Theoretical generalization and development of this. Theoretical generalization. You may be interested to know the lexical, direct or figurative meaning of these words

In scientific cognition there is a complex, dynamic, integral, subordinated system of diverse methods used at different stages and levels of cognition. So, in the process of scientific research, various general scientific methods and means of cognition are used both at the empirical and theoretical levels. In turn, general scientific methods, as already noted, include a system of empirical, general logical and theoretical methods and means of cognition of reality.

1. General logical methods of scientific research

General logical methods are used primarily at the theoretical level of scientific research, although some of them can also be applied at the empirical level. What are these methods and what is their essence?

One of them, widely used in scientific research, is analysis method (from the Greek. analysis - decomposition, dismemberment) - a method of scientific knowledge, which is a mental division of the object under study into constituent elements in order to study its structure, individual features, properties, internal connections, relationships.

Analysis enables the researcher to penetrate into the essence of the phenomenon under study by dividing it into its constituent elements and to identify the main, essential. Analysis as a logical operation is an integral part of any scientific research and usually forms its first stage, when the researcher moves from an undivided description of the object under study to revealing its structure, composition, as well as its properties and relationships. Analysis is already present at the sensory level of cognition, it is included in the process of sensation and perception. At the theoretical level of knowledge, the highest form of analysis begins to function - mental, or abstract-logical analysis, which arises along with the skills of the material and practical division of objects in the labor process. Gradually man mastered the ability to anticipate the material-practical analysis in the mental analysis.

It should be emphasized that, being a necessary method of cognition, analysis is only one of the moments of the process of scientific research. It is impossible to know the essence of an object only by dividing it into the elements of which it consists. For example, a chemist, according to Hegel, puts a piece of meat in his retort, subjects it to various operations, and then declares: I found that meat consists of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, etc. But these substances - elements are no longer the essence of meat .

In each field of knowledge there is, as it were, its own limit of division of the object, beyond which we pass to a different nature of properties and patterns. When the particulars are studied by analysis, the next stage of knowledge begins - synthesis.

Synthesis (from the Greek synthesis - connection, combination, composition) is a method of scientific knowledge, which is a mental connection of the constituent parts, elements, properties, relationships of the object under study, dissected as a result of analysis, and the study of this object as a whole.

Synthesis is not an arbitrary, eclectic combination of parts, elements of the whole, but a dialectical whole with the extraction of essence. The result of synthesis is a completely new formation, the properties of which are not only the external connection of these components, but also the result of their internal interconnection and interdependence.

Analysis fixes mainly that specific thing that distinguishes the parts from each other. Synthesis, on the other hand, reveals that essential common thing that binds the parts into a single whole.

The researcher mentally divides the object into its component parts in order to first discover these parts themselves, find out what the whole consists of, and then consider it as consisting of these parts, already examined separately. Analysis and synthesis are in a dialectical unity: our thinking is as analytical as it is synthetic.

Analysis and synthesis originate in practical activities. Constantly dividing various objects into their component parts in his practical activity, a person gradually learned to separate objects mentally as well. Practical activity consisted not only of the dismemberment of objects, but also of the reunification of parts into a single whole. On this basis, mental analysis and synthesis gradually arose.

Depending on the nature of the study of the object and the depth of penetration into its essence, various types of analysis and synthesis are used.

1. Direct or empirical analysis and synthesis - is used, as a rule, at the stage of superficial acquaintance with the object. This type of analysis and synthesis makes it possible to cognize the phenomena of the object under study.

2. Elementary theoretical analysis and synthesis - is widely used as a powerful tool for understanding the essence of the phenomenon under study. The result of applying such an analysis and synthesis is the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships, the identification of various patterns.

3. Structural-genetic analysis and synthesis - allows you to most deeply delve into the essence of the object under study. This type of analysis and synthesis requires the isolation of such elements in a complex phenomenon that are the most important, essential and have a decisive influence on all other aspects of the object under study.

Methods of analysis and synthesis in the process of scientific research function inextricably linked with the method of abstraction.

abstraction (from Latin abstractio - distraction) is a general logical method of scientific knowledge, which is a mental abstraction from non-essential properties, connections, relations of the objects under study with the simultaneous mental selection of the essential aspects of interest to the researcher, properties, connections of these objects. Its essence lies in the fact that a thing, property or relation is mentally distinguished and at the same time abstracted from other things, properties, relations and is considered, as it were, in a "pure form".

Abstraction in human mental activity has a universal character, because each step of thought is associated with this process, or with the use of its results. The essence of this method is that it allows you to mentally abstract from non-essential, secondary properties, connections, relations of objects and at the same time mentally highlight, fix the sides, properties, connections of these objects that are of interest to research.

Distinguish between the process of abstraction and the result of this process, which is called abstraction. Usually, the result of abstraction is understood as knowledge about some aspects of the objects under study. The abstraction process is a set of logical operations leading to such a result (abstraction). Examples of abstractions are countless concepts that a person operates not only in science, but also in everyday life.

The question of what in objective reality is distinguished by the abstracting work of thinking and from what thinking is distracted is decided in each specific case depending on the nature of the object being studied, as well as on the objectives of the study. In the course of its historical development, science ascends from one level of abstraction to another, higher one. The development of science in this aspect is, in the words of W. Heisenberg, "deployment of abstract structures." The decisive step into the sphere of abstraction was taken when people mastered counting (number), thereby opening the way leading to mathematics and mathematical science. In this regard, W. Heisenberg notes: "Concepts, initially obtained by abstracting from specific experience, take on a life of their own. They turn out to be more meaningful and productive than one might expect at first. In subsequent development, they reveal their own constructive possibilities: they contribute to the construction of new forms and concepts, make it possible to establish connections between them and can be applied within certain limits in our attempts to understand the world of phenomena.

A brief analysis suggests that abstraction is one of the most fundamental cognitive logical operations. Therefore, it is the most important method of scientific research. The method of generalization is closely related to the method of abstraction.

Generalization - the logical process and the result of a mental transition from the individual to the general, from the less general to the more general.

Scientific generalization is not just a mental selection and synthesis of similar features, but penetration into the essence of a thing: the perception of the single in the diverse, the general in the singular, the regular in the random, as well as the unification of objects according to similar properties or relationships into homogeneous groups, classes.

In the process of generalization, a transition is made from individual concepts to general ones, from less general concepts to more general ones, from individual judgments to general ones, from judgments of lesser generality to judgments of greater generality. Examples of such a generalization can be: a mental transition from the concept of "mechanical form of motion of matter" to the concept of "form of motion of matter" and, in general, "motion"; from the concept of "spruce" to the concept of "coniferous plant" and, in general, "plant"; from the judgment "this metal is electrically conductive" to the judgment "all metals are electrically conductive".

In scientific research, the following types of generalization are most often used: inductive, when the researcher goes from individual (single) facts, events to their general expression in thoughts; logical, when the researcher goes from one, less general, thought to another, more general. The limit of generalization are philosophical categories that cannot be generalized because they do not have a generic concept.

The logical transition from a more general thought to a less general one is a process of limitation. In other words, it is a logical operation, the inverse of generalization.

It must be emphasized that a person's ability to abstract and generalize was formed and developed on the basis of social practice and mutual communication between people. It is of great importance both in the cognitive activity of people and in the general progress of the material and spiritual culture of society.

Induction (from Latin i nductio - guidance) - a method of scientific knowledge, in which the general conclusion is knowledge about the entire class of objects, obtained as a result of the study of individual elements of this class. In induction, the researcher's thought goes from the particular, the singular through the particular to the general and universal. Induction, as a logical method of research, is associated with the generalization of the results of observations and experiments, with the movement of thought from the individual to the general. Since experience is always infinite and incomplete, inductive conclusions always have a problematic (probabilistic) character. Inductive generalizations are usually viewed as empirical truths or empirical laws. The immediate basis of induction is the repetition of the phenomena of reality and their signs. Finding similar features in many objects of a certain class, we come to the conclusion that these features are inherent in all objects of this class.

By the nature of the conclusion, the following main groups of inductive reasoning are distinguished:

1. Complete induction - such a conclusion in which a general conclusion about a class of objects is made on the basis of the study of all objects of this class. Full induction produces reliable conclusions, which is why it is widely used as evidence in scientific research.

2. Incomplete induction - such a conclusion in which a general conclusion is obtained from premises that do not cover all objects of a given class. There are two types of incomplete induction: popular, or induction through a simple enumeration. It is a conclusion in which a general conclusion about a class of objects is made on the basis that among the observed facts there was not a single one that contradicted the generalization; scientific, i.e., a conclusion in which a general conclusion about all objects of a class is made on the basis of knowledge about the necessary features or causal relationships for some of the objects of this class. Scientific induction can give not only probabilistic, but also reliable conclusions. Scientific induction has its own methods of cognition. The fact is that it is very difficult to establish a causal relationship of phenomena. However, in some cases, this relationship can be established using logical techniques, called methods of establishing a cause-and-effect relationship, or methods of scientific induction. There are five such methods:

1. The method of single similarity: if two or more cases of the phenomenon under study have only one circumstance in common, and all other circumstances are different, then this only similar circumstance is the cause of this phenomenon:

Therefore -+ A is the cause of a.

In other words, if the antecedent circumstances ABC cause the phenomena abc, and the circumstances ADE cause the phenomena ade, then it is concluded that A is the cause of a (or that the phenomenon A and a are causally related).

2. The method of a single difference: if the cases in which the phenomenon occurs or does not occur differ only in one: - the previous circumstance, and all other circumstances are identical, then this one circumstance is the cause of this phenomenon:

In other words, if the antecedent circumstances ABC cause the phenomenon abs, and the circumstances BC (phenomenon A is eliminated in the course of the experiment) cause the phenomenon sun, then it is concluded that A is the cause of a. The basis for this conclusion is the disappearance of a when A is eliminated.

3. The combined method of similarity and difference is a combination of the first two methods.

4. The method of concomitant changes: if the occurrence or change of one phenomenon every time necessarily causes a certain change in another phenomenon, then both of these phenomena are in a causal relationship with each other:

Change A change a

Unchanged B, C

Therefore A is the cause of a.

In other words, if a change in the antecedent phenomenon A also changes the observed phenomenon a, while the remaining antecedent phenomena remain unchanged, then we can conclude that A is the cause of a.

5. The method of residuals: if it is known that the cause of the phenomenon under study is not the circumstances necessary for it, except for one, then this one circumstance is probably the cause of this phenomenon. Using the method of residuals, the French astronomer Neverier predicted the existence of the planet Neptune, which was soon discovered by the German astronomer Halle.

The considered methods of scientific induction to establish causal relationships are most often used not in isolation, but in interconnection, complementing each other. Their value depends mainly on the degree of probability of the conclusion that this or that method gives. It is believed that the most powerful method is the method of difference, and the weakest is the method of similarity. The other three methods are intermediate. This difference in the value of methods is based mainly on the fact that the method of similarity is mainly associated with observation, and the method of difference with experiment.

Even a brief description of the method of induction makes it possible to ascertain its merit and importance. The significance of this method lies primarily in its close connection with facts, experiment, and practice. In this regard, F. Bacon wrote: “If we mean to penetrate into the nature of things, then we turn to induction everywhere. and almost merging with practice.

In modern logic, induction is seen as a theory of probabilistic inference. Attempts are being made to formalize the inductive method based on the ideas of probability theory, which will help to more clearly understand the logical problems of this method, as well as to determine its heuristic value.

Deduction (from Latin deductio - inference) - a thought process in which knowledge about a class element is derived from knowledge of the general properties of the entire class. In other words, the researcher's thought in deduction goes from the general to the particular (singular). For example: "All the planets of the solar system move around the sun"; "Planet Earth"; hence: "The earth moves around the sun." In this example, the thought moves from the general (the first premise) to the particular (the conclusion). Thus, deductive reasoning makes it possible to better know the individual, since with its help we obtain new knowledge (inferential) that this object has a feature inherent in the whole class.

The objective basis of deduction is that each object combines the unity of the general and the individual. This connection is inextricable, dialectical, which makes it possible to cognize the individual on the basis of knowledge of the general. Moreover, if the premises of the deductive reasoning are true and correctly interconnected, then the conclusion - the conclusion will certainly be true. This feature of deduction compares favorably with other methods of cognition. The fact is that general principles and laws do not allow the researcher to go astray in the process of deductive cognition, they help to correctly understand individual phenomena of reality. However, it would be wrong on this basis to overestimate the scientific significance of the deductive method. Indeed, in order for the formal power of inference to come into its own, initial knowledge, general premises, which are used in the process of deduction, are needed, and acquiring them in science is a task of great complexity.

The important cognitive significance of deduction is manifested when the general premise is not just an inductive generalization, but some kind of hypothetical assumption, for example, a new scientific idea. In this case, deduction is the starting point for the birth of a new theoretical system. The theoretical knowledge created in this way predetermines the construction of new inductive generalizations.

All this creates real prerequisites for a steady increase in the role of deduction in scientific research. Science is increasingly confronted with such objects that are inaccessible to sensory perception (for example, the microcosm, the Universe, the past of mankind, etc.). When cognizing objects of this kind, it is much more often necessary to turn to the power of thought than to the power of observation and experiment. Deduction is indispensable in all areas of knowledge where theoretical positions are formulated to describe formal rather than real systems, for example, in mathematics. Since formalization in modern science is used more and more widely, the role of deduction in scientific knowledge increases accordingly.

However, the role of deduction in scientific research cannot be absolute, and even more so - it cannot be opposed to induction and other methods of scientific knowledge. Extremes of both metaphysical and rationalistic nature are unacceptable. On the contrary, deduction and induction are closely related and complement each other. Inductive research involves the use of general theories, laws, principles, that is, it includes the moment of deduction, and deduction is impossible without general provisions obtained inductively. In other words, induction and deduction are as necessarily linked as analysis and synthesis. We must try to apply each of them in its place, and this can only be achieved if we do not lose sight of their connection with each other, their mutual complementation of each other. “Great discoveries,” notes L. de Broglie, “leaps forward in scientific thought are created by induction, a risky, but truly creative method ... Of course, one should not conclude that the rigor of deductive reasoning has no value. In fact, only it prevents the imagination from falling into error, only it allows, after the establishment of new starting points by induction, to deduce consequences and compare conclusions with facts. Only one deduction can provide a test of hypotheses and serve as a valuable antidote against an excessively played out fantasy ". With such a dialectical approach, each of the above and other methods of scientific knowledge will be able to fully show all its merits.

Analogy. Studying the properties, signs, connections of objects and phenomena of real reality, we cannot cognize them at once, in their entirety, in their entirety, but we study them gradually, revealing more and more properties step by step. Having studied some of the properties of an object, we may find that they coincide with the properties of another, already well-studied object. Having established such a similarity and found many matching features, it can be assumed that other properties of these objects also coincide. The course of such reasoning forms the basis of the analogy.

Analogy is such a method of scientific research, with the help of which, from the similarity of objects of a given class in some features, a conclusion is drawn about their similarity in other features. The essence of the analogy can be expressed using the formula:

A has signs of aecd

B has signs of ABC

Therefore, B seems to have feature d.

In other words, in analogy, the researcher's thought proceeds from knowledge of a known generality to knowledge of the same generality, or, in other words, from particular to particular.

Concerning specific objects, the conclusions drawn by analogy are, as a rule, only plausible: they are one of the sources of scientific hypotheses, inductive reasoning, and play an important role in scientific discoveries. For example, the chemical composition of the Sun is similar to the chemical composition of the Earth in many ways. Therefore, when the element helium, which was not yet known on Earth, was discovered on the Sun, by analogy it was concluded that a similar element should also be on Earth. The correctness of this conclusion was established and confirmed later. In a similar way, L. de Broglie, having assumed a certain similarity between the particles of matter and the field, came to the conclusion about the wave nature of the particles of matter.

To increase the likelihood of conclusions by analogy, it is necessary to strive to ensure that:

not only the external properties of the compared objects were revealed, but mainly the internal ones;

these objects were similar in the most important and essential features, and not in accidental and secondary ones;

the circle of matching signs was as wide as possible;

not only similarities were taken into account, but also differences - so that the latter could not be transferred to another object.

The analogy method gives the most valuable results when an organic relationship is established not only between similar features, but also with the feature that is transferred to the object under study.

The truth of conclusions by analogy can be compared with the truth of conclusions by the method of incomplete induction. In both cases, reliable conclusions can be obtained, but only when each of these methods is applied not in isolation from other methods of scientific knowledge, but in inseparable dialectical connection with them.

The analogy method, understood extremely broadly, as the transfer of information about some objects to others, is the epistemological basis of modeling.

Modeling - a method of scientific knowledge, with the help of which the study of an object (original) is carried out by creating its copy (model), replacing the original, which is then learned from certain aspects of interest to the researcher.

The essence of the modeling method is to reproduce the properties of the object of knowledge on a specially created analogue, model. What is a model?

A model (from Latin modulus - measure, image, norm) is a conditional image of an object (original), a certain way of expressing the properties, relationships of objects and phenomena of reality on the basis of analogy, establishing similarities between them and, on this basis, reproducing them on a material or ideal object-likeness. In other words, the model is an analogue, a "substitute" of the original object, which in cognition and practice serves to acquire and expand knowledge (information) about the original in order to construct the original, transform or control it.

There must be a certain similarity between the model and the original (similarity relation): physical characteristics, functions, behavior of the object under study, its structure, etc. It is this similarity that allows you to transfer the information obtained as a result of studying the model to the original.

Since modeling is very similar to the method of analogy, the logical structure of inference by analogy is, as it were, an organizing factor that unites all aspects of modeling into a single, purposeful process. One might even say that, in a certain sense, modeling is a kind of analogy. The analogy method, as it were, serves as a logical basis for the conclusions that are made during modeling. For example, on the basis of belonging to model A of features abcd and belonging to original A of properties abc, it is concluded that the property d found in model A also belongs to original A.

The use of modeling is dictated by the need to reveal such aspects of objects that are either impossible to comprehend through direct study, or it is unprofitable to study for purely economic reasons. A person, for example, cannot directly observe the process of the natural formation of diamonds, the origin and development of life on Earth, a whole series of phenomena of the micro- and mega-world. Therefore, one has to resort to artificial reproduction of such phenomena in a form convenient for observation and study. In some cases, it is much more profitable and economical to build and study its model instead of directly experimenting with the object.

Modeling is widely used to calculate the trajectories of ballistic missiles, to study the mode of operation of machines and even entire enterprises, as well as in the management of enterprises, in the distribution of material resources, in the study of life processes in the body, in society.

The models used in everyday and scientific knowledge are divided into two large classes: real, or material, and logical (mental), or ideal. The former are natural objects that obey natural laws in their functioning. They materially reproduce the subject of research in a more or less visual form. Logical models are ideal formations fixed in the appropriate symbolic form and functioning according to the laws of logic and mathematics. The importance of iconic models lies in the fact that, with the help of symbols, they make it possible to reveal such connections and relations of reality that are almost impossible to detect by other means.

At the present stage of scientific and technological progress, computer modeling has become widespread in science and in various fields of practice. A computer running on a special program is capable of simulating a wide variety of processes, for example, fluctuations in market prices, population growth, the takeoff and entry into orbit of an artificial Earth satellite, chemical reactions, etc. The study of each such process is carried out using an appropriate computer model.

System method . The modern stage of scientific knowledge is characterized by the ever-increasing importance of theoretical thinking and theoretical sciences. An important place among the sciences is occupied by systems theory, which analyzes system research methods. The dialectic of the development of objects and phenomena of reality finds the most adequate expression in the systemic method of cognition.

The system method is a set of general scientific methodological principles and methods of research, which are based on an orientation towards revealing the integrity of an object as a system.

The basis of the system method is the system and structure, which can be defined as follows.

A system (from the Greek systema - a whole made up of parts; connection) is a general scientific position that expresses a set of elements that are interconnected both with each other and with the environment and form a certain integrity, the unity of the object under study. The types of systems are very diverse: material and spiritual, inorganic and living, mechanical and organic, biological and social, static and dynamic, etc. Moreover, any system is a combination of various elements that make up its specific structure. What is a structure?

Structure ( from lat. structura - structure, arrangement, order) is a relatively stable way (law) of connecting the elements of an object, which ensures the integrity of a particular complex system.

The specificity of the system approach is determined by the fact that it focuses the study on the disclosure of the integrity of the object and the mechanisms that ensure it, on the identification of diverse types of connections of a complex object and their reduction into a single theoretical picture.

The main principle of the general theory of systems is the principle of system integrity, which means the consideration of nature, including society, as a large and complex system, decomposing into subsystems, acting under certain conditions as relatively independent systems.

All the variety of concepts and approaches in the general theory of systems can, with a certain degree of abstraction, be divided into two large classes of theories: empirical-intuitive and abstract-deductive.

1. In empiric-intuitive concepts, concrete, really existing objects are considered as the primary object of research. In the process of ascent from the concrete-singular to the general, the concepts of the system and systemic principles of research at different levels are formulated. This method has an outward resemblance to the transition from the individual to the general in empirical cognition, but a certain difference is hidden behind the external resemblance. It consists in the fact that if the empirical method proceeds from the recognition of the primacy of elements, then the systematic approach proceeds from the recognition of the primacy of systems. In the systems approach, as the beginning of the study, systems are taken as a holistic formation, consisting of many elements, together with their connections and relationships, subject to certain laws; the empirical method is limited to the formulation of laws expressing the relationship between the elements of a given object or a given level of phenomena. And although there is a moment of generality in these laws, this generality, however, belongs to a narrow class of objects with the same name for the most part.

2. In abstract-deductive concepts, abstract objects - systems characterized by extremely general properties and relationships - are taken as the starting point for research. The further descent from extremely general systems to ever more specific ones is accompanied simultaneously by the formulation of such systemic principles that apply to concretely defined classes of systems.

Empirical-intuitive and abstract-deductive approaches are equally legitimate, they are not opposed to each other, but on the contrary, their joint use opens up extremely great cognitive opportunities.

The system method makes it possible to scientifically interpret the principles of organization of systems. The objectively existing world acts as a world of certain systems. Such a system is characterized not only by the presence of interconnected components and elements, but also by their certain orderliness, organization on the basis of a certain set of laws. Therefore, systems are not chaotic, but ordered and organized in a certain way.

In the process of research, one can, of course, "ascend" from elements to integral systems, as well as vice versa - from integral systems to elements. But under all circumstances, research cannot be isolated from systemic connections and relationships. Ignoring such connections inevitably leads to one-sided or erroneous conclusions. It is no coincidence that in the history of cognition the straightforward and one-sided mechanism in explaining biological and social phenomena slipped into positions of recognition of the first impulse and spiritual substance.

Based on the foregoing, the following main requirements of the system method can be distinguished:

Identification of the dependence of each element on its place and functions in the system, taking into account the fact that the properties of the whole are not reducible to the sum of the properties of its elements;

Analysis of the extent to which the behavior of the system is due to both the characteristics of its individual elements and the properties of its structure;

Study of the mechanism of interdependence, interaction between the system and the environment;

The study of the nature of the hierarchy inherent in this system;

Ensuring the plurality of descriptions for the purpose of multidimensional coverage of the system;

Consideration of the dynamism of the system, its presentation as a developing integrity.

An important concept of the systems approach is the concept of "self-organization". It characterizes the process of creating, reproducing or improving the organization of a complex, open, dynamic, self-developing system, the links between the elements of which are not rigid, but probabilistic. The properties of self-organization are inherent in objects of very different nature: a living cell, an organism, a biological population, human collectives.

The class of systems capable of self-organization is open and nonlinear systems. The openness of the system means the presence of sources and sinks in it, the exchange of matter and energy with the environment. However, not every open system organizes itself, builds structures, because everything depends on the ratio of two principles - on the basis that creates the structure, and on the basis that disperses, blurs this principle.

In modern science, self-organizing systems are a special subject of study of synergetics - a general scientific theory of self-organization, focused on the search for the laws of evolution of open non-equilibrium systems of any basic basis - natural, social, cognitive (cognitive).

At present, the system method is acquiring an ever-increasing methodological significance in solving natural-science, socio-historical, psychological and other problems. It is widely used by almost all sciences, which is due to the urgent epistemological and practical needs of the development of science at the present stage.

Probabilistic (statistical) methods - these are methods by which the action of a set of random factors is studied, characterized by a stable frequency, which makes it possible to detect a need that "breaks through" through the cumulative action of a set of chances.

Probabilistic methods are formed on the basis of probability theory, which is often called the science of randomness, and in the view of many scientists, probability and randomness are practically indissoluble. The categories of necessity and contingency are by no means obsolete; on the contrary, their role in modern science has increased immeasurably. As the history of knowledge has shown, "we are only now beginning to appreciate the significance of the entire range of problems associated with necessity and chance."

To understand the essence of probabilistic methods, it is necessary to consider their basic concepts: "dynamic patterns", "statistical patterns" and "probability". The above two types of regularities differ in the nature of the predictions that follow from them.

In laws of the dynamic type, predictions are unambiguous. Dynamic laws characterize the behavior of relatively isolated objects, consisting of a small number of elements, in which it is possible to abstract from a number of random factors, which makes it possible to more accurately predict, for example, in classical mechanics.

In statistical laws, predictions are not reliable, but only probabilistic. This nature of predictions is due to the action of many random factors that take place in statistical phenomena or mass events, for example, a large number of molecules in a gas, the number of individuals in populations, the number of people in large groups, etc.

A statistical regularity arises as a result of the interaction of a large number of elements that make up an object - a system, and therefore characterizes not so much the behavior of an individual element as the object as a whole. The necessity that manifests itself in statistical laws arises as a result of mutual compensation and balancing of many random factors. "Although statistical regularities can lead to statements whose degree of probability is so high that it borders on certainty, nevertheless, exceptions are always possible in principle" .

Statistical laws, although they do not give unambiguous and reliable predictions, are nevertheless the only possible ones in the study of mass phenomena of a random nature. Behind the combined action of various factors of a random nature, which are practically impossible to capture, statistical laws reveal something stable, necessary, repetitive. They serve as confirmation of the dialectic of the transition of the accidental into the necessary. Dynamic laws turn out to be the limiting case of statistical ones, when probability becomes practically certainty.

Probability is a concept that characterizes a quantitative measure (degree) of the possibility of the occurrence of some random event under certain conditions that can be repeated many times. One of the main tasks of the theory of probability is to elucidate the regularities arising from the interaction of a large number of random factors.

Probabilistic-statistical methods are widely used in the study of mass phenomena, especially in such scientific disciplines as mathematical statistics, statistical physics, quantum mechanics, cybernetics, and synergetics.

6.1 Empirical and theoretical generalization in psychology

Generalization is a cognitive process leading to the selection and meaning of relatively stable properties of the surrounding world. The simplest types of generalization are already carried out at the level of perception - , manifesting as the constancy of perception - . At the level of human thinking, generalization is mediated by the use of socially developed tools - methods of cognitive activity - and signs.

Empirical generalization - generalization - based on the comparison of objects in the selection and designation through the word of their common properties. The use of such properties as classifiers provides a person with the opportunity to work with a much larger volume of objects than is possible in the preceptive plan. With the help of classification schemes, each new object is recognized as belonging to a certain class. The ability for empirical generalization is formed even in preschool age, but the most sensitive age is primary school age.

In addition to empirical and theoretical knowledge in science, one more level can be distinguished, containing general ideas about reality and the process of cognition - the level of philosophical premises, philosophical foundations.

When analyzing the structure of scientific knowledge, it is important to take into account that scientific theory gives us a certain slice of reality, but no system of abstraction can capture the entire richness of reality. Different systems of abstraction dissect reality in different planes. So, according to W. Heisenberg, in modern physics there are at least four fundamental closed non-contradictory theories: classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics. At the same time, in the history of science there is a tendency to reduce all natural science knowledge to a single theory, to reduce it to a small number of initial fundamental principles. The modern methodology of science is aware of the fundamental impracticability of such information. This is due to the fact that any scientific theory is fundamentally limited in its intensive and extensive development. Science must necessarily contain various systems of abstractions, which are not only irreducible to each other, but cut reality in different planes. This applies to the whole of natural science, and to individual sciences that are irreducible to one theory. One theory cannot cover all the variety of ways of cognition, styles of thinking that exist in modern science.

One of the sources of scientific knowledge is scientific discoveries. And one of the methods of scientific discovery is the inductive generalization of the data of experience. F. Bacon, the author of this method, believed that he had developed the method of scientific discoveries and was sure that everyone could master this method as a simple ordinary tool.

According to Descartes, the method of obtaining new knowledge is based on intuition and deduction. Descartes formulated four universal rules for guiding the mind in the search for new knowledge:

1. never take for truth anything that cannot be recognized as obvious to the mind, while it is necessary to avoid haste and prejudice;

2. each problem must be divided into as many parts as necessary for its better resolution;

3. thoughts should be arranged in a certain order from the simplest and easily cognized to the cognition of the complex, recognizing the presence of order even among those that are not in order in the natural world of things;

4. it is necessary to make complete and exhaustive reviews so as not to miss anything.

However, the modern methodology of science has recognized that inductive generalizations cannot make the jump from empiricism to theory.

In the XX century. science has come to understand that since there is no logic of scientific discovery, no methods that guarantee true scientific knowledge, then scientific statements are nothing but hypotheses, i.e. scientific assumptions or assumptions, the true meaning of which is indeterminate. This led to the creation of a hypotheco-deductive model of scientific knowledge, according to which a scientist puts forward a hypothetical generalization and various kinds of consequences, verified by experience, are already derived from it.

Research by V.V. Davydov showed that at the scientific and applied levels of modern psychology, it is possible to concretize and implement in the practice of teaching the ideas known in philosophy about two types of knowledge - about empirical (rational) and theoretical (reasonable) knowledge. They showed that empirical generalization is not a prerequisite for theoretical generalization, some "natural" transition of students from empirical to theoretical thinking in the system of traditional education is not feasible. Theoretical thinking is a qualitatively different type of thinking, and therefore, at some stage of traditional education, there is only the possibility for the student to go beyond the framework of rational-empirical thinking and further development of thinking in the sphere of his theoretical type. The validity of this provision is also demonstrated by the fact that the majority of children and adults, regardless of their age and level of education, retain empirical thinking, and the presence of developed theoretical thinking is revealed in some children and adults in all considered age periods.

The theoretical type of thinking in childhood manifests itself later than the empirical one, since its formation is associated with the need to organize special cooperation between the child and the adult.

And practical. At the same time, the main mechanism for the development of the psyche, the assimilation of socio-historical experience is internalization, during which there is a transition from external activity to internal. The principle of activity is the principle of psychology, which assumes that a person is an active subject of the transformation of the world. A person, as a subject of activity, can treat it differently - he can ...

And outlives them in a "neutralized" form. 6. Introspective approach in psychology. Psychology of consciousness and self-consciousness. Diagnostics of self-consciousness Introspective y is the science of consciousness. I. psychology is based on ideas related to the development of natures. sciences in the 19th century, who sought to find the simplest elements of consciousness, i.e. atoms, cat. would be indivisible and unchanging, and adding up form ...

In the domestic theory and practice of psychological measurements. Although the concept of the meaningfulness of measurement develops with the transformation of Stevens' ideas and the development of problems of statistics and logic, his positions regarding scaling, on the problems of measurements in psychology and the meaningfulness of measurements associated with them require, in our opinion, a critical analysis of the usual practice of using psychological...

Manage your life process. The level of self-management by the process of life activity is identical to the degree of real human freedom. Ensuring that this level is raised is the TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGY of constructive psychology. The development of a person as a subject of his life activity is an integral development, and the means of such development is the practice of self-government...

Theoretical Generalization- Theoretical generalization - generalization - based on the allocation of significant links between the phenomena of the surrounding world, indicating their genetic relationship. It is carried out with the help of the concept -, in which only the most essential is fixed, and the private is omitted. The ability for theoretical generalization is formed most intensively in adolescence - and adolescence -.

Theoretical Generalization

Theoretical generalization - generalization - based on the allocation of significant links between the phenomena of the surrounding world, indicating their genetic relationship. It is carried out with the help of the concept -, in which only the most essential is fixed, and the private is omitted. The ability for theoretical generalization is formed most intensively in adolescence - and adolescence -.

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Theoretical Concept - Theoretical concept is a symbolic display of the selected as a result ...
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Word formation. Comes from the Greek. theory - research. Category. Generalization form. Specificity. It is based on the identification of significant links between the phenomena of the surrounding world, indicating their genetic relationship. It is carried out with the help of a concept in which only the most essential is fixed, and the private is omitted. The ability for theoretical generalization is formed most intensively in adolescence and youth.

Meanings in other dictionaries

Theoretical Constructs

(theoretical constructs) It is not difficult to identify observable behavior, for example, to say that people. eats or runs, it is much more difficult to determine what caused such behavior. If the relevant conditions preceding the given behavior are known, for example, if it is known that the run was preceded by the presentation of a stimulus harmful to health, and the food was preceded by the presentation of food, which before that ...

Theoretical Generalization

A generalization based on the identification of significant links between the phenomena of the surrounding world, indicating their genetic relationship. It is carried out with the help of a concept in which only the most essential is fixed, and the private is omitted. The ability for theoretical generalization is formed most intensively in adolescence and youth. ...

Theoretical Concept

Word formation. Comes from the Greek. theory - research. Category. The form of concepts. Specificity. Symbolic display of essential properties identified as a result of analytical work carried out with the help of genetic reinterpretation, which are common to any class of objects, connected by their common history of development. ...