Modern science and its structure
1. Modern science and its structure1.
The concept, structure and functions of modern science.
The foundations of scientific research analyses.
Scientific rationality and its types (classic, non-classic
The main types of scientific research and criteria for their
analysis: fundamental, applied, focused, interdisciplinary.
Levels of reflection of scientific research: philosophical,
interdisciplinary and special-scientific.
2. The concept of modern scienceAt the modern stage of social development science in the system of
culture represents a social institution, within which objective knowledge of
the surrounding world is gained, systemized and substantiated, and the
ways of its efficient and optimal application in the people`s practical
activity are also determined.
Four aspects of science as a complex human existence phenomenon are
fixed in this definition:
1) a specific kind of cognitive activity of the subject;
2) a system of objective knowledge of the surrounding world;
3) a social institution in the form of higher educational and scientific
4) a sphere of culture of a definite historical type.
Scientific knowledge should correspond to the definite criteria: to have a
subject of scientific research, to be reproduced, to be objective, to have
empirical and theoretical validity, to be logically conclusive and pragmatic.
3. The structure of modern scienceAccording the goals of research all sciences are divided into:
fundamental sciences (the system of knowledge about the deepest
properties of the objective reality which includes exact sciences
(astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.); social sciences (economy,
sociology, etc.); the humanities (philology, history, psychology, etc.);
applied sciences (the fields of knowledge which have practical trends, are
directed towards decision of practical problems (among them are
technological sciences, agricultural science, medicine, pedagogical
According a specific subject of the fields of knowledge the structure of
scientific knowledge is represented by:
multi-disciplinary sciences (social informatics, synergetic, cognitive
linguistics, NBICS-convergence research and fields of knowledge).
4. The structure of scientific activityThe structure of science as a social institution includes the following elements:
1. The subject of scientific research. It may be an individual scientist or a group of
scientists, or the total body of specific field representatives (for ex., physicisttheoretician, microbiologist, social psychologist, etc.), or fields of science (physics,
biology, psychology, sociology, etc.), or a world scientific community.
2. The object of scientific research. It can be represented as a unique material system
(for example the planet Earth); a great number of material systems (electron beam,
stars, living organisms species, etc.); material and ideal models (absolutely black body,
ideal gas, point, line, etc.), theoretical constructs (gravitational or electromagnetic
interaction, super-strength, super-strings, etc.);
3. Scientific research. It is carried out as a process of interaction of the subject and the
object which leads to the working out the objective knowledge about the regularities of
establishing, development and functioning of the object through various forms of the
4. Empiric and theoretic methods of scientific research and rules of their application by
the subject of the scientific research, i.e. representing the complex of ways in which the
subject and the object interact.
5. Scientific knowledge.. It is the result of scientific research process and a practical
embodiment of science value in the sphere of material and spiritual culture.
6. Material and technical base of science. It includes apparatus, experimental units,
information resources (books, magazines, Internet scientifically biased portals, etc.),
buildings and locations of scientific and research organizations, etc., as well as financial
7. Scientific management. It is an indispensible element of the modern science
structure. Its functions are realized in organizing scientific research and its
management, scientific workers training, registration, storage, introduction and
spreading the results of scientific research, etc.
5. The functions of modern scienceThe systemic interaction of science structural elements enables to define its
functions in an integrated cultural space:
descriptive – revealing the complex of data about the properties and relations of
objects and processes of the reality;
systemizing – analyzing and correlating the data obtained with the types and classes
of objects established earlier, and also creation of new objects types and classes if
explanatory – elaboration of understanding the essence of emergence, development
and functioning of the object in question;
heuristic- predicting the new properties and relations of the studied object, revealing
the new levels of the world’s organization, new types and classes of objects;
world viewing – creation of a scientific picture of the world, which is the form of
bringing into the society a specific system of world outlook, adding to and specifying
the world pictures, created in other cultural spheres (philosophy, religion, art, etc.);
pragmatic – establishing the possibility and defining the ways of gained knowledge
application in various spheres of social life;
prognostic – analyzing the prospects of social and environmental development,
creation of futurological models and working out recommendations for the things in
expert – analyzing and evaluating the feasibility, efficiency and optimum of various
projects and programs, created and realized in different spheres of culture, and
science itself among them.
6. The basics of scientific researchBasics of science is thought of as a system of various regularities, determining the
goal and ways of obtaining scientific knowledge, notion and understanding of the
studied reality, and also forms and extent of substantiation of the scientific knowledge
and its involvement into human culture.
The structure of the basics of science
1. Ideals and norms of scientific research are standard attitudes and regulative
orientations of the scientific activity, having socio-cultural nature; requirements for
obtaining, substantiating and organizing the knowledge; notions of scientific cognitive
activity aims and ways of their achieving. They express common methodological
scheme of scientific research, regulate construction of different theory types, aid in
realization of observations and experiments, in awareness of empirical facts, etc.
2. Scientific picture of the world represents a wide panorama of knowledge of nature
and mankind, including the most important theories, hypotheses and facts. It is the
highest stage of scientific achievements integration into a unified non-contrasting
3. Philosophical bases of science are philosophical ideas and principles which science
uses as structures grounding its activity. Among them there can be distinguished:
1) ontological foundations, i.e. categories serving as a matrix for understanding and
cognition of the studied objects (a thing, process, property, relation, necessity, etc.);
2) epistemological foundations, i.e. category schemes, characterizing the cognition
procedures and scientific cognition results (understanding of truth, method, scientific
character of knowledge, explanation, proof, fact, etc.): 3) methodological; 4) socialcultural; etc.
7. Scientific rationality and its typesScientific rationality is defined as
1) the highest type of consciousness and activity, the model for all
spheres of modern culture;
2) universal means of activity organization, identified with the
3) systemizing characteristic of the culture type;
4) science methodology.
Scientific rationality criteria are objectivity, logic, universality, systematic
character, purposefulness, general significance, coordination of
In the history of science development the following types of scientific
rationality are singled out: classical (XVII – XIX centuries); non-classical
(the first half of the XX century); post-non-classical (the last third of the
XX century-the beginning of the XXI century).
In the XX-th century various models of scientific rationality were worked
out: inductive (by R.Karnap), deductive (by K.Popper), evolutionary (by
8. Classical type of scientific rationalityInternal scientific
values and goals
( subject of
Classical rationality is based on the following principles: fundamental
nature, mechanicalism, finality, absoluteness, naïve realism,
substantiality, dynamism, Laplace determinism, essentialism,
cumulativeness, reductionism. These principles found their expression
in the mechanistic picture of the world as a part of the general scientific
picture of the world.
9. Non-classical type of scientific rationalityInternal scientific
values and goals
Non-classical rationality was formed in the course of revolutionary
changes in different fields of science.
In the foundation of the non-classical rationality there is poly-
fundamentality, dualism, discreteness, complementarity, relativism,
non-linearity, irreversibility, probability, loss of visualization,
indefiniteness, differentiation, entropy principle. In scientific research
the influence of the subject, means and activity operations on the
knowledge about the object is taken into consideration.
10. Post-classical type of scientific rationalityInternal scientific
values and goals
( subject of
Post-non-classical rationality formation is provoked by the intensive
development of information technologies, computerization of science,
formation of hi-fi technologies The main principles of the post-nonclassical rationality are: synergetism, evolutionism, constructiveness,
holism, problem orientation of the research, interdisciplinary character,
integratism, stochastic determinism. In scientific research the influence of
the subject, means and activity operations on the knowledge about the
object is taken into consideration.
11. The concept of technological rationalityIn connection with the growing role of engineering and
Technological Sciences in conversion activities and the management
of social and natural processes since the second half of the 20th
century the notion of “technological rationality” has been
“Technological rationality has a triple meaning;
legality of the relevance of technological process to laws of nature;
practicality as a measure of adequacy of elevation of public
ecology as a measure of harmony of social-natural interaction”.
12. The concepts of scientific and scientific-technological rationalityThe approach proposed by V.N. Porus, allows to correlate two
ways of modeling rationality-"open rationality" (criticalreflexive) and "closed" rationality (normative criterial).
Critical-reflective model of rationality of human activity
reflects the socio-cultural, humanistic and ecological
orientation of the mankind.
Normative criterion of rationality relies on the criteria of
consistency, manufacturability, projective orientation,
efficiency, reliability, optimal integratizm.
Comparison of these models gives an idea of the scientifictechnological rationality as a specific form of knowledge
about how to transform the surrounding world and man, that
characterizes the transition from technosphere creation to the
development of noosphere.
13. Stages of scientific researchAny scientific research as a process represents a system of consistent
stages of cognitive process and each stage is determined by the previous
stage and has an influence on the following ones in which it finds its
The main stages of scientific research are the following ones:
1. The suggestion of a problem.
2. The formulation of a hypothesis.
3. The selection of the methods and other means of the hypothesis
The verification of the hypothesis, that is the realization of selected
methods and means. The estimation of the obtained results.
14. The main types of scientific research and criteria for their analysisClassification of scientific research can be done according
according the goal of research – fundamental, applied, focused;
according the time limits – long-term, short-term and express-research;
according the specificity of the subject of research – mathematical,
according the levels of cognition – empirical, theoretical and meta-
according the degree of community – common-scientific, special-
according the fields of research – natural, humanitarian, social,
according the branch of industry principle – cybernetic, macro-
economical, pharmaceutical, etc.;
according sectors of science - academic, branch-industrial, university,
15. Levels of reflection of scientific researchScientific reflection – is a form of cognitive activity of a subject (a scientist)
connected with mind focused on its own basics in order to make a critical
analyses of the content and means of knowledge.
Scientific reflection can be done:
on the results of knowledge;
on the methods of cognition;
on the principles of cognition.
Levels of reflection of scientific research
Interdisciplinary level of reflection is the high stage of self-reflection of
science, which expresses an attempt to organize the knowledge, to make it
more strict and to estimate the results of the research by revealing the
meaning of the theory.
Мeta-theoretical level of reflection is the kind of reflection aimed at
cognition of the deep basics of knowledge, their validity, methodological
premises and characteristics of the theories as the definite integral
16. Levels of reflection of scientific researchInter-disciplinary level of scientific research is aimed at revealing
common integral ideas, notions and principles in two or more
disciplines. For this level of reflection it is natural to carry out complex
and system research on the border of scientific branches, fields of
knowledge. Reflection on this level is aimed at creating new scientific
trends and programmers.
General-scientific level of research is aimed to work out a circle of
ideas, which allow to study phenomena of different nature from the
common positions and create conceptual structures, which pretend on
methodological universalism and reproduce knowledge in more strict
and compact way.
Philosophical level of scientific research makes it possible to fined out
the basic theoretical and methodological principles of scientific activity.
17. Functions of philosophical level of scientific researchPre-conditional function - it creates the necessary prerequisite
for scientific research, creates the necessary conceptual
background (such scientific concepts as "relationship", "causality",
"entity", "space", "time", "reality“ contain philosophical conceptual
background that can help scientists to make a discovery:
development of Leibniz's differential calculation was associated
with the ideas of continuity; Einstein used principles of dialectical
materialism in the justification of the theory of relativity.
Extrapolative function - it extrapolates the data obtained and
generalizes them to the level of fundamental scientific laws and
principles (the principle of motion, the principle of evolution, the
principle of symmetry in the world of elementary particles).
Critical function – is a tool for criticism of basic principles of a
theory especially in the period of formation of new scientific
views (criticism of Aristotel’s -scholastic picture of the world in
science of the Modern time; the critique of the science basics
during the periods of scientific revolutions).
18. Functions of philosophical level of scientific researchHeuristic function - heuristic tool is an important supplier of
valuable ideas for solving scientific problems (accessing ideas of
Plato by Heisenberg, one of the creators of quantum mechanics.
Ideas of atomism, worked out by Democritus and Epicurus;
transferring of methodological principles of knowledge from one
area to another).
Clarifying function means clarifying the content of the bases of
scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific activities, promoting
science cognition its own bases.
Interpret –communicative function means interpretation of
scientific results and mediating the interdisciplinary dialogue
between different areas of knowledge, it helps to bridge the gap
between science and the humanities, as well as carry the dialogue
of science with the public.
The axiological-ethical function means value comprehending of
the relations associated with the scientific activities (scientific
problems of ethos of science; scientific knowledge is not free
as regulators of scientific activities).
19. Literature on the topic1. Theoretical Knowledge by VYACHESLAV STEPIN Russian
Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia.
SYNTHESE LIBRARY. STUDIES IN EPISTEMOLOGY, LOGIC,
METHODOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. VOLUME 326.
Published by Springer, U.S.A.