UDC: 165
https://doi.org/10.25198/2077-7175-2019-3-58
THE ROLE OF DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION IN CHANGING THE NORMATIVE BOUNDARIES OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
V.A. Goncharova
Orenburg State Medical University, Orenburg, Russia
е-mail: maksimov55@mail.ru
Abstract. The article is devoted to a philosophical understanding of the influence degree of the norms of description and explanation on the borders of scientific knowledge. The relevance of this study is determined by the fact that the rules are the basis of science, and each participant in the process of research activity, anyway, is to comply with them. At the same time, today science is undergoing significant changes, which requires a constant review of the research process regulatory framework.
Focusing on the importance of norms in the formation of scientific knowledge, the author emphasizes the epistemological relevance of the research topic. Appeal to the classifications of scientific standards developed by N.V. Motroshilova and V.S. Steppe, allowed to clarify the content of modern ideas about the description and explanation of knowledge. Further, the problems of the functional purpose of these norms are considered and the relationship of the development of ideas about them with the process of changing the normative boundaries of knowledge is tracked. Comparative analysis of various options of the description made it possible to clarify the features of the individual thinkers contribution in the formation of ideas about this norm. The description, in particular, was investigated as followers: an absolute reference system in science; the dialectical relationship of language and science; an operation carried out on the basis of rationalistic attitudes taking into account experience, deductive thinking and intuition; method and principles of fixing the characteristics of the phenomenon, expanding the content of its concept. The identification of alternative ideas about explanation has shown that this rule, which implies the establishment of cause-effect relationships and the formation of a holistic image of an object, operates on the basis of laws recognized by the scientific community. An analysis of the norm of explanation indicates that it implements the function of regulating the process of scientific knowledge; by specifying patterns of logical alignment of thinking, this rule contributes to streamlining scientific research activities. The author comes to the conclusion that the norms of description and explanation, closely correlating with each other, in the course of their development, react flexibly to changing conditions for the implementation of the research process, thereby facilitating the transformation of the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
Keywords: norms, scientific knowledge, boundaries, development, explanation, description.
