A method is a set of techniques and operations used in practical or theoretical activities. Methods act as a form of mastering reality.
Methods of cognition according to the principle of correlation of general and particular are divided into universal (universal), general scientific (general logical) and concrete scientific methods. They are also classified in terms of the ratio of empirical or theoretical knowledge to empirical research methods , methods common to empirical and theoretical research, as well as purely theoretical research.
It should be borne in mind that individual branches of scientific knowledge apply their special, concrete scientific methods for studying phenomena and processes that are determined by the nature of the object under study. However, there are methods inherent in a particular science that have been successfully applied in other fields of knowledge. For example, physical and chemical methods of research are used by biology, since the objects of study of biology include both physical and chemical forms of existence and motion of matter.
Universal methods of cognition are divided into dialectical and metaphysical. They are called general philosophical.
Dialectical is reduced to the knowledge of reality in its integrity, development and its inherent contradictions. The metaphysical is the opposite of dialectic; it considers phenomena, not taking into account their interconnection and processes of change in time. Around the middle of the 19th century, the metaphysical method was replaced by the dialectical one.
General logical methods of cognition include synthesis, analysis, abstraction, generalization, induction, deduction, analogy, modeling, historical and logical methods.
Analysis is the decomposition of an object into components. Synthesis is the union of the known elements into a single whole. Generalization is a mental transition from the single to the general. Abstraction (idealization) - making mental changes to the object of study in accordance with the objectives of the study. Induction - the derivation of general provisions from observations of particular facts. Deduction is an analytical reasoning from the general to particular details. An analogy is a plausible and probable conclusion about the presence of similar features of two objects, phenomena on a certain basis. Modeling - creation on the basis of an analogue of a model, taking into account all the properties of the investigated object. The historical method is the reproduction of facts from the history of the phenomenon being studied in their multifaceted nature, taking into account details and contingencies. The logical method is the reproduction of the history of the object of study by liberating it from everything accidental and non-essential.
Empirical cognition methods are divided into measurement, observation, description, experiment and comparison.
Observation is an organized and focused perception of the object of study. Experiment - differs from observation in character, assuming constant activity of participants. Measurement - the process of material comparison of a certain value with a standard or established unit of measurement. In science, the relativity of the properties of the object of study in relation to these research tools is taken into account.
Methods of cognition of the theoretical unite formalization, axiomatization, hypothetical-deductive method.
Formalization is the construction of abstract and mathematical models that are aimed at revealing the essence of the studied object. Axiomatization - the creation of theories based on axioms. The hypothetical-deductive method consists in creating deductively related hypotheses from which an empirical conclusion about the fact being studied can be derived.
Forms and methods of cognition are directly related. Under the forms of cognition understand scientific facts, hypotheses, principles, problems, ideas, theories, categories and laws.