Analysis and synthesis.

1) Analysis (Greek - decomposition) - the division of an object or phenomenon into its constituent, simple parts.

2) Synthesis (Greek - connection, composition) - connection of parts of an object or phenomenon into a whole, consideration of an object in unity.

Metaphysics opposes analysis and synthesis as mutually exclusive methods. Materialistic dialectics, on the other hand, teaches about the unity of analysis and synthesis. Engels wrote that “thinking consists as much in the decomposition of objects of consciousness into their elements as in the unification of elements connected with each other into a unity. Without analysis, there is no synthesis.” V. I. Lenin also emphasizes the unity of analysis and synthesis in cognition. One of the elements of dialectics, V. I. Lenin points out, is “the combination of analysis and synthesis, - disassembly of individual parts and the totality, the summation of these parts together”

Analysis and synthesis are powerful means of human knowledge. Without them, even the elementary and simplest forms of mental activity—sensation, perception—are impossible. The objective world, objective things and phenomena appear before a person in all their complexity and concreteness. The concrete is the unity of the manifold. It is impossible to know this concrete without dividing it into its component parts and elements, without analyzing them. A chemist could not have known anything about chemical processes, about the laws of association and dissociation of atoms, if analysis had not given him the opportunity to isolate the constituent parts of these processes - chemical elements, atoms, molecules. In exactly the same way, an economist could not have known anything about capitalism and the laws of its economic development if, through analysis, he had not singled out its elements - commodity, price, value, surplus value, etc. - and did not know their essence.

Analysis by itself, however, cannot give a complete knowledge of objects. It requires an addition in the form of a synthesis, which, based on the result of analysis, cognizes objects and phenomena as a whole. Marx, who gave in "" (see) a brilliant example of dialectical knowledge, is not limited to one analysis. After analyzing the individual aspects, the elements of the capitalist mode of production, Marx then gives a majestic synthesis showing the capitalist mode of production as a whole, in the dialectical interconnection of all its aspects and laws. The works of Lenin and Stalin provide striking examples of the dialectical application of analysis and synthesis to the knowledge of complex issues of social life and struggle. .

Thus, for example, Lenin in his work “Imperialism, as the Highest Stage of Capitalism”, developing the ideas of “Capital” as applied to the new historical period of capitalism and deeply revealing the essence of imperialism, uses both analysis and synthesis. First, V. I. Lenin explores through analysis various aspects, signs of imperialism, as a new, higher stage of capitalism. Having singled out and elucidated these signs, V. I. Lenin further summarizes them by means of a synthesis and gives a general definition of the essence of imperialism. Defining the essence of a nation, JV Stalin, in his work “Marxism and the National Question”, first, through analysis, highlights its inherent characteristic features, signs: common language, territory, economic life, and mental make-up. Then II. V. Stalin, by way of synthesis, gives a deep definition of the concept of "nation", which contains in a generalized form all its main features.

Thus, in the process of cognition, it is necessary to apply both analysis and synthesis, which, as subordinate moments, are included in the method of materialistic dialectics.

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When analyzing and synthesizing systems, a wide range of various methods can be used. All of them can be classified in various ways: theoretical; empirical; theoretical and empirical.

At the same time to theoretical research methods include the following:

A formalization method based on the study of the content and structure of systems in sign form using artificial languages ​​and symbols, which can ensure the brevity and unambiguity of the research result. This method is interconnected with other methods (modeling, abstraction, idealization, etc.);

Axiomatization method based on obtaining research results based on logical axioms;

An idealization method that involves the study of an element or component of a system endowed with some hypothetical ideal properties. This allows you to simplify research and obtain results based on mathematical calculations with any predetermined accuracy;

The method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete, based on obtaining the results of research on the basis of the transition from the logical study of the abstractly dissected object under study to its integral concrete knowledge.

To empirical methods include:

Observation method based on the fixation and registration of parameters and indicators of the properties of the studied object of study;

Method of measurement, which allows to give a numerical assessment of the investigated property of the object using certain units of measurement;

A comparison method that allows you to determine the differences or commonality of the object under study with an analogue (standard, sample, etc. - depending on the purpose of the study);

An experimental method based on the study of the object under study in conditions artificially created for it. Conditions can be natural or simulated. This method involves, as a rule, the use of a number of other research methods, including methods of observation, measurement and comparison.

Theorist-empirical research methods may include:

An abstraction method based on a mental abstraction from the non-essential properties of the object under study, and further study of its most important aspects on a model (replacing the real object of study);

The method of induction and deduction, based on obtaining the results of a study based on the process of cognition from the particular to the general (induction) and from the general to the particular (deduction);

A modeling method that uses its models in the study of an object, reflecting the structure, connections, relationships, etc. The results of the study of models are interpreted on a real object.

Any research, including the analysis and synthesis of systems, assumes the presence and implementation of the following main actions: observation; experiment; measurement; comparison; description.

Observation- a system for fixing and recording the properties and relationships of the object under study in natural conditions or in an artificial, specially organized experiment. Under favorable conditions, this method provides sufficiently extensive and versatile information for the formation and fixation of scientific facts. Functions of this method: fixation and registration of information; preliminary, on the basis of the existing theory, classification of scientific facts (according to the features: the novelty of the recorded facts, the amount of information contained in the facts, the features of properties and relationships); comparison of recorded facts with what is known in science, with facts characterizing other similar systems.

Experiment- a system of cognitive operations that are carried out in relation to objects placed in such specially created conditions that should contribute to the discovery, comparison, measurement of objective properties, connections, relations of objects and (or) verification of the truth of the theory in relation to these properties, connections, relations. It involves intervention in the natural conditions of the existence of objects and phenomena or the reproduction of certain aspects of objects and phenomena in specially created conditions in order to study them without complicating the process of accompanying circumstances.

Experimental study of objects in comparison with observation has a number of advantages:

In the course of the experiment, it becomes possible to study this or that phenomenon in its "pure form";

The experiment allows you to explore the properties of objects of reality in extreme conditions;

The most important advantage of the experiment is its repeatability.

Measurement as the method is a system of fixing and recording the quantitative characteristics of the measured system. For technical and Biological systems measurement is associated with measurement standards, units of measurement, measures and measuring instruments. For social systems, measurement procedures are associated with indicators - statistical, reporting and planned; units of measure. Measurement is a more accurate cognitive tool. The value of measurement is that it provides accurate, quantified information about the surrounding reality.

Comparison- one of the most common methods of cognition. Comparison allows you to establish similarities and differences

objects and phenomena of reality. As a result of comparison, something common is revealed that is inherent in two or more objects. The essence of this method is to establish the similarity or difference of phenomena in general or in any signs. In order for a comparison to be fruitful, it must satisfy two basic requirements. Only such phenomena should be compared between which a definite objective commonality can exist.

Description- a specific method of obtaining empirical-theoretical knowledge. Its essence is in the systematization of data obtained as a result of observation, experiment, measurement. Thanks to the systematization of facts that generalize individual aspects of phenomena, the process, the subject is reflected as a whole as a system. In the process of description, not only facts are established, but also the dependencies between them: sequence, simultaneity, causality, interconnection, mutual exclusion, etc. Generalization and abstraction, classification of observational, experimental, measurement data in the language of science that take place in the description make facts the basis for further logical operations. This makes it possible at the level of description to establish empirical, statistical dependencies - regularities (laws) - in the form of functional dependencies.

An important feature of the classification of methods is the technology of the processes of forming conclusions during the analysis and synthesis of systems. In accordance with this feature, the method can be informational, mathematical, cybernetic, intuitive, analogous, or combined.

information method

The subject of research can be information processes that are available in the system. Information models are used to display them.

As information models, the IDEF0, DFD and IDEF3 standards are used, which are used, as a rule, to describe and design business processes of any economic systems.

In the early 90s. 20th century The IDEF0 business process modeling standard was adopted, which is very widely used and adopted as a standard in several international organizations. In addition to IDEF0, two more standards DFD and IDEF3 are used. Each of the three standards allows you to consider different aspects of the activity (processes). The IDEF0 standard, using diagrams, allows you to describe a business process in an enterprise and understand what objects or information serve as raw materials for processes, what results work produces, what are the control factors, what resources are needed for this. The DFD standard is used to construct a data flow diagram that is used to describe workflow and information processing. The IDEF3 standard is used to describe the logic of the interaction of information flows that exist between enterprise objects.

Mathematical Methods

Mathematical methods are applied to solve standard and well-defined problems. The following conditions may occur for these problems:

The controlled process is formalized;

The course of the controlled process is determined by a set of parameters characterizing the conditions for the process, and a set of parameters characterizing the control action (content of the solution);

To assess the quality of the controlled process, an optimality criterion can be chosen;

Restrictions are imposed on the set of parameters characterizing the content of the solution.

Solving such a problem means choosing and approving a set of parameters that characterize the control action, under which the optimality criterion takes the desired value (minimum, maximum, given).

The task of finding the optimal variant of activity when developing a solution by this method is solved in the following order: 146

An objective function is formed and mathematical dependences of its parameters are determined;

A system of restrictions on the parameters characterizing the activity option is formed;

One of the methods of mathematical programming is the search for the optimal variant of activity;

Depending on the goals of the analysis (synthesis) of the system, conclusions are formulated.

The optimality criterion (objective function) can be determined by the results of the analysis of the "target tree". At the same time, each of the subgoals of its hierarchy level corresponds to a particular criterion. Convolution of the criteria of the lower level of the hierarchy eventually leads to the formation of a criterion of the upper level, and ultimately - the criterion of optimality.

Cybernetic methods

Cybernetic methods are used, as a rule, to solve poorly defined and uncertain problems. The following conditions may occur for these problems:

The system (process) is partially formalized;

The factors influencing the system are random or purely random;

There are difficulties in choosing a criterion for the quality of the functioning of the system.

Solving such a problem means choosing and approving a set of parameters that characterize the control action, under which the goal of the system functioning is achieved. The goal of the system in this case can be formulated qualitatively.

Cybernetic methods for studying systems involve the use of artificial intelligence formed on the basis of expert systems. The basis for building such systems are knowledge bases that have answers to all possible situations. Knowledge bases are prepared in advance. It uses:

The results of an expert survey of specialists in a particular subject area;

Experience in financial, economic, administrative and other activities;

Research results;

Results of modeling processes of a lower level.

When making a decision using expert systems, a computer is used in an interactive mode. In this case, the system, as a rule, forms a system of questions that must be answered by a specialist who develops a solution. The structure of these questions allows:

Form a tree of goals;

Determine the list of particular tasks that must be completed to achieve the goals;

Determine the conditions and elements of the activity option that affect the ability to achieve private goals.

After that, sequentially with respect to the private goal of the lowest level, conditions and factors are introduced that influence the possibility of achieving it.

In turn, the system issues the best option for the activity (option parameters).

As a result of all operations, a variant of the activity as a whole is formed, which will form the basis of the decision.

Similar information.

Introduction

Analysis and synthesis are called general scientific because they are used in the cognition of all phenomena of reality and, consequently, in all sciences.

These methods have been formed in the course of centuries of human cognitive activity and are being improved in the course of its development. It is necessary to master them in order to apply them in the study of social reality, including the socio-economic and political processes taking place in society.

General scientific methods, being methods of cognition of reality, are at the same time methods of thinking of researchers; on the other hand, the methods of thinking research act as methods of cognitive activity.

The purpose of this abstract is to study the application of analysis and synthesis in the study of technical objects.

The tasks of the work are:

• - study of the peculiarities of the methodology of technical sciences;
• - consideration of analysis as a method of cognition;
• - the study of synthesis as a method of cognition.

The object of the work is the methodology of technical sciences. The subject of the work is analysis and synthesis as research methods.

The concept of analysis and synthesis as research methods

The empirical level of cognition is a process of mental - linguistic - processing of sensory data, in general, information received with the help of the senses. Such processing may consist in the analysis, classification, generalization of the material obtained through observation. Here concepts are formed that generalize the observed objects and phenomena. Thus, the empirical basis of certain theories is formed.

The theoretical level of cognition is characterized by the fact that “the activity of thinking as another source of knowledge is included here: theories are being built that explain the observed phenomena, revealing the laws of the field of reality, which is the subject of study of a particular theory.”

General scientific methods used both at the empirical and theoretical levels of knowledge are such methods as: analysis and synthesis, analogy and modeling.

Analysis and synthesis, like induction and deduction, are opposite, but at the same time closely related methods of cognition.

In its simplest form, analysis is the mental division of the whole into parts and the separate knowledge of these parts as elements of a complex whole. The task of analysis is to find, to see as a whole - parts, in a complex - simple, in a single - a lot, in consequence - a cause, etc.

Analysis is a method of thinking associated with the decomposition of the object under study into its constituent parts, aspects, development trends and modes of functioning with the aim of studying them relatively independently. As such parts, there may be some material elements of the object or its properties, signs.

It occupies an important place in the study of objects of the material world. But it is only the initial stage of the process of cognition.

The method of analysis is used to study the constituent parts of the subject. Being a necessary method of thinking, analysis is only one of the moments of the process of cognition.

The means of analysis is the manipulation of abstractions in the mind, i.e. thinking.

To comprehend an object as a single whole, one cannot limit oneself to studying only its constituent parts. In the process of cognition, it is necessary to reveal the objectively existing connections between them, to consider them together, in unity.

To carry out this second stage in the process of cognition - to move from the study of individual constituent parts of an object to the study of it as a single connected whole - is possible only if the method of analysis is supplemented by another method - synthesis.

In the process of synthesis, the constituent parts (sides, properties, features, etc.) of the object under study, dissected as a result of the analysis, are joined together. On this basis, further study of the object takes place, but already as a single whole.

Analysis fixes mainly that specific thing that distinguishes the parts from each other. Synthesis reveals the place and role of each element in the system of the whole, establishes their relationship, that is, allows us to understand the common that binds the parts together.

Analysis and synthesis are in unity. In essence, they are "two sides of a single analytical-synthetic method of cognition." "Analysis, which involves the implementation of a synthesis, has as its core the selection of the essential."

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, a thought process arose.

Analysis and synthesis are the main methods of thinking that have their own objective basis both in practice and in the logic of things: the processes of connection and separation, creation and destruction form the basis of all processes in the world.

At the empirical level of knowledge, direct analysis and synthesis are used for the first superficial acquaintance with the object of study. They summarize the observed objects and phenomena.

At the theoretical level of knowledge, return analysis and synthesis are used, which are carried out by repeatedly returning from synthesis to re-analysis.

They reveal the deepest, essential aspects, connections, patterns inherent in the objects and phenomena under study.

These two interrelated methods of research receive their concretization in each branch of science.

They can turn from a general technique into a special method, so there are specific methods of mathematical, chemical and social analysis. The analytical method has been developed in some philosophical schools and directions. The same can be said about synthesis.

Synthesis is the opposite process - the connection of parts into a whole, the consideration of the whole as complex, consisting of many elements. The ascent from cause to effect is a synthetic, constructive path.

Since the phenomenon under study always appears as a complex formation, its knowledge (after a preliminary general acquaintance) usually begins with analysis, and not with synthesis. To unite parts into a whole, you must first have these parts in front of you. Therefore, analysis precedes synthesis.

Logic has developed a number of rules for analytical research, which include the following.

• 1. Before analyzing the object (phenomenon) under study, it is necessary to clearly distinguish it from another system in which it is included as an integral element. This too is done by analysis (preceding).
• 2. Next, the basis on which the analysis will be carried out is established. The basis is that feature of the analyzed object, which distinguishes one component from the other. At each stage of analysis, one basis for dismemberment should be selected, and not several at once. The elements selected as a result of the analysis should exclude each other, and not enter one into the other.
• 3. After that, analysis is carried out, and analytical knowledge is acquired mainly by inference, i.e. based on actions performed according to the rules of formal logic.

Synthesis as a way of constructing non-inferential knowledge consists in combining and processing several knowledge systems, in combining various theoretical statements, as a result of which an intersystem transfer of knowledge is carried out and new knowledge is born.

Based on the synthesis in scientific research, the following important theoretical issues are solved:

• 1. The subject under study is presented as a system of connections and interactions with the highlighting of the most significant aspects and connections.
• 2. It turns out whether there is a single nature, common essential elements in phenomena that are studied as different, but which have something in common.
• 3. It is established whether there is a connection between laws and dependencies related to one object.

Synthesis, therefore, is not a simple addition of parts, but a logically constructive operation that allows you to outline the movement of knowledge (put forward ideas, hypotheses, develop them) and carry out its movement. The results of synthetic activity should be a holistic picture that adequately reflects reality.

The advantage of the synthetic method of research is its correspondence, adequacy to the process of movement, development.

Procedures for system analysis and synthesis in economic research:

• 1. Identification and formulation of a scientific problem. Definition of the object and subject of research, goals and objectives.
• 2. Purposeful collection of information, structuring of problems, description of the system under study. Content: the goals of the system, the degree of dependence on the environment. System elements. Structure. Connections and relationships. System behavior. Control.
• 3. Building hypotheses about the mechanisms of integration and ways of development. Building a model (synthesis).
• 4. Investigation of the object using a system of methods. Adjustment of study plans.
• 5. System development forecast. Explanations. Decorations.

One of the most common methods of cognition is analysis. In the 19th century, this method was generally identified with science. Obviously, for this reason, and at present, analysis is the dominant method of cognition. And, supplementing analytical procedures with synthesis, they usually do not talk about it or write about it. Most often, in justifying management decisions using the results of analysis, only the term “analysis” is used, although the decision itself is nothing more than a synthesis of the results of the analysis. So what is analysis, and what is synthesis, and why must analysis be supplemented by synthesis?

In general, analysis involves the division of the whole into parts and a detailed study (quantitative and qualitative) of these parts. The analysis itself, without further generalization of its results, has no practical significance. Any analysis of the parts that make up the whole is made to obtain by generalizing new knowledge about the whole on more accurate and detailed information about its constituent parts. Such a generalization of analytical information, its transformation into new knowledge about the whole is called synthesis. About the logical connection between analysis and synthesis in the cognitive process, I.P. Suslov (Digression 3.10).

Digression 3.10. Analysis and synthesis: logical interdependence of application in the process of cognition

If, at the entrance of analysis, research proceeds from the individual, empirically concrete to the universal, then in the process of synthesis it unfolds from the universal to the theoretically known, structurally dissected concrete. As a result of synthesis, a cognizable phenomenon appears as a single whole, explained from its “generating basis”, an internal law... Analysis and synthesis constitute the unity of opposites, two sides of a single cognitive process, therefore their break is unacceptable... In principle, any cognitive act is both analysis and synthesis. For example, deriving the value of money, i.e. the transition from a more abstract category to a less abstract one is not only a synthesis, but also an analysis, since in this case the researcher draws on empirical data on commodity relations, showing the formation of money and the scientific concept of them ... In relation to the study, we can talk about individual stages and periods of analytical and synthetic work. Let's say the study of a major economic problem is carried out piecemeal in separate subdivisions... of an institute... The results of such analytical work are then synthesized. At each stage of the study, either analysis or synthesis can come to the fore. Analysis prepares the “work” for synthesis; synthesis helps analysis penetrate deeper into the essence of phenomena. The whole process of economic research can be conventionally depicted as a chain, where the analysis link is followed by the synthesis link, then more complex analysis and synthesis, and so on.

Source: Suslov I.P. Methodology of economic research. M. : Economics, 1983. S. 174-179.

According to I.P. Suslova, in solving any specific research problem, the process of cognition should be not just a form of an integral unidirectional sequence of methods for collecting data and producing new knowledge, but also a kind of mechanism that allows you to return to the application of already applied methods, but on a different basis, richer in content. . Thus, looking ahead, it can be noted that the methodology of each specific study should be built on the principles of a systematic approach, the most important of which is feedback.

Analysis and synthesis must always be used together, and synthesis must complement analysis. In fact, it is. It's just that it's usually not mentioned. We can give a couple of examples not from the economy. So, the patient donates blood for analysis. Then he comes to the doctor, who, focusing on the quantitative indicators of blood components, synthesizes the results of the analysis into a diagnosis (however, no one says that the patient was sent to donate blood for synthesis; everyone says that he went to donate blood for analysis). The same can be said about the work of the country's meteorological services. Numerous weather stations, as well as meteorological satellites, collect a huge amount of data on the state of the atmosphere, cloudiness, wind direction and strength, precipitation, etc., which, as data, flow to the country's Hydrometeorological Center, where they are processed, forming into powerful information arrays in order to be subjected to deep analysis. And all this is done only to ensure that the results of the analysis are synthesized into forecasts for the country as a whole and for its regions. It is in this way that analysis and synthesis are applied in all branches of science. The economy is no exception here. A. Marshall is right: the methods of cognition are the same for all sciences (see Digression 3.3), but their application is determined by the content of each specific branch of knowledge.

As for economics, as in other branches of science (see above examples from medicine, meteorology), discussions about analysis are considered as if separately, not in connection with synthesis. This clearly follows from the content of educational literature and economic practice. So, in higher education from time immemorial, the training course "Analysis of economic activity" has been taught. A huge number of textbooks and manuals have been published and are being published, which are called “Analysis of economic activity” or “Economic analysis of economic activity”; there are textbooks with the title "Market Analysis" or something else, but with the indispensable use of only the word "analysis". There is not a word about synthesis either in the title or in the content of this extensive educational literature. In this regard, the assumption may arise that synthesis as a method of cognition is not studied at all in the higher economic school; only one analysis is studied.

However, it is not. Synthesis, both in management practice and in the educational process, is given no less attention than analysis, only without the use of the word "synthesis". In economic practice - as well as in medicine and meteorology, where synthesis is used, but they are talking about a diagnosis, weather forecast - synthesis based on the results of an analysis of economic activity or market analysis is used in the development of proposals for the development of enterprises, regions, countries in the form of goals , strategies, plans, programs and other management decisions. In the educational process, synthesis procedures are presented in extensive literature on the development and justification of management decisions, plans, projects, programs, goals, strategies, etc. In these educational publications, a reservation is always made that any such solution is based on analysis, but it is never said that such a method of cognition as synthesis is also involved here. Although this was not always the case. For example, when defining the concept of "Scientific Organization of Labor" (SOT), formulated in the early 1920s, the term "analysis" is used in conjunction with the term "synthesis" (Digression 3.11).

Digression 3.11. Analysis and synthesis: two sides of a single cognitive process

The scientific organization of labor should be understood as an organization based on a thorough study of the production process with all the conditions and factors that accompany it. The main method in this case is the measurement from nature of the costs of time, materials and mechanical work, the analysis of all the data obtained and the synthesis, which gives a harmonious, most profitable production plan.