1.4 Cognition, truth and its criteria. Bogbaz10, §6, 55-60; Bogprof10, §21, 22.
Cognition- this is a process of human activity, the main content of which is the reflection of objective reality in his mind, and the result is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world around him.
Types of knowledge:
philosophical
artistic
Social
Ordinary
In the learning process involved:
Subject of knowledge- this is a knowing person, endowed with will and consciousness; the whole society.
Object of knowledge is a cognizable object; the whole world around.
Stages of knowledge:
sensuous(sensitive ) knowledge. A person receives information through the senses.
1.1 Feeling- reflection of individual properties and qualities of objects of the surrounding world that directly affect the senses;
1.2 Perception- the formation of a holistic image, with the help of objects and their properties that directly affect the senses;
1.3 Performance- such a form of cognition in which the sensory reflection (sensory image) of objects and phenomena is stored in the mind, which allows you to reproduce it mentally even if it is absent and does not affect the organs.
2. rational cognition(through thinking)
2.1 concept is a form (kind) of thought that reflects the general and essential features of cognizable objects or phenomena.
2.2 Judgment - there is a form of thought in which a connection is established between separate concepts and with the help of this connection something is affirmed or denied.
2.3 Inference called obtaining new judgments on the basis of existing ones by using the laws of logical thinking.
The essence of the process of cognition is to obtain the most objective, complete and accurate knowledge about the surrounding world. Different schools of philosophy gave different answers to the question of the possibility of knowing the world and obtaining true knowledge. Agnoses believed that it was impossible to obtain reliable knowledge , empiricists- that this can be done only with the help of sensations, and rationalists argued that the criterion of truth is only reason.
True- this is the correspondence of the acquired knowledge to the content of the object of knowledge.
The hallmark of truth is:
objective side shows us the truth in that part of it, the content of which does not depend on us, since it exists in objective reality.
Subjective side points to the fact that in its form the truth is always subjective, since when it is received in the process of cognition, the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition takes place, in which the consciousness of the latter takes a direct part
True:
Absolute Truth is a complete, unchanging, once and for all established knowledge about any object or phenomenon.
Relative truth - is an incomplete, limited knowledge, true only in certain conditions, which a person (humanity) possesses at a given stage of his development.
driving force process of cognition, as well as the criterion of truth is practice. In addition to practice, there are and other criteria of truth, in particular formal - logical , which is used when there is no way to rely on practice
DETAILS
6.1. Cognition.
6.1.1. Theory of knowledge.
6.1.2. Cognition and knowledge.
6.1.3. Subject and object of knowledge.
6.2. Forms (sources, steps) of knowledge.
6.2.1. Sensual, experiential knowledge. Feeling. Perception. Performance.
6.2.1. Rational, logical knowledge (thinking). Concept. Judgment. Inference.
6.2.3. Intuition.
6.3. Sources of knowledge: reason, feeling or intuition?
6.3.1. Rationalism.
6.3.2. Empiricism.
6.3.3. "The Way of the Bee" Compromise between empiricism and rationalism.
6.3.4. Intuitionism. Types of intuition.
6.4. What is truth?
6.4.1. Theories of truth.
6.4.2. Objective, absolute and relative truth.
6.4.3. Is there truth? Agnosticism.
6.4.4. What is the reason for the relativity of human knowledge?
6.4.5. Truth criteria.
6.1
. Cognition.
6.1.1. Theory of knowledge.
Epistemology(from Greek. gnosis - knowledge and logos - teaching) - the doctrine of the essence, patterns and forms of knowledge.
6.1.2. Cognition and knowledge.
Cognition- 1) the process of comprehending reality, accumulating and comprehending data obtained in the experience of human interaction with the outside world; 2) the process of active reflection and reproduction of reality in the human mind, the result of which is new knowledge about the world.
Knowledge- 1) the result of cognition of reality, proven by practice, its true reflection in human thinking; 2) (in a broad sense) any kind of information; 3) (in the narrow sense) information confirmed by scientific means.
6.1.3. Subject and object of knowledge.
The process of cognition presupposes the presence of two sides: the cognizing person (the subject of cognition) and the cognizable object (the object of cognition).
Subject of knowledge(from lat. subjectus - underlying, underlying) - 1) the carrier of subject-practical activity and cognition (an individual or a social group), a source of activity aimed at an object.
Basic concepts of the subject of knowledge.
1) Psychological subject of cognition (isolated subject): the subject is equal to the human individual performing the cognitive act.
This position is close to our everyday experience. The cognizing subject is considered as a passive registrar of external influences, reflecting the object with varying degrees of adequacy. This approach does not take into account the active and constructive nature of the subject's behavior - the fact that the latter is able not only to reflect, but also to form the object of knowledge.
The notion that the knowing mind passively contemplates the world and in this way cognizes it developed in the 17th century (John Locke).
2) transcendental subject of cognition: there is an invariant and stable "cognitive core" in each person, which ensures the unity of cognition in different eras (Immanuel Kant).
Transcendental(from lat. trascedes - going beyond) - relating to intuitive, a priori (inexperienced or pre-experienced) conditions for the possibility of cognition. The transcendental is the opposite of the empirical.
The results of cognition reflect not only the properties of the subject under study, but also how we organize the learning process (means and methods of cognition), and the characteristics of ourselves (our positions, previously accumulated experience).
3) Collective the subject of cognition: the main cognizing subject - the source of knowledge of nature and society is considered to be all of humanity.
Object of knowledge(from lat. objectum - object) - that which opposes the subject in his cognitive activity. The subject itself can also act as an object.
By the object of knowledge is meant a part of the external world or all real fragments of being that oppose the subject and are specially subjected to research. So, for example, a person is the object of study of many sciences - biology, medicine, psychology, sociology, philosophy, etc.
The subject is a creative principle active in cognition. An object is something that opposes the subject and what its cognitive activity is aimed at.
6.2
. Forms (sources, steps) of knowledge.
6.2.1. Sensual, experiential knowledge.
Forms of sensory knowledge: 1) sensation, 2) perception, 3) representation.
1) Feeling- a reflection of the individual properties of an object, phenomenon, process, resulting from their direct impact on the senses.
Different bases are used in classifications of sensations. By modality, visual, gustatory, auditory, tactile and other sensations are distinguished.
2) Perception- a sensual image of a holistic picture of an object, process, phenomenon that directly affects the senses.
3) Performance- sensual image of objects and phenomena, stored in the mind without their direct effect on the senses.
The degree of generalization of one or another representation may be different, in connection with which there are single and general representations. Through language, the representation is translated into an abstract concept.
6.2.2. Rational, logical knowledge (thinking).
Forms of rational knowledge: 1) concept, 2) judgment, 3) conclusion.
1)concept- 1) a thought that singles out objects from the subject area and collects objects into a class based on their common and distinctive feature; 2) a form of thinking that reflects the essential properties, connections, relationships of objects and phenomena.
Volume concepts - a class of objects selected from a set of objects and generalized in a concept.
For example, the scope of the concept of "goods" means the set of all products offered to the market both now and in the past or in the future.
Content concepts - a set of essential and distinctive features of an object, quality or a set of homogeneous objects reflected in this concept.
For example, the content of the concept of "corruption" is a combination of two essential features: "fusion of state structures with the structure of the criminal world" and "bribery and corruption of public and political figures, government officials and officials."
The law of the inverse relationship between content and volume: the wider the scope of the concept, the poorer it is in content, i.e. specific distinguishing features.
2) Judgment- 1) a thought that affirms or denies something about the objects of knowledge; 2) a thought that affirms the presence or absence of any state of affairs.
Example: The teeth of mammals have roots.
3)inference- 1) the mental connection of several judgments and the derivation of a new judgment from them; 2) obtaining new judgments based on existing ones with the help of logical thinking.
Any conclusion consists of premises, conclusion and conclusion. The premises of the inference are the initial judgments from which the new judgment is derived.
A conclusion is a new judgment obtained logically from the premises. The logical transition from premises to conclusion is called a conclusion.
Types of inference:
1) deductive, 2) inductive, 3) traductive (by analogy).
Deduction(from lat. deductio - derivation) - derivation of the particular from the general; a path of thought that leads from the general to the particular, from the general to the particular.
The general form of deduction is syllogism, the premises of which form the specified general position, and the conclusions - the corresponding private judgment.
Example:
1st premise: mammalian teeth have roots;
2nd premise: a dog is a mammal;
Conclusion (conclusion): dog teeth have roots.
Induction (lat. inductio - guidance) - a way of reasoning from particular provisions to general conclusions.
Traduction (lat. traductio - movement) - a logical conclusion in which premises and conclusions are judgments of the same generality.
Traductive reasoning is an analogy.
Traduction types: 1) conclusion from the singular to the singular, 2) conclusion from the particular to the particular, 3) conclusion from the general to the general.
6.2.3. Intuition(in medieval Latin intuitio, from intueor - I look intently) - the comprehension of truth by direct observation of it without substantiation with the help of evidence.
Intuition- 1) the ability of human consciousness in some cases to catch the truth by instinct, guess, based on previous experience, on previously acquired knowledge; 2) insight; 3) direct knowledge, cognitive premonition, cognitive insight; 4) ultra-fast thought process.
6.3
. Sources of knowledge: reason, feeling or intuition?
6.3.1. Rationalism.
Socrates and his student Plato insisted that the basis of knowledge and learning are general concepts, which are called universals.
Universals(from lat. universalis - general) - general concepts. The ontological (existential) status of the universal is one of the central problems of medieval philosophy (dispute about the universal of the 10th-14th centuries): do universals exist 1) “before things”, as their eternal ideal prototypes (Platonism, extreme realism), 2) “in things” (Aristotelianism, moderate realism), 3) “after things” in human thinking (nominalism, conceptualism).
These universals are already embedded in the human mind from birth, and thus knowledge consists in remembering what we already know.
Anamnesis(from Greek. anamnesis recollection, recollection) - according to Plato, knowledge, since all knowledge is the memory of the soul about the ideas that it contemplated before its connection with the body.
A point of view similar to the Platonic one on the source and foundations of our knowledge was defended by the French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes. To test the reliability of our knowledge, he suggested that all knowledge should begin with a doubt about the available information about the world. By successively excluding facts that did not stand the test of the principle of doubt, Descartes came to the conclusion that there are only two facts, the truth of which cannot be doubted.
1) “I think, therefore I am” (Cogito ergo sum).
2) The second undoubted truth is the existence of God.
The hallmarks of indubitable truths, which make it possible to separate them from falsehood and error, are clarity and distinctness. On this basis, we can be completely sure of the truth of all mathematical knowledge, since mathematics deals exclusively with clear and distinct innate ideas.
Theories of knowledge of Plato, Descartes and others like them are called rationalistic. They claim that with the help of the mind alone, one can obtain true knowledge. This knowledge is the knowledge of universals (general concepts) that are innate to us, and from which particular knowledge can be obtained.
Rationalism(from lat. rationalis reasonable, ratio mind) - 1) a philosophical direction that recognizes the mind as the basis of knowledge and behavior of people.
6.3.2. Empiricism.
Empiricism(from Greek. empeiria - experience), a direction in the theory of knowledge, recognizing sensory experience as the only source of reliable knowledge. Empiricism was formed in the 17th - 18th centuries. (Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume).
Sensationalism(from lat. sensus - perception, feeling), a direction in the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perceptions are the basis and main form of reliable knowledge. Sensationalism is an early form of empiricism.
The philosophers representing it deny the existence of innate knowledge and are generally skeptical about the possibility of obtaining reliable knowledge on the basis of reason alone.
John Locke tried to prove that we have no innate ideas, and that all knowledge comes from impressions received from the senses. The human mind from birth can be likened to a blank slate ( tabula rasa), devoid of any images of ideas.
6.3.3. " The path of the bee».
The question of what we humans can reliably know about the inner and outer world is unresolvable from the extreme positions of rationalistic and empirical theories. Francis Bacon, the founder of English empiricism, drew attention to this with the help of the allegories "the path of the ant", "the path of the spider" and "the path of the bee".
« The path of the ant” is a method of extreme empiricism, characterized by a simple collection of facts obtained on the basis of sensory impressions, without their systematization and comprehension.
« Way of the Spider” illustrates well the method of extreme rationalism, which attempts to derive knowledge from a few innate ideas. In this he is like a spider weaving a web of material that he himself produces.
« The path of the bee"removes the extremes of empiricism and rationalism and is a two-stage process of cognition: feelings deliver data about the properties of objects, which are then processed by the mind using the methods and principles of theoretical thinking.
6.3.4. Intuition as a source of knowledge.
Intuitivism- a trend in philosophy that sees in intuition the only reliable means of knowledge.
There were cases when the formulated results of "insights" existed for centuries before they received due recognition, were logically substantiated and found practical application. These include, in particular, Leonardo da Vinci's prediction of the possibility of manufacturing aircraft heavier than air, the formulation (though not entirely clear) by Roger Bacon of the law of constancy of composition and the law of shares (multiple ratios) in chemistry, Francis Bacon's foresight of the possibility of creating ships for diving and the possibility of maintaining the vital activity of the organism during the removal of vital organs.
Types of intuition: 1) sensual, 2) intellectual, 3) mystical.
6.4
. True.
6.4.1. What is truth?
1) ontological
(existential) theory of truth.
Pavel Florensky. "The Pillar and Ground of Truth" (1914):
“What is truth?” Pilate asked Truth. He did not receive an answer, because he did not receive it, because his question was in vain. The Living Answer stood before him, but Pilate did not see its truth in the Truth. Suppose that the Lord, not only with his screaming silence, but also with quiet words, would answer the Roman Procurator: "I am the Truth." But even then, again, the questioner would remain unanswered, because he did not know how to recognize Truth as truth, could not be convinced of its authenticity.
2) Classic ( correspondent) theory of truth.
Aristotle: “To speak of the existent that it does not exist, or of the non-existent that it is, is to speak false; and to say that what is and what is not is is to say the truth.”
True- correspondence (correspondence) between facts and statements about these facts. Truth is a property of statements, judgments or beliefs.
3) coherent theory of truth (Spinoza, Leibniz, Bradley). Truth is the consistency of judgment and belief with all statements, judgments or beliefs that are part of the system to which this judgment belongs.
coherence(from lat. cohaeres in connection) - the coordinated flow of several processes in time.
4) Conventionalism.
Henri Poincaré (1854-1912):
“The fundamentals of Euclid's geometry are nothing but convention, and it would be as unreasonable to inquire whether they are true or false as to ask whether the metric system is true or false. These agreements are only convenient.”
Convention (latin. conventio rapprochement, meeting; popular assembly; agreement, contract, deal) - an agreement.
5) Pragmatism (Greek. pragma - deed, action): true beliefs (representations, beliefs) are such beliefs that lead to actions leading to desired or successful results.
6.4.2. Objective, absolute and relative truth.
objective truth - the content of knowledge, which is determined by the subject being studied, does not depend on the predilections and interests of a person.
Absolute truth - complete, exhaustive knowledge of reality; that element of titles which cannot be refuted in the future.
Relative truth is incomplete, limited knowledge; such elements of knowledge that in the process of development of knowledge will change, be replaced by new ones.
Each relative truth signifies a step forward in the cognition of absolute truth; if it is scientific, it contains elements, grains of absolute truth.
Absolute truth and relative truth are different levels (forms) of objective truth.
Delusion- deviation from the truth, taken by us for the truth.
The first classification of delusions was given by Bacon under the name of "idols".
Some philosophers see the cause of delusions in the human will (Leibniz, Schopenhauer), while most attribute them to reason or social interests (Marx).
Lie- a statement that does not correspond to the truth, expressed in this form consciously - and this differs from delusion.
6.4.3. Is there truth? Agnosticism.
Agnosticism(Greek and negation, gnosis knowledge) is a philosophical doctrine that denies in whole or in part the possibility of knowing the world. Agnosticism limits the role of science only to the knowledge of phenomena.
The opposite of agnosticism is epistemological optimism.
Optimism(from latin. optimus - the best) - 1) the idea that the world is dominated by a positive principle, goodness; joyful perception of life, imbued with faith in a reasonable and fair better future. The opposite of optimism is pessimism.
Supporters of epistemological optimism do not reject the complexity of cognition, the complexity and difficulty of revealing the essence of things. At the same time, different representatives of it have different arguments proving the inconsistency of agnosticism.
Some of them rely on the clarity and distinctness of thought about objects and their essence, others on the general significance of the results obtained, still others on the impossibility of human existence without an adequate reflection of the laws of the objective world, the fourth point to practice as the leading criterion in determining reliable knowledge about the essence of things, etc.
6.4.4. What is the reason for the relativity of human knowledge?
1) The world is infinitely changeable.
2) Human cognitive abilities are limited.
3) The possibilities of cognition depend on the real historical conditions of their time and are determined by the level of development of spiritual culture, material production, and the means of observation and experiment available.
4) Features of human cognitive activity.
Bacon's doctrine of the ghosts of knowledge.
Francis bacon(1561 - 1626) - English statesman and philosopher, the author of the famous saying: "Knowledge is power, and he who masters knowledge will become powerful."
True knowledge is hindered by various objective and subjective factors, which Bacon calls "idols" or "ghosts" of knowledge:
1) Idols of the clan are contained in the very nature of man, in the limitations of his mind and in the imperfection of the senses. Idols of the family distort knowledge, introduce anthropomorphic elements into it.
2) Cave idols: source - the individual characteristics of a person, his origin, upbringing, education, etc.
3) Market Idols generated by social relations and the conventions associated with them: language, concepts of everyday and scientific thinking;
4) Theater idols caused by blind faith in the authority of individuals and theories.
6.4.5. What is the criterion (measurement) of truth?
Criterion- (from Greek. kriterion - a means for judgment) - 1) a sign on the basis of which an assessment, definition or classification of something is made; 2) a measure of evaluation.
Criterion of truth- a means of verifying the truth of human knowledge.
1) Empiricism: data of sensory experience;
2) Rationalism: evidence, which is achieved through intellectual intuition (Descartes), "innate intuition" (Leibniz), logical consistency of the theory;
3) Conventionalism: convenience and simplicity of theory;
With this approach, the question of the truth or falsity of our knowledge is generally eliminated.
4) Pragmatism: truth is the usefulness or efficiency of an idea: "... true is simply beneficial in the way of our thinking";
5) Marxism: the criterion of truth is practice = material production + scientific experiment.
Practice(from Greek. praktikos - active, active) - the material, goal-setting activity of people.
Functions of practice in the process of cognition:
1) the starting point, the source of knowledge (the needs of practice brought to life the existing sciences);
2) the basis of knowledge (it is due to the transformation of the surrounding world that the most profound knowledge of the properties of the surrounding world occurs);
3) practice is the driving force behind the development of society;
4) practice is the goal of cognition (a person cognizes the world in order to use the results of cognition in practical activities);
5) practice is a criterion for the truth of knowledge.
Key Practices: 1) a scientific experiment, 2) the production of material goods and 3) the socially transforming activity of the masses.
Practice structure: 1) need, 2) goal, 3) motive, 4) expedient activity, 5) subject, 6) means and 7) result.
!!!
Practice 1) does not cover the entire real world, besides 2) practical confirmation of any theory may not happen immediately, but after many years, but this does not mean that this theory is not true. 3) Such a criterion of truth is relative, since the practice itself develops, improves, and therefore cannot immediately and completely prove certain conclusions obtained in the process of cognition.
The idea of complementarity of criteria of truth: the leading criterion of truth is practice, which includes material production, accumulated experience, experiment, supplemented by the requirements of logical consistency and, in many cases, the practical usefulness of certain knowledge.
Cognition, truth and its criteria.
Option 1
Cognition- this is a process of human activity, the main content of which is the reflection of objective reality in his mind, and the result is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world around him.
Types of knowledge:
philosophical
artistic
Social
Ordinary
In the learning process involved:
Subject of knowledge- this is a knowing person, endowed with will and consciousness; the whole society.
Object of knowledge is a cognizable object; the whole world around.
Stages of knowledge:
sensuous(sensitive ) knowledge. A person receives information through the senses.
1.1 Feeling- reflection of individual properties and qualities of objects of the surrounding world that directly affect the senses;
1.2 Perception- the formation of a holistic image, with the help of objects and their properties that directly affect the senses;
1.3 Performance- such a form of cognition in which the sensory reflection (sensory image) of objects and phenomena is stored in the mind, which allows you to reproduce it mentally even if it is absent and does not affect the organs.
2. rational cognition(through thinking)
2.1 concept is a form (kind) of thought that reflects the general and essential features of cognizable objects or phenomena.
2.2 Judgment - there is a form of thought in which a connection is established between separate concepts and with the help of this connection something is affirmed or denied.
2.3 Inference called obtaining new judgments on the basis of existing ones by using the laws of logical thinking.
The essence of the process of cognition is to obtain the most objective, complete and accurate knowledge about the surrounding world. Different schools of philosophy gave different answers to the question of the possibility of knowing the world and obtaining true knowledge. Agnoses believed that it was impossible to obtain reliable knowledge , empiricists- that this can be done only with the help of sensations, and rationalists argued that the criterion of truth is only reason.
True- this is the correspondence of the acquired knowledge to the content of the object of knowledge.
The hallmark of truth is:
objective side shows us the truth in that part of it, the content of which does not depend on us, since it exists in objective reality.
Subjective side points to the fact that in its form the truth is always subjective, since when it is received in the process of cognition, the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition takes place, in which the consciousness of the latter takes a direct part
True:
Absolute Truth is a complete, unchanging, once and for all established knowledge about any object or phenomenon.
Relative truth - is an incomplete, limited knowledge, true only in certain conditions, which a person (humanity) possesses at a given stage of his development.
driving force process of cognition, as well as the criterion of truth is practice. In addition to practice, there are and other criteria of truth, in particular formal - logical , which is used when there is no way to rely on practice
Option 2
To orient a person in the surrounding world, to interpret and predict events, to plan and implement the activities of groups of people, to develop new scientific ideas, knowledge is needed. Knowledge is a complex dynamic system, it reflects the cultural experience and information potential of mankind, which is formed in the process of cognition.
Distinguish between sensory and rational cognition. Sensual knowledge of the world by a person is carried out through sensation, perception and representation. Rational knowledge (the process of thinking) involves the production of concepts, judgments, conclusions through such mental operations as comparison, assimilation, generalization, abstraction.
The question of the priority of one or another species in the knowledge of the world remains open. Philosophers who give preference to sensory knowledge, believing that it is the main and even the only source of our knowledge, are called empiricists. The opposite point of view is defended by rationalists.
At present, the thesis about the unity, interdependence and interdependence of sensory cognition (empirical experience) and conceptual, rational-logical thinking prevails in philosophy. Philosophers refuse to consider "sensibility" and "rationality" as some absolutely independent, isolated functions of a cognizing person, believing that in real cognition they are in continuous interaction. The knowledge acquired by a person in the process of cognition of the surrounding reality must be in a certain correspondence with this reality, reality. Such a problem of the correspondence of knowledge to objective reality appears in philosophy as the problem of truth. Thus, the question of what is truth is essentially a question related to establishing and verifying the correspondence of knowledge to objective reality.
In the history of philosophy, various approaches have been expressed to the selection of criteria for truth. From Plato's point of view, only knowledge of eternal and unchanging ideas can be true. F. Bacon believed that truth is the daughter of time. T. Hobbes proposed a formula: truth is the daughter of reason. Dialectical materialism regards practice as the criterion of truth.
The content of our ideas and knowledge, which does not depend on either man or mankind, is called objective truth. The form of expression of objective truth, which depends on specific historical conditions, characterizing the degree of its accuracy, rigor and completeness, which is achieved at a given level of knowledge, is called relative truth. Perfect, complete, accurate, comprehensive and exhaustive knowledge about any phenomenon or object is called absolute truth.
Option 3
Cognition can be defined as a process of human activity, the main content of which is the reflection of objective reality in his mind, and the result is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world around him. Scientists distinguish the following types of knowledge: everyday, scientific, philosophical, artistic, social. None of these types of cognitive activity is isolated from the others, they are all closely interconnected. In the process of cognition, there are always two sides: the subject of cognition and the object of cognition. In a narrow sense, the subject of cognition usually means a cognizing person endowed with will and consciousness, in a broad sense - the whole society. The object of cognition, respectively, is either a cognizable object, or, in a broad sense, the entire surrounding world within the boundaries in which individuals and society as a whole interact with it. There are two stages of cognitive activity. At the first stage, which is called sensual (sensitive) cognition (from German sensitw - perceived by the senses), a person receives information about objects and phenomena of the surrounding world with the help of the senses. The three main forms of sensory cognition are: a) sensation, which is a reflection of individual properties and qualities of objects in the surrounding world that directly affect the senses; b) perception, during which a holistic image is formed in the subject of cognition, reflecting objects and their properties that directly affect the senses; c) representation - such a form of cognition in which the sensory reflection (sensory image) of objects and phenomena is preserved in the mind, which allows it to be reproduced mentally even if it is absent and does not affect the senses. The second stage of cognitive activity is rational knowledge (from Latin ratio - mind). At this stage, relying on the data obtained as a result of the direct interaction of a person with the surrounding worldsm, with the help of thinking, they are streamlined and an attempt is made to comprehend the essence of cognizable objects and phenomena. Rational knowledge is carried out in the form of concepts, judgments and conclusions. The concept is a form (kind) of thought that reflects the general and essential features of cognizable objects or phenomena. Judgment is a form of thought in which a connection is established between separate concepts and with the help of this connection something is affirmed or denied. Inference is called obtaining new judgments on the basis of existing ones by using the laws of logical thinking. Rational cognition is closely connected with the reflected reality, that is, with sensory cognition, which serves as the basis for it. However, unlike sensory cognition, which exists in the form of images, the results of rational cognition are fixed in the form of signs or in language. Thus, human thinking, based on sensory experience, by means of comparison, assimilation, generalization, abstraction, transforms the sensory image, and fixes the results of the transformation in sign form. The essence of the process of cognition is to obtain the most objective, complete and accurate knowledge about the surrounding world. Different schools of philosophy gave different answers to the question of the possibility of knowing the world and obtaining true knowledge. Agnostics believed that it was impossible to obtain reliable knowledge, empiricists - that this can be done only with the help of sensations, and rationalists argued that only reason is the criterion of truth. In the history of philosophy, there have been various definitions of the concept of "truth". The most frequently used is the following: truth is the correspondence of the acquired knowledge to the content of the object of knowledge. A characteristic feature of truth is the presence of an objective and subjective side in it. The objective side shows us the truth in that part of it, the content of which does not depend on us, since it exists in objective reality. The subjective side points to the fact that in its form the truth is always subjective, since when it is received in the process of cognition, the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition takes place, in which the consciousness of the latter takes a direct part. It is customary to single out absolute truth and relative truth. Absolute truth is called complete, unchanging, once and for all established knowledge about any subject or phenomenon. However, in reality, this is practically unattainable. In most cases, we are dealing with relative truth (or truths), which is incomplete, limited knowledge, true only under certain conditions, which a person (humanity) possesses at a given stage of its development. The driving force of the process of cognition, as well as the criterion of truth, is practice. Moreover, this or that type of cognition has as a criterion of truth the form of practice corresponding to it: everyday practice, observation, experiment, etc. opportunities to rely on practice (for example, identifying logical contradictions in mathematical reasoning).
Lecture:
Truth objective and subjective
From the previous lesson, you learned that knowledge about the world around you can be obtained through cognitive activity using the senses and thinking. Agree, a person who is interested in certain objects and phenomena wants to receive reliable information about them. The truth is important to us, that is, the truth, which is a universal value. What is truth, what are its types and how to distinguish truth from lies, we will analyze in this lesson.
Main term of the lesson:
Trueis knowledge that corresponds to objective reality.
What does this mean? Objects and phenomena of the surrounding world exist on their own and do not depend on human consciousness, therefore objects of knowledge are objective. When a person (subject) wants to study, explore something, he passes the subject of knowledge through consciousness and derives knowledge corresponding to his own worldview. And, as you know, each person has his own worldview. This means that two people studying the same subject will describe it differently. So knowledge about the subject of knowledge is always subjective. Those subjective knowledge that correspond to the objective subject of knowledge and are true.
Based on the foregoing, one can distinguish between objective and subjective truth. Oobjective truth called knowledge about objects and phenomena, describing them as they really are, without exaggeration and understatement. For example, MacCoffee is coffee, gold is a metal. subjective truth, on the contrary, are called knowledge about objects and phenomena, depending on the opinions and assessments of the subject of knowledge. The statement "MacCoffee is the best coffee in the world" is subjective, because I think so, and someone does not like MacCoffee. Common examples of subjective truth are omens that cannot be proven.
Truth is absolute and relative
Truth is also divided into absolute and relative.
Kinds | Characteristic | Example |
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Relative truth |
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Every scientist strives to get as close as possible to absolute truth. However, often due to the insufficiency of methods and forms of cognition, the scientist manages to establish only relative truth. Which with the development of science is confirmed and becomes absolute, or refuted and turns into a delusion. For example, the knowledge of the Middle Ages that the Earth is flat with the development of science was refuted and was considered a delusion.
There are very few absolute truths, much more relative ones. Why? Because the world is changing. For example, a biologist studies the number of animals listed in the Red Book. While he is doing this research, the population changes. Therefore, it will be very difficult to calculate the exact number.
!!! It is a mistake to say that absolute and objective truth are one and the same. This is not true. Both absolute and relative truth can be objective, provided that the subject of knowledge has not adjusted the results of the study to fit his personal beliefs.
Truth Criteria
How to distinguish truth from error? To do this, there are special means of testing knowledge, which are called criteria of truth. Consider them:
- The most important criterion is practice – this is an active objective activity aimed at understanding and transforming the world around. The forms of practice are material production (for example, labor), social actions (for example, reforms, revolutions), scientific experiment. Only practically useful knowledge is considered true. For example, on the basis of certain knowledge, the government carries out economic reforms. If they give the expected results, then the knowledge is true. On the basis of knowledge, the doctor treats the patient, if he is healed, then the knowledge is true. Practice as the main criterion of truth is a part of cognition and performs the following functions: 1) practice is a source of cognition, because it is it that pushes people to study certain phenomena and processes; 2) practice is the basis of cognition, because it permeates cognitive activity from beginning to end; 3) practice is the goal of knowledge, because knowledge of the world is necessary for the subsequent application of knowledge in reality; 4) practice, as already mentioned, is the criterion of truth, necessary to distinguish truth from error and falsehood.
- Compliance with the laws of logic. Knowledge obtained by proving should not be confusing and self-contradictory. It must also be logically consistent with well-tested and credible theories. For example, if someone puts forward a theory of heredity that is fundamentally incompatible with modern genetics, it can be assumed that it is not true.
- Compliance with fundamental scientific laws . New knowledge must comply with the Eternal laws. Many of which you study in the lessons of mathematics, physics, chemistry, social science, etc. These are such as the Law of universal gravitation, the Law of conservation of energy, the Periodic law of Mendeleev D.I., the Law of supply and demand, and others. For example, the knowledge that the Earth is kept in orbit around the Sun corresponds to I. Newton's Law of universal gravitation. Another example, if the price of linen fabric rises, then the demand for this fabric falls, which corresponds to the Law of Supply and Demand.
- Compliance with previously discovered laws . Example: Newton's first law (the law of inertia) corresponds to the law previously discovered by G. Galileo, according to which the body remains at rest or moves uniformly and rectilinearly until it is affected by forces that force the body to change its state. But Newton, unlike Galileo, considered motion more deeply, from all points.
For the greatest reliability of testing knowledge for truth, it is best to use several criteria. Statements that do not meet the criteria of truth are delusions or lies. How do they differ from each other? A delusion is knowledge that does not actually correspond to reality, but the subject of knowledge does not know about it until a certain moment and takes it as the truth. A lie - this is a conscious and deliberate distortion of knowledge, when the subject of knowledge wants to deceive someone.
Exercise: Write in the comments your examples of truth: objective and subjective, absolute and relative. The more examples you give, the more help you will provide to graduates! After all, it is the lack of specific examples that makes it difficult to correctly and completely solve the tasks of the second part of KIM.
Processuality of knowledge is that cognitive activity is an advance from ignorance to knowledge, from error to truth, from incomplete, imperfect, incomplete knowledge to more complete, perfect knowledge. The purpose of knowledge is the attainment of truth.
What is truth? How are truth and error related? How is truth obtained and what are its criteria? J. Locke wrote about the meaning of achieving truth: “The search for truth by the mind is a kind of falconry or dog hunting, in which the pursuit of game itself is a significant part of the pleasure. Each step that the mind takes in its movement towards knowledge is a discovery, which is not only new, but also the best, for the time being, at least."
Aristotle gave the classic definition truth - this is the correspondence of thought and object, knowledge and reality. Truth is knowledge that corresponds to reality. It should be noted that in nature itself there are neither truths nor errors. They are characteristics of human cognition .
Kinds of truth:
1. Absolute truth -
This is knowledge, the content of which is not refuted by the subsequent development of science, but is only enriched and concretized (for example, the teaching of Democritus about atoms;
This is knowledge, the content of which remains invariant (Pushkin was born in 1799);
This is absolutely complete and exhaustive knowledge of the subject . In this understanding, absolute truth is not achievable, because all the connections of the subject cannot be explored.
2. Objective truth- this is knowledge about an object, the content of which is the properties and connections of an objectively (regardless of a person) existing object. Such knowledge does not bear the imprint of the personality of the researcher. objective truth - this is the content of knowledge that does not depend on a person, this is an adequate reflection by the subject of the surrounding world.
3. Relative truth- this is incomplete, limited, true only in certain conditions, knowledge that humanity possesses at a given stage of its development. Relative truth contains elements of delusions associated with concrete historical conditions of knowledge.
4. Concrete truth- this is knowledge, the content of which is true only under certain conditions. For example, "water boils at 100 degrees" is true only under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure.
The process of cognition can be represented as a movement towards absolute truth as a goal through the accumulation of the content of objective truth by clarifying and improving relative and specific truths.
The opposite of truth, but under certain conditions passing into it and emerging from it, is error.
Delusion - an unintentional discrepancy between our understanding of an object (expressed in the corresponding judgments or concepts) and this object itself.
Sources of delusion can be:
Imperfection of the cognitive abilities of the individual;
Prejudices, addictions, subjective moods of the individual;
Poor knowledge of the subject of knowledge, reckless generalizations and conclusions.
Misconceptions must be distinguished from:
- mistakes (the result of an incorrect theoretical or practical action, as well as the interpretation of this phenomenon);
- lies (deliberate, deliberate distortion of reality, deliberate dissemination of deliberately incorrect ideas).
The notion that science operates only with truths is not true. Delusion is an organic part of the truth and stimulates the process of cognition as a whole. On the one hand, delusions lead away from the truth, so a scientist, as a rule, does not deliberately put forward false assumptions. But on the other hand, delusions often contribute to the creation of problem situations, stimulating the development of science.
The experience of the history of science allows us to draw an important conclusion: all scientists should be equal in their search for truth; not a single scientist, not a single scientific school has the right to claim a monopoly in obtaining true knowledge.
The separation of truth from error is impossible without resolving the question of what is criterion of truth .
From the history of attempts to identify the criteria for the truth of knowledge:
· Rationalists (R. Descartes, B. Spinoza, G. Leibniz) - the criterion of truth is thinking itself when it clearly and distinctly thinks of an object; the original truths are self-evident and comprehended by intellectual intuition.
· Russian philosopher V.S. Soloviev - “the measure of truth is transferred from the outside world to the cognizing subject himself, the basis of truth is not the nature of things and phenomena, but the human mind” in the case of conscientious work of thinking.
· E. Cassirer - the criterion of truth is the internal consistency of thinking itself.
· Conventionalism (A. Poincaré, K. Aidukevich, R. Carnap) - scientists accept scientific theories (conclude an agreement, convention) for reasons of convenience, simplicity, etc. The criterion of truth is the formal-logical consistency of the judgments of science with these conventions.
· Neo-positivists (XX century) - the truth of scientific statements is established as a result of their empirical verification, this is the so-called. verification principle. (Verifiability (verification) from Latin verus - true, and facio - I do). However, we note that often experimental activity cannot give a final answer about the truth of knowledge. This happens when the process is studied in the experiment "in its pure form", i.e. in complete isolation from other influencing factors. The experimental verification of social and humanitarian knowledge is significantly limited.
· Pragmatism (W. James) - the truth of knowledge is manifested in their ability to be useful to achieve a particular goal; truth is useful. (The thesis “everything that is useful is true” is debatable, since lies can also bring benefits).
Most common criterion of truth knowledge is practice , understood as the socio-historical activity of people. If the use of knowledge in the practical activities of people gives the expected results, then our knowledge correctly reflects reality. Practice as a criterion of truth is considered not as a single experience, not as a one-time act of verification, but social practice in its historical development.
However, this criterion is not universal, for example, it does not work in those branches of knowledge that are far from reality (mathematics, non-classical physics). Then other criteria of truth are proposed:
· Formal-logical criterion. It is applicable to axiomatic-deductive theories, it implies compliance with the requirements of internal consistency (this is the main requirement), completeness and interdependence of axioms. When it is not possible to rely on practice, the logical sequence of thought, its strict adherence to the laws and rules of formal logic, is revealed. Identification of logical contradictions in reasoning or in the structure of the concept becomes an indicator of error or delusion.
· The principle of simplicity , sometimes called "Occam's razor" - do not multiply the number of entities unnecessarily. The main requirement of this principle is that to explain the objects under study, it is necessary to introduce the minimum number of initial postulates (accepted without proving the provisions).
· Axiological criterion , i.e. correspondence of knowledge to general worldview, socio-political, moral principles. Especially applicable in the social sciences.
But the most important criterion of truth is still practice, experience. Practice underlies the logical, axiological and all other criteria of truth. Whatever methods of establishing the truth of knowledge may exist in science, all of them ultimately (through a number of intermediate links) turn out to be connected with practice.
6. Characteristics of the cognitive abilities of various social groups.
The formation of full-fledged cognitive abilities in children of primary and school age has been fairly well studied by now. The study of the intellectual level of adults faces serious difficulties. Here, of course, the presence of certain age characteristics cannot be denied, but it is quite difficult to single out such age groups. Researchers today have established that certain age groups have common features and relatively stable signs of their intellectual activity. These characteristics are influenced not only by biological age, but also by other factors: family, place of residence, education, ethnic characteristics, and much more. Therefore, people of the same age can belong to different intellectual groups depending on their sociocultural environment.
When measuring the formed intelligence using the so-called "D. Wexler's battery of tests" (tests for awareness, logic, memory, operating with symbols, understanding communication, etc.), the best results were given by the age group from 15 to 25 years, and according to other data - from 25 to 29 years old. It is quite difficult to achieve high accuracy in measuring intelligence. Summarizing the data of various measurements, we can say that the growth of intellectual abilities occurs approximately up to 20-25 years. Then comes a slight intellectual decline, which becomes more noticeable after 40-45 years and reaches its maximum after 60-65 years (Fig. 1).
Rice. 1. Relationship between intelligence and age
However, such testing does not give an objective picture, because. one cannot study the young mind, the mature mind, and the old mind with the same tests.
In a young person, the mind serves, first of all, to assimilate the greatest amount of information, to master new ways of activity for him. The mind of a more mature person is focused not so much on the increment of knowledge, but on solving complex problems based on existing knowledge, experience and their own style of thinking and acting. These qualities of the mind are often called wisdom. Of course, over the years, individual functions of the intellect inevitably weaken and even get lost. In elderly and especially senile people, the objectivity of assessments gradually decreases, inertness of judgments grows, they often stray into extreme, black-and-white tones on controversial issues of life practice.
Studies show that the natural decline in intellectual activity is restrained by personal talent, education, and social position. People with a higher educational level and those in leadership positions tend to retire later than their peers. In addition, they have more opportunities to remain intellectually active after retirement, working as advisers or consultants.
Quite naturally, there are many intellectual centenarians among scientists and other specialists in mental, creative work. For older scientists and engineers, the vocabulary and general erudition hardly change with age, for middle managers the non-verbal functions of communication remain at a high level, for accountants - the speed of arithmetic operations.
In addition to the age characteristics of intelligence, we can also talk about gender and ethnicity.
The question of who is smarter - men or women, is as old as the world. Experimental and test studies carried out over the past two decades have confirmed the fundamental equality of intellects in people of different sexes. When performing tasks for different mental functions (the ability to generate ideas, originality, originality), no special differences were found between male and female intellects. Many well-known psychologists independently came to similar conclusions. However, a certain superiority of women in the resources of verbal memory and the lexical stock of live speech was found. Men are superior to women in visual-spatial orientation.
Thus, although there are intellectual differences between the sexes, they are incomparably small in relation to individual differences within each sex.
The fundamental equality of intellects does not at all mean their sameness, complete identity of cognitive processes in men and women. IQ tests consistently reveal some differences between boys and girls, boys and girls, men and women. Women, on average, surpass men in verbal abilities, but are inferior to them in mathematical abilities and the ability to navigate in space. Girls usually learn to speak, read and write earlier than boys.
The noted differences should not be absolutized. Many men speak better than women, and some women demonstrate better mathematical abilities than the vast majority of men.
An interesting fact is that men in most methods receive the highest and lowest possible scores. In women, the spread of individual assessments of mental giftedness is much narrower. In other words, among men there are much more geniuses in science, art and other fields, but there are also much more feeble-minded men than women.
Another interesting question that arises before the researcher of intelligence is ethnic characteristics. As a rule, ethnic features of intellectual activity and intellectual development are formed against the background of the psychological make-up of the nation.
Hans Eysenck, based on research conducted in the United States, notes that Jews, Japanese and Chinese are superior to representatives of all other nations in all indicators of tests for IQ (intelligence quotient). This is also evidenced by the presentation of the Nobel Prize. The publication American Scientists, which lists America's foremost scientists, shows that Jews outnumber non-Jews by about 300% in this area. The Chinese are just as successful in physics and biology. One of the few attempts at typology of national minds known today belongs to the French theorist of science at the beginning of the 20th century. Pierre Duhem. Duhem distinguished between minds that are broad, but not deep enough, and minds that are subtle, penetrating, although comparatively narrow in their scope.
People of a broad mind, in his opinion, are found among all nations, but there is a nation for which such intelligence is especially characteristic. This is the English. In science, and especially in practice, such a “British” type of mind easily operates with complex groupings of individual objects, but it is much more difficult to assimilate purely abstract concepts and formulate general features. In the history of philosophy, an example of this type of mind, from the point of view of Duhem, is F. Bacon.
The French type, according to Duhem, is especially subtle, loves abstractions, generalizations. Although it is too narrow. An example of the French type of mind is R. Descartes. Duhem cited supporting examples not only from the history of philosophy, but also from other sciences.
Whenever attempting to single out a particular national model of thought, one should remember the relativity of such differentiation. The national mind is not a stable pattern, like the color of the skin or the shape of the eyes, it reflects many features of the socio-cultural life of the people.
scientific knowledge
Similar information.
Epistemology- a philosophical science that studies the problems of the nature of knowledge and its possibilities. Agnosticism- a philosophical doctrine that denies, in whole or in part, the possibility of knowing the world. Gnosticism- a philosophical doctrine that recognizes the possibility of knowing the world.
Cognition- 1) the process of comprehending reality, accumulating and comprehending data obtained in the experience of human interaction with the outside world; 2) the process of active reflection and reproduction of reality in the human mind, the result of which is new knowledge about the world.
Subject of knowledge- the carrier of object-practical activity and cognition (an individual or a social group), a source of activity directed at an object; creative principle active in cognition.
Object of knowledge- that which opposes the subject in his cognitive activity. The subject itself can also act as an object (man is the object of study of many sciences: biology, medicine, psychology, sociology, philosophy, etc.).
Hierarchy of human cognitive abilities(Plato, Aristotle, I. Kant): a) sense cognition- is basic, all our knowledge begins with it; b) rational knowledge- carried out with the help of reason, able to establish, discover objective relationships (causal) between phenomena, the laws of nature; in) knowledge based on the ideas of reason- sets worldview principles.
Empiricism- a direction in the theory of knowledge, recognizing sensory experience as the only source of reliable knowledge (was formed in the XVII-XVIII centuries - R. Bacon, T. Hobbes, D. Locke).
Sensationalism- a direction in the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perceptions are the basis and main form of reliable knowledge.
Rationalism- a philosophical direction that recognizes the mind as the basis of knowledge and behavior of people ( R. Descartes, B. Spinoza, G. W. Leibniz).
Forms (sources, steps) of knowledge:
1. Sensory (empirical) knowledge- cognition through the senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch). Features of sensory cognition: immediacy; visibility and objectivity; reproduction of external properties and sides.
Forms of sensory cognition: sensation (reflection of individual properties of an object, phenomenon, process resulting from their direct impact on the sense organs); perception (a sensual image of a holistic picture of an object, process, phenomenon that directly affects the senses); representation (a sensual image of objects and phenomena, stored in the mind without their direct impact on the senses. Through the language, the representation is translated into an abstract concept.
2. Rational, logical knowledge(thinking). Features of rational cognition: reliance on the results of sensory cognition; abstractness and generalization; reproduction of internal regular connections and relationships.
Forms of rational knowledge: a) a concept (the unity of essential properties, connections and relations of objects or phenomena reflected in thinking); b) judgment (a form of thinking in which something is affirmed or denied about an object, its properties or relations between objects); c) inference (reasoning, during which a new judgment is derived from one or more judgments, called a conclusion, conclusion or consequence). Types of inferences: deductive (the way of thinking from the general to the particular, from the general position to the special), inductive (the way of reasoning from particular provisions to general conclusions), traductive (by analogy).
Sensual and rational cognition cannot be opposed, absolutized, since they complement each other. Hypotheses are created with the help of imagination. The presence of imagination allows a person to exercise creativity.
scientific knowledge- a special type of cognitive activity aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about nature, man and society. Features of scientific knowledge: objectivity; development of the conceptual apparatus; rationality (conclusiveness, consistency); verifiability; high level of generalization; universality (explores any phenomenon from the side of patterns and causes); the use of special methods and methods of cognitive activity.
* Levels of scientific knowledge: one). Empirical. Methods of empirical knowledge: observation, description, measurement, comparison, experiment; 2). Theoretical. Methods of the theoretical level of knowledge: idealization (a method of scientific knowledge, in which the replacement of individual properties of the object under study with symbols or signs), formalization; mathematization; generalization; modeling.
* Forms of scientific knowledge: scientific fact (reflection of an objective fact in human consciousness); empirical law (objective, essential, concrete-universal, recurring stable connection between phenomena and processes); question; problem (conscious formulation of questions - theoretical and practical); hypothesis (scientific assumption); theory (initial foundations, an idealized object, logic and methodology, a set of laws and statements); concept (a certain way of understanding (interpreting) an object, phenomenon or process; the main point of view on the subject; a guiding idea for their systematic coverage).
* Universal methods of scientific knowledge: analysis; synthesis; deduction; induction; analogy; modeling (reproduction of the characteristics of one object on another object (model), specially created for their study); abstraction (mental abstraction from a number of properties of objects and the allocation of some property or relationship); idealization (mental creation of any abstract objects that are fundamentally not feasible in experience and reality).
Forms of non-scientific knowledge:
myth; life experience; folk wisdom; common sense; religion; art; parascience.
Intuition is a specific component of the connection between sensory and rational cognition. Intuition- the ability of human consciousness in some cases to catch the truth by instinct, guess, based on previous experience, on previously acquired knowledge; insight; direct knowledge, cognitive premonition, cognitive insight; super fast thought process. Types of intuition: 1) sensual, 2) intellectual, 3) mystical.
Classification of forms of cognition according to the type of human spiritual activity
* Existential ( J.-P. Sartre, A. Camus, K. Jaspers and M. Heidegger). The cognitive sphere includes emotions and feelings (not sensations) of a person. These experiences are ideological and spiritual in nature.
* Morality is not only a personal form of regulation of human behavior, but also a special form of knowledge. Morality must be learned, and its presence speaks of the spiritual development of a person.
* Aesthetic knowledge has received the greatest development in art. Features: learns the world from the point of view of beauty, harmony and expediency; is not given with birth, but is brought up; is one of the spiritual ways of cognition and activity; it is not aimed, unlike scientific knowledge, at a specific benefit; is entirely creative in nature, does not copy reality, but creatively perceives it. Moreover, it can create its own, aesthetic reality, which is capable of spiritually influencing a person, transforming, transforming and improving his nature.
True- correspondence between facts and statements about these facts. objective truth- the content of knowledge, which is determined by the subject being studied, does not depend on the preferences and interests of a person. subjective truth depends on the perception of the subject, his worldview and attitudes.
Relative truth- incomplete, limited knowledge; such elements of knowledge that in the process of development of knowledge will change, be replaced by new ones. Relative truth depends on the point of view of the observer, it is changeable (this is what the theory of relativity says).
absolute truth- complete, exhaustive knowledge of reality; that element of knowledge that cannot be refuted in the future.
Absolute truth and relative truth different levels (forms) of objective truth.
In form, truth can be: worldly, scientific, artistic, moral, etc., therefore, there can be as many truths as there are types of knowledge. Scientific truth, for example, is distinguished by the system, orderliness of knowledge, its validity and evidence. Spiritual truth is nothing but the correct, conscientious attitude of a person towards himself, other people and the world.
Delusion- the content of the knowledge of the subject, which does not correspond to the reality of the object, but is taken as the truth. Sources of delusions: errors in the transition from sensory to rational knowledge, incorrect transfer of someone else's experience. Lie- deliberate distortion of the image of the object. Disinformation- this is a substitution for selfish reasons of reliable unreliable, true - false.
Reasons for the relativity of human knowledge: the variability of the world; limited cognitive abilities of a person; the dependence of the possibilities of cognition on real historical conditions, the level of development of spiritual culture, material production, and the characteristics of human cognitive activity.
The criterion of truth depends on the form and method of cognition. It can be empirical, that is, experimental (in science); rationalistic (in science and philosophy); practical (in science, social practice); speculative (in philosophy and religion). In sociology, the main criterion of truth is practice, which includes material production, accumulated experience, experiment, supplemented by the requirements of logical consistency and, in many cases, the practical usefulness of certain knowledge.
Practice- material, purposeful activity of people.
Functions of practice in the process of learning: 1) the source of knowledge (the needs of practice brought to life the existing sciences); 2) the basis of knowledge (due to the transformation of the surrounding world, the most profound knowledge of the properties of the surrounding world occurs); 3) practice is the driving force behind the development of society; 4) practice is the goal of cognition (a person cognizes the world in order to use the results of cognition in practical activities); 5) practice is a criterion for the truth of knowledge.
Main types of practice: scientific experiment, production of material goods, socially transforming activity of the masses. Practice structure: object, subject, need, goal, motive, expedient activity, object, means and result.
Thinking and activity
Ancient philosophers and scientists began to explore thinking ( Parmenides, Protagoras, Epicurus, Aristotle) from the standpoint of philosophy and logic. In the Middle Ages, the study of thinking was exclusively empirical in nature. During the Renaissance, sensationalists gave decisive importance to sensation and perception; rationalists considered thinking an autonomous, rational act, free from direct feeling. At the end of the XIX century. pragmatists argued that thoughts are true not because they reflect the material world, but through usefulness to humans. In the XX century. theories appeared: behaviorism (thinking is considered as a process of forming connections between stimuli and reactions), psychoanalysis (studies unconscious forms of thinking, the dependence of thinking on motives and needs); psychological theory of activity (thinking is the lifetime ability to solve problems and transform reality), etc.
Thinking- an active process of reflecting objective reality in concepts, judgments, theories, which is the highest level of human knowledge. Thinking, having its only source of sensation, crosses the boundaries of directly sensory reflection and allows one to gain knowledge about such objects, properties and relations of the real world that cannot be directly perceived by a person. Thinking is the subject of study of the theory of knowledge and logic, psychology and neurophysiology; is studied in cybernetics in connection with the problems of technical modeling of mental operations. Thinking is a function of the brain and is a natural process. Each individual person becomes the subject of thinking only by mastering the language, concepts, logic, which are the products of the development of social practice, since in order to set and solve any problem, a person uses laws, rules, concepts that were discovered in human practice. Human thinking is by its nature social, has a socio-historical nature. The objective material form of thinking is language. Thinking is inextricably linked with language. Language is the expression of human thought.
Thinking is personal. This is manifested in what tasks attract the attention of a particular person, how he solves each of them, what feelings he experiences when solving them. The subjective moment appears both in the relations that have developed in a person, and in the conditions in which this process takes place, and in the methods used, and in the wealth of knowledge and the success of their application.
A distinctive feature of mental activity is the inclusion in this process of the emotional-volitional aspects of the personality, which manifest themselves: in the form of motives, motives; in the form of a reaction to a discovery made, to a solution found or to a failure; in relation to the content of the task itself.
Features of thinking: sensual concreteness and objectivity (primitive man); great generalizing abilities (modern man).
Stages of thinking: 1) formulation of the task (question); 2) decision; 3) the achievement of new knowledge.
Thinking types:
1) figurative. The way to solve it will be practical action. It is peculiar to primitive man and people of the first earthly civilizations.
2) Conceptual (theoretical). The way to solve it will be the use of abstract concepts, theoretical knowledge. characteristic of modern man.
3) iconic. Knowledge exists in linguistic signs (signs-signals, signs-signs, etc.), which have as their meaning a cognitive image of certain phenomena, processes of objective reality. Science is increasingly and more effectively using symbolism as a means of expressing the results of mental activity.
Forms of thinking: concept; judgment; inference.
The main types of mental (logical) operations: comparison; analysis; synthesis; abstraction; specification; induction; deduction; classification; generalization.
Thinking is the basis of behavior, adaptation; thinking is connected with activity, since in its process a number of tasks are first solved, and then the mental project is carried out in practice.
In the process of thinking, a person gradually discovered in the world around him an increasing number of laws, that is, essential, repetitive, stable connections of things. Having formulated the laws, a person began to use them in further knowledge, which gave him the opportunity to actively influence nature and social life.
Activity- a specifically human form of an active relationship to the world around, regulated by consciousness, generated by needs, the content of which is its expedient change and transformation, creatively transforming attitude to the world around.
Human activity differs from the life activity of animals in that it presupposes the presence of a subject of action that opposes the object and acts on it.
