With the widespread development of technology and science, philosophical knowledge is increasingly fading into the background. However, one should not forget that philosophy is the "mother" of all sciences. Thanks to it, you can trace the history of a particular discipline, find out its subject, place and development trends. The philosophical problems of technology and technical sciences will be discussed in detail in our material.
What is science?
The study of the philosophical direction should begin with the disclosure of the concept of science. So it is customary to call a special sphere of human activity, the purpose of which is the formation and theoretical collection into a system of objective knowledge about any kind of activity.
The philosophy of science and technology in modern society consolidates the postulate that scientific knowledge itself is considered a multifaceted phenomenon. It appears in different capacities. It is the universal spiritual product of the socialdevelopment, a peculiar form of consciousness of society, revealing the spiritual potential of material production. Science is the instrument of man's domination over nature. This happened due to the fact that man himself was able to accumulate and generalize the experience of his ancestors. It has become a core worldview for many.
Features of science
Science has a number of individual and inherent features. It uses specially formed intellectual tools - such as terminology, visual images, sign systems, and much more. The very idea of science as knowledge was traditionally inherited from that historical period when it was not yet experimental, but experimental. Then science was considered rather speculative, and its task was to ideally form the existing world. Today, the goal of scientific knowledge is considered to be the transformation of the environment.
In short, the philosophical problems of science and technology reinforce the thesis that scientific knowledge is a full-fledged system of social research activities, which is aimed at producing new knowledge about the world, nature, man and his thinking.
Classification of sciences
Scientific classification is a procedure for revealing the interconnection of sciences based on a number of principles. The system fixes the expression of these principles in the form of a special connection, which determines:
- subject of science and objective relations between its different sides;
- goals that form and to whichknowledge serves;
- methods and conditions for researching subjects of science.
The main principles of classification are also highlighted. The first group includes the objective principle, where the connection of sciences is derived from the chain of research objects themselves, and the subjective principle, when the features of the subject, that is, the scientist, are included in the basis of the scientific classification.
There is also a methodological point of view, according to which the classifications of sciences are divided into external, with the arrangement of disciplines in a strictly defined order, and internal, when all sciences are derived and developed one after another.
From the point of view of logic, the classification should be based on various aspects of the general connection of sciences. There are two principles here: decreasing generality and increasing specificity. In the first case, there is a transition from the general to the particular, and in the second, from the abstract to the concrete.
Regularities in the development of scientific knowledge
The most important regularities in the development of science should be highlighted. The first point is related to the fact that the development of scientific knowledge is conditioned by the needs of socio-historical practice. This is the main driving force, that is, the source of the development of science.
The second pattern is fixed in the system of philosophical problems of technology and technical sciences. It is connected with the fact that in its development scientific knowledge includes relative independence. Science can set itself many specific tasks, but their solution can be realized only byreaching certain levels of development of the cognitive process. There is a gradual transition from phenomena to essence, from less profound processes to deeper ones.
Features of the development of science
The third point is connected with the gradual development of science with alternating periods of relatively calm development and violent breaking of the theoretical scientific foundations, the system of its concepts and representations. The fourth pattern is related to the fact that there is a certain continuity in the evolution of methods, principles and techniques, concepts and systems.
There is a single purposeful process with many complex internal elements. There are many other regularities in the system of philosophical problems of technology. Science and technology are themselves considered very complex phenomena. In this regard, there are quite a lot of patterns here.
Axiological and moral problems of modern scientific knowledge
It is necessary to briefly study the main value and moral problems of science and technology. Philosophical problems of technology are closely related to such a phenomenon as ethics. This is a branch of the science of science that covers the study of moral norms that govern relations between scientists. Social and ethical problems generated by the increasing interaction between society and scientific knowledge are also subject to research.
In scientific papers and textbooks, the philosophical problems of science and technology are fixed quite clearly. In addition to ethics, here it is necessary to single out the concept of universal morality and humanism. Allsuch phenomena are characteristic of every scientific discipline as a special social institution. The norms themselves enable scientists to obtain new, original and verified results of scientific activity.
An important place in the system of social and ethical problems that are associated with science and technology, the philosophical problems of technology, is occupied by the dilemma of the social responsibility of each representative of science. Its particular relevance is explained by the transformation of scientific knowledge into a direct productive force.
Technique from a philosophical point of view
Technology is a system of artificially formed organs of social activity, which develop through the objectification in natural material of any working functions, knowledge, experience, knowledge and application of forces with the laws of nature. Modern technology is divided into the following branches of a functional nature:
- production machinery;
- military equipment;
- transport and communications;
- educational technology;
- culture and life;
- medical equipment;
- control technique.
Of course, functional industries are not limited to the above list. The regularities of technical development cannot be reduced to just regularities of a socio-economic nature. The starting point in the sociological study of technology is the analysis of its relationship with man in the labor process.
The internal logic of improving technology is connected with man andnature. The determining factor is the logical and historical correlation of technology with functioning human organs. The replacement of natural production tools with artificial ones, as well as the replacement of human power with the forces of nature, is the basic law of self-movement of technology.
Patterns of improving technology
The history of technology can be divided into three stages. Here it is necessary to single out, for example, tools of manual labor, that is, tools. They are characterized by the way technology and man are connected in the technological process, in which the representative of society is the material base of the technological process, and the tools only strengthen and lengthen its working organs. The work itself is of a manual nature.
The second stage is related to the car. In short, the philosophy of science and technology boils down to the fact that the technical element is the basis of the technological process. Man only tries to supplement it with his organs of labor. Labor itself, accordingly, becomes mechanized.
Separately, it is necessary to single out the process of automation, the prerequisites for which appeared in ancient culture. The philosophy of science and technology assumes that automation is characterized by a free type of connection between technology and man. By ceasing to be a direct element of the technological chain, a person acquires the conditions for the use of his abilities in creativity. The technique itself is not limited in its improvement by the physiological limits of the body.
Terms of Referenceand technology
Philosophical problems of science and technology also include the concept of technical knowledge. This phenomenon should be considered a separate branch of knowledge, different from natural science due to the fact that its object, namely technology, is subject to continuous changes. It defines the continued focus of technological knowledge into the future.
The spread of technical sciences has significantly complicated the entire field of scientific knowledge. Initially, they solved the problem of how to practically apply the achievements of natural science. Production tasks of this kind gave a definition to the applied nature of the technical sciences. The technical theory played the role of a link between natural scientific theory and engineering practice.
Nevertheless, it should be remembered that constructive-technological calculations often go ahead of the level of development of natural science simply due to the fact that the tasks of technology as part of material and technical practice are somewhat ahead of the level of development of natural science. That is why the technical theory in the system of philosophical problems of science and technology (RPD) can and should set the direction of scientific research in the future. The following are the main features of technical knowledge.
Specific technical knowledge
The first echoes of the specific features of technical knowledge began to appear in the philosophy of science and technology of ancient culture. Briefly, an analysis of the specifics of the indicated phenomenon will help to understand this. That's whatshould be highlighted here:
- The content of technical knowledge necessarily includes measurement procedures, while in the natural science picture they are only a means of obtaining knowledge.
- Physical theories that act as the empirical basis of technical theories. Such theoretical concepts as "language of the theoretical level" are introduced into the structure.
Thus, the very concept of the terms of reference is quite multifaceted. Examples of this phenomenon can be traced at all times of the existence of philosophy. This is the philosophy of science and technology in the Middle Ages, in the Renaissance and other periods. Examples of some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci could well be designated as technical tasks.
Technical theory and its content
The content of the theory is determined by the following points:
- choosing a goal, that is, the purpose of the structure;
- exploring the possibilities that natural science provides to achieve the goal;
- study of materials that may be applicable to create a structure;
- analysis of research related to the application of a new technical object.
Depending on the nature of the tasks to be solved, a number of technical objects are formed. All of them should be given a detailed description.
Classes of technical theories
Depending on the nature of the tasks to be solved and the complexity of technical objects, one should speak of three classes of technical theories. First -metatheory. It is an integrative form of knowledge that formulates laws and principles that relate to potential reality. The second element is theory. This is the name of the knowledge system, within which a certain class of problems is solved, which are determined by their intended purpose.
Finally, a sub-theory. This is a special knowledge system that forms ways to implement a theoretically solved, technical problem. This includes, in particular, technological developments.
