Contemporary Philosophy of Science: Object, Subject and Structure

Abstract

In contrast to the classical philosophy of science the contemporary philosophy of science understands its object, subject and structure more widely. It does not bring philosophical perspectives of science only to the analysis of the process of scientific cognition, its structure and methods. It considers science more broadly, namely as a socio-cognitive activity which is innovative and practical. The object of classical philosophy of science was an ideal science, a science that it should be from the standpoint of philosophy. The object of the modern philosophy of science is a real science and its history. The subject of classical philosophy of science was the process of scientific inquiry, focused on obtaining true knowledge. Therefore, the central problem was the problem of the scientific method, is able to guarantee to provide such knowledge. The subject of the modern philosophy of science is science as a socio-cognitive and innovative system aimed at the application of scientific knowledge in practice. The structure of the classical philosophy of science was subordinated to the disclosure of the structure of scientific knowledge, its various levels and methods of getting each of them the true knowledge. The structure of the contemporary philosophy of science is subordinated to the description of all of the main measurements of the actual functioning of science (ontological, epistemological, socio-cultural, axiological, anthropological, innovative) in their unit. Empirical materials regarding the actual functioning of science and its history is considered in modern philosophy not as the sum of examples to prove this or that philosophical epistemology, but also as a basis and criterion of reasonable choice of the most general theoretical models of science.