History and Philosophy of Science: Main Stages and Paradigmаs

Abstract

The article reconstructed the content of the main stages and the main concepts of philosophy of science in its historical development. The two historical stages of the development of philosophy of science are: "metaphysical" and positive. In the first stage, the philosophy of science was immanent part of the philosophy as a theoretical form of world outlook, namely the philosophical theory of scientific knowledge, or "epistemology". In the second stage of its evolution, philosophy of science became part of the consciousness of the science in its endeavor to realize its objectives, the facilities and grounds. In the second stage, the philosophy of science has evolved through three States: classical, nonclassical and postnonclassical. Each of them was represented by a number of alternative conceptions or paradigms. The most complete and adequate of them were positive-dialectical paradigm. It is based on the recognition of the fundamentally contradictory nature of both the structure of science and scientific knowledge, and its development.