With the widespread development of technology and science, philosophical knowledge is increasingly fading into the background. However, one should not forget that it is philosophy that 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 engineering and technical sciences will be described 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 area of human activity, the purpose of which is the formation and theoretical collection in the system of objective knowledge about any kind of activity.
The philosophy of science and technology in modern society establishes the postulate that in itself scientific knowledge is considered a multifaceted phenomenon. It appears in different qualities. This is a universal spiritual product of social development, a peculiar form of social consciousness, revealing the spiritual potential of material production. Science is an instrument of human domination over nature. This happened as a result of the fact that man himself was able to accumulate and generalize the experience of his ancestors. This has become the main worldview for many.
Science features
Science has a number of individual and inalienable features. It uses specially designed intelligent tools - such as terminology, visual images, sign systems, and much more. The very notion of science as knowledge was inherited according to tradition from the historical period when it was not yet experimental, but experimental. Then science was considered rather speculative, and its task was to ideally shape the existing world. Today, the goal of scientific knowledge is 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 activity of a research nature, which is aimed at producing new knowledge about the world, nature, man and his thinking.
Classification of Sciences
Scientific classification is a procedure for disclosing the interconnection of sciences on the basis of 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 various parties;
- the goals that form and serve as knowledge;
- methods and conditions for the study of 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 get their development 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: diminishing generality and increasing concreteness. In the first case, there is a transition from the general to the particular, and in the second, from the abstract to the concrete.
Patterns of development of scientific knowledge
The most important laws of the development of science should be highlighted. The first point is related to the fact that the development of scientific knowledge is determined by the needs of socio-historical practice. This is the main driving force, that is, the source of the development of science.
In the system of philosophical problems of engineering and technical sciences, a second pattern is fixed. 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 after reaching certain levels of development of the cognitive process. There is a gradual transition from phenomena to essence, from less deep processes to deeper ones.
Features of the development of science
The third point is associated with the gradual development of science with alternating periods of relative quiet development and rapid breakdown of 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 focused process with many complex internal elements. There are many other patterns in the system of philosophical problems of technology. Science and technology in themselves are considered very complex phenomena. In this regard, there are a lot of patterns.
Axiological and moral problems of modern scientific knowledge
It is necessary to briefly study the main value and moral problems of science and technology. The philosophical problems of technology are closely related to such a thing as ethics. This is a section in the science of science that covers the study of moral standards governing relations between scientists. The socio-ethical problems caused by the growing interaction of society and scientific knowledge are also subject to research.
In scientific works and textbooks, the philosophical problems of science and technology are fixed quite clearly. In addition to ethics, the concept of universal morality and humanism should be highlighted here. All such phenomena are characteristic of each scientific discipline as a special public institution. The norms themselves enable scientists to receive new, original and verified results of scientific activity.
An important place in the system of socio-ethical problems that are associated with science and technology, 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.
Technology from a philosophical point of view
Technique is a system of artificially formed organs of social activity, which are developed through objectification in the natural material of any work functions, knowledge, experience, cognition and use of forces with laws of nature. Modern technology is divided into the following branches of a functional nature:
- production machinery;
- military equipment;
- transport and communication;
- educational technology;
- culture and life;
- medical equipment;
- management technique.
Naturally, functional industries are not limited to the list indicated above. The laws of technical development are not reduced to merely the laws of a socio-economic nature. The starting point in a sociological study of technology is the analysis of its relationship with a person in the labor process.
The internal logic of improving technology is connected with man and nature. 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 by forces of nature, is the basic law of self-propelled machinery.
Patterns of improving technology
The history of technology can be divided into three stages. Here we should highlight, for example, tools of manual labor, that is, tools. They are characterized by the method of combining technology and man in the technological process, in which the representative of society represents the material base of the technological process, and the tools only strengthen and lengthen its working bodies. The work itself is of a manual nature.
The second stage is connected with the machine. In short, the philosophy of science and technology comes down to the fact that the technical element is the basis of the technological process. A man only tries to supplement it with his labor organs. Labor itself, accordingly, becomes mechanized.
Separately, we should single out the automation process, the prerequisites of which appeared in ancient culture. The philosophy of science and technology suggests that automation is characterized by a free type of connection between technology and man. Ceasing to be a direct element of the technological chain, a person acquires the conditions for applying his abilities in creativity. The technique itself is not limited in its improvement to the physiological limits of the body.
Terms of Reference and Technology
The 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, undergoes continuous changes. It determines the constant direction of technological knowledge in 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 natural science achievements. This kind of production tasks defined the applied nature of the technical sciences. Technical theory, however, performed 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 because the tasks of technology as part of material and technical practice are somewhat ahead of the level of development of natural science. And therefore, technical theory in the system of philosophical problems of science and technology (RPD) can and should in the future set the direction for scientific research. The following should outline the main features of technical knowledge.
Specificity of Technical Knowledge
The first echoes of the specific features of technical knowledge began to appear even in the philosophy of science and technology of ancient culture. A brief analysis of this will help to analyze the specifics of the designated phenomenon. Here's what to highlight 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. Theoretical concepts such as “language of a theoretical level” are introduced into the structure.
Thus, the very concept of technical specifications 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 works of Leonardo da Vinci can be described as technical tasks.
Technical theory and its content
The content of the theory is determined by the following points:
- target selection, i.e. designation;
- exploring the opportunities that are provided by natural science to achieve the goal;
- the study of materials that may be applicable to create a design;
- analysis of studies related to the use 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.
Technical Theory Classes
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. The first is metatheory. This is an integrative form of knowledge, formulating laws and principles that relate to potential reality. The second element is theory. This is the name of the knowledge system within which a solution to a certain class of problems occurs, which are determined by their purpose.
Finally, the subtheory. This is a special knowledge system that forms methods for the implementation of a theoretically solved, technical problem. This includes, in particular, technological developments.