What are the natural sciences? Classification of sciences according to the subject of research.
Physics can rightfully be considered the basis of all natural sciences.
Physics- This the science of bodies, their movement, transformations and forms of manifestation at various levels.
Chemistry is the science of chemical elements and compounds, their properties, transformations.
Biology studies living nature, the laws of the organic world.
Natural sciences include geology. However, it would be more correct to say that Geology is a system of sciences about the composition, structure, and history of the development of the earth’s crust and the Earth.
Mathematics does not belong to the natural sciences, but plays a huge role in natural science. Mathematics is the science of quantitative relations of reality is an interdisciplinary science.
Natural science system of natural sciences. In the modern world natural science represents a system of natural sciences, or the so-called natural sciences, taken in mutual connection and based, as a rule, on mathematical methods of describing the objects of study.
Natural science-- a set of sciences about nature, the subject of their research being various phenomena and processes of nature, the patterns of their evolution. In addition, natural science is a separate independent science about nature as a whole. It allows us to study any object in the world around us more deeply than any one of the natural sciences can do. Therefore, natural science, along with the sciences of society and thinking, is the most important part of human knowledge. It includes both the activity of obtaining knowledge and its results, i.e., a system of scientific knowledge about natural processes and phenomena.
Science:
· one of the three main areas of scientific knowledge about nature, society and thinking;
· is the theoretical basis of industrial and agricultural technology and medicine
· is the natural scientific foundation of the picture of the world.
Being the foundation for the formation of a scientific picture of the world, natural science is a certain system of views on a particular understanding of natural phenomena or processes. And if such a system of views takes on a single, defining character, then it is usually called concept. Over time, new empirical facts and generalizations appear and the system of views on understanding processes changes, new concepts appear.
If we consider subject area of natural science extremely broadly, it includes:
· various forms of movement of matter in nature;
· their material carriers, which form a “ladder” of levels of structural organization of matter;
· their relationship, internal structure and genesis.
In modern natural science, nature is considered not abstractly, outside human activity, but concretely, as being under the influence of man, because its knowledge is achieved not only by speculative, theoretical, but also by practical production activities of people.
Thus, natural science as a reflection of nature in human consciousness is improved in the process of its active transformation in the interests of society.
From this follows goals of natural science:
· identifying the essence of natural phenomena, their laws and, on this basis, foreseeing or creating new phenomena;
· the ability to use in practice the known laws, forces and substances of nature.
In general, we can say that the goals of natural science coincide with the goals of human activity itself.
Natural sciences include:
· Sciences about space, its structure and evolution (astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, etc.);
· Physical sciences (physics) - sciences about the most profound laws of natural objects and at the same time - about the simplest forms of their changes;
· Chemical sciences (chemistry) - sciences about substances and their transformations
· Biological sciences (biology) - life sciences;
· Earth sciences (geonomy) - this includes: geology (the science of the structure of the earth’s crust), geography (the science of the sizes and shapes of areas of the earth’s surface), etc.
The listed sciences do not exhaust all natural sciences, because man and human society are inseparable from nature and are part of it.
Structure Natural science is a complex branched system of knowledge, all parts of which are in a relationship of hierarchical subordination. This means that the system of natural sciences can be represented as a kind of ladder, each step of which is the foundation for the science that follows it, and in turn is based on the data of the previous science.
Thus, the basis, foundation of all natural sciences is physics, the subject of which is bodies, their movements, transformations and forms of manifestation at various levels.
The next level of the hierarchy is chemistry, which studies chemical elements, their properties, transformations and compounds.
In turn, chemistry underlies biology - the science of living things that studies the cell and everything derived from it. Biology is based on knowledge about matter and chemical elements.
Earth sciences (geology, geography, ecology, etc.) are the next level of the structure of natural science. They consider the structure and development of our planet, which is a complex combination of physical, chemical and biological phenomena and processes.
This grandiose pyramid of knowledge about Nature is completed by cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole. Part of this knowledge is astronomy and cosmogony, which study the structure and origin of planets, stars, galaxies, etc. At this level, a new return to physics occurs. This allows us to talk about the cyclical, closed nature of natural science, which obviously reflects one of the most important properties of Nature itself.
In science there are complex processes of differentiation and integration of scientific knowledge. Differentiation of science is the separation within a science of narrower, private areas of research, turning them into independent sciences. Thus, within physics, solid state physics and plasma physics were distinguished.
Integration of science is the emergence of new sciences at the junctions of old ones, a manifestation of the processes of unification of scientific knowledge. Examples of this kind of sciences are: physical chemistry, chemical physics, biophysics, biochemistry, geochemistry, biogeochemistry, astrobiology, etc.
Science as part of culture
Culture(from the Latin cultura - cultivation, upbringing, education, development, veneration), a historically determined level of development of society, creative forces and abilities of a person, expressed in types and forms of organization of life and activity. Any human activity, represented by artifacts, i.e. ( material culture) or beliefs (spiritual culture), which is transmitted from person to a person in one way or another of learning, but not through genetic inheritance.
Culture embodies the general difference between human life and biological forms of life. Human behavior is determined not so much by nature as by upbringing and culture.
Material culture ( values) - development of technology, tools, experience, production, construction, clothing, utensils, etc., i.e. everything that serves to continue life. Spiritual culture (values) - ideological presentation of views, ideas, moral, education, science, art, religion etc., i.e. everything that reflects the surrounding world in consciousness, in the understanding of good and evil, beauty, knowledge of the value of all the diversity of the world. Thus, science is the most important component of culture. Science is part of culture.
Science represents the unity of three components:
1-a body of a certain kind of knowledge;
2-a specific way of acquiring knowledge;
3-social institution.
The order in which these groups of functions are listed essentially reflects the historical process of the formation and expansion of the social functions of science, i.e. the emergence and strengthening of ever new channels of its interaction with society. Now science is receiving a new powerful impetus for its development, as its practical application is expanding and deepening. The growing role of N. in public life has given rise to its special status in modern culture and new features of its interaction with various layers of public consciousness. Therefore, the problem of the peculiarities of N. cognition and its relationship with other forms of cognitive activity (art, everyday knowledge...) is acutely raised.
Functions of science. Through the components of science noted above, its most important functions are realized:
explanatory,
descriptive,
prognostic,
ideological,
systematizing,
production and practical)
Scientists of the Middle Ages
Of course, until the 17th century. There were periods of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. During the first of them, science was completely dependent on theology and scholasticism. Astrology, alchemy, magic, cabalism and other manifestations of occult, secret knowledge are typical for this time. Alchemists tried, using chemical reactions accompanied by specific spells, having received a philosopher's stone that helps transform any substance into gold, to prepare an elixir of longevity, to create a universal solvent. As by-products of their activities, scientific discoveries appeared, technologies for producing paints, glasses, medicines, alloys, etc. were created. In general, the developing knowledge was an intermediate link between technical craft and natural philosophy and, due to its practical orientation, contained the germ of a future experimental one; science. However, gradually accumulating changes led to the fact that the idea of the relationship between faith and reason in the picture of the world began to change: at first they began to be recognized as equal, and then, in the Renaissance, reason was placed above revelation. In this era (XVI century), man began to be understood not as a natural being, but as the creator of himself, which distinguishes him from all other living beings. Man takes the place of God: he is his own creator, he is the ruler of nature. The boundary between science as the comprehension of existence and practical technical activity is removed. The lines between theoreticians-scientists and practicing engineers are being blurred. The mathematization of physics and the physicalization of mathematics begins, which culminated in the creation of mathematical physics of the New Age (XVII century). At its origins stood N. Copernicus, I. Kepler, G. Galileo. So, for example, Galileo in every possible way developed the idea of the systematic application of two interrelated methods - analytical and synthetic, and called them resolutive and composite. The main achievement in mechanics was his establishment of the law of inertia, the principle of relativity, according to which: the uniform and rectilinear motion of a system of bodies does not affect the processes occurring in this system. Galileo improved and invented many technical instruments - a lens, a telescope, a microscope, a magnet, an air thermometer, a barometer, etc.
The great English physicist I. Newton (1643-1727) completed the Copernican revolution. He proved the existence of gravity as a universal force - a force that simultaneously caused stones to fall to the Earth and was the cause of the closed orbits in which the planets revolved around the Sun. The merit of I. Newton was that he combined the mechanical philosophy of R. Descartes, I. Kepler's laws on planetary motion and Galileo's laws on earthly motion, bringing them together into a single comprehensive theory. After a number of mathematical discoveries, I. Newton established the following: in order for the planets to be kept in stable orbits with appropriate speeds and at appropriate distances determined by I. Kepler’s third law, they must be attracted to the Sun by a certain force inversely proportional to the square of the distance to the Sun ; Bodies falling to the Earth are also subject to the same law.
Newtonian revolution
Newton created his own version of differential and integral calculus directly to solve the basic problems of mechanics: determining instantaneous speed as the derivative of the path with respect to the time of movement and acceleration, as the derivative of the speed with respect to time or the second derivative of the path with respect to time. Thanks to this, he was able to accurately formulate the basic laws of dynamics and the law of universal gravitation. Newton was convinced of the objective existence of matter, space and time, in the existence of objective laws of the world accessible to human knowledge. Despite his enormous achievements in the field of natural science, Newton deeply believed in God and took religion very seriously. He was the author of "Apocalypse" and "Chronology". This leads to the conclusion that for I. Newton there was no conflict between science and religion; both coexisted in his worldview.
Paying tribute to such a great contribution of the scientist to the formation and development of the scientific picture of the world, the scientific paradigm of this period or the scientific revolution of the 16th-17th centuries. called Newtonian.
And this is the second picture of the world in the history of European science after Aristotle’s. Its main achievements can be considered:
naturalism - the idea of self-sufficiency of nature, governed by natural, objective laws;
mechanism - the representation of the world as a machine, consisting of elements of varying degrees of importance and generality;
Quantitativeism is a universal method of quantitative comparison and evaluation of all objects and phenomena of the world, a rejection of the qualitative thinking of antiquity and the Middle Ages;
cause-and-effect automatism - rigid determination of all phenomena and processes in the world by natural causes, described using the laws of mechanics;
analyticism - the primacy of analytical activity over synthetic activity in the thinking of scientists, the rejection of abstract speculation characteristic of antiquity and the Middle Ages;
Geometricism is the affirmation of a picture of a boundless, homogeneous cosmic universe governed by uniform laws.
Another important result of the scientific revolution of the New Age was the combination of the speculative natural-philosophical tradition of antiquity and medieval science with craft and technical activities, with production. In addition, as a result of this revolution, the hypothetico-deductive method of knowledge was established in science.
In the last century, physicists supplemented the mechanistic picture of the world with an electromagnetic one. Electrical and magnetic phenomena have been known for a long time, but were studied separately from each other. Their study showed that there is a deep relationship between them, which forced scientists to look for this connection and create a unified electromagnetic theory.
Einstein's Revolution
In the 30s XX century another important discovery was made, which showed that elementary particles, such as electrons, have not only corpuscular, but also wave properties. In this way, it was experimentally proven that there is no impassable boundary between matter and the field: under certain conditions, elementary particles of matter exhibit wave properties, and field particles exhibit properties of corpuscles. This phenomenon is called wave-particle duality.
Even more radical changes in the doctrine of space and time occurred in connection with the creation of the general theory of relativity, which is often called the new theory of gravity. This theory was the first to clearly and clearly establish the connection between the properties of moving bodies and their space-time metrics. A. Einstein (1879-1955), an outstanding American scientist, theoretical physicist, formulated some basic properties of space and time based on his theory:
1) their objectivity and independence from human consciousness and the consciousness of all other intelligent beings in the world. Their absoluteness, they are universal forms of existence of matter, manifested at all structural levels of its existence;
2) an inextricable connection with each other and with moving matter;
3) the unity of discontinuity and continuity in their structure - the presence of individual bodies fixed in space in the absence of any “breaks” in the space itself;
Essentially, relativity triumphed in quantum mechanics as well, because scientists have recognized that it is impossible:
1) find objective truth regardless of the measuring device;
2) know both the position and speed of particles at the same time;
3) establish whether we are dealing with particles or waves in the microcosm. This is the triumph of relativity in physics of the 20th century.
Considering such a huge contribution to modern science and the great influence of A. Einstein on it, the third fundamental paradigm in the history of science and natural history was called Einsteinian.
Main achievements of scientific and technological revolution
Other main achievements of the modern scientific and technological revolution boil down to the creation of GTS - a general theory of systems, which made it possible to look at the world as a single, holistic entity, consisting of a huge number of systems interacting with each other. In the 1970s An interdisciplinary direction of research has appeared, such as synergetics, which studies the processes of self-organization in systems of any nature: physical, chemical, biological and social.
There has been a huge breakthrough in the sciences studying living nature. The transition from the cellular level of research to the molecular level was marked by major discoveries in biology related to the deciphering of the genetic code, the revision of previous views on the evolution of living organisms, the clarification of old and the emergence of new hypotheses of the origin of life. Such a transition became possible as a result of the interaction of various natural sciences, the widespread use in biology of precise methods of physics, chemistry, computer science and computer technology. In turn, living systems served as a natural laboratory for chemistry, the experience of which scientists sought to implement in their research on the synthesis of complex compounds.
The modern natural science picture of the world is the result of a synthesis of the world systems of antiquity, antiquity, geo- and heliocentrism, a mechanistic, electromagnetic picture of the world and is based on the scientific achievements of modern natural science.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, major discoveries were made in natural science that radically changed our ideas about the picture of the world. First of all, these are discoveries related to the structure of matter and discoveries about the relationship between matter and energy.
Modern natural science represents the surrounding material world of our Universe as homogeneous, isotropic and expanding. Matter in the world is in the form of matter and field. According to the structural distribution of matter, the surrounding world is divided into three large areas: the microworld, the macroworld and the megaworld. They are characterized by four fundamental types of interactions: strong, electromagnetic, weak and gravitational, which are transmitted through corresponding fields. There are quanta of all fundamental interactions.
If earlier the last indivisible particles of matter,
Atoms were considered to be the unique building blocks of nature, but at the end of the last century electrons that make up atoms were discovered. Later, the structure of atomic nuclei consisting of protons was established.
In the 30s of the 20th century, another important discovery was made, which showed that elementary particles of matter, such as electrons, have not only corpuscular, but also wave properties. This phenomenon was called wave-particle duality - a concept that did not fit into the framework of ordinary common sense.
Thus, in the modern natural science picture of the world, both matter and field consist of elementary particles, and the particles interact with each other and are interconverted. At the level of elementary particles, mutual transformation of field and matter occurs. Thus, photons can turn into electron-positron pairs, and these pairs are destroyed (annihilated) during the interaction process with the formation of photons. Moreover, the vacuum also consists of particles (virtual particles) that interact both with each other and with ordinary particles. Thus, the boundaries between matter and field and even between vacuum, on the one hand, and matter and field, on the other, actually disappear. At a fundamental level, all boundaries in nature really turn out to be conditional.
Another fundamental theory of modern physics is the theory of relativity, which radically changed the scientific understanding of space and time. In the special theory of relativity, the principle of relativity in mechanical motion, established by Galileo, was further applied. An important methodological lesson that was learned from the special theory of relativity is that all movements occurring in nature are relative in nature; in nature there is no absolute frame of reference and, therefore, absolute motion, which Newtonian mechanics allowed.
Even more radical changes in the doctrine of space and time occurred in connection with the creation of the general theory of relativity. This theory for the first time clearly and clearly established the connection between the properties of moving material bodies and their space-time metrics. The general theory of relativity showed a deep connection between the movement of material bodies, namely gravitating masses, and the structure of physical space-time.
In the modern natural science picture of the world, there is a close connection between all natural sciences, here time and space act as a single space-time continuum, mass and energy are interconnected, wave and corpuscular movements, in a certain sense, unite, characterizing the same object, and finally, matter and field are mutually transformed. Therefore, persistent attempts are currently being made to create a unified theory of all interactions.
Both the mechanical and electromagnetic picture of the world were built on dynamic, unambiguous laws. In the modern picture of the world, probabilistic patterns turn out to be fundamental, not reducible to dynamic ones.
The emergence of such an interdisciplinary direction of research as synergetics, or the doctrine of self-organization, has made it possible not only to reveal the internal mechanisms of all evolutionary processes that occur in nature, but also to present the whole world as a world of self-organizing processes. The merit of synergetics lies, first of all, in the fact that it was the first to show that the process of self-organization can occur in the simplest systems of inorganic nature, if there are certain conditions for this (openness of the system and its nonequilibrium, sufficient distance from the equilibrium point, and some others). The more complex the system, the higher the level of self-organization processes in them. The main achievement of synergetics and the new concept of self-organization that emerged on its basis is that they help to look at nature as a world in the process of constant evolution and development.
To the greatest extent, new ideological approaches to the study of the natural scientific picture of the world and its knowledge affected the sciences that study living nature. The transition from the cellular level of research to the molecular level was marked by major discoveries in biology related to deciphering the genetic code, revising previous views on the evolution of living organisms, clarifying old and the emergence of new hypotheses about the origin of life, and much more.
All previous pictures of the world were created as if from the outside - the researcher studied the world around him detachedly, out of connection with himself, in full confidence that it was possible to study phenomena without disturbing their flow. This was the natural scientific tradition that had been consolidated for centuries. Now the scientific picture of the world is no longer created from the outside, but from the inside; the researcher himself becomes an integral part of the picture he creates. Much is still unclear to us and hidden from our sight. However, now we are facing a grandiose hypothetical picture of the process of self-organization of matter from the Big Bang to the modern stage, when matter recognizes itself, when it has an inherent intelligence capable of ensuring its purposeful development.
The most characteristic feature of the modern natural scientific picture of the world is its evolutionary nature. Evolution occurs in all areas of the material world in inanimate nature, living nature and social society.
Cognition- a set of processes, procedures and methods for acquiring knowledge about the phenomena and patterns of the objective world. Cognition is the main subject of epistemology (theory of knowledge).
The main support, the foundation of science is, of course, established facts. If they are established correctly (confirmed by numerous evidence of observation, experimentation, testing, etc.), then they are considered indisputable and mandatory. This is the empirical, i.e., experimental basis of science. The number of facts accumulated by science is constantly increasing. Naturally, they are subject to primary empirical generalization, systematization and classification. The commonality of facts discovered in experience, their uniformity, indicate that a certain empirical law has been found, a general rule to which directly observed phenomena are subject.
The problem of distinguishing between two levels of scientific knowledge - theoretical and empirical (experimental) arises from the specific features of its organization. Its essence lies in the existence of various types of generalization of the material available for study.
The problem of the difference between the theoretical and empirical levels of scientific knowledge is rooted in the difference in the ways of ideally reproducing objective reality and in the approaches to building systemic knowledge. This leads to other, derivative differences between these levels. Empirical knowledge, in particular, has historically and logically been assigned the function of collecting, accumulating and primary rational processing of experience data. Its main task is to record facts. Explanation and interpretation of them is a matter of theory.
The levels of cognition under consideration also differ according to the objects of study. At the empirical level, the scientist deals directly with natural and social objects. The theory operates exclusively with idealized objects (material point, ideal gas, absolutely solid body, etc.). All this also leads to a significant difference in the research methods used.
The standard model of the structure of scientific knowledge looks something like this. Knowledge begins with the establishment of various facts through observation or experimentation. If among these facts a certain regularity and repeatability is discovered, then in principle it can be argued that an empirical law, a primary empirical generalization, has been found. As a rule, sooner or later facts are found that do not fit into the discovered regularity, and a rational approach is needed here. It is impossible to discover a new scheme by observation; it must be created speculatively, initially presenting it in the form of a theoretical hypothesis. If the hypothesis is successful and removes the contradiction found between the facts, and even better, allows us to predict the obtaining of new, non-trivial facts, this means that a new theory has been born, a theoretical law has been found.
Concept of method
Method (Greek: Methodos-literally “the path to something”) - in the most general sense - a way of moving a goal, a certain way of ordering activity. Method is a way of cognition, research of natural phenomena and social life; it is a technique, method or course of action.
The methodology of science examines the structure and development of scientific knowledge, means and methods of scientific research, methods of substantiating its results, mechanisms and forms of implementing knowledge in practice. Method as a means of cognition is a way of reproducing the subject being studied in thinking. Conscious application of scientifically based methods is an essential condition for obtaining new knowledge.
In modern science, the multi-level concept of methodological knowledge works quite successfully. In this regard, all methods of scientific knowledge can be divided into five main groups:
1. Philosophical methods. This includes dialectics (ancient, German and materialistic) and metaphysics.
2. General scientific (general logical) approaches and research methods.
3. Private scientific methods.
4. Disciplinary methods.
5. Methods of interdisciplinary research.
Dialectics is a method that studies the developing, changing reality. It recognizes the concreteness of truth and presupposes an accurate account of all the conditions in which the object of knowledge is located.
Metadism considers the world as it is at the moment, i.e. without development, as if frozen.
Dialectical methods of cognition.
Dialectical methods of cognition are methods of cognition in dialectical philosophy, defined in Modern Philosophy, methods of cognition and updating of information and knowledge, which are mainly a consequence of the first main method of dialectical philosophy and the dialectical contradiction of forms of cognition and branches of cognition.
Dialectical methods of cognition are based on the productive active activity of the human brain and differ (from the methods of cognition of sciences) by dialecticity, structure, systematic use and transcendental capabilities, determined, first of all, by dialectical technologies and (ascending) transcendental experience.
Dialectical methods of cognition correspond to dialectical cognition.
Dialectical methods of cognition, taking into account a number of dialectical technologies and/or in their transcendental forms or applications, transform into dialectical methods of comprehension, which are the highest stage of dialectical methods of cognition, have transcendental capabilities and are correlated with comprehension.
Metaphysics(ancient Greek τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά - “that which is after physics”) - a section of philosophy that studies the original nature of reality, the world and being as such.
Cognition is a specific type of human activity aimed at understanding the world around us and oneself in this world. “Knowledge is, determined primarily by socio-historical practice, the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion, and improvement.”
A person comprehends the world around him, masters it in various ways, among which two main ones can be distinguished. The first (genetically original) is material and technical - the production of means of subsistence, labor, practice. The second is spiritual (ideal), within which the cognitive relationship of subject and object is only one of many others. In turn, the process of cognition and the knowledge obtained in it in the course of the historical development of practice and cognition itself is increasingly differentiated and embodied in its various forms.
Each form of social consciousness: science, philosophy, mythology, politics, religion, etc. correspond to specific forms of cognition. Usually the following are distinguished: ordinary, playful, mythological, artistic and figurative, philosophical, religious, personal, scientific. The latter, although related, are not identical to one another; each of them has its own specifics.
The immediate goal and highest value of scientific knowledge is objective truth, comprehended primarily by rational means and methods, but, of course, not without the participation of living contemplation. Hence, a characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is objectivity, the elimination, if possible, of subjectivist aspects in many cases in order to realize the “purity” of consideration of one’s subject. Einstein also wrote: “What we call science has its exclusive task of firmly establishing what exists.” Its task is to give a true reflection of processes, an objective picture of what exists. At the same time, we must keep in mind that the activity of the subject is the most important condition and prerequisite for scientific knowledge. The latter is impossible without a constructive-critical attitude to reality, excluding inertia, dogmatism, and apologetics.
Science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is focused on being embodied in practice, being a “guide to action” for changing the surrounding reality and managing real processes. The vital meaning of scientific research can be expressed by the formula: “To know in order to foresee, to foresee in order to practically act” - not only in the present, but also in the future. All progress in scientific knowledge is associated with an increase in the power and range of scientific foresight. It is foresight that makes it possible to control and manage processes. Scientific knowledge opens up the possibility of not only predicting the future, but also consciously shaping it. “The orientation of science towards the study of objects that can be included in activity (either actually or potentially, as possible objects of its future development), and their study as subject to objective laws of functioning and development is one of the most important features of scientific knowledge. This feature distinguishes it from other forms of human cognitive activity.”
An essential feature of modern science is that it has become such a force that predetermines practice. From the daughter of production, science turns into its mother. Many modern manufacturing processes were born in scientific laboratories. Thus, modern science not only serves the needs of production, but also increasingly acts as a prerequisite for the technical revolution. Great discoveries over the past decades in leading fields of knowledge have led to a scientific and technological revolution that has embraced all elements of the production process: comprehensive automation and mechanization, the development of new types of energy, raw materials and materials, penetration into the microworld and into space. As a result, the prerequisites were created for the gigantic development of the productive forces of society.
4. Scientific knowledge in epistemological terms is a complex contradictory process of reproduction of knowledge that forms an integral developing system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, laws and other ideal forms, enshrined in language - natural or - more characteristically - artificial (mathematical symbolism, chemical formulas, etc.). Scientific knowledge does not simply record its elements, but continuously reproduces them on its own basis, forms them in accordance with its norms and principles. In the development of scientific knowledge, revolutionary periods alternate, the so-called scientific revolutions, which lead to a change in theories and principles, and evolutionary, quiet periods, during which knowledge deepens and becomes more detailed. The process of continuous self-renewal by science of its conceptual arsenal is an important indicator of scientific character.
NATURAL SCIENCES
NATURAL SCIENCES
received citizenship rights from the 18th century. for the totality of all sciences involved in the study of nature. The first researchers of nature (natural philosophers) included, each in their own way, all of nature in the circle of their mental activity. The progress of the natural sciences and their deepening into them led to the division, which has not yet ended, of a single science into its individual branches - depending on the subject of research or according to the principle of division of labor. The natural sciences owe their authority, on the one hand, to scientific accuracy and consistency, and on the other hand, to their practical significance as a means of conquering nature. The main areas of the natural sciences - life, Earth, Universe - allow us to group them as follows: 1) chemistry, physical chemistry; 2) botany, zoology; 3) anatomy, the doctrine of origin and development, the doctrine of heredity; 4) geology, mineralogy, paleontology, meteorology, geography (physical); 5) together with astrophysics and astrochemistry. Mathematics, according to a number of natural philosophers, does not belong to the natural sciences, but is a decisive tool for their thinking. Moreover, among the natural sciences, depending on the method, there is the following difference: descriptive sciences are content with the study of factual data and their connections, which they generalize into rules and laws; exact natural sciences put facts and connections into mathematical form; however, this is not carried out consistently. Pure nature is limited to scientific research; applied science (medicine, agriculture and forestry, and in general) uses it to master and transform nature. Next to the natural sciences are spiritual sciences, combines both those and others into a single science, they act like private sciences; Wed Physical.
Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .
Synonyms:
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Natural sciences convey to humanity the totality of existing knowledge about natural processes and phenomena. The very concept of “natural science” developed very actively in the 17th-19th centuries, when scientists specializing in it were called naturalists. The main difference between this group and the humanities or social sciences lies in the scope of study, since the latter are based on human society rather than on natural processes.
Instructions
- The basic sciences classified as “natural” are physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geography and geology, which over time could change and combine, interacting with each other. This is how the disciplines of geophysics, soil science, autophysics, climatology, biochemistry, meteorology, physical chemistry and chemical physics arose.
- Physics and its classical theory were formed during the lifetime of Isaac Newton, and then developed through the works of Faraday, Ohm and Maxwell. In the 20th century there was a revolution in this science, which showed the imperfection of traditional theory. Albert Einstein, who preceded the real physical “boom” during the Second World War, also played a significant role in this. In the 40s of the last century, the creation of the atomic bomb became a powerful stimulus for the development of this science.
- Chemistry was a continuation of earlier alchemy and began with Robert Boyle's famous work, The Skeptical Chemist, published in 1661. Subsequently, within the framework of this science, the so-called critical thinking, which developed during the time of Cullen and Black, began to actively develop. Well, you can’t ignore the definition of atomic masses and the outstanding invention of Dmitry Mendeleev in 1869 (the periodic law of the universe).
- Biology began in 1847, when a doctor in Hungary suggested that his patients wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs. Subsequently, Louis Pasteur developed this direction, linking the processes of rotting and fermentation, as well as inventing pasteurization.
- Geography, constantly spurred by the search for new lands, went hand in hand with cartography, which developed especially rapidly in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Australia was discovered as a result of the search for the southernmost continent of the planet, and James Cook made three trips around the world. In Russia, this science developed under Catherine I and Lomonosov, who founded the Geographical Department of the Academy of Sciences.
- Last but not least, science was pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci and Girolamo Fracastoro, who suggested that the history of the planet is much longer than the biblical account. Then, already in the 17th and 18th centuries, a general theory of the Earth was formed, which gave rise to the scientific works of Robert Hooke, John Ray, Joanne Woodward and other geologists.
Introduction
Nowadays, no person can be considered educated if he does not show interest in natural sciences. The usual objection is that interest in the study of electricity or stratigraphy contributes little to the knowledge of human affairs, but only betrays a complete lack of understanding of human affairs.
The fact is that science is not only a collection of facts about electricity, etc.; it is one of the most important spiritual movements of our day. “Whoever does not try to understand this movement pushes himself out of this most significant phenomenon in the history of human activity... And there cannot be a history of ideas that excludes the history of scientific ideas.”
Natural science is the science of the phenomena and laws of nature. Modern natural science includes many branches of natural science: physics, chemistry, biology, as well as numerous related fields, such as physical chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry and many others. Natural science touches upon a wide range of questions about the numerous and multifaceted manifestations of the properties of natural objects, which can be considered as a single whole.
What is natural science
Natural science is a branch of science based on the reproducible empirical testing of hypotheses and the creation of theories or empirical generalizations that describe natural phenomena.
The subject of natural science is facts and phenomena that are perceived by our senses. The scientist's task is to summarize these facts and create a theoretical model that includes the laws governing natural phenomena. It is necessary to distinguish between facts of experience, empirical generalizations and theories that formulate the laws of science. Phenomena, such as gravity, are directly given in experience; laws of science, for example the law of universal gravitation, are options for explaining phenomena. The facts of science, once established, retain their permanent significance; laws can be changed during the development of science, just as, say, the law of universal gravitation was adjusted after the creation of the theory of relativity.
The importance of feelings and reason in the process of finding truth is a complex philosophical question. In science, a position that is confirmed by reproducible experience is recognized as truth.
Natural science as a science studies all processes and phenomena that have occurred and are occurring in the real objective world, the geographic envelope, and outer space. This is a branch of science based on reproducible empirical testing (testing in practice) of hypotheses and the creation of theories that describe natural phenomena and processes.
Many achievements of modern natural science, which form the basis for high-tech technologies, are associated with a comprehensive study of natural objects and phenomena. With the use of modern experimental technical means, it was precisely this kind of study that made it possible not only to create ultra-strong, superconducting and many other materials with unusual properties, but also to take a fresh look at the biological processes occurring inside a cell and even inside a molecule. Most branches of modern natural science are, in one way or another, associated with the molecular study of certain objects, which unites many natural scientists dealing with highly specialized problems. The results of this kind of research are the development and production of new high-quality products, and above all, consumer goods. In order to know at what price such products are given - the most important component of the economy, what are the prospects for the development of modern high-tech technologies that are closely related to economic, social, political and other problems, we need fundamental natural science knowledge, including a general conceptual understanding of molecular processes, on which the most important achievements of modern natural science are based.
Modern means of natural science - the science of fundamental laws, natural phenomena and various properties of natural objects - make it possible to study many complex processes at the level of nuclei, atoms, molecules, and cells. The fruits of comprehending true knowledge about nature at this deep level are known to every educated person. Synthetic and composite materials, artificial enzymes, artificial crystals - all these are not only real objects of development by natural scientists, but also consumer products of various industries that produce a wide range of everyday goods. In this regard, the study of natural science problems at the molecular level within the framework of fundamental ideas - concepts - is without a doubt relevant, useful and necessary for future highly qualified specialists in the natural sciences and technology, as well as for those whose professional activities are not directly related to natural science, i.e. for future economists, management specialists, commodity experts, lawyers, sociologists, psychologists, journalists, managers, etc.
Natural science studies facts and phenomena from the fields of philosophy, astrophysics, geology, psychology, genetics, evolution and is divided into a complex of sciences, each of which has its own object of study.
Natural science is divided into:
1. basic sciences;
2. applied sciences;
3. natural sciences;
4. technical sciences;
5. social sciences;
6. humanities.
1. Basic sciences
Fundamental sciences include chemistry, physics, and astronomy. These sciences study the basic structure of the world.
Physics is the science of nature. Divided into mechanical, quantum, optical physics, physics of conductors, electricity.
Chemistry studies the structure of things and their structure. It is divided into 2 large sections: organic and inorganic. Physical chemistry, physical colloid chemistry, and biochemistry are also distinguished.
Astronomy studies the structure and structure of outer space and is subdivided into astrophysics. Astrology, cosmology, astronautics and space exploration.
2. Applied sciences
Applied sciences study fundamental sciences with practical application, implementation of theoretical discoveries in life. Applied sciences include metallurgy and semiconductor physics.
3. Natural sciences
Natural sciences study the processes and phenomena of virgin nature. They are divided into geology, geography, biology.
Geology, in turn, is divided into dynamic geology, history, and paleography.
Geography consists of 2 large sections: physical and economic geography.
Physical geography is divided into general agriculture, climatology, geomorphology, soil science, hydrology, cartography, topography, landscape science, geographic zoning, and monitoring.
Economic geography includes regional studies, population geography, geography of the world economy, geography of transport, geography of the service sector, world economy, statistics, international economic relations.
Biology is the science of living organisms. It is divided into botany, zoology, physiology of humans and animals, anatomy, histology (the science of tissues), cytology (the science of cells), ecology (the science of the relationship between man and the environment), ethology (the study of behavior), and evolutionary studies.
4. Technical sciences
Technical sciences include sciences that study man-made instruments and objects. These include computer science, cybernetics, and synergetics.
5. Social Sciences
These are sciences that study the rules and structure of society, and objects living according to its laws. These include sociology, anthropology, archeology, sociometry, and social science. Science "Man and Society".
6. Humanities
The humanities include sciences that study the essence, structure and spiritual state of man. These include philosophy, history, ethics, aesthetics, and cultural studies.
There are sciences that are at the intersection of entire blocks and sections of science. For example, economic geography is at the intersection of natural and social sciences, and bionics is at the intersection of natural and technical sciences. Social ecology is an interdisciplinary science that includes social, natural and technical sciences.
Like other areas of human activity, natural science has specific features.
Universality—communicates knowledge that is true for the entire universe under the conditions under which it was acquired by man.
Fragmentation - studies not existence as a whole, but various fragments of reality or its parameters; itself is divided into separate disciplines. In general, the concept of being as a philosophical one is not applicable to science, which is private knowledge. Each science as such is a certain projection onto the world, like a spotlight highlighting areas of interest
General validity - in the sense that the knowledge it obtains is suitable for all people, and its language is unambiguous, since science strives to fix its terms as clearly as possible, which helps to unite people living in different parts of the planet.
Depersonalization - in the sense that neither the individual characteristics of the scientist, nor his nationality or place of residence are in any way represented in the final results of scientific knowledge.
Systematic in the sense that it has a certain structure, and is not an incoherent collection of parts.
Incompleteness - in the sense that although scientific knowledge grows limitlessly, it still cannot reach absolute truth, after which there will be nothing left to explore.
Continuity - in the sense that new knowledge in a certain way and according to certain rules correlates with old knowledge.
Criticality - in the sense that it is always ready to question and reconsider even its most fundamental results.
Reliability - in the sense that its conclusions require, allow and are tested according to certain rules formulated in it.
Non-morality - in the sense that scientific truths are neutral in moral and ethical terms, and moral assessments can relate either to the activity of obtaining knowledge (the ethics of a scientist requires him to have intellectual honesty and courage in the process of searching for truth), or to the activity of applying it.
Rationality - in the sense that it obtains knowledge on the basis of rational procedures and laws of logic and comes to the formulation of theories and their provisions that go beyond the empirical level.
Sensibility - in the sense that its results require empirical verification using perception, and only after that are recognized as reliable.
Research methods used in natural science
The methods of natural science are based on the unity of empirical and theoretical aspects. They are interconnected and condition each other. Their rupture, or at least the preferential development of one at the expense of the other, closes the path to correct knowledge of nature: theory becomes pointless, experience becomes blind.
Natural science methods can be divided into groups:
a) general methods apply to all natural science, any subject of nature, any science. These are various forms of the dialectical method, which makes it possible to connect together all aspects of the process of cognition, all its stages. For example, the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete, etc. Those systems of branches of natural science, the structure of which corresponds to the actual historical process of their development (for example, biology and chemistry), actually follow this method.
b) Special methods are also used in natural science, but do not relate to its subject as a whole, but only to one of its aspects (phenomena, essence, quantitative side, structural connections) or a certain method of research: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. Special methods are: observation, experiment, comparison and, as a special case, measurement. Mathematical techniques and methods are extremely important as special ways of studying and expressing quantitative and structural aspects and relationships of objects and processes of nature, as well as methods of statistics and probability theory. The role of mathematical methods in the natural sciences is steadily increasing with the increasing use of computers. In general, there is a rapid mathematization of modern natural science. It is associated with methods of analogy, formalization, modeling, and industrial experiment.
c) Particular methods are special methods that operate either only within a particular branch of natural science, or outside the branch of natural science where they arose. Thus, physics methods used in other branches of natural science led to the creation of astrophysics, crystal physics, geophysics, chemical physics and physical chemistry, and biophysics. The spread of chemical methods led to the creation of crystal chemistry, geochemistry, biochemistry and biogeochemistry. Often a set of interrelated private methods is used to study one subject. For example, molecular biology simultaneously uses the methods of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and cybernetics in their interrelation.
In the course of the progress of natural science, methods can move from a lower category to a higher one: specific ones can turn into special ones, and special ones into general ones.
The most important role in the development of natural science belongs to hypotheses, which are “a form of development of natural science, insofar as it thinks...”
The place of natural science in society
The place of natural science in the life and development of society follows from its connections with other social phenomena and institutions, primarily with technology, and through it with production, productive forces in general and with philosophy, and through it with the struggle of classes in the field of ideology. With all the internal integrity arising from the unity of both nature itself and the theoretical view of it, natural science is a very complex phenomenon, with various aspects and connections, often contradictory. Natural science is neither the basis nor the ideological superstructure of society, although in its most general part (where the picture of the world is formed), it is connected with this superstructure. The connection of natural science through technology with production, and through philosophy with ideology quite fully expresses the most essential social connections of natural science. The connection between natural science and technology is due to the fact that “technology... serves the purposes of man because its character (essence) consists in determining it by external conditions (laws of nature).”
In the modern era, natural science is ahead of technology in its development, since its objects are increasingly becoming completely new, previously unknown substances and forces of nature (for example, atomic energy), and therefore, before the question of their technical application can arise, " frontal" study of them from the side of natural science. Nevertheless, technology with its needs remains the driving force in the development of natural science.
SUBJECT AND STRUCTURE OF NATURAL SCIENCE
The term “natural science” comes from a combination of the words of Latin origin “nature”, that is, nature, and “knowledge”. Thus, the literal interpretation of the term is knowledge about nature.
Natural science in the modern understanding - science, which is a complex of natural sciences taken in their interrelation. At the same time, nature is understood as everything that exists, the whole world in the diversity of its forms.
Natural science - a complex of sciences about nature
Natural science in the modern understanding, it is a set of natural sciences taken in their interrelation.
However, this definition does not fully reflect the essence of natural science, since nature acts as a single whole. This unity is not revealed by any particular science, nor by their entire sum. Many special natural science disciplines do not exhaust in their content everything that we mean by nature: nature is deeper and richer than all existing theories.
The concept " nature"is interpreted differently.
In the broadest sense, nature means everything that exists, the whole world in the diversity of its forms. Nature in this meaning is on a par with the concepts of matter and the Universe.
The most common interpretation of the concept of “nature” is as the totality of natural conditions for the existence of human society. This interpretation characterizes the place and role of nature in the system of historically changing attitudes towards it of man and society.
In a narrower sense, nature is understood as an object of science, or more precisely, the total object of natural science.
Modern natural science is developing new approaches to understanding nature as a whole. This is expressed in ideas about the development of nature, about various forms of movement of matter and different structural levels of the organization of nature, in an expanding idea about the types of causal relationships. For example, with the creation of the theory of relativity, views on the spatio-temporal organization of natural objects have significantly changed, the development of modern cosmology enriches ideas about the direction of natural processes, the progress of ecology has led to an understanding of the deep principles of the integrity of nature as a single system
Currently, natural science refers to exact natural science, that is, knowledge about nature that is based on scientific experiment and is characterized by a developed theoretical form and mathematical design.
For the development of special sciences, a general knowledge of nature and a comprehensive understanding of its objects and phenomena are necessary. To obtain such general ideas, each historical era develops a corresponding natural-scientific picture of the world.
The structure of modern natural science
Modern natural science is a branch of science based on the reproducible empirical testing of hypotheses and the creation of theories or empirical generalizations that describe natural phenomena.
Total object of natural science- nature.
Subject of natural science– facts and natural phenomena that are perceived by our senses directly or indirectly, with the help of instruments.
The scientist's task is to identify these facts, generalize them and create a theoretical model that includes the laws governing natural phenomena. For example, the phenomenon of gravity is a concrete fact established through experience; The law of universal gravitation is a variant of explanation of this phenomenon. At the same time, empirical facts and generalizations, once established, retain their original meaning. Laws can be changed as science progresses. Thus, the law of universal gravitation was corrected after the creation of the theory of relativity.
The basic principle of natural science is: knowledge about nature should allowempirical test. This means that the truth in science is a position that is confirmed by reproducible experience. Thus, experience is the decisive argument for the acceptance of a particular theory.
Modern natural science is a complex complex of natural sciences. It includes such sciences as biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, ecology, etc.
Natural sciences differ in the subject of their study. For example, the subject of studying biology is living organisms, chemistry - substances and their transformations. Astronomy studies celestial bodies, geography studies the special (geographical) shell of the Earth, ecology studies the relationships of organisms with each other and with the environment.
Each natural science is itself a complex of sciences that arose at different stages of the development of natural science. Thus, biology includes botany, zoology, microbiology, genetics, cytology and other sciences. In this case, the subject of study of botany is plants, zoology – animals, microbiology – microorganisms. Genetics studies the patterns of heredity and variability of organisms, cytology studies the living cell.
Chemistry is also divided into a number of narrower sciences, for example: organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry. Geographical sciences include geology, geoscience, geomorphology, climatology, and physical geography.
The differentiation of sciences led to the identification of even smaller areas of scientific knowledge.
For example, the biological science of zoology includes ornithology, entomology, herpetology, ethology, ichthyology, etc. Ornithology is the science that studies birds, entomology - insects, herpetology - reptiles. Ethology is the science of animal behavior; ichthyology studies fish.
The field of chemistry - organic chemistry is divided into polymer chemistry, petrochemistry and other sciences. Inorganic chemistry includes, for example, the chemistry of metals, the chemistry of halogens, and coordination chemistry.
The modern trend in the development of natural science is such that, simultaneously with the differentiation of scientific knowledge, opposite processes are taking place - the connection of individual areas of knowledge, the creation of synthetic scientific disciplines. It is important that the unification of scientific disciplines occurs both within various fields of natural science and between them. Thus, in chemical science, at the intersection of organic chemistry with inorganic and biochemistry, the chemistry of organometallic compounds and bioorganic chemistry, respectively, arose. Examples of interscientific synthetic disciplines in natural science include such disciplines as physical chemistry, chemical physics, biochemistry, biophysics, and physicochemical biology.
However, the modern stage of development of natural science - integral natural science - is characterized not so much by the ongoing processes of synthesis of two or three related sciences, but by a large-scale unification of different disciplines and areas of scientific research, and the tendency towards large-scale integration of scientific knowledge is steadily increasing.
In natural science, a distinction is made between fundamental and applied sciences. Fundamental sciences - physics, chemistry, astronomy - study the basic structures of the world, and applied sciences are concerned with applying the results of fundamental research to solve both cognitive and socio-practical problems. For example, metal physics and semiconductor physics are theoretical applied disciplines, and metal science and semiconductor technology are practical applied sciences.
Thus, knowledge of the laws of nature and the construction of a picture of the world on this basis is the immediate, immediate goal of natural science. Promoting the practical use of these laws is the ultimate goal.
Natural science differs from the social and technical sciences in its subject, goals and research methodology.
At the same time, natural science is considered as a standard of scientific objectivity, since this area of knowledge reveals universally valid truths accepted by all people. For example, another large complex of sciences - social science - has always been associated with group values and interests that exist both among the scientist himself and in the subject of research. Therefore, in the methodology of social science, along with objective research methods, the experience of the event being studied and the subjective attitude towards it become of great importance.
Natural science also has significant methodological differences from the technical sciences, due to the fact that the goal of natural science is to understand nature, and the goal of technical science is to solve practical issues related to the transformation of the world.
However, it is impossible to draw a clear line between the natural, social and technical sciences at the current level of their development, since there are a number of disciplines that occupy an intermediate position or are complex. Thus, economic geography is located at the intersection of natural and social sciences, and bionics is at the intersection of natural and technical sciences. A complex discipline that includes natural, social, and technical sections is social ecology.
Thus, modern natural science is a vast, developing complex of natural sciences, characterized by simultaneous processes of scientific differentiation and the creation of synthetic disciplines and focused on the integration of scientific knowledge.
Natural science is the basis for the formation scientific picture of the world.
The scientific picture of the world is understood as a holistic system of ideas about the world, its general properties and patterns, arising as a result of a generalization of basic natural science theories.
The scientific picture of the world is in constant development. In the course of scientific revolutions, qualitative transformations are carried out in it, the old picture of the world is replaced by a new one. Each historical era forms its own scientific picture of the world.
