The classical stage in the development of science is one of the most important eras in history. It falls on the 17-19th century. This is the era of major discoveries and inventions. Largely thanks to the achievements of scientists, it is considered as a classical stage of science . In this era, a model of knowledge was laid. Let us consider further what was the science of the classical period .
Stages
The formation of classical science began with the formation of a mechanistic picture of the world. It was based on the idea that the laws of physics and mechanics apply not only to the natural environment, but also to other areas, including the activities of society. Classical science was formed gradually. The first stage falls on the 17-18 centuries. It is associated with the discovery by Newton of the law of gravity and the development of its achievements by European scientists. At the second stage - at the end of the 18th-beginning of the 19th century. - began the differentiation of science. It was driven by industrial revolutions.
Features
Classical science has the following specific features:
- The key area of knowledge was physics. Scientists were of the opinion that it is on this discipline that all other areas are based, not only natural, but also humanitarian. Newtonian physics considered the world as a mechanism, a set of material bodies, the movement of which is determined by strict natural laws. This understanding of what is happening has spread to sociological processes.
- The world was considered as a combination of repulsive and attractive forces. All processes, including social ones, were presented by the classical science of modern times as a movement of elements of matter devoid of qualitative features. Priority in the methods began to take on calculations; particular attention was paid to accurate measurements.
- Classical science of modern times was formed on its own basis. She was not influenced by religious attitudes, but relied solely on her findings.
- The classical philosophy of science influenced the education system that developed in the Middle Ages. Specialized polytechnic educational institutions began to be added to existing universities. At the same time, educational programs began to be formed in a different way. At its core, mechanics came first, followed by physics and chemistry, biology and sociology.
Age of Enlightenment
It falls on the 17th-end of the 18th century. At this stage, classical science was influenced by Newton's ideas. In his work, he cited evidence that gravity, detected in terrestrial conditions, is the same force that holds the planet in orbit and other celestial bodies. Many scientists came to the idea of a universal beginning before Newton. However, the merit of the latter lies in the fact that it was he who was able to clearly formulate the fundamental significance of gravitational forces within the framework of the world picture. This pattern was the basis up to the 19th century. The pattern was disputed by Einstein and Bohr. The first, in particular, proved that with the speed of light and the huge distances characteristic of the megaworld, space and time, as well as directly and the mass of bodies, do not obey Newton's laws. Bor, carrying out studies of the microworld, found that previously derived laws also do not apply to elementary particles. Their behavior can be predicted solely in accordance with probability theory.
Rational worldview
This is one of the main features that classical science possesses. During the Enlightenment, a rationalist worldview was established in the minds of scientists as opposed to a religious one (based on dogmas). It was believed that the development of the universe proceeds according to laws inherent only to it. The idea of such self-sufficiency was substantiated in Laplace's “Celestial Mechanics”. The Bible was replaced by the Encyclopedia of Crafts, Sciences, and Arts, created by Rousseau, Voltaire, and Didro.
"Knowledge is power"
In the Enlightenment, science was considered the most prestigious occupation. F. Bacon became the author of the famous slogan "knowledge is power." In the minds of people, the belief that human cognition and social progress have enormous potential has been established. This mentality was called social and cognitive optimism. On this basis, many social utopias have formed. Almost immediately after the appearance of the work of T. More, the books of T. Campanella and F. Bacon arose. In the work of the latter, New Atlantis, the project for the state organization of the system was first set out. The founder of classical economic science - Petty - formulated the initial principles of knowledge in the field of economic activity. He was offered methods of calculating national income. Classical economics regarded wealth as a flexible category. In particular, Petty said that the income of the ruler depends on the number of benefits of all subjects. Accordingly, the richer they are, the more taxes they can collect.
Institutionalization
She walked into the Enlightenment quite actively. It was at this stage that the classical organization of the scientific system, which exists today, began to take shape. In the Enlightenment, special institutions arose that brought together professional scientists. They were called academies of sciences. In 1603, the first such institution arose. It was the Roman Academy. One of its first members was Galileo. It is worth saying that soon it was the academy that defended the scientist from the attacks of the church. In 1622, a similar institution was created in England. In 1703, Newton became the head of the Royal Academy . In 1714, Prince Menshikov, close to Peter the Great, became her foreign member. In 1666, the Academy of Sciences in France was founded. Its members were chosen exclusively in agreement with the king. At the same time, the monarch (at that time it was Louis XIV) showed personal interest in the activities of the academy. In 1714, Peter the Great himself was elected its foreign member. With his support, in 1725 a similar institution was created in Russia. Bernoulli (biologist and mathematician), and Euler (mathematician) were elected as its first members. Later, Lomonosov was accepted into the academy. In the same period, the level of research at universities began to rise. Special universities began to appear. For example, in 1747, the Mining School was opened in Paris. A similar institution in Russia appeared in 1773.
Specialization
The emergence of special areas of knowledge is another evidence of an increase in the level of organization of the scientific system. They were specialized research programs. According to I. Latkatos, in this era 6 key directions were formed. The study was conducted on them:
- Energies of various kinds.
- Metallurgical industry.
- Electricity
- Chemical processes.
- Biology.
- Astronomy.
Main ideas
Despite the rather active differentiation during the rather long existence of the classical scientific system, it nevertheless retained a certain commitment to certain general methodological trends and forms of rationality. They, in fact, influenced the worldview status. Among these features, the following ideas can be noted:
- The final expression of truth in its absolute finished form, independent of the circumstances of cognition. Such an interpretation was justified as a methodological requirement in explaining and describing idealized theoretical categories (force, material point, and so on) that were called upon to replace real objects and their interconnections.
- Installation on unambiguous causal descriptions of events, processes. It excluded the consideration of probable and random factors, which were considered as the result of incomplete knowledge, as well as subjective introductions into the content.
- Isolation from the scientific context of subjective-personal elements, its inherent means and conditions for the implementation of research activities.
- Interpretation of objects of knowledge as simple systems that obey the requirements of the immutability and static character of their key characteristics.
Classical and non-classical science
At the end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century, the above ideas were widely recognized. On their basis, a classical form of scientific rationality was formed. It was believed that the picture of the world was built and fully justified. In the future, it will only be necessary to clarify and specify some of its components. However, the story decreed somewhat differently. This era was marked by a number of discoveries that in no way fit into the existing picture of reality. Bohr, Thompson, Becquerel, Dirac, Einstein, Brogl, Planck, Heisenberg and several other scientists revolutionized physics. They proved the fundamental inconsistency of the established mechanistic natural science. The efforts of these scientists laid the foundation for a new quantum relativistic reality. So science moved to a new non-classical stage. This era lasted until the 60s of the 20th century. During this period, a whole series of revolutionary changes took place in various fields of knowledge. In physics, quantum and relativistic theories are formed, in cosmology - the theory of the unsteady Universe. The emergence of genetics has provided radical changes in biological knowledge. Systems theory, cybernetics made a significant contribution to the formation of the non-classical picture. All this led to the frontal assimilation of ideas in industrial technologies and social practice.
The essence of the revolution
Classical and non-classical science are natural phenomena that arose during the formation and expansion of the system. The transition from one era to another was determined by the need to form a new form of rationality. In this sense, a revolution of a global scale was supposed. Its essence was that the subject was introduced into the content of the “body” of knowledge. Classical science understood the reality under study as an object. In the framework of existing concepts, knowledge did not depend on the subject, the conditions and means of his activity. In the non-classical model, the key requirement for obtaining a true description of reality is the accounting and explication of interactions between an object and the means by which its knowledge is realized. As a result, the paradigm of science has changed. The subject of cognition is considered not as an absolute objective reality, but as a definite cut of it given through the prism of methods, forms, research tools.
Classical, non-classical and post-non-classical science
Since the 60s of the last century, the transition to a qualitatively new stage has begun. Science began to acquire distinct post-non-classical (modern) features. At this stage, a revolution took place directly in the nature of cognitive activity. It was caused by radical changes in the methods and means of obtaining, processing, storing, transmitting and evaluating knowledge. If we consider post-non-classical science in terms of a change in the type of rationality, then it has significantly expanded the scope of methodological reflection in relation to the key parameters and structural components of research activity. Unlike previous systems, it requires an assessment of the interactions and mediations of knowledge, not only with the specifics of the operations and means of research of the subject, but also with value-targeted aspects, that is, with the sociocultural background of the historical era as a real environment. The non-classical paradigm involved the use of methodological regulations presented in the form of relativity to the means of observation, the statistical and probabilistic nature of knowledge of the complementarity of various object description languages. The modern system model directs the researcher to assess the phenomena of formation, improvement, self-organization of processes in cognizable reality. It involves the study of objects in a historical perspective, taking into account the cooperative, synergistic effects of their interaction and coexistence. The key task of the researcher was the theoretical reconstruction of the phenomenon in the broadest possible range of its mediations and connections. This ensures the reconstruction of a systematic and holistic image of the process in the language of science.
The specifics of the modern model
It is worth saying that it is impossible to describe all the key indicators of the subject field of post-non-classical science. This is due to the fact that it extends its cognitive resources and efforts to almost all areas of reality, including sociocultural systems, nature, the spiritual and psychological sphere. Post-nonclassical science studies the processes of cosmic evolution, the issues of human interaction with the biosphere, the formation of advanced technologies from nanoelectronics to neurocomputers, the ideas of global evolutionism and co-evolution, and much more. The modern model is characterized by an interdisciplinary focus and a problem-oriented search. The objects of study today are unique social and natural complexes, in the structure of which there is a person.
Conclusion
Such an impressive entry of science into the world of human systems creates fundamentally new conditions. They put forward a complex of rather complex worldview problems about the value and meaning of knowledge itself, the prospects for its existence and expansion, and interaction with other forms of culture. In such a situation, the question of the real price of innovations, the probable consequences of their introduction into the system of human communication, spiritual and material production will also be completely legitimate.