The scientific character of thinking is determined by the observance of the principles of scientific methodology.
The main category of the theory of knowledge is “a property of an object”.
The description of the property of the object is a thought and an element (portion, discrete, quantum) of knowledge.
The knowledge is the structured set of descriptions of properties of investigated objects.
Therefore, the knowledge is discrete and structural.
The purpose of cognition (scientific activity) is the creation of descriptions of the properties of objects.
The discrete format is a necessary property of the scientific knowledge and a sign of its scientific nature.
The scientific knowledge, scientific thinking, and scientific communication must be discrete and must operate with separate descriptions of the properties of objects.
The more discrete and structured the knowledge is, the higher its quality is.
The natural science knowledge is discretized and structured to some extent.
Humanities and social sciences knowledge is usually presented in the format of a textual flow.
When descriptions of objects’ properties are presented in a general text flow, a reader spends additional efforts to highlight individual properties.
When a reader studies a lot of information, these efforts take too much energy and deprive him of the ability to detect mistakes.
The main function of scientific communication is to detect mistakes in descriptions of objects’ properties.
Therefore, the subjects of scientific discussions are individual, specific descriptions of objects’ properties and possible errors in them.
Analysis and discussion of texts in which individual descriptions of properties are not sufficiently clearly identified, are significantly difficult and ineffective, up to their factual futility or even impossibility.
Any rational intellectual activity requires adherence to the classical principles of scientific methodology:
– Knowledge should be presented in the form of separate descriptions of the properties of investigated and / or designed objects and processes of their changes;
– Intellectual texts may not contain incorrect terms, logical contradictions, and discrepancies with facts;
– Experts and managers must evaluate the knowledge only on the basis of correct discussions of controversial properties of objects between their proponents and opponents.
The natural and engineering sciences are based on these principles.
Adherence to these principles by authors significantly enhances the required tension of their intellect and increases the complexity of the intellectual activity. People avoid tension. Therefore, to some extent, they violate these principles.
The application of these principles greatly facilitates the detection of errors in scientific papers. In most cases, authors prefer to prevent the detection of errors in their works. Therefore, they sabotage the observance of scientific principles.
In physics and engineering, scientists intuitively observe these principles to some extent.
Firstly, because in these sciences, the objects of study are relatively simple.
Secondly, when scientific principles are violated, objects of experiments or projects do not function, are destroyed or even explode.
The more complex the objects of research and projects, the more complex the sciences that study them, and therefore, the principles of scientific methodology are violated in them to a greater extent.
Chemists violate the scientific principles more than physicists. Biologists and medicos violate them even more. Psychologists – even more.
Workers in the humanities and social pseudosciences openly ignore and even aggressively deny these principles, justifying this with the specificity of these “sciences”.
Violations of the principles of scientific methodology worsen the culture and effectiveness of the scientific activity.
The effectiveness of the scientific interaction – communication, criticism, discussions, evaluation, cooperation – decreases especially.
The effectiveness of applying scientific innovations in the economy deteriorates even more. Therefore, erroneous, unprofitable projects are financed. Profitable projects are rejected.
The adherence to the principles of scientific methodology will increase the efficiency of :
physics and engineering – by 1.5-2 times, chemistry – by 2-3 times, biology and medicine – by 5-7 times, psychology – by tens of times, sociology and political science – by hundreds and thousands of times.
Thus, costs, terms, and probabilities of erroneous results of scientific activity can be reduced many times over.
Also, applying the principles of scientific methodology in legal proceedings will reduce costs, time, and likelihood of erroneous decisions of justice by an order of magnitude.
As is well known, each project must contain three mandatory parts :
The description of the current state of the system undergoing changes, with a description of the problems that the project should eliminate, and the factors and mechanisms causing the problems.
The description of the target state of the system, which should be achieved as a result of the implementation of this project, with an indication of the criteria for achieving the project’s goals.
The description of the process of changing the system from its current state to the target state, with an indication of the resources available and required to implement this project.
Despite the triviality of this requirement, in practice, these parts are often combined to some extent. The factors and mechanisms of problems are described insufficiently. Criteria for optimal achievement of project goals are formulated inaccurately. Sometimes, there are no descriptions of the current and target states at all. This greatly complicates the detection of project errors and their adequate evaluation.
Complex problems can be effectively solved only on a scientific basis.
The criterion of the scientific character of any intellectual activity is the observance of the principles of scientific methodology.
However, the sad reality of Civilization is this – very few people know the fundamental, decisive importance of observing the principles of scientific methodology in rational intellectual activity.
The elites ignore the principles of scientific methodology.
This deprives the elites of the ability to think scientifically, detect erroneous knowledge, and block the spread of false doctrines.
Because of this, in the XlX-XX centuries, the doctrines of Communism, Anarchism, Nazism, Maoism, Islamism, and others spread.
As a result of this, in the 20th century, revolutions and wars took place.
Thus, the neglect of the principles of scientific methodology caused the extirpation of hundreds of millions of people and giant destruction.
In the 21st century, in the era of the Internet, the Large Hadron Collider, and genetic engineering, the elites still ignore the principles of scientific methodology.
Therefore, new false harmful ideas spread quickly on social networks and are introduced into the mass consciousness of tens and hundreds of millions of people.
Western political communities lose rationality and intensify the aggressive spread of their false obsessive ideas in other countries. Therefore, the “Cold War” resumes. The danger of the global thermonuclear war increases.
The methodological illiteracy of top managers qualitatively reduces the effectiveness of corporate and, especially, public administration.
Neglecting scientific methodology hinders the creation of a theory of social systems.
In the absence of this theory, all transformations of societies cause huge damage and victims in all countries.
Think tanks around the world, including the most authoritative ones, operate on the anti-scientific basis of rhetoric and demagogy.
Therefore, all political decisions turn out to be erroneous and harmful.
A topical example is the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Methodologists of scientific activity and experts in the theory of social systems were not involved in its design. Therefore, the system of academic science in Russia is paradoxically reformed on the basis of not science, but rhetoric and demagogy.
The ascertainment of a causal relationship between different properties of social systems and the description of its mechanisms is recognized as a discovery in social sciences.
Ignoring the classical principles of scientific methodology by the Western elites is the root cause of the self-destruction of Western civilization from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.
The ascertainment of this causal relationship is the most important, fundamental discovery in the social sciences.
It is possible to stop the current global self-destruction of Western civilization and restore its normal state of rapid development only on the basis of applying the principles of scientific methodology. This is the fundamental, necessary, and indispensable condition. Without it, Western civilization will disappear in the foreseeable future.
The world intellectual community must consolidate and initiate the salvation of Civilization from self-destruction.
It should propagate to the elites of the World the absolute necessity to observe the principles of scientific methodology.
Followers of scientific methodology should organize their virtual Association on the Internet.
This Association will call on the World intellectual community to actively promote the classical principles of scientific methodology and initiate the creation of the international union of epistemologists.
This Union will invite scientific communities to observe the principles of scientific methodology.
The Union will invite the leaders of business associations to recommend to businessmen and top managers to apply these principles in the management of enterprises.
The Union will invite the Supreme Courts of all countries to issue methodological recommendations on the application of these principles in legal proceedings.
The Union will address to the Governments of all countries with the following recommendations:
1
Establish standards for the discrete format of documents issued by state, regional, and municipal authorities, as well as state-owned enterprises, and prohibit the issuance of documents in the flow format.
2
Recommend to state, regional, and municipal bodies, as well as state-owned enterprises, to evaluate their projects and make decisions only on the basis of expert discussions of them in accordance with the principles of scientific methodology.
3
Apply these principles, first of all, in biological and medical institutions, the efficiency of which will quickly increase by five times or more, which will be an inspiring example for all other organizations and enterprises.
4
Establish dedicated think tanks to prepare for the broad application of scientific methodology.
5
Organize teaching of the principles of scientific methodology in schools and universities, as well as trainings for officials and managers of state-owned enterprises and organizations on the application of the principles of scientific methodology.
Only the widespread application of the principles of scientific methodology will give the Western civilization the opportunity to stop its current self-destruction, overcome stagnation, and actively develop.
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