Over time, science, of course, undergoes qualitative changes. It increases volume, branches and becomes more complicated. Its actual history is presented rather chaotically and fractionally. However, in many discoveries, hypotheses, concepts, there is a certain orderliness, the pattern of formation and change of theories - the logic of the development of knowledge.
Relevance of the issue
Identification of logic in the development of science is expressed in the understanding of the laws of the progress of knowledge, the forces driving it, their historical conditionality. At present, this problem is viewed from a different angle than it was in the last century. Previously, it was believed that in science there is a constant increase in knowledge, the accumulation of new discoveries, and the advancement of more accurate theories. All this ultimately created a cumulative effect in various areas of study of phenomena. Today, the logic of the formation of science is presented in a different light. The prevailing idea at present is thatdevelops not only through the continuous accumulation of ideas and facts, but also through fundamental theoretical shifts. Thanks to them, at a certain moment, scientists begin to redraw the usual picture of the world and restructure their activities on the basis of fundamentally different worldviews. The logic of unhurried evolution has been replaced by a trend of catastrophe and scientific revolutions.
Differentiation of science
This phenomenon involves the division of a single system into its separate parts. In the scientific field, it is cognition. When it is divided into elements, new spheres, areas, objects of research and industry emerge. Differentiation contributed to the transformation of science into a complex, branched system, including many disciplines.
Background
Today there are at least 15 thousand different disciplines in science. The complexity of the structure of knowledge is due to several reasons. First of all, the basis of modern science is an analytical approach to real phenomena. In other words, the basic technique is the division of an event into its simplest elements. This methodological approach directed researchers to the detailing of reality. Secondly, over the past three centuries, the number of objects that have become available for study has increased dramatically. The existence of geniuses capable of embracing the diversity of knowledge has now become physically impossible - a person can study only a small fraction of what is generally known to people. The formation of individual disciplines took place by delimiting the subject of study of each of them from other elements of other areas. At the same time, the objective laws of reality act as a core.
Efficiency
Specialization of industries is inevitable and useful. Differentiation allows you to more deeply explore the individual aspects of reality. It greatly facilitates the work of scientists and directly affects the structure of the entire scientific community. The specialization continues today. For example, genetics is considered a relatively young discipline. Meanwhile, today there are many of its branches - evolutionary, molecular, population. There is also a "crushing" of older sciences. So, in chemistry there was a quantum direction, radiation and so on.
Negatives
Despite the obvious advantages, differentiation carries the danger of decomposition of the overall picture of the world. The fragmentation of a single system into separate elements is a natural consequence of the intensive increase and complication of knowledge. This process inevitably leads to specialization, division of scientific activity. This has both positive and negative sides. Studying this aspect of the problem, Einstein pointed out that the work of individual scientists inevitably comes to a more limited area of general knowledge. Specialization can lead to the fact that a single understanding of cognition will not be able to keep up with the development of the system. As a result, there is a threat of narrowing the perspective of the scientist, reducing him toartisan level.
Crisis
Mutual separation of scientific disciplines, isolationist differentiation was considered the main trend until the 19th century. The result of this phenomenon was that, despite the impressive gains achieved in the course of progressive specialization, there was an increase in misalignment of directions. This led to a crisis of the unity of science. However, already classical natural science is gradually bringing to the fore the idea of the fundamental unity of natural phenomena and, consequently, the disciplines that reflect them. In this regard, related areas began to appear (biochemistry, physical chemistry, and so on). The boundaries that existed between the established directions became more and more conditional. At the same time, fundamental disciplines have penetrated each other so much that the problem of forming a common system of knowledge about nature has arisen.
Science integration process
It flows simultaneously with the division of a single system into elements. The integration of sciences is a phenomenon opposite to fragmentation. The term comes from a Latin word, translated meaning "replenishment", "restoration". The concept is used, as a rule, to denote the combination of elements into a single whole. At the same time, it is supposed to overcome the disintegrating circumstances leading to the disunity of the system, the excessive growth of the independence of its components. This should help to increase the degree of orderliness and organization of the structure. The integration of sciences is a mutual penetration, synthesis, unificationdisciplines, their methods into one whole, the elimination of boundaries between them. This is especially active at the present time. The integration of modern science is expressed in the emergence of such areas as synergetics, cybernetics, and so on. Along with this, various pictures of the world are being formed.
Key Principles
Integration of sciences is based on the philosophical model of the unity of the world. Reality is common to all. Accordingly, its reflection should express unity. The system-holistic nature of the environment determines the generality of natural science knowledge. There are no absolute dividing lines in nature. In it there are only forms of movement of matters of a relatively independent nature. They pass into each other, make up the links of the general chain of development and movement. Accordingly, the disciplines within which they are studied may have relative, rather than absolute independence in various areas.
Main destinations
The independence of disciplines, the emergence of which is caused by the integration of sciences, is manifested:
- In the organization of research on the border of directions. The result is borderline disciplines. In this case, the integration of sciences with a complex structure takes place.
- In developing interdisciplinary methods. They can be used in various fields of knowledge, in which the integration of sciences also takes place. Examples: spectral analysis, computer experiment, chromatography. Wider association and mutu althe penetration of disciplines provides a mathematical method.
- In search of unifying principles and theories. An infinite variety of natural phenomena can be reduced to them. For example, evolutionary global synthesis in biology, chemistry, physics, etc. is considered to be such theories.
- Development of theories that perform general methodological tasks in natural science. The result is the integration of sciences that are quite far from each other (synergetics, cybernetics).
- In changing the direct principle of the selection of disciplines. A new kind of problem area has emerged. They deal mainly with complex issues that require the involvement of several disciplines.
Relationship of phenomena
As mentioned above, the differentiation and integration of sciences occur at the same time. However, at one stage or another, the predominance of one phenomenon over another can be traced. Today, the differentiation and integration of sciences is determined by various factors. With the predominance of unifying conditions, the industry emerges from the crisis of specialization. In many ways, this is facilitated by the integration of science and education. Meanwhile, at the present time there is a problem of achieving greater order and organization. The fragmentation of disciplines today does not lead to disunity, but, on the contrary, to the interpenetration of directions. Thus, we can say that the result of separation is the integration of science. Production today largely depends on the achievements and discoveries of scientists, their research and the results obtained. By thisFor this reason, it is important to establish a connection between practical and theoretical activities.
Conclusion
Integration of sciences is a mechanism for the development of knowledge, as a result of which its disparate elements are combined into one whole. In other words, there is a transition from "many" to "unity". This phenomenon acts as one of the most important regularities in the development of knowledge, the formation of its integrity. It should be noted that not any interdisciplinary study of complex problems can be considered an integrative interaction of directions. The essence of the phenomenon lies in the consolidation of information, strengthening the consistency, capacity and complexity of knowledge. The problem of scientific integration has many facets. Its complexity necessitates the use of advanced methodological analysis tools.
