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Playing and learning everything. Test the process of cognition

Introduction

1. The essence and structure of the cognition process.

2. Types of cognitive activity.

Introduction.

Among the most important ideological issues that philosophy has addressed throughout its history, one of the central places was occupied by problems of knowledge. It is always important for a person to know what cognitive capabilities he has: is he capable of developing adequate knowledge that allows him to live and act in the real world? Are there any obstacles to obtaining such adequate knowledge? What are the boundaries of cognitive activity or is the process of cognition limitless? By what means is the cognitive process carried out? What is the specificity of scientific knowledge? We will try to answer these questions in this work.

This work does not claim to be a new word in the theory of knowledge; most likely, this abstract is an attempt to systematize and generalize knowledge in this area.

1. The essence and structure of the cognition process.

In rationalist philosophy, the problems of the theory of knowledge were considered from the angle of interaction between subject and object. However, even within the framework of the rationalist tradition, the interpretation of subject and object changed significantly. In pre-Kantian philosophy, the subject of knowledge was understood as a single-formed being, a human individual (4, p. 222). Under the object, that is what his cognitive activity is directed towards and what exists in his consciousness in the form of ideal mental constructions. Kant turned the relationship between subject and object upside down and, as a result, gave them a different interpretation. In Kant's system, the versatility of the interaction between subject and object was realized. Representatives of the German classical philosophy revealed the ontological, epistemological, value, material and practical aspects of this interaction. In this regard, in German classical philosophy the subject appears as a supra-individual developing system, the essence of which is active activity. Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel considered this activity, first of all, as a spiritual activity that generated objects (4, p. 223). For Marx and Engels, this activity was of a material-sensual nature and was practical (2, p. 236). Subject and object appeared in Marx and Engels as sides of a practical relationship, practical activity. The subject is the bearer of a material, purposeful action that connects him with the object. Object - the subject to which the action is directed. Thus, in Marxism, human activity, practice acts as the most important aspect of the subject-object relationship.

The initial characteristic of the cognizing subject is activity, understood as a spontaneous, internally determined generation of material or spiritual energy. An object is the subject of an activity application. Human activity is conscious in nature and, therefore, it is mediated by goal setting and self-awareness. Free activity is the highest manifestation of activity. Based on all these qualities, one can give such a definition of subject and object. The subject is an active, amateur being who sets goals and transforms reality. The object is the sphere of application of the subject’s activity (2, p. 238).

The differences between subject and object are relative. Subject and object are functional categories that mean the roles of various phenomena in certain situations of activity. An individual, for example, in some cases can act as a subject when he himself actively acts. When others influence him, when he serves as a subject of manipulation, he turns into an object.

From the point of view of Marxism, the cognitive attitude of the subject to the object is derived from the material-sensual, active attitude of a person to the object of his activity (2, p. 239). A person becomes a subject of knowledge only to the extent that he is involved in social activities to transform the external world. This means that cognition is never carried out by a separate isolated individual, but only by a subject who is included in collective practical activity. The object of cognition is that part of objective reality with which the subject has entered into practical and cognitive interaction and which the subject can isolate from reality due to the fact that at a given stage of development of cognition he has such means of cognitive activity that reflect some characteristics of a given object. Thus, Marxism believes that the true epistemological subject is humanity, society.

Society acts as a cognizing subject through historically expressed methods of cognitive activity and a system of accumulated knowledge. As a subject of cognition, society cannot be considered only as a simple sum of individuals carrying out cognitive activity, but as a really existing system of theoretical activity, expressing a certain stage in the development of cognition and acting in relation to the consciousness of each individual as a certain objective essential system (3, P. 78). The individual becomes a subject of knowledge to the extent that he is able to master the world of culture created by society and transform the achievements of mankind into his own strengths and abilities. It's about, first of all, about such tools of consciousness as language, logical categories, accumulated knowledge, etc.

So, the material we presented above shows that in the philosophy of modern times the process of cognition was conceptualized as a relationship between subject and object. The result of this relationship is knowledge. However, on the question of the nature of this relationship and, above all, on the question of the source of knowledge of the position of representatives various directions diverged significantly. The idealistic direction of the New Age saw the source of knowledge in the active creative activity of the subject’s consciousness. Materialism conceptualized the process of acquiring knowledge as a result of the reflection of an object by an object (4, p. 224).

Let us dwell in more detail on the materialistic concept of knowledge as a reflection of reality. Reflection is the interaction of two systems, as a result of which the features of one system are reproduced in the features of the other system. In dialectical-materialist philosophy, the property of reflection extends to the entire material world. But at each level of development of matter it has its own specific characteristics. Us in this moment interested in the features of reflection in the cognitive process that occurs at the level of human consciousness. When the question is posed in this way, the process of cognition takes the form of interaction between the objective world and human consciousness.

The objective world influences human consciousness in its own special way, specific to him. The result of the influence of the objective world on the consciousness of the subject is images of consciousness. These images are snapshots, copies of real things. They are objective in their content and meaningfully reproduce the features of the reflected object. But the reproduction of the features of the reflected object in the images of consciousness occurs in accordance with the features of the reflecting system, that is, consciousness. This means that the images of consciousness, being objective in content, are subjective in form, that is, they carry certain characteristics of the subject. The subjectivity of consciousness is due to the fact that these images represent something ideal. K. Marx defines the ideal as follows: “The ideal is the material, transplanted into human head and transformed in it” (4, p. 224). Images are called ideal because, although they correspond in content to objective objects and phenomena, they do not contain a single material property, that is, they are devoid of mass, extension, etc. The ideal differs from the material in the sense that the thought about a particular object and the object itself. The idea of having a million rubles and keeping it in your pocket are fundamentally different things.

2. Types of cognitive activity.

A person comprehends the world around him, masters it in various ways, among which two main ones can be distinguished. The first (genetically original) is material and technical - the production of means of subsistence, labor, practice. The second is spiritual (ideal), within which the cognitive relationship of subject and object is only one of many others. In turn, the process of cognition and the knowledge obtained in it during historical development practice and knowledge itself is increasingly differentiated and embodied in its various forms. The latter, although related, are not identical to one another; each of them has its own specifics.

The classification (typology) of forms of knowledge to this day remains a complex and largely controversial problem for different philosophical directions(7, p. 56).

Cognition as a form of spiritual activity has existed in society since its inception, going through certain stages of development along with it. At each of them, the process of cognition is carried out in diverse and interconnected socio-cultural forms developed in the course of human history. Therefore, knowledge as an integral phenomenon cannot be reduced to any form, even one as important as scientific, which does not “cover” knowledge as such. Therefore, epistemology cannot build its conclusions by drawing material for generalization from only one sphere - scientific and even only from “highly developed natural science”.

Already in the early stages of history, there was everyday practical knowledge that supplied basic information about nature, as well as about the people themselves, their living conditions, communication, social connections, etc. The basis of this form of knowledge was experience Everyday life, people's practices. The knowledge obtained on this basis, although durable, is chaotic, scattered in nature, representing a simple set of information, rules, etc. The sphere of everyday knowledge is diverse. It includes common sense, beliefs, signs, primary generalizations of existing experience, enshrined in traditions, legends, edifications, etc., intuitive beliefs, premonitions, etc.

One of the historically first forms - gaming cognition - important element activities not only for children, but also for adults. During the game, the individual carries out active cognitive activity, acquires a large amount of new knowledge, absorbs the wealth of culture - business games, sport games, acting, etc. The enormous importance of play for satisfying the inexhaustible curiosity of children, shaping their spiritual world and certain knowledge, communication skills, etc. Currently, the concept of a game is widely used in mathematics, economics, cybernetics and other sciences (5, p. 249). Here, special gaming models are increasingly being used and game scenarios, where various options for the flow of complex processes and solutions to scientific and practical problems. A number of influential trends in modern philosophical and scientific thought promote play as an independent field of study.

An important role, especially initial stage the history of mankind, mythological knowledge played a role. Its specificity is that it is a fantastic reflection of reality, an unconsciously artistic reworking of nature and society by folk fantasy. Within the framework of mythology, certain knowledge was developed about nature, space, people themselves, their living conditions, forms of communication, etc. Lately It was found out (especially in the philosophy of structuralism) that mythological thinking is not just an unbridled game of fantasy, but a kind of modeling of the world, which allows us to record and transmit the experience of generations.

Some modern researchers They believe that in our time the importance of mythological knowledge is by no means diminishing. Thus, P. Feyerabend is convinced that the achievements of myth are incomparably more significant than scientific ones: the inventors of myth, in his opinion, laid the foundation for culture, while rationalists only changed it, and not always for the better (6, p. 174).

Already within the framework of mythology, an artistic and figurative form of knowledge arose, which later received its most developed expression in art. Although it does not specifically solve cognitive problems, it contains a fairly powerful epistemological potential. Moreover, for example, in hermeneutics, as already mentioned, art is considered the most important way of revealing truth. Although, of course, artistic activity is not entirely reducible to cognition, the cognitive function of art through the system artistic images- one of the most important for him. Artistically mastering reality in its various forms (painting, music, theater, etc.), satisfying the aesthetic needs of people, art simultaneously cognizes the world, and man creates it - including according to the laws of beauty (6, p. 175). The structure of any work of art always includes, in one form or another, certain knowledge about different people and their characters, about certain countries and peoples, their customs, morals, way of life, their feelings, thoughts, etc.

One of the ancient forms of knowledge, genetically related to mythology, is philosophical and religious knowledge. The peculiarities of the latter are determined by the fact that it is determined by the direct emotional form of people’s relationship to the earthly forces dominating them. Being a fantastic reflection of the latter, religious ideas contain certain knowledge about reality, although often false. A fairly wise and deep treasury of religious and other knowledge accumulated by people over centuries and millennia are, for example, the Bible and the Koran. However, religion (like mythology) did not reproduce knowledge in a systematic and, especially, theoretical form. It has never performed and does not perform the function of producing objective knowledge that is universal, holistic, self-valued and demonstrative.

If religious knowledge is characterized by a combination of an emotional attitude towards the world with belief in the supernatural, then the essence of scientific knowledge is rationality, which contains both emotions and faith as subordinate aspects. But the relationship between knowledge and faith, the features of scientific knowledge will be discussed below.

Speaking about forms of knowledge, we cannot ignore the fairly well-known (especially in modern Western epistemology) concept of personal knowledge developed by M. Polanyi. He proceeded from the fact that knowledge is an active comprehension of knowable things, an action that requires special art and special tools. Since science is done by people, the knowledge obtained in the process of scientific activity (as well as this process itself) cannot be depersonalized. This means that people (or rather, scientists) with all their interests, passions, goals, etc. cannot be separated from the knowledge they produce or mechanically replaced by other people (5, p. 236).

Personal knowledge is not just a collection of some statements, but also the experience of an individual. The personality lives in it “as if in a garment made of one’s own skin,” and does not simply state its existence. Thus, in every act of cognition there is a passionate contribution of the knowing personality, and that this addition is not evidence of imperfection, but an essential necessary element knowledge. But such an addition does not make the latter purely subjective.

At present, although there is increasing interest in the problem of the irrational, that is, that which lies beyond the reach of reason and is inaccessible to comprehension with the help of known rational means, at the same time the conviction is becoming increasingly stronger that the presence of irrational layers in the human spirit gives rise to that depth from which all new meanings, ideas, and creations emerge. The mutual transition of the rational and irrational is one of the fundamental foundations of the process of cognition. However, the importance of extra-rational factors should not be exaggerated, as supporters of irrationalism do.

3.Features of scientific knowledge.

Scientific knowledge is ultimately necessary to guide and regulate practice. Different kinds cognitive activity perform this role in different ways, and the analysis of this difference is the first and necessary condition for identifying the characteristics of scientific knowledge.

Characterizing the purpose of natural science in the life of society, K. Marx emphasized that it acts as a kind of “cunning aimed at subordinating nature to human needs, whether as an object of consumption or as a means of production” (2, p. 182). But the transformation of the world can bring success only when it is consistent with the objective laws of change and development of its objects. Therefore, the main task of science is to identify these laws. In relation to the processes of transformation of nature, this function is performed by the natural and technical sciences. The processes of change in social objects are studied social sciences. Since a variety of objects can be transformed in activity - objects of nature, man (and his states of consciousness), subsystems of society, symbolic objects functioning as cultural phenomena, etc. - all of them can become subjects of scientific research. The determination to search for laws is a prerequisite for scientific knowledge of social phenomena.

The orientation of science towards the study of objects that can be included in activity (either actually or potentially, as possible objects of its future development), and their study as subject to objective laws of functioning and development is one of the most important features of scientific knowledge. This feature distinguishes it from other forms of human cognitive activity (1, p. 364). So, for example, in the process of artistic exploration of reality, objects included in human activity are not separated from subjective factors, but are taken in a kind of “glue” with them. Any reflection of objects of the objective world in art simultaneously expresses a person’s value attitude towards the object. In science, the characteristics of the life activity of the person creating knowledge, her value judgments are not directly included in the composition of the generated knowledge. Science is focused on the substantive and objective study of reality. From this, of course, it does not follow that the personal aspects and value orientations of a scientist do not play a role in scientific creativity and do not influence its results.

Scientific knowledge reflects the objects of nature not in the form of contemplation, but in the form of practice. The process of this reflection is determined not only by the characteristics of the object being studied, but also by numerous factors of a sociocultural nature.

Considering science in its historical development, one can find that as the type of culture changes during the transition from one socio-economic formation to another, the standards for presenting scientific knowledge, the ways of seeing reality in science, the styles of thinking that are formed in the context of culture and are influenced by the most its various phenomena. This impact can be presented as the inclusion of various sociocultural factors in the process of generating scientific knowledge itself. However, the statement of the connections between the objective and the subjective in any cognitive process and the need for a comprehensive study of science in its interaction with other forms of human spiritual activity do not remove the question of the differences between science and these forms (ordinary knowledge, artistic thinking, etc.). The first and necessary among them is the objectivity and subjectivity of scientific knowledge (1, p. 365).

But, studying objects transformed in activity, science is not limited to the knowledge of only those subject connections that can be mastered within the framework of the existing forms and stereotypes of activity that have historically developed at a given stage of social development. Science also strives to create a foundation of knowledge for future forms of practical change in the world.

Therefore, science carries out not only research that serves today’s practice, but also research whose results can only be used in the future. The movement of knowledge as a whole is determined not only by the direct demands of today's practice, but also by cognitive interests through which the needs of society in predicting future methods and forms of practical development of the world are manifested (5, p. 211). For example, the formulation of intrascientific problems and their solution within the framework of fundamental theoretical research in physics led to the discovery of the laws of the electromagnetic field and the prediction electromagnetic waves, to the discovery of the laws of fission of atomic nuclei, quantum laws of radiation of atoms during the transition of electrons from one energy level to another, etc. All these theoretical discoveries laid the foundation for future applied engineering research and development. The introduction of the latter into production, in turn, revolutionized equipment and technology - radio-electronic equipment, nuclear power plants, laser systems, etc. appeared.

The focus of science on studying not only objects that are transformed in today's practice, but also those that may become the subject of mass practical development in the future is the second distinctive feature scientific knowledge. This feature allows us to distinguish between scientific and everyday spontaneous-empirical knowledge and derive a number of specific definitions that characterize the nature of scientific research. The embryonic forms of scientific knowledge arose in the depths and on the basis of everyday knowledge, and then branched off from it. As science develops and becomes one of the most important values of civilization, its way of thinking has an increasingly active impact on everyday consciousness. This influence develops the elements of objective reflection of the world contained in everyday spontaneous-empirical knowledge (1, C 368).

However, there are significant differences between the ability of spontaneous empirical knowledge to generate objective and objective knowledge about the world and the objectivity and objectivity of scientific knowledge.

First of all, science deals with a special set of objects of reality that cannot be reduced to objects of everyday experience.

The peculiarities of scientific objects make those means that are used in everyday cognition insufficient for their development. Although science uses natural language, it cannot describe and study its objects only on its basis. Development by science special language, suitable for its description of objects that are unusual from the point of view of common sense, is a necessary condition for scientific research. The language of science is constantly evolving as it penetrates into ever new areas of the objective world. Moreover, it has the opposite effect on everyday, natural language.

Along with an artificial, specialized language, scientific research requires a special system of special tools, which, by directly influencing the object being studied, make it possible to identify its possible states under conditions controlled by the subject. Hence the need for special scientific equipment (measuring instruments, instrument installations), which allow science to experimentally study new types of objects.

Scientific equipment and the language of science are, first of all, a product of already acquired knowledge. But, just as in practice the products of labor are transformed into means of labor, so in scientific research its products - scientific knowledge expressed in language or objectified in instruments - become a means of further research and acquisition of new knowledge (7, p. 171).

The characteristics of the objects of scientific research can also explain the main features of scientific knowledge as a product of scientific activity. Their reliability can no longer be justified only by their use in production and everyday experience. Science forms specific ways of substantiating the truth of knowledge: experimental control over acquired knowledge, the deducibility of some knowledge from others, the truth of which has already been proven. The consistency and validity of scientific knowledge is another significant feature that distinguishes it from the products of ordinary cognitive activity of people.

Finally, doing science requires special training of the cognitive subject, during which he masters the historically established means of scientific research and learns the techniques and methods of operating with these means. The inclusion of a subject in scientific activity presupposes, along with mastery of means and methods, also the assimilation of a certain system value orientations and goals specific to science. As one of the main goals of scientific activity, a scientist is guided by the search for objective truth, perceiving the latter as the highest value of science.

Thus, when characterizing the nature of scientific knowledge, we can distinguish the system distinctive features sciences, among which the main ones are:

Subjectivity and objectivity of scientific knowledge;

The emergence of science beyond the framework of everyday experience and its teaching of objects relatively independently of today’s possibilities for their practical development (scientific knowledge always belongs to a broad class practical situations present and future, which is never given in advance).

All other necessary features that distinguish science from other forms of cognitive activity are derived from the indicated main characteristics and are conditioned by them.

List of used literature.

1. Introduction to philosophy. Textbook for higher educational institutions. In 2 volumes. T.2. – M.: Politizdat, 1989.

2. History of philosophy: Tutorial for universities / Ed. A.N. Volkova. – M.: PRIOR, 1997.

3. Lektorsky V.A. Subject, object, cognition. – M.: Education, 1984.

4. Radugin A.A. Philosophy: course of lectures. – M.: Center, 1998.

5. Philosophy: course of lectures. / Ed. V.L. Kalashnikov. – M.: Vlados, 1998.

6. Philosophy: Textbook for university students / Ed. V.P. Kokhanovsky. – Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1998.

7. Shvyrev V.S. Scientific knowledge as an activity. – M.: Education, 1983.

Natalia Grigorieva

Hello, dear colleagues! On question: “What is the main tool for knowledge preschooler surrounding peace? any of you will answer: « A game» . It is in the process of play that children acquire new skills and knowledge, develop imagination, speech, memory, explore the world in which they live. V. A. Sukhomlinsky wrote: “Without play there is no, and cannot be, a complete mental development. A game This is a huge bright window through which a life-giving stream of ideas and concepts flows into the child’s spiritual world. The game is the spark, igniting the flame of inquisitiveness and curiosity.”

Observing the students in my group, I came to the conclusion that the usual "lotto", especially in our computer age, they will not be surprised. Well, I can’t get them to sit at the computers... I began to think about how to create a toy that would be interesting for modern children, so that it could occupy them and involve them in the world of play, and, most importantly, that it would contribute to knowledge of the world and I wouldn’t get tired of it after a couple of days. The task is not easy. The goal has been set, but I have not yet found a solution. My children helped me. Playing at home with Kinder Surprise toys, son said: “Mom, let’s cut out a house for these animals.”. "Let's"- I answered. We made a large cardboard model of the yard, the children decorated it, divided it into zones, populated it with animals and began play. Then they decided that they needed sand and pebbles, grass, a mountain... Natural materials were used. And that’s when we came up with the idea that we needed a model of a natural area that could fit both desert and plain terrain, so that it would be multifunctional. Where wild animals would live and dinosaurs would live. The most important thing is that it is strong and colorful. Several evenings and the children were offered my "brainchild". There was so much joy and delight, and the decision to take him to the garden was lightning fast. Together with the children we came up with the name of the game - "Magic Island", "Island of Miracles". The main goal was to create conditions for generalizing and consolidating children’s knowledge about the habitat of various animals. I also set the tasks for this games: to develop children’s ability to independently come up with the plot of the game, teach careful attitude to nature, develop dialogical communication, intensify lexicon, develop imagination, cultivate desire to play together. And made the rules games: they can play the game play 3-4 people, using the proposed attributes for their purpose. Conduct dialogue on behalf of the characters, inventing stories.

Compiled a list of equipment for game:

Transparent containers for attributes;

Animals of different climatic zones;

Natural material (pebbles, shells, twigs, small cones, etc.).

I am pleased with the result of my work and so are the preschoolers. Even though I didn’t accomplish the feat, I didn’t greatest discovery, but preschoolers have fun play new game , and even independently replenish the layout with new inhabitants. After all, any child will prefer good to bad, good to evil, and the activities of my students are proof of this. I see joy in the eyes, smiles on the faces of children, and I sincerely believe that this makes the world filled with goodness! After that, I felt like a magician, opening the door to the world of play for children.

THE SCIENCE. AS A SOCIO-CULTURAL PHENOMENON

A person’s consciousness is always a conscious being, an expression of his attitude to his being. Knowledge - objective reality given in the consciousness of a person who, in his activities, reflects and ideally reproduces the objective, natural connections of the real world. Cognition - conditioned primarily by socio-historical practice, the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion, improvement and reproduction. This is an interaction between an object and a subject, the result of which is new knowledge about the world.

The term “knowledge” is usually used in three main senses: a) abilities, abilities, skills that are based on awareness of how to do or implement something; b) any cognitively significant (in particular, adequate) information; c) a special cognitive unit, an epistemological form of a person’s relationship to reality, existing alongside and in conjunction with “one’s other” - with a practical attitude. The second and third aspects are the subject of consideration of epistemology (theory of knowledge) and epistemology - the theory of scientific knowledge.

A person comprehends the world around him, masters it in various ways, among which two main ones can be distinguished. The first (genetically initial) is material and technical - the production of means of subsistence, labor, practice. The second is spiritual (ideal), within which the cognitive relationship of subject and object is only one of many others. In turn, the process of cognition and the knowledge obtained in it in the course of the historical development of practice and cognition itself are increasingly differentiated and embodied in their various forms. The latter, although related, are not identical to one another; each of them has its own specifics.

Already in the early stages of history there was everyday practical knowledge, supplying basic information about nature, as well as about the people themselves, their living conditions, communication, social connections, etc. The basis of this form of knowledge was the experience of everyday life and people’s practices. The knowledge obtained on this basis, although durable, is chaotic, scattered in nature, representing a simple set of information, rules, etc. The sphere of everyday knowledge is diverse. It includes common sense, beliefs, signs, primary generalizations of existing experience, enshrined in traditions, legends, edifications, intuitive beliefs, premonitions, etc.

One of the historically first forms - play cognition as an important element of activity not only for children, but also for adults. During the game, the individual carries out an active

cognitive activity, acquires a large amount of new knowledge, absorbs the riches of culture - business games, sports games, acting, etc. The enormous importance of games for satisfying the inexhaustible curiosity of children, the formation of their spiritual world and certain knowledge and communication skills is well known.

Currently, the concept of a game is widely used in mathematics, economics, cybernetics and other sciences. Here, special game models and game scenarios are increasingly used, where various options for the flow of complex processes and solutions to scientific and practical problems are played out. A number of influential trends in modern philosophical and scientific thought promote play as an independent field of study. These are, in particular, hermeneutics (Gadamer), philosophical anthropology (Fink), etc. Thus, Huizinga considers play to be the universal principle of the formation of culture, the basis of human coexistence in any era. According to Gadamer, play is a way of being for works of art, which in turn is the primary way of accomplishing (revealing) the truth.

An important role, especially at the initial stage of human history, was played by mythological knowledge. Its specificity is that it is a fantastic reflection of reality, an unconsciously artistic reworking of nature and society by folk fantasy. Within the framework of mythology, certain knowledge was developed about nature, space, about people themselves, their living conditions, forms of communication, etc. Recently, it has been found out (especially in the philosophy of structuralism) that mythological thinking is not just an unbridled game of fantasy, but a kind of modeling of the world that allows you to record and transmit the experience of generations. Thus, Lévi-Strauss pointed out the concreteness and metaphorical nature of mythological thinking, its ability for generalization, classification and logical analysis.

Science as a sociocultural phenomenon

Mythological thinking is characterized by its fusion with the emotional sphere, an unclear separation of the object and subject of cognition, object and sign, thing and word, origin (genesis) and essence of phenomena, etc. Explanation of natural and social phenomena, as well as the world as a whole, was reduced to stories about their origin and creation (geneticism). Some modern researchers believe that in our time the importance of mythological knowledge is by no means diminishing. Thus, P. Feyerabend is convinced that the achievements of myth are incomparably more significant than scientific ones: the inventors of myth, in his opinion, laid the foundation for culture, while rationalists only changed it, and not always for the better.

Already within the framework of mythology arises artistic and figurative form of cognition, which later received its most developed expression in art. Although it does not specifically solve cognitive problems, it contains a fairly powerful epistemological potential. Moreover, for example, in hermeneutics, as already mentioned, art is considered the most important way of revealing truth. Although, of course, artistic activity is not entirely reducible to cognition, the cognitive function of art through a system of artistic images is one of the most important for it. Artistically mastering reality in its various forms (painting, music, theater, etc.), satisfying the aesthetic needs of people, art simultaneously cognizes the world, and man creates it - including according to the laws of beauty. The structure of any work of art always includes, in one form or another, certain knowledge about different people and their characters, about certain countries and peoples, their customs, morals, way of life, their feelings, thoughts, etc.

Some of the ancient forms of knowledge genetically related to mythology are philosophical(this will be discussed further) and religious knowledge. Peculiarities

The latter is determined by the fact that it is determined by the direct emotional form of people’s relationship to the earthly forces (natural and social) that dominate them. Being a fantastic reflection of the latter, religious ideas contain certain knowledge about reality, although often false. A fairly wise and deep treasury of religious and other knowledge accumulated by people over centuries and millennia are, for example, the Bible and the Koran. However, religion (like mythology) did not produce knowledge in a systematic, much less theoretical, form. It has never performed and does not perform the function of producing objective knowledge that is universal, holistic, self-valued and demonstrative. If religious knowledge is characterized by the combination of an emotional attitude towards the world with belief in the supernatural, then the essence of scientific knowledge is rationality, which contains both emotions and faith as subordinate aspects.

It should be kept in mind that rationality(Latin - reason), which attaches decisive importance to thinking (reason and reason), is diverse in its forms, one of which is scientific rationality. The latter - unlike its other forms - is characterized by “conceptual creativity”, work with idealized objects, focusing on the actual cognitive, cognitive (Latin - knowledge, cognition) side of comprehending the world, and not on emotions, passions, personal opinions and etc. In modern philosophy of science, scientific rationality is most often understood as a set of norms, ideals and methods that characterize scientific research as a whole; various models of scientific rationality are being developed - inductivist, deductivist, evolutionary, realistic, etc.

Thus, human cognitive activity was formed before the emergence of science as a specific method of spiritual exploration of reality. However, if in other forms of spiritual activity the cognitive element had a subordinate significance, then in science it becomes the main one, determining all its other aspects (social, cultural, moral, etc.).

Speaking about forms of knowledge, we cannot ignore the fairly well-known (especially in modern Western epistemology) concept personal knowledge, developed by the British scientist M. Polanyi. He proceeded from the fact that knowledge is an active comprehension of knowable things, an action that requires special art and special tools. Since science is done by people, the knowledge obtained in the process of scientific activity (as well as this process itself) cannot be depersonalized. This means that people (or rather, scientists) with all their interests, passions, goals, etc. cannot be separated from the knowledge they produce or mechanically replaced by other people.

According to Polanyi, personal knowledge necessarily presupposes intellectual dedication. It captures not only the cognizable reality, but the cognizing personality itself, her interested (and not indifferent) attitude towards knowledge, her personal approach to its interpretation and use, her own understanding of it in the context of specific, purely individual, changeable and, as a rule, uncontrollable associations . Personal knowledge is not just a collection of some statements, but also the experience of an individual. The personality lives in it “as if in a garment made of one’s own skin,” and does not simply state its existence. Thus, in every act of cognition there is a passionate contribution of the knowing personality, and this “addition” is not evidence of imperfection, but an essential necessary element of knowledge, which does not make the latter purely subjective.

Polanyi defends the position that a person has two types of knowledge: explicit, articulated, expressed

in concepts, judgments, theories and other forms of rational thinking, and the implicit, implicit, not fully reflective layer of human experience. Tacit knowledge is not articulated in language and is embodied in bodily skills, perception patterns, and practical mastery. It does not allow for full explication and presentation in textbooks, but is passed on “from hand to hand”, in communication and personal contacts of researchers.

Currently, there is increasing interest in the problem irrational, that is, that which lies beyond the reach of reason and is inaccessible to comprehension with the help of known rational means, but at the same time the conviction is increasingly strengthened that the presence of irrational layers in the human spirit gives rise to the depth from which new meanings emerge, ideas, creations. The mutual transition of the rational and irrational is one of the fundamental foundations of the process of cognition. However, the importance of extra-rational factors should not be exaggerated, as is done by supporters of irrationalism.

Typology of knowledge can be carried out according to the most various reasons(criteria). In this regard, they distinguish, for example, rational and emotional knowledge, phenomenalistic (qualitative concepts) and essential-analytical (armed mainly with quantitative means of analysis), empirical and theoretical, fundamental and applied, philosophical and special scientific, natural sciences and humanities, scientific and non-scientific (interest in which has recently increased significantly), etc.

Cognition- the process of purposeful active reflection of reality in the human mind, the acquisition and development of knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion and improvement. This is an interaction between an object and a subject, the result of which is new knowledge about the world. The results of knowledge remain not only in the consciousness of a specific person who has learned something, but are also transmitted from generation to generation, mainly with the help of material carriers of information - books, drawings, objects of material culture.

In philosophy there are main points of view on the process of cognition:

- Gnosticism. Supporters of Gnosticism (usually materialists) take an optimistic view of present and future knowledge. In their opinion, the world is knowable, and man has potentially limitless possibilities of knowledge.

- agnosticism. Agnostics (often idealists) do not believe either in man’s ability to know the world, or in the knowability of the world itself, or they admit a limited possibility of knowledge. Among agnostics, the most famous is I. Kant. He put forward a consistent theory of agnosticism, according to which:

The person himself has limited cognitive capabilities (thanks to the limited cognitive capabilities of the mind);

Myself the world unknowable in principle - a person will be able to know the external side of objects and phenomena, but will never know the inner essence of these objects and phenomena - “things in themselves”.

Agnosticism and gnosticism are not the main differences in the approach to knowledge of materialists and idealists. The difference between their approaches is that:

Idealists consider knowledge to be an independent activity of the ideal mind;

Materialists consider cognition to be a process as a result of which matter, through its reflective ability - consciousness - studies itself.

Unlike agnostics, supporters skepticism (from the Greek skepticos - considering, exploring) do not deny the knowability of the world, but either doubt the possibility of its knowledge, or, without doubting this, settle on a negative result (skepticism as “paralysis of truth”).

Cognizing subject is a man - a creature endowed with reason and mastered the arsenal cognitive tools accumulated by humanity. Society as a whole, which over its history has accumulated a huge amount of material and spiritual culture - carriers of the results of knowledge, is also a cognitive subject. Full-fledged cognitive activity of a person is possible only within the framework of society.

Object of knowledge is the surrounding world (being in all its diversity), namely that part of the surrounding world to which it is directed cognitive interest subject.

Forms of knowledge:

Already in the early stages of human history there was everyday practical knowledge,“providing” basic information about nature, as well as about the people themselves, their living conditions, communication, social connections, etc. The basis of this form of knowledge was the experience of everyday life, the practice of people. The knowledge obtained on this basis is chaotic, scattered in nature, representing a simple set of information and rules.

- play cognition as an important element of activity not only for children, but also for adults. During the game, the individual carries out active cognitive activity, acquires a large amount of new knowledge, absorbs the riches of culture: business games, sports games, acting, etc. The enormous importance of play for satisfying the inexhaustible curiosity of children, shaping their spiritual world and communication skills is well known.

An important role, especially at the initial stage of human history, was played by mythological knowledge. Its specificity is that it is a fantastic reflection of reality, an unconsciously artistic “reworking” of nature and society by folk fantasy. Within the framework of mythology, certain knowledge was developed about nature, space, people themselves, their living conditions, forms of communication, etc.

Within the framework of mythology, it originates artistic and figurative form of cognition, which later received its most developed expression in art. Although it does not specifically solve cognitive problems, it contains a fairly powerful epistemological potential. Moreover, for example, in hermeneutics - one of the main areas of modern Western philosophy- art is considered the most important way to reveal the truth. Although, of course, artistic activity is not entirely reducible to cognition, the cognitive function of art through a system of artistic images is one of the most important for it. Artistically mastering reality in its various forms (painting, music, theater, etc.), satisfying the aesthetic needs of people, art simultaneously cognizes the world, and man creates it - including according to the laws of beauty.

Some of the ancient forms of knowledge genetically related to mythology are philosophical and religious knowledge. The peculiarities of the latter are determined by the fact that, being a fantastic reflection of reality, it contains certain knowledge about it, although often false. A fairly wise and deep treasury of religious and other knowledge accumulated by people over centuries and millennia are, for example, the Bible and the Koran. Religious knowledge is characterized by the combination of an emotional attitude towards the world with belief in the supernatural.

Cognition, creativity, practice. Cognition and thinking are always the search and discovery of something new, the search for previously unexplored approaches and solutions, the active achievement of truth, the active (and not contemplative, passive) activity of the subject in any of its forms. And the value of a person is determined, first of all, by the creative activity of his actions - including in the sphere of knowledge. Creation - process human activity, creating something qualitatively new that has never existed before - material and spiritual values. Creativity is a person’s ability, arising through work, to create (based on the knowledge of objective laws) a new reality (in any form) from a certain material, satisfying diverse social needs. Types of creativity are determined by the nature of a specific creative activity - creativity of an inventor, organizer, scientific, artistic creativity, etc. Cognition is an active creative process of searching for something new, original and even unique - something that did not exist before. In this process, all the talents and abilities of the cognizing subject are “involved” - his senses, memory, thinking, imagination, fantasy, intuition, etc. - in their unity and interaction. An important feature of creative cognition is the ability to create and successfully resolve problematic situations. Creative cognition is impossible without independence of thinking, its criticality and self-criticism, flexibility of thinking, the ability to draw conclusions from mistakes made, think quickly (but not hastily), separate the essential from the unimportant and independently come to more and more new conclusions and generalizations. Plays an important role in the creative process intuition(sudden insight) - the ability of direct, immediate comprehension of the truth without preliminary logical reasoning and without evidence. In the history of philosophy, many thinkers pointed out the important role of intuition (albeit differently understood) in the process of cognition: R. Descartes, A. Bergson, E. Husserl. The history of knowledge shows that new ideas that radically change old ideas often do not arise as a result of strictly logical reasoning or as a simple generalization. They are like a leap in the knowledge of the object. Intuitive comprehension of reality is characterized by condensation of reasoning, awareness not of their entire course, but of the individual most important link, in particular the final conclusions. They find full logical and experimental justification for these conclusions later, when they have already been formulated and entered into the fabric of science. Many great creators of science have emphasized that the important role of imagination, fantasy and intuition in scientific research should not be underestimated. Characteristic feature modern science is a gradual and steady weakening of the requirements for strict standards of scientific discourse - the logical, conceptual component and strengthening the role of the non-rational component, but not at the expense of belittling, much less ignoring the role of reason. Cognition and creativity are inextricably linked both with each other and with practice (practical activities) as with their basis. Practice- specific activities of people to transform the world around them and the person himself. Main types of practice:

- material production (labor): transformation of nature, the natural existence of people.

- social action: transformation of social existence, change of existing social relations by certain “mass forces” (revolutions, reforms, wars, transformation of certain social structures and so on.).

- scientific experiment: active (as opposed to observation) activity, during which a person artificially creates conditions that allow him to explore the properties of the objective world that interest him (including a social experiment).

Functions of practice, she happens to be:

- source of knowledge because all knowledge is brought to life mainly by its needs. In particular, mathematical knowledge arose from the need to measure land plots, calculate areas, volumes, calculate time, etc. Astronomy was brought to life by the needs of trade and navigation, etc.

- criterion of truth: allows you to separate true knowledge from misconceptions (this function of practice will be discussed below).

- basis of knowledge: it “permeates” all aspects, moments, forms, stages of knowledge from its beginning to its end. The entire cognitive process, from elementary sensations to the most abstract theories, is ultimately determined by the tasks and needs of practice. It poses certain problems to knowledge and requires their solution.

- the purpose of knowledge: for it is carried out not for the sake of simple curiosity, but in order to direct and appropriately, to one degree or another, regulate the activities of people. All our knowledge ultimately returns back to practice and has an active influence on its development. The task of man is not only to cognize and explain the world, but to use the acquired knowledge as a “guide for action” to transform it, to satisfy the material and spiritual needs of people, to improve and improve their lives.

Knowledge is not limited to the sphere of science; knowledge in one form or another exists beyond the boundaries of science. The emergence of scientific knowledge did not abolish or render useless other forms of knowledge. Each form of social consciousness: science, philosophy, mythology, politics, religion, etc. corresponds specific forms of knowledge. N scientific knowledge- this is the process of obtaining objective, true knowledge aimed at reflecting the laws of reality. Scientific knowledge has a threefold task and is associated with description, explanation and prediction processes and phenomena of reality.

Many forms of extra-scientific knowledge are older than knowledge recognized as scientific, for example, astrology is older than astronomy, alchemy older than chemistry.

The following forms are distinguished extra-scientific knowledge:

parascientific as incompatible with the existing epistemological standard. A wide class of parascientific (a pair from the Greek - about, with) knowledge includes teachings or thoughts about phenomena, the explanation of which is not convincing from the point of view of scientific criteria;

pseudoscientific as deliberately exploiting speculation and prejudice. Pseudoscience often presents science as the work of outsiders. Sometimes it is associated with the pathological activity of the creator’s psyche, who is popularly called a “maniac” or “crazy.” Symptoms of pseudoscience include illiterate pathos, fundamental intolerance to refuting arguments, and pretentiousness. Pseudoscientific knowledge is very sensitive to the topic of the day, sensation.

quasi-scientific knowledge is looking for supporters and adherents, relying on methods of violence and coercion. As a rule, it flourishes in conditions of strictly hierarchical science, where criticism of those in power is impossible, where the ideological regime is strictly manifested. In the history of our country, periods of “triumph of quasi-science” are well known: Lysenkoism, defamation of cybernetics

anti-scientific knowledge as utopian and deliberately distorting ideas about reality. The prefix “anti” draws attention to the fact that the subject and methods of research are opposite to science. It is associated with the eternal need to discover a common, easily accessible “cure for all diseases.”

pseudoscientific knowledge is an intellectual activity that speculates on a set of popular theories, for example, stories about ancient astronauts, about Bigfoot, about the Loch Ness monster.

Even in the early stages of human history there was everyday practical knowledge, providing basic information about nature and the surrounding reality. Its basis was the experience of everyday life, which, however, had a scattered, unsystematic nature, representing a simple set of information. Sometimes the axioms of sanity contradict scientific provisions, hinder the development of science, get used to human consciousness so firmly that they become prejudices and barriers to progress. Sometimes, on the contrary, science is long and the hard way evidence and refutation comes to the formulation of those provisions that have long established themselves in the environment of everyday knowledge.

Ordinary knowledge includes common sense, signs, edifications, recipes, and personal experience, and traditions. His feature is that it is used by a person almost unconsciously and in its application is not requires preliminary evidence systems. Another feature of it is that it is fundamentally unwritten character. Those proverbs and sayings that are available in the folklore of each ethnic community only record this fact, but do not in any way prescribe the theory of everyday knowledge.

The historically first forms of human knowledge include game cognition, which is built on the basis of conventionally accepted rules and goals. It makes it possible to rise above everyday life, not worry about practical benefits and behave in accordance with freely accepted game norms. In game cognition, it is possible to hide the truth and deceive a partner. It is educational and developmental in nature, reveals the qualities and capabilities of a person, and allows one to expand the psychological boundaries of communication.

A special type of knowledge, which is the property of an individual, is personal knowledge. It depends on the abilities of a particular subject and on the characteristics of his intellectual cognitive activity. Collective knowledge is generally valid or transpersonal and presupposes the presence of a necessary and common system of concepts, methods, techniques and rules for constructing knowledge. Personal knowledge in which a person shows his individuality and Creative skills, is recognized as a necessary and really existing component of knowledge. It emphasizes the obvious fact that science is made by people and that art or cognitive activity cannot be learned from a textbook, it is achieved only through communication with a master.

A special form of extra-scientific and extra-rational knowledge is the so-called folk science, which has now become the business of individual groups or individual subjects: healers, healers, psychics, and previously shamans, priests, clan elders. At its emergence, folk science revealed itself as a phenomenon of collective consciousness and acted as ethnoscience.

In the picture of the world offered by folk science, great importance has a cycle of powerful elements of existence. Nature acts as the “home of man”, man, in turn, as an organic part of him, through which the power lines of the world circulation constantly pass. It is believed that folk sciences are addressed, on the one hand, to the most elementary and, on the other hand, to the most vital spheres of human activity, such as health, agriculture, cattle breeding, and construction.

Since the diverse set of non-rational knowledge does not lend itself to strict and exhaustive classification, one can come across the following three types of cognitive technologies: paranormal knowledge, pseudoscience And deviant science.

Wide class paranormal knowledge includes teachings about secret natural and psychic forces and relationships hidden behind ordinary phenomena. Mysticism and spiritualism are considered the most prominent representatives of paranormal knowledge. To describe methods of obtaining information that goes beyond the scope of science, in addition to the term “paranormality,” the term “extrasensory perception” is used - HFV or “parasensitivity”, “psi-phenomena”. It involves the ability to obtain information or influence without resorting to direct physical means. Science cannot yet explain those involved in in this case mechanisms, just as it cannot ignore such phenomena. A distinction is made between extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis. ESP is divided into telepathy and clairvoyance. Psychokinesis is the ability to influence external systems that are outside the scope of our motor activity, to move objects in a non-physical way.

For pseudoscientific knowledge is characterized by sensationalism of topics, recognition of secrets and riddles, “skillful processing of facts.”

Term "deviant" means cognitive activity deviating from accepted and established standards. Moreover, the comparison takes place not with an orientation towards a standard and sample, but in comparison with the norms shared by the majority of members of the scientific community. A distinctive feature of deviant knowledge is that it is carried out, as a rule, by people who have scientific training, but for one reason or another choose methods and objects of research that are very divergent from generally accepted ideas. Representatives of deviant knowledge usually work alone or in small groups. The results of their activities, as well as the direction itself, have a rather short period of existence.

Religious knowledge, which is based on faith and rushes beyond the boundaries of the rational into the sphere of comprehension of the supernatural, claims a special relationship. Religious knowledge, being one of the earliest forms of knowledge, contains mechanisms for regulating and regulating the life of society. Its attributes are a temple, an icon, texts of the Holy Scriptures, prayers, and various religious symbols. Faith is not only the basic concept of religion, but also the most important component of a person’s inner spiritual world, a mental act and an element of cognitive activity.

Faith versus knowledge is the conscious recognition of something as true based on the predominance of subjective significance. Religious knowledge based on faith reveals itself in the immediate, proof-free acceptance of certain provisions, norms, and truths. As a psychological act, faith manifests itself in a state of conviction and is associated with a feeling of approval or disapproval. As an internal spiritual state, it requires a person to comply with those principles and moral precepts in which he believes, for example, in justice, in moral purity, in world order, in goodness.

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