There is a movement from ignorance to knowledge. Thus, the first stage of the cognitive process is the definition of what we do not know. It is important to clearly and rigorously define the problem, separating what we already know from what we do not yet know. problem(from the Greek. problema - task) is a complex and controversial issue that needs to be resolved.

The second step in is the development of a hypothesis (from the Greek. Hypothesis - assumption). Hypothesis - this is a scientifically based assumption that needs to be tested.

If a hypothesis is proved by a large number of facts, it becomes a theory (from the Greek theoria - observation, research). Theory is a system of knowledge that describes and explains certain phenomena; such, for example, are evolutionary theory, the theory of relativity, quantum theory, etc.

When choosing the best theory, the degree of its testability plays an important role. A theory is reliable if it is confirmed by objective facts (including newly discovered ones) and if it is distinguished by clarity, distinctness, and logical rigor.

Scientific facts

Distinguish between objective and scientific facts. objective fact is a real-life object, process or event. For example, the death of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814-1841) in a duel is a fact. scientific fact is knowledge that is confirmed and interpreted within the framework of a generally accepted system of knowledge.

Estimates are opposed to facts and reflect the significance of objects or phenomena for a person, his approving or disapproving attitude towards them. Scientific facts usually fix the objective world as it is, and assessments reflect the subjective position of a person, his interests, the level of his moral and aesthetic consciousness.

Most of the difficulties for science arise in the process of moving from hypothesis to theory. There are methods and procedures that allow you to test a hypothesis and prove it or reject it as incorrect.

Method(from the Greek methodos - the path to the goal) is the rule, method, method of knowledge. In general, a method is a system of rules and regulations that allows you to explore an object. F. Bacon called the method "a lamp in the hands of a traveler walking in the dark."

Methodology is a broader concept and can be defined as:

• a set of methods used in any science;
• general doctrine of method.

Since the criteria of truth in its classical scientific understanding are, on the one hand, sensory experience and practice, and on the other hand, clarity and logical distinctness, all known methods can be divided into empirical (experimental, practical methods of cognition) and theoretical (logical procedures).

Empirical methods of knowledge

basis empirical methods are sensory cognition (sensation, perception, representation) and instrumental data. These methods include:

• observation- purposeful perception of phenomena without interference in them;
• experiment— study of phenomena under controlled and controlled conditions;
• measurement - determination of the ratio of the measured value to
• standard (for example, a meter);
• comparison- identifying the similarities or differences of objects or their features.

There are no pure empirical methods in scientific knowledge, since even for simple observation, preliminary theoretical foundations are necessary - the choice of an object for observation, the formulation of a hypothesis, etc.

Theoretical methods of cognition

Actually theoretical methods based on rational knowledge (concept, judgment, conclusion) and logical inference procedures. These methods include:

• analysis- the process of mental or real dismemberment of an object, phenomenon into parts (signs, properties, relationships);
• synthesis - connection of the sides of the subject identified during the analysis into a single whole;
• - combining various objects into groups based on common features (classification of animals, plants, etc.);
• abstraction - distraction in the process of cognition from some properties of an object with the aim of in-depth study of one specific side of it (the result of abstraction is abstract concepts such as color, curvature, beauty, etc.);
• formalization - displaying knowledge in a sign, symbolic form (in mathematical formulas, chemical symbols, etc.);
• analogy - inference about the similarity of objects in a certain respect on the basis of their similarity in a number of other respects;
• modeling— creation and study of a substitute (model) of an object (for example, computer modeling of the human genome);
• idealization- creation of concepts for objects that do not exist in reality, but have a prototype in it (geometric point, ball, ideal gas);
• deduction - moving from the general to the particular;
• induction- the movement from the particular (facts) to the general statement.

Theoretical methods require empirical facts. So, although induction itself is a theoretical logical operation, it still requires experimental verification of each particular fact, and therefore is based on empirical knowledge, and not on theoretical. Thus, theoretical and empirical methods exist in unity, complementing each other. All the methods listed above are methods-techniques (specific rules, action algorithms).

Wider methods-approaches indicate only the direction and general way of solving problems. Methods-approaches can include many different techniques. These are the structural-functional method, hermeneutic, etc. The most common methods-approaches are philosophical methods:

• metaphysical- consideration of the object in mowing, static, out of connection with other objects;
• dialectical- disclosure of the laws of development and change of things in their interconnection, internal inconsistency and unity.

Absoluteization of one method as the only true one is called dogma(for example, dialectical materialism in Soviet philosophy). An uncritical piling up of various unrelated methods is called eclecticism.

The process of cognition includes the receipt of information through the senses (sensory cognition), the processing of this information by thinking (rational cognition), and the material development of cognizable fragments of reality (social practice).

Sense cognition It is realized in the form of direct receipt of information using the sense organs, which directly connect us with the outside world. The main forms of sensory knowledge are: sensation, perception and representation.

Sensations arise in the human brain as a result of the influence of environmental factors on his sense organs. Sensations are mental processes that occur in the brain when the nerve centers that control receptors are excited. Feelings are specialized. Sensation can be considered as the simplest and initial element of sensory cognition and human consciousness in general.

Perception - it is a holistic sensory image of an object, formed by the brain from the sensations directly received from this object. Perception is based on combinations of different types of sensations. But this is not just a mechanical sum of them. Sensations that are received from various sense organs merge into a single whole in perception, forming a sensual image of an object.

On the basis of sensations and perceptions in the human brain, representation. If sensations and perceptions exist only with direct contact of a person with an object (without this there is neither sensation nor perception), then the representation arises without a direct impact of the object on the senses.

Representation is a great step forward in comparison with perception, for it contains such a new feature as generalization. The latter takes place already in ideas about concrete, single objects. But to an even greater extent this is manifested in general ideas. In general ideas, the moments of generalization become much more significant than in any idea about a specific, single object.

So, at the empirical level, living contemplation (sensory cognition) prevails, the rational moment and its forms (judgments, concepts, etc.) are present here, but have a subordinate meaning.

The most important element of empirical research is fact. Any scientific research begins with the collection, systematization and generalization of facts. Fact: 1. some fragment of reality, an objective event; 2. true knowledge about any event; 3. proposal received in the course of observations and experiments. The second and third of these meanings are summarized in the concept of "scientific fact". The latter becomes such when it is an element of the logical structure of a particular system of scientific knowledge and is included in this system.

In understanding the nature of fact in the modern methodology of science, two extreme trends stand out: factualism and theorism. If the first emphasizes the independence and autonomy of facts in relation to various theories, then the second, on the contrary, argues that the facts are completely dependent on the theory, and when theories are changed, the entire factual basis of science changes. The correct solution to the problem is that a scientific fact, having a theoretical load, is relatively independent of theory, since it is basically determined by material reality.

Scientific facts constitute the main content of scientific knowledge and scientific work. They are indisputable and obligatory. Along with them, systems of certain scientific facts can be singled out, the main form of which is empirical generalizations.

This is the main fund of science, scientific facts, their classifications and empirical generalizations, which, in its reliability, cannot cause doubts and sharply distinguishes science from philosophy and religion. Neither philosophy nor religion creates such facts and generalizations.

Thus, empirical experience is never blind: it is planned, constructed by theory, and facts are always theoretically loaded in one way or another.

The empirical level of knowledge consists of the following elements: observation, description, experiment, measurement.

Observation is a purposeful study of objects, based mainly on such sensory abilities of a person as sensation, perception, representation; in the course of observation, we gain knowledge about the external aspects, properties and characteristics of the object in question. scientific observation purposefully; systematically; actively. Scientific observations are always accompanied description object of knowledge. An empirical description is a fixation by means of a natural or artificial language of information about objects given in an observation. With the help of a description, sensory information is translated into the language of concepts, signs, diagrams, drawings, graphs and numbers, thereby taking on a form convenient for further rational processing.

Experiment involves an active, purposeful and strictly controlled influence of the researcher on the object under study in order to identify and study certain aspects, properties, relationships. At the same time, the experimenter can transform the object under study, create artificial conditions for its study, and interfere with the natural course of processes.

During the experiment, the object can be placed in some artificially created conditions. Studying any process, the experimenter can interfere with it, actively influence its course. The experiments are reproducible, i.e. m.b. repeated as many times as necessary to obtain reliable results.

Most scientific experiments and observations involve making various measurements.

Specifics of observation and comparison as methods of empirical research.

Experiment as a method of empirical knowledge.

Gnoseological function of instruments in empirical research.

1. The empirical level includes observation, comparison, experiment. The empirical level involves direct interaction with objects, sensual contact. To the acceptance of empiricism, i.e. The decisive role of experience led to the realization of the futility of scholastic methodology.

F. Bacon played a significant role in the development of empirical methods. His main theses “Knowledge is power”, “Man is the servant and interpreter of nature” obligated scientists to study nature using well-organized experiments, called experiments. The doctrine of methods set forth in the work "The New Organon, or True Instructions for the Interpretation of Nature" was the leading one in the philosophy of F. Bacon. The basis of the teaching was induction, which provided the possibility of generalization and research perspectives. The first requirement of the doctrine of methods was the necessity of the decomposition and division of nature by the means of reason. Next, you need to highlight the simplest and easiest. Then follows the discovery of the law, which will serve as the basis of knowledge and activity. As a result, you need to sum up all the ideas and conclusions and get a true interpretation of nature. There is an opinion that the history of inductive sciences is the history of discoveries, and the philosophy of inductive sciences is the history of ideas and concepts. Observing uniformity in nature, we come by induction to the assertion of natural laws.

Observation is a relatively independent aspect of scientific activity, characterized by a purposeful perception of the properties and characteristics of an object. The results of observation are consistent with the data of the sense organs - vision, hearing, tactile (tactile perception). Sometimes the observation of the object under study requires equipment - a microscope, a telescope, etc. Observation is aimed at an objective reflection of reality, it is an empirical substantiation of the theory, reflecting and fixing knowledge about the properties of the object.

Observation is a purposeful study and recording of data about an object taken in its natural environment; data based mainly on such sensory abilities of a person as sensations, perceptions and ideas.

The results of observation are experimental data, and possibly, taking into account the primary (automatic) processing of primary information, - diagrams, graphs, diagrams, etc. measuring instruments, as well as technical terminology in addition to natural language).

At first glance, it may seem that the researcher in the act of observation is passive and is occupied only with contemplation, even if conscientious. But it's not. The activity of the observer is manifested in the purposefulness and selectivity of observation, in the presence of a certain target setting: “what to observe?”, “What phenomena should I pay attention to first of all?”.

Of course, a qualified researcher does not ignore phenomena that are not included in his setting as his own goals of this observation: they are also fixed by him and may well turn out to be useful for understanding the things he studies.

The activity of the researcher in the act of observation is connected with the theoretical conditionality of the content of the results of observation. Observation involves not only sensual, but also rational ability in the form of theoretical attitudes and scientific standards. As the saying goes, "a scientist looks with his eyes, but sees with his head."

The activity of observation is also manifested in the selection and design of means of observation.

Finally, let us pay attention to the fact that the observation is aimed at not introducing perturbations into the natural conditions for the existence of the object under study. But the action associated with the subject's limitation of himself and with his control over his actions is obviously an activity, albeit of a special kind. So, for example, a researcher conducting a sociological survey has to carefully (actively!) think over the set of questions and the manner in which they are presented in order to ensure the adequacy of the collected material in relation to the absence of possible disturbances in the natural course of the studied social phenomenon.

There are two main types of observation: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative observation has been known to people and used by them since ancient times - long before the advent of science in its current sense. The use of quantitative observations coincides with the very formation of science in modern times. Quantitative observations are, naturally, connected with advances in the development of the theory of measurements and measurement techniques. The transition to measurements and the appearance of quantitative observations meant the preparation for the mathematization of science.

As a result of observation, empirical facts are fixed. A fact is a fragment of reality and knowledge about an object, the reliability of which is not in doubt. The accumulation of facts is the basis of research activities. In scientific methodology, it is a generally accepted requirement to rely on facts, without which theories are empty and speculative. It is the facts that support this or that theory or testify against it. Facts are understood as real phenomena of reality, as well as the statements of scientists about these phenomena, their descriptions. Scattered data without interpretation is not the facts of science. A scientific fact is not a separate observation, but an invariant one, in the totality of observations. A scientist extracts facts in the process of empirical knowledge, communication with nature. The obtained facts do not complete, but only begin the process of scientific research, they are subjected to classification, generalization, systematization, analysis.

Comparison involves identifying the similarities (identities) and differences of objects, their properties and features, is based on the evidence of the senses and serves as the basis for distinguishing classes and sets with similar properties. Comparison was highly valued in science, it is no coincidence that there are comparative anatomy, comparative linguistics, comparative paleontology, etc. Comparison leads to the conclusion about the initial diversity of the world.

2. An experiment is a purposeful, clearly expressed active study and recording of data about an object located in specially created and precisely fixed and controlled conditions by the researcher.

An experiment is an artificial creation of conditions for scientific research, a purposeful experience built according to a program proposed by the researcher. The basis of the experiment is the device. The purpose of the experiment is to reveal the desired properties of the object. The experiment consists of preparatory, working and recording parts and, as a rule, is not "pure", since it does not take into account the influence of extraneous factors. Sometimes they talk about a decisive experiment, on which the refutation of an existing theory and the creation of a new one depend. For the experiment, the procedure of interpretation is important, as well as the rules for the correspondence of theoretical concepts with their empirical values ​​and equivalents.

The structural components of the experiment are: a) a certain space-time area ("laboratory"), the boundaries of which can be both real and mental; b) the system under study, which, in accordance with the protocol for preparing the experiment, includes, in addition to the object itself, also such components as devices, catalysts for chemical reactions, energy sources, etc.; c) the protocol of the experiment, according to which disturbances are produced in the system by directing a certain amount of matter and/or energy into it from controlled sources in certain forms and at a certain speed; d) reactions of the system recorded with the help of instruments, the types and position of which in relation to the area of ​​the experiment are also recorded in its protocol.

Depending on the cognitive goals, the means used and the actual objects of cognition, one can single out: a research or search experiment; verification or control experiment; reproducing experiment; isolation experiment; qualitative and quantitative experiment; physical, chemical, biological, social experiment.

The formation of the experiment as an independent method of scientific knowledge in the 17th century. (G. Galileo) also meant the emergence of modern science, although back in the 13th century. R. Bacon expressed the opinion that a scientist should not unconditionally trust any authorities and that scientific knowledge should be based on the experimental method. Having established itself in physical science, the experimental method found distribution in chemistry, biology, physiology, and in the middle of the 19th century. and in psychology (W. Wundt). Currently, the experiment is increasingly used in sociology.

Experiment has advantages over observation:

1) the phenomena under study can be reproduced at the request of the researcher;

2) under experimental conditions, it is possible to detect such characteristics of the studied phenomena that cannot be observed in natural conditions; for example, in this way in the early 1940s. in physics began (with neptunium) the study of transuranium elements;

3) variation of conditions makes it possible to significantly isolate the phenomenon under study from any kind of incidental, complicating circumstances and come closer to studying it in its “pure form” in compliance with the principle “ceteris paribus”;

4) the possibility of using instruments and, consequently, automation and computerization of the experiment is dramatically expanding.

In the general structure of scientific research, the experiment occupies a special place. First, the experiment serves as a link between the empirical and theoretical stages and levels of scientific research. By its design, the experiment is mediated by the previous theoretical research and its results: it is conceived on the basis of certain theoretical knowledge and aims to collect new data or test (confirm or refute) a certain scientific hypothesis (or theory). The results of an experiment are always interpreted in terms of a particular theory. And at the same time, by the nature of the cognitive means used, the experiment belongs to the empirical level of cognition, and its results are established facts and empirical dependencies.

Secondly, the experiment belongs simultaneously to both cognitive and practical activities: its goal is to increase knowledge, but it is also associated with the transformation of the surrounding reality, even if it is trial and limited by the area and content of a particular experiment. In the case when it comes to a large-scale production or social experiment, it turns out to be a form of practice in full measure.

3. Observation and experiment, and, perhaps, in general, all methods of modern scientific knowledge are associated with the use of instruments. The fact is that our natural cognitive abilities, embodied both in sensual and rational form, are limited, and therefore, in solving many scientific problems, they are completely insufficient. Permissive ability, constancy of perception (loudness, size, shape, brightness, color), volume of perception, visual acuity, range of perceived stimuli, reactivity and other characteristics of the activity of our sense organs, as shown by psychophysiological studies, are quite specific and finite. Likewise, our speech abilities, our memory and our thinking abilities are finite. In this case, we can substantiate this statement by means of albeit rough, approximate, but nevertheless empirical data obtained using tests to determine the so-called intelligence quotient (IQ). Thus, to use the words of one of the founders of cybernetics, the English scientist W. R. Ashby, we also need amplifiers of mental abilities.

This is how one can define the role of instruments in scientific knowledge. Devices, firstly, amplify - in the most general sense of the word - our sense organs, expanding the range of their action in various respects (sensitivity, reactivity, accuracy, etc.). Secondly, they supplement our senses with new modalities, making it possible to perceive such phenomena that we do not consciously perceive without them, for example, magnetic fields. Finally, computers, which are a special type of instrument, allow us, through their use in conjunction with other instruments, to significantly enrich and increase the effectiveness of these two functions. In addition, they also make it possible to introduce a completely new function related to saving time in obtaining, selecting, storing and processing information and automating some mental operations.

Thus, at present one cannot underestimate the role of instruments in cognition, considering them, so to speak, as something "auxiliary". Moreover, this applies to both empirical and theoretical levels of scientific knowledge. And if you clarify what the role of devices is, then you can say this: devices are a materialized method of cognition. In fact, every device is based on a certain principle of operation, and this is nothing more than a method, i.e. a proven and systematized technique (or a set of techniques), which, thanks to the efforts of developers - designers and technologists, managed to translate into a special device . And when certain devices are used at one or another stage of scientific knowledge, then this is the use of accumulated practical and cognitive experience. At the same time, devices expand the boundaries of that part of reality that is accessible to our knowledge - they expand in the most general sense of the word, and not just in the sense of the spatio-temporal region called "laboratory".

But, of course, the role of instruments in cognition cannot be overestimated - in the sense that their use generally eliminates any limitations of cognition or saves the researcher from mistakes. This is not true. First of all, since the device serves as a materialized method, and no method can be "impeccable", ideal, infallible, so is any, even the best, device. It always contains an instrumental error, and here one should take into account not only the errors of the corresponding method embodied in the principle of operation of the device, but also the errors of manufacturing technology. Further, the researcher uses the device, so that the possibility of making all those mistakes that he is only “capable of” without being armed with devices is, in principle, preserved, albeit in a slightly different form.

In addition, when using devices in cognition, specific complications arise. The fact is that the instruments inevitably introduce certain “perturbations” into the phenomena being studied. For example, a situation often arises in which the possibility of simultaneously recording and measuring several characteristics of the phenomenon under study is lost. In this regard, Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" in the theory of the atom is especially indicative: the more accurately the particle's coordinate is measured, the less accurately it is possible to predict the result of measuring its momentum. It is possible, say, to accurately determine the momentum of an electron (and hence its energy level) in some of its orbits, but in this case its location will be completely indefinite. And note that the point here is not at all in the mind, patience or technique. Mentally, one can imagine that we have succeeded in building a "supermicroscope" to observe the electron. Will there then be confidence that the coordinates and momentum of the electron are simultaneously measurable? No. In any such "supermicroscope" this or that "light" must be used: in order for us to "see" an electron in such a "supermicroscope", at least one quantum of "light" must be scattered by the electron. However, the collision of an electron with this quantum would lead to a change in the motion of the electron, causing an unpredictable change in its momentum (the so-called Compton effect).

The same kind of complications occur in phenomena studied by other sciences. So, for example, an accurate image of tissue obtained using an electron microscope simultaneously kills this tissue. A zoologist who conducts experiments with living organisms never deals with an absolutely healthy, normal specimen, because the very act of experimentation and the use of equipment lead to changes in the organism and in the behavior of the creature under study. The same complications apply to the ethnographer who has come to study "primitive thinking" and to the observation carried out in sociology by means of surveys of population groups.

FORMS OF EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE (SUBJECT FORMS, CONCEPTS, JUDGMENTS, LAWS)

Cognition is a specific type of human activity aimed at comprehending the surrounding world and oneself in this world. One of the levels of scientific knowledge is empirical. The empirical level of scientific knowledge is characterized by a direct study of real-life, sensually perceived objects. The special role of empiricism in science lies in the fact that only at this level of research do we deal with the direct interaction of a person with the studied natural or social objects.

Here living contemplation (sensory cognition) prevails, the rational moment and its forms (judgments, concepts, etc.) are present here, but have a subordinate meaning. Therefore, the object under study is reflected mainly from the side of its external connections and manifestations, accessible to living contemplation and expressing internal relations. At this level, the process of accumulating information about the objects and phenomena under study is carried out by conducting observations, performing various measurements, and delivering experiments. Here, the primary systematization of the obtained factual data is also carried out in the form of tables, diagrams, graphs, etc. In addition, already at the empirical level, the level of scientific knowledge - as a result of the generalization of scientific facts - it is possible to formulate some empirical patterns.

There are the following types of forms of scientific knowledge: general logical. These include concepts, judgments, conclusions; local-logical. These include scientific ideas, hypotheses, theories, laws.

concept- this is a thought that reflects the property and necessary features of an object or phenomenon. Concepts are: general, singular, concrete, abstract, relative, absolute, etc. General concepts are associated with a certain set of objects or phenomena, singular ones refer only to one, specific - to specific objects or phenomena, abstract - to their individual features, relative concepts are always presented in pairs, and absolute ones do not contain pairwise relations.

Judgment- this is a thought that contains the affirmation or denial of something through the connection of concepts. Judgments are affirmative and negative, general and particular, conditional and disjunctive, etc.

inference is a process of thinking that connects a sequence of two or more propositions, resulting in a new proposition. In essence, a conclusion is a conclusion that makes it possible to move from thinking to practical actions. Inferences are of two types:

A higher degree of scientific knowledge finds its expression, as noted, in local logical forms. At the same time, the process of cognition goes from a scientific idea to a hypothesis, subsequently turning into a law or theory.

Law- these are necessary, essential, stable, recurring relationships between phenomena in nature and society. The law reflects the general connections and relations inherent in all phenomena of a given kind, class.

The law is objective and exists independently of people's consciousness. The knowledge of laws is the main task of science and is the basis for the transformation of nature and society by people.

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40. Forms of empirical and theoretical levels of scientific knowledge.

Theoretical knowledge as its highest and most developed form, one should first of all determine its structural components. Among the main ones are the problem, hypothesis, theory and law, which at the same time act as forms, "key points" of the construction and development of knowledge at its theoretical level.

A problem is a form of theoretical knowledge, the content of which is that which is not yet known by man, but which needs to be known. In other words, this is knowledge about ignorance, a question that has arisen in the course of cognition and requires an answer. The problem is not a frozen form of knowledge, but a process that includes two main points (stages of the movement of knowledge) - its formulation and solution. The correct derivation of problematic knowledge from previous facts and generalizations, the ability to correctly pose the problem is a necessary prerequisite for its successful solution.

Thus, the scientific problem is expressed in the presence of a contradictory situation (acting in the form of opposite positions), which requires an appropriate resolution. The decisive influence on the way of posing and solving the problem is, firstly, the nature of the thinking of the era in which the problem is formulated, and, secondly, the level of knowledge about those objects that the problem arises. Each historical epoch has its own characteristic forms of problem situations.

A hypothesis is a form of theoretical knowledge containing an assumption formulated on the basis of a number of facts, the true meaning of which is uncertain and needs to be proven. Hypothetical knowledge is probable, not reliable, and requires verification, justification. In the course of proving the hypotheses put forward: a) some of them become a true theory, b) others are modified, refined and concretized, c) others are discarded, turn into errors if the test gives a negative result. The advancement of a new hypothesis, as a rule, is based on the results of testing the old one, even if these results were negative.

Theory is the most developed form of scientific knowledge, which gives a holistic display of the regular and essential connections of a certain area of ​​reality. Examples of this form of knowledge are Newton's classical mechanics, Ch. Darwin's evolutionary theory, A. Einstein's theory of relativity, the theory of self-organizing integral systems (synergetics), etc.

law can be defined as a connection (relationship) between phenomena, processes, which is:

a) objective, since it is inherent primarily in the real world, the sensual-objective activity of people, expresses the real relations of things;

b) essential, concrete-universal. Being a reflection of the essential in the movement of the universe, any law is inherent in all processes of a given class, of a certain type (kind) without exception, and acts always and everywhere where the corresponding processes and conditions unfold;

c) necessary, because being closely connected with the essence, the law acts and is carried out with "iron necessity" in appropriate conditions;

d) internal, as it reflects the deepest connections and dependencies of a given subject area in the unity of all its moments and relations within a certain integral system;

e) repetitive, stable, since "the law is a solid (remaining) in the phenomenon", "identical in the phenomenon",

their "calm reflection" (Hegel). It is an expression of a certain constancy of a certain process, the regularity of its course, the sameness of its action under similar conditions.

Empirical cognition, or sensual, or living contemplation, is the process of cognition itself, which includes three interrelated forms:

1. sensation - a reflection in the mind of a person of individual aspects, properties of objects, their direct impact on the senses;

2. perception - a holistic image of an object, directly given in a living contemplation of the totality of all its sides, a synthesis of these sensations;

3. representation - a generalized sensory-visual image of an object that acted on the senses in the past, but is not perceived at the moment.