Science and its achievements are integral components of the life of a modern person. The degree of its development is determined by the power of the state, the foresight of the government, the standard of living of the population and so on.
Science is directly related to the culture of society, developing its cognitive, practical and methodological functions. In addition, the functions of modern science are manifested in the activities of each hotel state and the entire planet as a whole.
If we talk about the function of science in society, then this manifested itself not so long ago. Comparing the entire time of human life on Earth with the development of the scientific and technical base, the period of importance of science will not be so great. Turning to history, one has to admit that for most of his life, humanity has been content with minimal conveniences, not striving for something better. Everyday life, work, work - there was little time left for science. The main opponent of the knowledge of the incomprehensible and inexplicable has always been the church with its divine providence. People could not give up theological convictions for a long time, fearing brutal reprisals.
In our society, the functions of modern science are considered, based on three areas:
1) science - a body of knowledge about the world (nature, society),
2) science - specialized institutions for conducting research,
3) science - professional activity of a person.
Science has no right to be based on assumptions and unproven facts, its main companions are rationality of thought and experimental confirmation. That is why among its main goals are the description, explanation and forecasting.
Realizing that the functions of modern science are so important and large-scale, the governments of successful and most developed countries are trying to invest huge amounts of money in the development of technical and natural science bases. The latest developments of scientists become especially secret if they relate to military equipment, which is directly related to the status and power of the state on a general political scale, its relative economic independence.
The main functions of modern science are as follows:
1) knowledge of the unknown,
2) the production function responsible for progress in the field of technical and technological equipment,
3) science is the social force necessary to control the development of society and aimed at developing new programs related to the socio-economic development of society,
4) the cultural function responsible for the upbringing of an even more educated generation, which will be able to worthily continue to improve the existing one and create something new, not accessible to anyone before ..
The functions of science in society are united under several points. Generalization reveals a huge web of relationships. For example, one of the main indicators of the impact of scientific and technological progress on society is computerization. Achievements in this area are so great that they are not transferred to enumeration. The World Wide Web, the ability to communicate remotely with its help, the creation of unified search engines for the ability to search for information, and much more - made possible what some time ago could be read in the books of famous science fiction writers.
Especially important in our time are the manifestations of the social function of science. The impact of science on society is two-sided. It is impossible to compare life in the 80s of the last century with the modern standard of living of the world's population. Electrical equipment, microelectronics, cellular communications are changing and activating human activities many times over, making it possible to reduce the time spent searching for information among textbooks and books, making it possible to make calls anywhere in the world and more.
In addition, the manifestations of the social function of science are graphically represented as solutions to various social problems that periodically flare up and constantly exist in a civilized society.
It is unlikely that in our time there are opponents of scientific and technological progress. Nevertheless, speaking of its benefits, we must not forget what led to the development of bombs, missiles and other things. All good things always have the opposite side, with which science must again cope.