knowledge itself. The difference between ancient science and modern science was in its speculative nature: the concept of experiment was alien to it, scientists did not seek to combine science with practice (with rare exceptions, for example, Archimedes), but, on the contrary, were proud of their involvement in pure, “disinterested” speculation. In part, this is due to the fact that Greek philosophy assumed [source not specified 582 days] that history repeats itself cyclically, and the development of science is meaningless, since it will inevitably end in a crisis of this science.

Christianity spreading in Europe abolished the view of history as repeating periods (Christ, as historical figure, appeared on earth only once) and created a highly developed theological science (born in fierce theological disputes with heretics in the era of the Ecumenical Councils), built on the rules of logic. However, after the division of the churches in 1054, a theological crisis intensified in the western (Catholic) part. Then interest in empiricism (experience) was completely abandoned, and science began to be reduced to the interpretation of authoritative texts and the development of formal logical methods in the face of scholasticism. However, the works of ancient scientists who received the status of "authorities" - Euclid in geometry, Ptolemy in astronomy, his own and Pliny the Elder in geography and natural sciences, Donatus in grammar, Hippocrates and Galen in medicine, and, finally, Aristotle, as a universal authority in most areas of knowledge - brought the foundations of ancient science to the New Age, serving as a real foundation on which the entire building of modern science was laid.

In the Renaissance, there is a turn towards empirical and dogmatism-free rationalistic research, in many respects comparable to the upheaval of the 6th century. BC e. This was facilitated by the invention of printing (mid-15th century), which dramatically expanded the basis for future science. First of all, there is the formation of the humanities, or studia humana (as they were called in contrast to theology - studia divina); in the middle of the 15th century. Lorenzo Valla publishes the treatise "On the forgery of the Gift of Constantine", thus laying the foundations for scientific criticism of texts, a hundred years later, Scaliger lays the foundations of scientific chronology.

In parallel, there is a rapid accumulation of new empirical knowledge (especially with the discovery of America and the beginning of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries), undermining the picture of the world bequeathed by the classical tradition. The theory of Copernicus also dealt a severe blow to it. There is a renewed interest in biology and chemistry.

The birth of modern science

The anatomical studies of Vesalius revived interest in the structure of the human body.

Modern experimental natural science was born only at the end of the 16th century. Its appearance was prepared by the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, when the very foundations of the medieval worldview were called into question. Just as Luther and Calvin reformed religious doctrines, the work of Copernicus and Galileo led to the abandonment of Ptolemaic astronomy, and the work of Vesalius and his followers brought about significant changes in medicine. These events marked the beginning of what is now called the scientific revolution.

Newton, Isaac

The theoretical substantiation of the new scientific methodology belongs to Francis Bacon, who substantiated in his "New Organon" the transition from the traditional deductive approach (from the general - speculative assumption or authoritative judgment - to the particular, that is, to the fact) to the inductive approach (from the particular - empirical fact - to general, that is, to regularity). The appearance of the systems of Descartes and especially Newton - the latter was entirely built on experimental knowledge - marked the final rupture of the "umbilical cord" that connected the emerging science of modern times with the ancient medieval tradition. The publication in 1687 of The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy was the culmination of the scientific revolution and gave rise to an unprecedented surge of interest in scientific publications in Western Europe. Among other scientists of this period, Brahe, Kepler, Halley, Brown, Hobbes, Harvey, Boyle, Hooke, Huygens, Leibniz, Pascal also made an outstanding contribution to the scientific revolution.

1. Philosophy of Science.

Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy that studies the concept, boundaries and methodology of science. There are also more specialized branches of the philosophy of science, such as the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of physics, the philosophy of chemistry, the philosophy of biology.

The philosophy of science as a direction of Western and Russian philosophy is represented by many original concepts that offer one or another model for the development of science and epistemology. It is focused on identifying the role and significance of science, the characteristics of cognitive, theoretical activity.

The philosophy of science as a philosophical discipline, along with the philosophy of history, logic, methodology, cultural studies, which explores its own section of the reflexive relationship of thinking to being (in this case, to the being of science), arose in response to the need to comprehend the socio-cultural functions of science in the conditions of scientific and technological revolution. This is a young discipline that made itself known only in the second half of the 20th century. While the direction, which has the name "philosophy of science", arose a century earlier.

Subject

“The subject of the philosophy of science,” as researchers note, “is the general patterns and trends of scientific knowledge as a special activity for the production of scientific knowledge, taken in their historical development and considered in a historically changing socio-cultural context.”

The philosophy of science has the status of historical socio-cultural knowledge, regardless of whether it is focused on the study of natural sciences or social sciences and the humanities. The philosopher of science is interested in scientific search, "algorithm of discovery", the dynamics of the development of scientific knowledge, methods research activities. (It should be noted that the philosophy of science, although it is interested in the rational development of sciences, is still not called upon to directly ensure their rational development, as a diversified metascience is called upon.) If the main goal of science is to obtain the truth, then the philosophy of science is one of the most important areas for humanity application of his intellect, in which the discussion of the question "how is it possible to achieve the truth?".

The main directions of the philosophy of science

The immediate predecessor of the philosophy of science is the epistemology of the XVII-XVIII centuries. (both empirical and rationalistic), in the center of which was the comprehension of the essence of scientific knowledge and methods for obtaining it. epistemological questions were central theme the classical stage of the philosophy of modern times - from R. Descartes and J. Locke to I. Kant. Without understanding these issues, one cannot understand the philosophy of science of the 19th-20th centuries.

As a separate area of ​​philosophy, the philosophy of science took shape in the 19th century. There are several stages in its development.

Positivism:

Positivism goes through a series of stages traditionally called first positivism, second positivism (empirio-criticism), and third positivism (logical positivism, neo-positivism). A common feature of all these currents is empiricism, dating back to F. Bacon, and the rejection of metaphysics, by which positivists understand the classical philosophy of the New Age - from Descartes to Hegel. Also, positivism as a whole is characterized by a one-sided analysis of science: it is believed that science has a significant impact on the culture of mankind, while it itself obeys only its own internal laws and is not influenced by social, historical, aesthetic, religious and other external factors.

The main features of positivism:

science and scientific rationality is recognized highest value;

the demand for the transfer of natural science methods to the humanities;

an attempt to rid science of speculative constructions, the requirement to verify everything by experience;

faith in the progress of science.

Criticism of positivism:

1. The world is considered as a mechanical aggregate of private areas, where the sum of the particulars gives the whole.

2. The world does not contain any integral, universal properties and laws.

3. Denial of philosophy, which leads to the denial of the partisanship of philosophy, which entails falling into the worst philosophy.

4. The last reality is sensations, which testifies to the borrowing of the logic of subjective idealism (it is impossible to verify whether something lies behind sensations).

The main stages in the development of science.

In early human societies cognitive and production moments were inseparable, the initial knowledge was of a practical nature, playing the role of a guide to certain types of human activity. The accumulation of such knowledge was an important prerequisite for future science.

For the emergence of science proper, appropriate conditions were needed: a certain level of development of production and social relations, the division of mental and physical labor, and the existence of broad cultural traditions that ensure the perception of the achievements of other peoples and cultures.

Corresponding conditions first developed in ancient Greece, where the first theoretical systems arose in the 6th century BC. BC. Thinkers such as Thales and Democritus already explained reality through natural principles as opposed to mythology. The ancient Greek scientist Aristotle was the first to describe the laws of nature, society and thinking, bringing to the fore the objectivity of knowledge, logic, and persuasiveness. At the moment of cognition, a system of abstract concepts was introduced, the foundations of a demonstrative way of presenting the material were laid; separate branches of knowledge began to separate: geometry (Euclid), mechanics (Archimedes), astronomy (Ptolemy).

A number of areas of knowledge were enriched in the Middle Ages by scientists of the Arab East and Central Asia: Ibn Sta, or Avicenna, (980-1037), Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), Biruni (973-1050). In Western Europe, due to the dominance of religion, a specific philosophical science was born - scholasticism, and alchemy and astrology were also developed. Alchemy contributed to the creation of the basis for science in the modern sense of the word, since it relied on the experimental study of natural substances and compounds and prepared the ground for the development of chemistry. Astrology was associated with the observation of heavenly bodies, which also developed an experimental base for future astronomy.

The most important stage in the development of science was the New Age - XVI-XVII centuries. Here, the needs of emerging capitalism played a decisive role. During this period, the dominance of religious thinking was undermined, and experiment (experiment) was established as the leading method of research, which, along with observation, radically expanded the scope of cognizable reality. At this time, theoretical reasoning began to be combined with the practical development of nature, which dramatically increased the cognitive capabilities of science. , (1571-1630), W. Garvey (1578-1657), R. Descartes (1596-1650), H. Huygens (1629-1695), I. Newton (1643-1727) and others.

The scientific revolution of the 17th century is connected with the revolution in natural science. The development of productive forces required the creation of new machines, the introduction of chemical processes, the laws of mechanics, and the construction of precise instruments for astronomical observations.

The scientific revolution went through several stages, and its formation took a century and a half. Its beginning was laid by N. Copernicus and his followers Bruno, Galileo, Kepler. In 1543, the Polish scientist N. Copernicus (1473-1543) published the book "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres", in which he approved the idea that the Earth, like other planets solar system, revolves around the Sun, which is the central body of the solar system. Copernicus established that the Earth is not an exclusive celestial body, which dealt a blow to anthropocentrism and religious legends, according to which the Earth supposedly occupies a central position in the universe. The geocentric system of Ptolemy was rejected.

Galileo owns the largest achievements in the field of physics and the development of the most fundamental problem - motion, his achievements in astronomy are enormous: the justification and approval of the heliocentric system, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter out of 13 currently known; the discovery of the phases of Venus, the extraordinary appearance of the planet Saturn, now known to be created by the rings representing the totality solids; huge amount stars not visible to the naked eye. Galileo was successful in scientific achievements largely because he recognized observation, experience as the starting point for the knowledge of nature.

The modern world is characterized as a period of rapid development of scientific and technical aspects of human life, which naturally find their application in the economic sphere, reducing physical activity per person. However, the obvious advantages of using scientific and technological achievements are also reverse side, which in the course of cultural studies is fixed as a problem of the socio-cultural consequences of the scientific and technological revolution.

Newton created the foundations of mechanics, discovered the law of universal gravitation and developed on its basis the theory of motion of celestial bodies. This scientific discovery glorified Newton forever. He owns such achievements in the field of mechanics as the introduction of the concepts of force, inertia, the formulation of the three laws of mechanics; in the field of optics - the discovery of refraction, dispersion, interference, diffraction of light; in the field of mathematics - algebra, geometry, interpolation, differential and integral calculus.

In the XVIII century, revolutionary discoveries were made in astronomy by I. Kant (172-4-1804) and P. Laplace (1749-1827), as well as in chemistry - its beginning is associated with the name of A. Lavoisier (1743-1794). This period includes the activities of M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765), who anticipated much of the subsequent development of natural science.

In the 19th century, there were continuous revolutionary upheavals in science in all branches of natural science.

The reliance of modern science on experiment, the development of mechanics laid the foundation for establishing a connection between science and production. At the same time, by the beginning of the XIX century. the experience accumulated by science, the material in certain areas no longer fit into the framework of a mechanistic explanation of nature and society. It took new round scientific knowledge and a deeper and broader synthesis that combines the results of individual sciences. In that historical period science was glorified by Yu.R. Mayer (1814-1878), J. Joule (1818-1889), G. Helmholtz (1821-1894), who discovered the laws of conservation and transformation of energy, which provided a single basis for all sections of physics and chemistry. Of great importance in the knowledge of the world was the creation of T. Schwann (1810-1882) and M. Schleiden (1804-1881) of the cell theory, which showed the uniform structure of all living organisms. C. Darwin (1809-1882), who created the evolutionary doctrine in biology, introduced the idea of ​​development into natural science. Thanks to periodic system elements discovered by the brilliant Russian scientist D.I. Mendeleev (1834-1907), an internal connection was proved between all famous species substances.

Thus, to turn XIX-XX centuries major changes have taken place in the scientific thinking, the mechanistic worldview has exhausted itself, which led the classical science of modern times to a crisis. This was facilitated, in addition to those mentioned above, by the discovery of the electron and radioactivity. As a result of the resolution of the crisis, a new scientific revolution took place, which began in physics and covered all the main branches of science. It is associated primarily with the names of M. Planck (1858-1947) and A. Einstein (1879-1955), the discovery of the electron, radium, transformations chemical elements, the creation of the theory of relativity and quantum theory marked a breakthrough into the field of the microworld and high speeds. The advances in physics have had an impact on chemistry. Quantum theory, explaining the nature of chemical bonds, opened up wide possibilities for the chemical transformation of matter before science and production; penetration into the mechanism of heredity began, genetics was developed, and the chromosome theory was formed.

By the middle of the 20th century, biology moved to one of the first places in natural science, where such fundamental discoveries were made as the establishment of the molecular structure of DNA by F. Crick (b. 1916) and J. Watson (b. 1928), the discovery of the genetic code.

Science is currently an extremely complex social phenomenon that has many-sided connections with the world. It is considered from four sides (like any other social phenomenon - politics, morality, law, art, religion):

1) from the theoretical, where science is a system of knowledge, a form of social consciousness;

2) from the point of view of the social division of labor, where science is a form of activity, the system of relations between scientists and scientific institutions;

3) from the point of view of a social institution;

4) from the point of view of the practical application of the conclusions of science in terms of its social role.

Currently, scientific disciplines are usually divided into three large groups: natural, social and technical. Branches of science differ in their subjects and methods. At the same time, there is no sharp line between them, and a number of scientific disciplines occupy an intermediate interdisciplinary position, for example, biotechnology, radiogeology.

Sciences are divided into fundamental and applied. Fundamental sciences by knowledge of the laws governing the behavior and interaction of the basic structures of nature, society and thinking. These laws are studied in pure form”, which is why the fundamental sciences are sometimes called the pure sciences.

The goal of applied sciences is to apply the results of fundamental sciences to solve not only cognitive, but also social and practical problems.

The creation of a theoretical reserve for applied sciences, as a rule, determines the outstripping development of fundamental sciences in comparison with applied ones. AT modern society, in developed industrial countries, the leading place belongs to theoretical, fundamental knowledge, and its role is constantly increasing. In the cycle " fundamental research- development - implementation" - installation on reduction of terms of movement.

Conclusion.

In my work, I examined the main stages in the development of science. Expanding the topic, I showed that science was relevant in ancient times, it is relevant today. And undoubtedly, science will be relevant in the future.

They say that if it were not for Bach, the world would never have heard music. But if Einstein had not been born, then sooner or later the theory of relativity would have been discovered by some scientist.

The famous aphorism of F. Bacon: “Knowledge is power” is more relevant today than ever. Especially if in the foreseeable future humanity will live in the conditions of the so-called information society, where the main factor in social development will be the production and use of knowledge, scientific, technical and other information. The growing role of knowledge (and, to an even greater extent, the methods of obtaining it) in the life of society must inevitably be accompanied by an increase in the knowledge of sciences that specifically analyze knowledge, cognition, and research methods.

Science is the understanding of the world in which we live. Accordingly, science is usually defined as a highly organized and highly specialized activity for the production of objective knowledge about the world, including the person himself.