Experience and knowledge come constantly. Work, study, family and all spheres of social relations for a person open the horizons of educational and development opportunities. Ignorance leads to errors, wrong decisions, problems. Not all knowledge is scientific, and understanding the differences between scientific knowledge and others is essential.
Classical Understanding of Scientific Knowledge
Science appeared long ago, but philosophy, as the queen of sciences, is still looking for ideal formulations for concepts:
- knowledge;
- experience;
- theory;
- rule of law;
- algorithm;
- program, etc.
Most scientists and researchers believe that the concept of scientific knowledge includes such properties as:
- objective reflection of reality: processes, objects, phenomena;
- systemic ideas about reality;
- rationality, verifiability and uniqueness;
- classifiability and accuracy.
Such a view is objective, partly systematic and rational. Here, practically everything that is characteristic of scientific knowledge is determined through a general idea of reality, which allows us to separate information in general from knowledge in particular.
The number "Pi" and a barrel of useful properties
Each area of human activity has its own characteristics. Knowledge in higher mathematics is not like knowledge of a glassblower or barrel maker. Mathematics is a unique systematic range of scientific knowledge in various fields.
Geometry and algebra differ as much as calculating the flight of a spacecraft to the moon from laying the foundation of a country house. In the latter case, it is not clear which will be used more: mathematics, material theory, or the experience of the construction team. This is a moot point.
But it is absolutely certain that even a construction trainee uses mathematical knowledge to make the foundation fulfill its functionality in full. And it is not necessary to be aware of exactly what knowledge was applied in a particular construction, although the scientific factor of the applied knowledge will determine how long the foundation will function.
Mathematics still manipulates an infinite number of "Pi" and can not accurately determine the line on a spherical surface. For an intern glassblower, making a perfect glass ball is a small task. A beginner barrel will make a barrel not only surprisingly elegant in shape, but also with a range of useful properties: the shape of the barrel, the material used, its texture, metal, construction are important in barrel making, and this is also a special kind of scientific knowledge.
Custom and oral law
It is not accepted to consider the rule of law knowledge. Jurisprudence is the same science as medicine. So many lawyers and doctors believe. But no matter how much they consider, scientific knowledge in the field of law and health is there and they are represented by strict, objective, systematized and rational constructions.
Every second, the rule of law and the surgeon's scalpel protect the interests and health of people. But knowledge of law is extremely objective and systemic. Everything that is inherent in scientific knowledge was present in law even when it was oral.
To this day, the custom of behavior can also be attributed to scientific knowledge, which, by the way, has never been presented on paper, but clearly reflects the mentality of the territory, especially the national thinking of social groups of people.
Diplomats always make decisions in part based on knowledge of the mentality of people living in different countries. And such decisions are absolutely accurate. There were situations when diplomacy as a science and its basic principles faded into the background or were not taken into account at all, and knowledge of the country's customs helped to make the right decision.
Algorithms and Behavior Programming
Computers and software have made it possible to formalize and use scientific knowledge outside the minds of people. Fundamentally, the properties of scientific knowledge always include:
- consistency;
- unambiguity;
- categories;
- classification.
Regarding the “uniqueness” property, one can argue, but the researcher always strives for an accurate interpretation and formulation of processes, objects, and phenomena when he fixes or clarifies knowledge.
It is possible to write an algorithm and claim that it reflects the features of scientific knowledge, but in practice any computer program is just a reflection of the current knowledge of the developer. From the moment the program is put into operation, new ideas always appear both in terms of the algorithms that make it up and in the implementation of the functional interface of working with it.
The scope of any program does not stand still. A program is a fixed reflection of the knowledge and experience of a developer; it cannot develop independently. The development of any software implementation is carried out only by the developer. Everything that the ideologists of artificial intelligence systems claim is true only in a small part. Modern behavior programming is based on static knowledge. A program cannot go beyond the limits of its static algorithms.
Active knowledge
The main thing that characterizes knowledge in general is activity. Knowledge is only knowledge when it is obtained through previous knowledge, and therefore can become the foundation for obtaining the next knowledge. Everything else is information and algorithms, that is, static. Information is perceived by people or computer programs. Information is perceived by a tool or machine and, within its functionality, "turns" the perceived signal into the desired action.
The tractor driver controls the tractor, and this is a mass of completely different knowledge, partially protected by patents and rationalization proposals. There is absolutely no need for the tractor driver to know how the internal combustion engine works or exactly how to sow the field that he was instructed to process. He does not apply scientific knowledge, but it is thanks to his actions that the tractor will do the work, demonstrating in practice what is characteristic of scientific knowledge - practicality. As a result, a field will be plowed, cereals sown or harvested.
It is possible that the treatment plan was related to the experimental field, where a long-term experiment on the development of a new type of grain crops takes place. In this case, what is characteristic of scientific knowledge includes:
- time factor;
- planning factor;
- experience in the development of a specific grain crop;
- factor in the ability to manage a team of tractor drivers, economists, agronomists and other workers.
Achieving the result - collecting the next crop - may not lead to new scientific knowledge, but even a negative result matters. A lot of people participate in the process, an unforeseen number of natural phenomena occurs, so the probability of obtaining unexpected knowledge is not excluded.
A characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is practicality, due to objectivity both in terms of the time the necessary solution appears and in how this solution is used not only in the field of its “birth”. Knowledge is always transferable to various fields of application. Strict and exact mathematics influences a voluminous and ornate philosophy, and the “queen of sciences” is still trying to show mathematics that its fundamental foundation - ten Arabic numerals - is far from the foundation characteristic of exact science.