Cognition as a reflection of reality. Mental phenomena as a reflection of reality

29.09.2019

The ability to reflect the surrounding world is most clearly manifested in living beings. However, modern science has come to the conclusion that this property of living matter has a deeper basis. This question was posed by V.I. Lenin on a dialectical-materialistic basis. In his work “Materialism and Empirio-Criticism,” Lenin expressed the idea that all matter is inherent in the property of reflection, akin to sensation.<13>

Reflection is seen in any act of interaction. When, say, two absolutely elastic balls collide, then one ball, hitting another ball with a certain force, transfers to the latter a certain amount of energy and expresses its state through a change in energy and the direction of movement of the second ball. Having received a certain amount of energy, the second ball reflects the state of the object that affected it, the state of the first ball. However, at the mechanical level, reflection is extremely simple and elementary. Any impact experienced by a body is expressed in it in mechanical characteristics: mass, speed, force, inertia, direction, etc. It is episodic and random, the result of the interaction - a reflected change, “trace” or information - is not fixed and leaves no trace disappears after a certain period of time. The reflection in these cases is not localized and diffuse.

More complex is the so-called physical form of reflection. In every act of physical interaction, the body participates as an organic whole and at the same time as a collection of a large number of molecules. External influence is divided into individual elementary reflected changes, which are simultaneously combined into holistic changes in the body. In accordance with the structural nature of the reflection substrate, the “trace” takes on a dissected, differentiated structural appearance. At the level of the physical form of movement, reflection becomes localized.

At the same time, the physical form of reflection is also limited. In the process of reaction, external influences are remade in accordance with the body’s own nature. Those aspects of the influencing object that are inherent in the reflection substrate are adequately reproduced. On the contrary, when qualitatively dissimilar objects interact, a transition occurs from one form to another - for example, heat into electricity - as a result of which the internal similarity of the reflection and the original becomes distant. Even greater qualitative diversity is reflected at the level of the chemical form of movement. A chemical element has the ability to change under the influence of an influencing substance and in accordance with its nature. In the process of a chemical reaction, a new quality arises. Therefore, the preservation and accumulation of reflected changes occurs through the consolidation of these changes with a new quality.

The presence of reflectivity in bodies of inanimate nature thus prepares the appearance of irritability and sensations that arise in living matter.

The reflection of the external world in animals and humans occurs on the basis of living matter, as a result of which it acquires special specific features, which consist of the following:<14>

1) Reflection takes on a particularly developed form, since living matter has very rich and complex properties.

2) In inanimate nature, reflection is merged with the general process of interaction of an object with the environment. In living matter, a special type of reflection is isolated and specialized, different from assimilation and dissimilation. The main and special function of this type of reflection is signaling about changes in the external environment.

3) The reflection of external conditions by organisms does not have a self-sufficient significance and serves as a means of adaptation to the environment.

4) With the formation of living protein, a qualitatively new form of reflection arises - irritability, from which, during the development of living organisms, even higher forms emerge - sensation, perception, representation, thinking.

The forms of reflection observed in the realm of inanimate nature are distinguished by amazing uniformity and constancy, for example, the interaction of two colliding solid bodies or the interaction of chemical elements entering into a combination remains essentially the same over vast periods of time. There are no such phenomena as the interaction of the body and the environment, the adaptation of the body to the environment, etc. Completely different relationships exist in the field of living nature. The fundamental law of the development of organic nature is the law of the unity of the organism and the conditions of its existence. The external environment is the most important factor determining the nature of a living organism. The adaptability of an animal organism to the conditions of its existence is here an expression of the correspondence of the functions and structure of the organism and all its organs to the given environmental conditions. A change in living conditions necessarily causes a change in the functions of the body, the emergence of inherently new adaptation reactions.

Thus, the desire to exist, the struggle for self-preservation, observed in the field of organic nature, turns into a powerful stimulus that necessitates adaptation to the environment.

In turn, changes in the environment often act as the reason for the appearance of new properties and qualities in the organism. The desire to adapt to the environment often leads to the emergence of more advanced forms of living organisms. Let us explain this situation with some specific examples.

At the lowest level of the animal kingdom, notes I.M. Sechenov, sensitivity is evenly distributed throughout the body, without any signs of division and separation into organs. For example, in lower organisms such as jellyfish, nerve cells have primitive versatility. The same nerve cells are able to distinguish between chemical, temperature and mechanical stimuli. Where the feeling is<15>Vitality is evenly distributed throughout the body; it can serve the latter only when influence from the external world acts on the feeling body by direct contact.

At some stage of development, which modern biological science cannot indicate with precision, irritability, i.e., the elementary physiological means of adapting the organism to the external environment, becomes insufficient, since the organism finds itself in some other conditions of existence.

This fused form begins to be more and more dismembered into separate organized systems of movement and feeling: the place of contractile protoplasm is now taken by muscle tissue, and evenly distributed irritability gives way to a certain localization of sensitivity, which goes along with the development of the nervous system. Even further, sensitivity specializes, so to speak, qualitatively - it splits into the so-called systemic feelings (hunger, thirst, sexual, respiratory, etc.) and the activity of the higher sense organs (vision, touch, hearing, etc.).

In the process of development of living beings, sensation usually occurs when the body has become able to differentiate stimuli not only by intensity, but also by quality. “The further step in the evolution of feeling,” notes I.M. Sechenov, “can be defined as the combined or coordinated activity of special forms of feeling among themselves and with the motor reactions of the body. If the previous phase consisted of grouping units of feeling and movement in different directions, then the subsequent phase consists of grouping (of course, even more diverse) these same groups among themselves. Armed with specifically different instruments of sensitivity, the animal must necessarily receive extremely diverse groups of simultaneous or series of sequential impressions, and yet even at this level of development, feeling as a whole must remain for the animal an instrument of orientation in space and time, and, moreover, orientation, obviously , more detailed than that of which less gifted animal forms are capable. This means that it is necessary either to harmonize among themselves those individual elements that make up a sensory group or series, or to divide it into elements - otherwise feeling should have remained a chaotic random mixture.” “The environment in which the animal exists is also a factor determining organization. With a uniformly distributed sensitivity of the body, excluding the possibility of moving it in space, life is preserved only if the animal is directly surrounded by an environment capable of supporting its existence. The area of life here is, of necessity, extremely narrow. On the contrary, the higher the sensory organization through which the animal is oriented in time and space, the wider the sphere of possible life encounters, the more diverse the environment acting on the organization and the methods of possible adaptations.”<16>

The dissected and coordinated feeling ultimately develops into instinct and reason. “The complication and improvement of the ability of reflection in living organisms occurs on the basis of the appearance and development of a special reflection substrate: initially a special sensitive substance, then sensitive cells, nerve cells and the nervous system, which reaches the highest stage of development in humans. In connection with the emergence of a special substrate of reflection - the nervous system - special states arise due to external influences - nervous excitation and inhibition, special forms of reflective activity - conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, specific patterns of reflective activity - irradiation and concentration, mutual induction, etc. » .

Thus, the ability of reflection in living organisms goes through three main stages in its development. The first stage is irritability, i.e. the ability of bodies to respond with a reaction to external influences, which is mediated by the state of tissue excitation; then, based on irritability, a sensation arises, from which the evolution of the psyche begins, as a higher form of reflection compared to irritability. With the transition to work and the emergence of man, the highest form of mental activity arises and develops - consciousness.

The ability to reflect the surrounding material world is one of the most important prerequisites for the emergence of human language, since acts of communication, as will be shown later, are based on a person’s reflection of the surrounding reality. At the same time, it should be noted that the implementation of these reflection processes would be impossible if a person did not possess a number of special properties, the manifestation of which is ensured by the ability of reflection.

Which of the following judgments corresponds to the materialistic understanding of the process of cognition?
Cognition is:
a) the process of immersing the “mind” in reality;
b) the soul’s recollection of what it contemplated in the world of ideas;
c) ordering signals from the external world with the help of a priori forms of sensuality and reason;
d) contemplation in one’s consciousness of the essence of one’s existence;
e) reflection of objective reality in human consciousness;
f) combining innate ideas under the influence of empirical facts.
Representatives of which philosophical schools made the following statements?
a) “...The senses give us correct images of things, we know these very things,...the external world influences our senses.”
b) “...it is possible that we are able to correctly perceive the property of a thing, but we cannot comprehend the thing itself by any process, neither sensory nor mental. This “thing in itself” is located on the other side of our knowledge.”
c) “...I don’t know whether there is an objective reality reflected by our sensations, I declare it impossible to know this.”
d) “A person’s knowledge never achieves more than his senses give him: everything that is inaccessible to the senses is also inaccessible to the mind.”
Analyze the following judgments and determine which philosophical direction they can be attributed to?
The feeling is:
a) a conventional sign with which our consciousness denotes external influence;
b) an elementary subjective sensory image of the objective world;
c) sensory reflection of individual properties of objects in the objective world;
d) direct connection of human consciousness with the outside world;
e) the elementary result of the influence of the external world on the senses;
f) the only information channel that provides a person with information about the outside world;
g) transformation of the energy of external stimulation into a fact of consciousness.
Give a philosophical assessment to the following statement by the French physicist and mathematician A. Poincaré: “It can be surprising to resort to feelings when it comes to mathematical proofs, which, it would seem, are associated only with the mind. But this would mean that we forget about the sense of mathematical beauty, the sense of harmony of numbers and shapes, geometric expressiveness. This is a real aesthetic feeling, familiar to all real mathematicians. Truly, there is a feeling here!”
“...All scientific (correct, serious, nonsensical) abstractions reflect nature deeper, more accurately, more fully” (V.I. Lenin, Complete collection of works. T. 29. P. 152). Explain why a greater depth of knowledge is achieved on the basis of conceptual thinking compared to sensory knowledge? Give also examples of “nonsense” abstractions, think about their epistemological origins.
Why is a person’s reflection of reality approximate?
The ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides (c. 540 - c. 470 BC) argued: “The thought of an object and the subject of thought are one and the same.” Do you agree with this statement?
The world is infinite and we will never be able to fully understand it. Does it follow from this that the world is unknowable?
To the question: “Could a person know more if he had more senses?” - there is such an answer: “No, a person has as many sense organs as he needs for cognition.” Do you agree with this answer?
L. Feuerbach wrote that he has nothing in common with those philosophers who close their eyes to make it easier to think. What tendency in philosophy are these words directed against?
If we put a teaspoon into a glass of water, it will appear (seem) broken to us. Does this mean that our vision and senses generally deceive us and cannot be trusted? Representatives of what school of philosophy do not trust the testimony of the senses?
Why is abstract thinking a qualitatively higher level of cognition in relation to sensory reflection?
Name (from the list below) a philosophical school that views truth as the “fruit” of agreement.
a) Eclecticism;
b) conventionalism;
c) sophistry;
d) dialectics;
d) dogmatism.
“The question of the existence of extraterrestrial life... is like any other scientific problem. His decision depends on unanimity: if the majority of reputable scientists accept the evidence of extraterrestrial life as sufficient, then its existence will become a scientific fact.” The same thing “... happened with the outdated theory of phlogiston, or light ether” (Corliss W.
Mysteries of the Universe. M., 1970. S. 218 - 219). How do you feel about this judgment?
“Absolute truth is not an eternal truth that passes unchanged from one level of knowledge to another, but a property of objectively true knowledge, which consists in the fact that such knowledge is never discarded. This kind of knowledge is always a prerequisite for deeper and more fundamental truths. Moreover, it is contained in them in a removed form. Absolute truth manifests itself in the growth of knowledge” (Chudinov E.M. The Nature of Scientific Truth. M., 1977. P. 49-50).
Do you agree with the author of this provision?
“If society has a technical need, then this moves science forward more than a dozen universities” (Marx K., Engels F. Soch. T. 39. P. 174). Analyze the observed connection between science and technology. Indicate the most important technical needs that led to the rapid development of the leading areas of modern science. Give examples from your future specialty area.
Based on the main functions of practice, discuss problematic situations:
a) Practice is the basis of knowledge, but it itself relies on certain knowledge. How to combine these provisions correctly?
b) What does the primacy of practice mean if it always represents goal-setting activity?
c) Doesn’t the fact that in the conditions of modern scientific and technological progress contradict the position on the determining role of practice? science is ahead of the development of production?
d) If empirical methods and material and technical means of research play an increasingly important role in scientific research activities, does this not mean that the distinction between the basis of knowledge and knowledge itself is being erased?
“The question of whether human thinking has objective truth is not a theoretical question at all, but a practical question” (Marx K., Engels F. Soch. T. 3. P. 1). In this regard, answer the questions:
a) Why is it impossible to establish the truth of knowledge without going into public practice?
b) Is it possible to prove the objective truth of knowledge in a purely theoretical way?
c) Are the truths of mathematics tested in practice?
d) If practice serves as a criterion of objective truth, then what role do formal criteria for the truth of knowledge, for example, such as the consistency and completeness of a deductive theory, play in science?
e) Is it possible to evaluate theories from the point of view of the convenience of operating with them?
f) Can two different theories lead to the same results?
“...We must not forget that the criterion of practice can never, in the very essence of the matter, confirm or refute completely any human idea” (Lenin V.I. Poln. sobr. soch. T. 18. P. 146) . What is the reason for this particular practice?
Which of the following statements correspond to the dialectical-materialist understanding of truth?
a) Intuitively clear and self-evident position.
b) An idea whose leadership leads to success.
c) Knowledge that corresponds to the evidence of the senses.
d) The coincidence of human thought with the ideal forms of the world spirit.
e) Majority opinion.
f) An opinion established by authority and time.
g) That which corresponds to a person's goal.
h) Correspondence of knowledge to the subject’s sensations.
i) Knowledge that is an adequate reflection of the objective world.
Choose the correct sentence:
a) There are no true and no false thoughts, “true” or “false” are just names or evaluations.
b) All thoughts are only true, there are no false thoughts.
c) There are thoughts that are generally true and there are thoughts that are completely false.
d) Each statement is true or false only in a strictly defined respect.
“To recognize objective truth, that is, truth independent of man and humanity, means one way or another to recognize absolute truth” (Lenin). How do objective and absolute truths relate to each other?
“Human ideas about space and time are relative, but from these relative ideas absolute truth is formed; these relative ideas, developing, follow the line of absolute truth, approaching it” (Lenin). What is the relationship between relative and absolute truths?
Illustrate the position: “There is no abstract truth, truth is always concrete.”
“...To find the truth, it is necessary once in your life, as far as possible, to question everything” (R. Descartes). Evaluate the “principle of doubt.” Under what conditions does this principle lead to agnosticism?
Find the “grains” of absolute truths and moments that were later clarified or replaced in the following provisions:
a) The whole world consists of atoms - the smallest, indivisible particles of matter.
b) An atom is a positively charged medium in which negatively charged particles - electrons - are interspersed.
c) An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus around which electrons rotate. An atom is like a miniature solar system.
Having set himself the goal of studying whether electricity has any effect on a magnetic needle near a wire carrying current, Ampere discovered that it was turning. Based on this discovery, he suggested that the magnetism of the Earth is caused by currents flowing around the Earth in the direction from west to east. He further came to the general opinion that magnetic
The natural properties of any body are determined by closed electric currents inside it. In what forms did the movement of thought among physicists take place?
“The materialist dialectic of Marx and Engels certainly includes relativism, but is not reduced to it, that is, it recognizes the relativity of all our knowledge not in the sense of denying objective truth, but in the sense of the historical conditionality of the limits of approximation of our knowledge to this truth” (Lenin V .I. Complete collection. T. 18 P. 139). In this regard, answer the questions:
a) What interpretation does the relativity of human knowledge receive in relativism?
b) Can statements like: “This was true at one time, but now it is not true and “outdated”” be considered correct from the point of view of dialectical materialism?
c) How does the dialectical-materialist understanding of the relativity of human knowledge differ from relativism?
d) Can delusion be considered an element of true knowledge?
Is every human activity a practice? Consider from this point of view the following types of activities: education, invention, ideological struggle, amateur performances, artistic creativity, scientific research, war, religious rituals, training.
A famous aphorism says: “Practice without theory is blind, and theory without practice is just an intellectual game.” Give a philosophical interpretation of this aphorism.
What are the specifics of socio-historical practice? Justify each answer.
a) It is more subjective than material production.
b) She is more creative in nature.
c) It is aimed at transforming social relations.
d) It directly reflects the class interests of people.
e) In it, objective laws are manifested through the activities of people.
What is the most important feature of cognition of social phenomena?
List the common features that are inherent in the knowledge of both natural and social phenomena.
What specific feature of social cognition did the materialist philosopher Hobbes write about: “I have no doubt that if the truth that the three angles of a triangle are equal to the two angles of a square were contrary to anyone’s right to power or to the interests of those who already have power, then since it if it were in the power of those whose interests are affected by this truth, then the teaching of geometry would be, if not disputed, then by burning all books on geometry superseded" (Hobbes. Leviathan. M., 1936. P. 101)?
What is the specificity of factual, empirical material in the social sciences compared to natural science?
How does an experiment in social cognition differ from an experiment in the natural sciences?
What are the features of foreseeing social phenomena in contrast to foreseeing natural phenomena?
Why is the historical method of particular importance in the knowledge of social phenomena?
What is foresight in philosophy? Give examples of foresight in philosophy.

1. Cognition as a subject - an object relationship based on practice.

2. The dialectical nature of the cognitive process.

3. Truth as the goal of knowledge.

4. “Truths of science” and “truths of life” are the limits of peaceful coexistence.

5. The problem of truth and reliability in professional activities.

6. Truth, lies, delusion.

7. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom.

8. Dialectics of objective and subjective, unconditional and conditional, a priori and a posteriori in knowledge.

9. Cultural and historical determination of the content and development of knowledge.

10. Nativism, naturalism and constructivism about the nature of knowledge. Strengths and weaknesses of data concepts.

Practice exercises and additional questions for discussion

1. Which of the above judgments corresponds to the materialistic understanding of the process of cognition?

Cognition is:

a) the process of immersing the “mind” in reality;

b) the soul’s recollection of what it contemplated in the world of ideas;

c) ordering signals from the external world with the help of a priori forms of sensuality and reason;

d) contemplation in one’s consciousness of the essence of one’s existence;

e) reflection of objective reality in human consciousness;

f) combining innate ideas under the influence of empirical facts.

2. Representatives of which philosophical schools made the following statements?

a) “...The senses give us correct images of things, we know these very things,...the external world influences our senses.”

b) “...it is possible that we are able to correctly perceive the property of a thing, but we cannot comprehend the thing itself by any process, neither sensory nor mental. This “thing in itself” is located on the other side of our knowledge.”

c) “...I don’t know whether there is an objective reality reflected by our sensations, I declare it impossible to know this.”

d) “A person’s knowledge never achieves more than his senses give him: everything that is inaccessible to the senses is also inaccessible to the mind.”

3. Analyze the following judgments and determine to which philosophical direction they can be attributed?

The feeling is:

a) a conventional sign with which our consciousness denotes external influence;

b) an elementary subjective sensory image of the objective world;

c) sensory reflection of individual properties of objects in the objective world;

d) direct connection of human consciousness with the outside world;

e) the elementary result of the influence of the external world on the senses;

f) the only information channel that provides a person with information about the outside world;

g) transformation of the energy of external stimulation into a fact of consciousness.

4. Give a philosophical assessment of the following statement by the French physicist and mathematician A. Poincaré: “It can be surprising to resort to feelings when it comes to mathematical proofs, which, it would seem, are associated only with the mind. But this would mean that we forget about the sense of mathematical beauty, the sense of harmony of numbers and shapes, geometric expressiveness. This is a real aesthetic feeling, familiar to all real mathematicians. Truly, there is a feeling here!”

5. “...All scientific (correct, serious, nonsensical) abstractions reflect nature deeper, more accurately, more fully” (Lenin V.I. Complete collected works / V.I. Lenin. - T. 29. - P. .152). Explain why a greater depth of knowledge is achieved on the basis of conceptual thinking compared to sensory knowledge? Give also examples of “nonsense” abstractions, think about their epistemological origins.

6. Why is a person’s reflection of reality approximate?

7. The ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides (c. 540-470 BC) argued: “The thought of an object and the subject of thought are one and the same.” Do you agree with this statement?

8. The world is infinite and we will never be able to fully understand it. Does it follow from this that the world is unknowable?

9. To the question: “Could a person know more if he had more senses?” - there is such an answer: “No, a person has as many sense organs as he needs for cognition.” Do you agree with this answer?

10. L. Feuerbach wrote that he has nothing in common with those philosophers who close their eyes to make it easier to think. What tendency in philosophy are these words directed against?

11. If you put a teaspoon into a glass of water, it will appear (seem) broken to us. Does this mean that our vision and senses generally deceive us and cannot be trusted? Representatives of what school of philosophy do not trust the testimony of the senses?

12. Why is abstract thinking a qualitatively higher level of cognition in relation to sensory reflection?

13. Name (from the list below) a philosophical school that views truth as the “fruit” of agreement:

a) eclecticism;

b) conventionalism;

c) sophistry;

d) dialectics;

d) dogmatism.

14. “The question of the existence of extraterrestrial life... is like any other scientific problem. His decision depends on unanimity: if the majority of reputable scientists accept the evidence of extraterrestrial life as sufficient, then its existence will become a scientific fact.” The same thing “...the same happened with the outdated theory of phlogiston, or light ether” (W. Corliss. Mysteries of the Universe / W. Corliss. - M., 1970. - P. 218, 219). How do you feel about this judgment?

15. “Absolute truth is not an eternal truth that passes unchanged from one level of knowledge to another, but a property of objectively true knowledge, which consists in the fact that such knowledge is never discarded. This kind of knowledge is always a prerequisite for deeper and more fundamental truths. Moreover, it is contained in them in a removed form.

Absolute truth manifests itself in the growth of knowledge” (Chudinov E.M. The Nature of Scientific Truth / E.M. Chudinov. - M., 1977. - P. 49, 50). Do you agree with the author of this statement?

16. “If society has a technical need, then this moves science forward more than a dozen universities” (Marx K. Soch. / K. Marx, F. Engels. - T. 39. - P. 174). Analyze the observed connection between science and technology. Indicate the most important technical needs that led to the rapid development of the leading areas of modern science.

17. Based on the main functions of practice, discuss problem situations:

a) Practice is the basis of knowledge, but it itself relies on certain knowledge. How to combine these provisions correctly?

b) What does the primacy of practice mean if it always represents goal-setting activity?

c) Doesn’t the fact that in the conditions of modern scientific and technological progress contradict the position on the determining role of practice? science is ahead of the development of production?

d) If empirical methods and material and technical means of research play an increasingly important role in scientific research activities, does this not mean that the distinction between the basis of knowledge and knowledge itself is being erased?

18. “The question of whether human thinking has objective truth is not a theoretical question at all, but a practical question” (Marx K. Soch. / K. Marx, F. Engels. - Vol. 3. - P. 1). In this regard, answer the questions:

a) Why is it impossible to establish the truth of knowledge without going into public practice?

b) Is it possible to prove the objective truth of knowledge in a purely theoretical way?

c) Are the truths of mathematics tested in practice?

d) If practice serves as a criterion of objective truth, then what role do formal criteria for the truth of knowledge, for example, such as the consistency and completeness of a deductive theory, play in science?

e) Is it possible to evaluate theories from the point of view of the convenience of operating with them?

f) Can two different theories lead to the same results?

19. “...We must not forget that the criterion of practice can never, in the very essence of the matter, completely confirm or refute any human idea” (Lenin V.I. Complete collected works / V.I. Lenin . - T. 18. - P. 146). What is the reason for this particular practice?

20. Which of the following statements correspond to the dialectical-materialistic understanding of truth:

a) intuitively clear and self-evident position;

b) an idea whose leadership leads to success;

c) knowledge that corresponds to the testimony of the senses;

d) the coincidence of human thought with the ideal forms of the world spirit;

e) majority opinion;

g) what corresponds to a person’s goal;

h) correspondence of knowledge to the subject’s feelings;

i) knowledge that is an adequate reflection of the objective world?

21. Choose the correct sentence:

a) There are no true and no false thoughts, “true” or “false” are just names or evaluations.

b) All thoughts are only true, there are no false thoughts.

c) There are generally true thoughts and there are completely false thoughts.

d) Each statement is true or false only in a strictly defined respect.

22. “Recognize the objective, i.e. truth independent of man and humanity means one way or another to recognize the absolute truth” (Lenin). How do objective and absolute truths relate to each other?

23. “Human ideas about space and time are relative, but from these relative ideas absolute truth is formed, these relative ideas, developing, follow the line of absolute truth, approaching it” (Lenin). What is the relationship between relative and absolute truths?

24. Illustrate the position: “There is no abstract truth, truth is always concrete.”

25. “...To find the truth, it is necessary once in your life, as far as possible, to question everything” (R. Descartes). Evaluate the “principle of doubt.” Under what conditions does this principle lead to agnosticism?

26. Find the “grains” of absolute truths and moments that were later clarified or replaced in the following provisions:

a) The whole world consists of atoms - the smallest, indivisible particles of matter.

b) An atom is a positively charged medium in which negatively charged particles - electrons - are interspersed.

c) An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus around which electrons rotate. An atom is like a miniature solar system.

27. Having set himself the goal of studying whether electricity has any effect on a magnetic needle near a wire carrying current, Ampere discovered that it was turning. Based on this discovery, he suggested that the magnetism of the Earth is caused by currents flowing around the Earth in the direction from west to east. He further came to the general opinion that the magnetic properties of any body are determined by closed electric currents within it. In what forms did the movement of thought among physicists take place?

28. “The materialist dialectic of Marx and Engels certainly includes relativism, but is not reducible to it, i.e. recognizes the relativity of all our knowledge not in the sense of denying objective truth, but in the sense of the historical conditionality of the limits of approximation of our knowledge to this truth.” (Lenin V.I. Complete collected works / V.I. Lenin. - T. 18. - P. 139). In this regard, answer the questions:

a) What interpretation does the relativity of human knowledge receive in relativism?

c) How does the dialectical-materialist understanding of the relativity of human knowledge differ from relativism?

d) Can delusion be considered an element of true knowledge?

29. Is all human activity related to practice? Consider from this point of view the following types of activities: education, invention, ideological struggle, amateur performances, artistic creativity, scientific research, war, religious rituals, training.

30. A famous aphorism says: “Practice without theory is blind, and theory without practice is just an intellectual game.” Give a philosophical interpretation of this aphorism.

31. What are the specifics of socio-historical practice?

Justify each answer.

a) It is more subjective than material production.

b) She is more creative in nature.

c) It is aimed at transforming social relations.

d) It directly reflects the class interests of people.

e) In it, objective laws are manifested through the activities of people.

32. What is the most important feature of knowledge of social phenomena?

33. List the common features that are inherent in the knowledge of both natural and social phenomena.

34. What specific feature of social cognition did the materialist philosopher Hobbes write about: “I have no doubt that if the truth that the three angles of a triangle are equal to the two angles of a square were contrary to anyone’s right to power or to the interests of those who already have power, then since it would be in the power of those whose interests are affected by this truth, then the teaching of geometry would be, if not disputed, then by burning all books on geometry superseded" (Hobbes. Leviathan / Hobbes. - M., 1936. - P. 101) ?

35. What are the specifics of factual, empirical material in the social sciences in comparison with natural science?

36. How does an experiment in social cognition differ from an experiment in the natural sciences?

37. What are the features of the prediction of social phenomena in contrast to the prediction of natural phenomena?

38. Why is the historical method of particular importance in the knowledge of social phenomena?

39. What is foresight in philosophy? Give examples of foresight in philosophy.

40. “The darkness of bitter truths is dearer to us than the elevating deception.” What feature of human knowledge are we talking about in these words of the poet?

41. Do you agree with the statement of J.-J. Rousseau: “Thousands of paths lead to error, but only one to truth”?

42. “Only success can distinguish knowledge from error” Do you agree with this? If not, please clarify your answer.

Main:

Alekseev P.V. Philosophy: textbook for universities / P.V. Alekseev, A.V. Panin. - M.: MSU, 2008.

Gubin V.D. Philosophy: current problems: textbook. allowance / V.D. Gubin. - M., 2009.

Lavrinenko V.N. Philosophy: textbook for universities / V.N. Lavrinenko, V.P. Ratnikov. - 4th ed., revised. and additional - M., 2008.

Remarchuk V.N. Introduction to philosophy: textbook. allowance. - M.: MIIT, 2009.

Skalepov A.N. Philosophy in tests and crosswords: textbook. allowance. - M.: MIIT, 2011.

Additional:

Introduction to Philosophy. Part 2. Ch. XII. - M., 1989.

Golubintsev V.O. and others. Philosophy for technical universities / V.O. Golubintsev. Ch. 7. - Rostov-n/D., 2001.

Gorsky D.P. Questions of abstraction and concept formation / D.P. Gorsky. - M., 1961.

Ilyin V.V. Theory of knowledge. Introduction. General problems / V.V. Ilyin. - M., 1993.

Practice and knowledge. - M., 1983.

Philosophy: problem course. Section II. - M., 2002.

Philosophy: textbook for universities / ed. L.A. Nikitich. Ch. 3. - M., 2000.

Related information.

Page 1

The reflection of reality in thinking is true only if it is concrete. There is no abstract truth, truth is always concrete, as the late Plekhanov liked to say, following Hegel (Lenin V.I., Works. In this sense of feelings, knowledge in itself is abstract, since the object is reflected in it as an individual, without a natural connection, in the crown it acts only as a component. Therefore, the concreteness of thinking is not measured directly.

Being a generalizing reflection of reality, thinking is expressed through language. When a person thinks, the same neural mechanisms operate, the same speech signals are used as when expressing thoughts out loud.

Modeling as a reflection of reality is carried out using mathematical formulas.

When documenting, reality is reflected according to the object-subject principle. There is always an object in focus, but the object itself can be incredibly complex. Therefore, during the modeling process, one or more structures are selected - an object. These structures are mentally isolated in the object and, as it were, represent and replace it.

A specific form of reflection of reality in art is, as already noted, the artistic image.

Political ideology is a theoretical reflection of political reality through the prism of the interests of classes, nations, political parties and other political forces. It is based on a certain political theory or a combination of them. Just like political psychology, it expresses a certain level of understanding of political reality and a focus on its transformation, securing the position of certain subjects in the system of political relations.

Modeling as a form of reflection of reality is widespread and a fairly complete classification of possible types of modeling is extremely difficult, if only because of the polysemy of the concept of model, which is widely used not only in science and technology, but also in art and in everyday life.

Without such a form of sensory reflection of reality as an idea, a person would be tied to the immediate situation (in terms of life experience); Thanks to the ability to imagine objects, the subject expands the volume of sensory material at his disposal, involving also social sensory experience in the sphere of his sensation and perception of the world. In the sphere of ideas, practice, human activity and the values, goals and interests of people associated with practice play an important role.

A teaching that is a reflection of reality, a generalization of practice, human experience. Theory, if it is a valid theory, gives practitioners the strength of orientation, clarity of perspective, confidence in work, faith in the victory of our cause.

A work of art is a reflection of reality using a sign system that carries artistic information.

Any thinking is a generalized and mediated reflection of reality and comes directly or indirectly from the direct sensory perception of reality and through this perception. Because of this, we can talk about the structural isomorphism of the process of cognition and the process of direct visual perception of an object, and the noted connection of perception with the objective relations of reality allows us to look for isomorphic relationships between this structure and some specific structure of the perceived object.

Thought must depend on the reflection of reality by the brain's equipment.

In its most general form, epistemology is the doctrine of knowledge. Epistemology deals with the following issues:

■ reveals the laws of cognition by man, the subject of the world;

■ explores the question of the very possibility and limits of knowledge of the surrounding reality, which is largely independent of man and alien to him;

■ seeks to explain the purpose and meaning of human knowledge;

■ studies the relationship between subject and object in the process of cognitive activity, the relationship of knowledge to reality;

■ explores the conditions of success, adequacy, truth, correctness of knowledge; criterion of truth and reliability of knowledge.

The process of cognition is historical, that is, in the process of cognition a historical subject acts, a subject immersed in its culture, traditions, level of development of industry and technology. Not only the quality of cognition, the methods, methods of this cognition, but also the object to which cognition is directed depends on this. Epistemology studies knowledge in general, regardless of the type of knowledge, historical conditions, level of development of social practice, regardless of the cultural context.

Cognition- the process of comprehension by a person (society) of new, previously unknown facts and phenomena, signs and properties, connections and patterns of reality. This is the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, its constant deepening, expansion and improvement.

A necessary condition for the cognitive process is the interaction of two systems - subject and object. The subject of cognition is an actively acting individual or a group of individuals with consciousness and will. The object of cognition is a fragment of reality or part of natural or social existence, towards which human cognitive activity is directed. In other words, the subject is the one who knows, and the object is that which is known.

The subject and the object are complex phenomena, the relationship of which cannot be described only as the influence of the object on the subject and the passive perception by the subject of the effects of the object. Thus, in some philosophical concepts the subject was interpreted as a separate, isolated individual, and the object as an independently existing objective world. Their relationship was determined only by the impact of the object on the subject, and the subject turned out to be a passively perceiving biological being devoid of goals and interests. The objective world was also interpreted as unchanging and not influenced by the goals and needs of the acting subject.

Modern philosophy recognizes the independent existence of subject and object, but also pays attention to their connection and interaction. An object from a fragment of reality is actively transformed into a “humanized” object (endowed with characteristics commensurate with the human worldview) and itself changes during this interaction. The subject acts not as an abstract biological individual, but as a historically developing social being. The basis of their interaction is substantive and practical activity. Being an active force, the subject in interaction with the object cannot act arbitrarily. The object itself, as well as the level of specific historical development, sets certain limits and boundaries of activity. It is on this basis that the need arises to understand the laws of an object in order to harmonize the activities and practical needs of the subject with them.

The purpose of knowledge is to achieve truth. Truth is one of the most important characteristics of knowledge. All problems of the theory of knowledge concern either the means and ways of achieving truth, or the forms of existence of truth, or methods of its knowledge, forms of its implementation. The variety of answers to the problem of truth served to create a number of concepts of truth that are widely known in the history of philosophy: correspondent, coherent, pragmatic, conventional and others.

The correspondence theory of truth, or correspondence theory, is considered to be a concept that shares the view of truth given by Plato and Aristotle. In the dialogue Cratylus, Plato gives the first scientific definition of truth: “He who speaks of things according to what they are speaks the truth, but he who speaks of them differently lies” (Cratylus 385b). For Aristotle, the concept of a thing is what a given thing is in itself. “The truth is spoken by the one who considers the disconnected to be disconnected and the connected as connected, and the false is the one who thinks the opposite of how things are.” Thus, Plato and Aristotle are traditionally considered to be the first exponents of the classical concept of truth, the essence of which is that truth is understood as the correspondence of human knowledge to reality, the real state of affairs. Moreover, their positions differ significantly, since Plato and Aristotle interpret reality differently. If for Plato truth is the correspondence of our knowledge to true being, that is, the world of ideas, then for Aristotle it is the correspondence of our knowledge to objective natural reality. The problem arises when interpreting the concept of objective reality. Objective reality for Plato is the world of ideas, while for Aristotle it is the world of natural reality.

The classical concept of truth was adhered to by Thomas Aquinas, P. Holbach, G.V.F. Hegel, L. Feuerbach and others. Thomas Aquinas is often called one of the first philosophers in the history of European philosophy, who introduced the classical definition of truth: “Veritas est aedequatio rei et intellectus”, which means: “Truth is the correspondence of a thing and an intellect.” Thomas Aquinas wrote a work devoted exclusively to the problem of truth: “Debatable Questions about Truth,” in which he considers the following questions:

1) is there one truth, thanks to which everything is true;

2) are there other truths;

3) whether other truths are eternal, if they exist;

4) whether created truth is unchangeable;

5) does every truth come from the first;

6) is there truth in feelings;

7) whether the truth is expressed regarding the essence of God or regarding persons.

Thomas Aquinas distinguished truths in terms of their different natures. There are truths accessible to the human mind: knowledge not only of material things, but also of God - his existence, his characteristics, his activities. But there are also truths that the mind can never comprehend: the Holy Trinity, original sin, the incarnation, the creation of the world in time. Thus, Thomas Aquinas limits the scope of the mind, the scope of its cognitive capabilities.

Thomas Aquinas noted that truth can manifest itself in a certain ratio of three elements:

1) Divine intellect;

2) a natural thing;

3) human individual intelligence.

Natural things are between God and the human intellect and are true because they correspond to both the Divine intellect and the human. Things are true according to the correspondence of the divine intellect to the extent that they accomplish what God has determined them to do. A thing is true according to human intellect, since it is inherent in things to express a true assessment about themselves or a false one if things create the appearance of what they are not. A thing is true according to the Divine intellect rather than the human intellect. If there were neither Divine intellect nor human, but things remained, then “truth” would not exist. Thus, truth always exists in relation to something: to the Divine or human intellect.

In the philosophical system of G.V.F. For Hegel, the highest stage of development of the Spirit is philosophy. Philosophy has a scientific form; it reveals the unity of truth in other forms of self-knowledge of the Spirit - art and religion. In philosophy, the Spirit moves from contemplation to self-knowing thinking. Self-knowledge here occurs in the form of a concept, that is, philosophy is thinking in the form of a concept. The entire content of our consciousness is determined by feelings, contemplations, images, but the highest of these forms are concepts, because the Absolute itself has a conceptual form. Philosophy is “adequate knowledge of the absolute Subject.” Hegel’s philosophical idea that “Everything rational is real, everything real is rational” (“the principle of the coincidence of the logical and metaphysical”) expresses, in essence, that thinking and being, the subject and object of knowledge are identical. “Objects are true when they are what they ought to be, that is, when their reality corresponds to their concept.”

Comprehension of one's own concept is the highest form of self-comprehension of the Absolute. “The concept revealed to speculative thought is the Divine itself and it is the only reality.” The reality of the concept, the reality of the understanding Spirit, is presented by Hegel as a reality that ascends from the abstract to the concrete. Each concreteness obtained is a new abstraction for the next logical (i.e. real) situation. Truth is all reality, since it is the reality of the Spirit, and error should be spoken of as the incompleteness of truth in relation to the next stage of development of reality.

Truth is the process of the Spirit comprehending itself. Comprehension is the comprehension of the Spirit’s own development, beginning in logic, the subject of which is pure thought, then in the philosophy of nature, which studies the otherness of thought, that is, nature, then in philosophy and the Spirit. The development of the Spirit presupposes an endless process of emerging from the immediate state into another being and further - to a state of self-consciousness. The highest stage of this self-consciousness is the stage of the Spirit already understanding itself, at which it is only possible to talk about the development of reality. Analysis of this development and comprehension of truth can be carried out by exploring the mutual transition of concepts as elements of reality. Having a philosophical concept, one can comprehend the movement of development from the abstract to the concrete; development, which includes all past moments as particular limiting cases of confirmation of one’s own truth. Truth is constantly in the process of deepening and concretizing. Historical and logical development thus coincide.

The theory of coherent truth (O. Neurath, N. Rescher, H. Putnam) assumes that knowledge is organized into some integral system, for example, a system of legal laws, scientific theory or philosophical system, and means the internal consistency of all parts of this integrity. According to this theory, the measure of truth of a statement is determined by its place and role in the conceptual system. To say that something is true or false is to say that it is coherent or incoherent. The more statements are consistent with each other, the more true they are. The truth of a statement consists in its coherence with some specific set of statements. Coherent truth differs from correspondent truth in two significant characteristics:

1. according to the coherence theory, the truth of knowledge lies in its coherence, and not in accordance with reality;

2. conditions for the truth of statements are a certain set of other statements.

The whole difficulty lies in how to understand and verify this internal consistency of all parts of knowledge. For strict systems of knowledge: mathematical, physical or logical theories, consistency means their consistency. Indeed, if a physicist were to derive the statement from one part of the equations of a physical theory: “an electron has a negative charge,” and from another part of the equations of the same theory, “an electron has a positive charge,” then these two parts would turn out to be inconsistent and contradictory. Such a theory should be discarded as having no scientific value, or rearranged to eliminate the inconsistency. For philosophical systems, finding consistency is very difficult. This complexity is associated with the ambiguity of philosophical concepts, the non-obviousness and unverifiability of the initial provisions of philosophy, as well as various types of explanations, justifications and arguments that are convincing for one philosophical school and unacceptable for other schools, etc.

The pragmatic theory of truth was first expressed by C. Peirce and formulated by W. James. The truth of an idea expressed in a statement, according to W. James, is determined by its success or efficiency, that is, its usefulness for achieving a particular goal that a person sets and achieves. Thus, any knowledge, belief, hypothesis is true if useful (beneficial) consequences for the material or spiritual life of people can be extracted from them. This theory immediately faces the difficulty of understanding what is “useful.” The same knowledge can be true for some people, but false for others. It is almost impossible to find objective criteria for what is useful, since the assessment of what is useful is inextricably linked with the subjective world of a person, his desires, ideals, preferences, age, cultural environment, etc. However, the pragmatic approach captures the role of social significance, recognition by society, and the communicability of truth.

The conventional concept of truth considers true knowledge (or its logical basis) to be the result of a convention, an agreement. There was a whole direction in the philosophy of science called conventionalism (A. Poincaré, E. Leroy and others).

Dialectical-materialist theory continues to develop the problem of truth in the tradition of German classical philosophy.

The concept of truth here is based on a materialistically understood theory of correspondence, rooted in the classical definition of truth.

The main provisions of the dialectical-materialist theory of truth boil down to the following:

1. cognition is understood as a process of reflecting reality. Truth is viewed as “an internally contradictory process, reflecting not a frozen, but a changing object of knowledge,” which allows one to avoid relativism and dogmatism.

2. The social nature of consciousness is affirmed. Dialectical-materialist epistemology refuses the “epistemological Robinsonade” that connects the process of cognition with the individual human being, who is taken out of social relations and the historical development of mankind. Knowledge is the result of the total activity of all mankind, a product of its historical development.

3. The theory of knowledge includes practice, that is, all epistemological problems are considered in connection with the practical activities of people.

In dialectical-materialist epistemology, truth is defined as “the process of reflecting in human consciousness the inexhaustible essence of the infinite material world and the laws of its development, which at the same time means the process of man creating a scientific picture of the world; it acts as a concrete historical result of knowledge, continuously developing on the basis of socio-historical practice as its highest objective criterion.” From this definition we can deduce the main characteristics of truth:

1) truth is the process of reflection of the material world in human consciousness;

2) this process not only reflects the material world, but systematizes true knowledge about it in the scientific picture of the world;

3) truth is of a concrete historical nature;

4) the process of learning the truth is inextricably linked with the level of development of socio-historical practice;

5) socio-historical practice is an objective criterion of truth;

6) truth is objective, that is, the objective essence of things, the objective essence of material reality is expressed in true concepts and categories.

The objectivity of truth is understood as the primary and determining principle of this theory, therefore the entire cognitive process is the process of achieving objective truth, and therefore the process of overcoming subjectivist layers, subjective views and opinions. The objectivity of truth is its necessary condition as a reflection in the knowledge of the essence, properties and relationships of the surrounding world; this is a characteristic that means independence from man and humanity of the content of knowledge, which is confirmed by practice.

Moreover, the concept of truth in dialectical-materialist philosophy is always the dialectic of the subjective and objective in the understanding of truth.

The subjectivity of truth is due to the fact that, firstly, cognitive activity is carried out by the subject. But this is not a separate isolated entity. In dialectical-materialist epistemology, this is a social subject, and its activity is the socio-historical practice of people.

Secondly, the object of knowledge is represented in consciousness subjectively. The subjectivity of truth also lies in the fact that the subject identifies the object of knowledge based on the needs of practice and the level of its development. Thus, the objectivity and subjectivity of truth is a unity in which priority always belongs to objectivity.

The next characteristic of truth is its absoluteness and relativity.

The term "absolute truth" has three meanings:

1. Exact, comprehensive knowledge, the “ultimate truth”, some unique epistemological ideal. In this sense, truth is not realized at any level of knowledge, it is unattainable, it is a metaphor.

2. The concept of absolute truth is applicable to certain elementary knowledge that is invariant (constant) in nature. These are the so-called “eternal truths”. Examples of such truths: “Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828,” “a chemical element has atomic weight.”

3. Absolute truth in the proper sense of the word is understood as such “knowledge that retains its meaning, is not refuted by the subsequent course of development of science, but is only concretized and enriched with new content. This is the most important meaning of the term “absolute truth.”

“The absoluteness of truth means the real possibility of complete, exhaustive knowledge of the essence and laws of the surrounding world, realized in the continuous and endless process of its cognition as a world of ever-evolving matter.” Since the world is understood as eternally developing and the ontology of materialism is based on the principle of the inexhaustibility of matter, the process of cognition is continuous and endless. And this condition makes achieving absolute truth impossible. The absoluteness of truth is the ideal to which our cognitive activity strives.

Relative truth is incomplete, approximate, incomplete knowledge about reality, which deepens and becomes more precise as practice and knowledge develop. In this case, old truths are either replaced by new ones (like classical quantum mechanics), or refuted and become misconceptions (like the truths about caloric, ether, perpetual motion, etc.).

The relativity of truth is based on the principle of its objectivity and absoluteness: it “means knowledge of individual aspects and relationships of reality; characterizes the proximity of knowledge, a certain degree of deepening of our consciousness into the inexhaustible essence of things, a certain historical level of scientific knowledge achieved in a given era.”

The next characteristics of truth are its universality and specificity, which are opposite concepts. The basis of the universality of truth is the unity of existence of the world as a single, infinite, eternally existing and developing matter. The concreteness of truth is an expression of the real diversity of material reality, at the same time a certain concrete historical result achieved at each given stage of the process of cognition.

Thus, the main characteristics of truth in dialectical-materialist philosophy are the following: understanding of truth as a process, the objectivity of truth, which is considered as a dialectical unity with subjectivity, the absoluteness and relativity of truth, its universality and specificity, and also the decisive and main criterion of truth is social historical practice.

The criterion of truth allows us to distinguish true knowledge from erroneous, false, or generally untrue knowledge. In the history of philosophy, various philosophical concepts have identified their own criterion of truth:

■ R. Descartes: that which is clear and distinct is true;

■ I. Kant: universality and necessity are the most important characteristics of truth;

■ Machism: true is what corresponds to sensory data;

■ pragmatism: the criterion of truth is utility;

■ conventionalism: the criterion of truth is compliance with a conventional agreement;

■ dialectical-materialist philosophy - practice. Only that knowledge that is confirmed by practice can be considered true, because practice makes it possible to correlate knowledge about an object with it itself.

Practice is a socio-historical, sensory-objective human activity aimed at understanding and transforming the world, at creating material, spiritual and cultural values necessary for the functioning of society. Practice is a way of including a person in the natural and social world around him through the active transformation of objectively existing objects and phenomena of the external world. This is the purposeful objective-sensory activity of the subject to transform material systems.

With the introduction of practice into the theory of knowledge, it was established that a person cognizes the real world not because objects and phenomena of this world passively act on his senses, but because he himself actively purposefully influences the reality around him and, in the course of its change, cognizes it . This is a specifically human form of activity, always carried out in a certain sociocultural context.

Scheme 10.1.Historical forms of agnosticism

The criterion of truth allows us to distinguish truth from error. In the process of cognition, misconceptions inevitably arise that cannot be interpreted one-sidedly - only negatively.

Misconception is knowledge that does not correspond to its subject, does not coincide with it. Misconception is understood as an unintentional discrepancy between judgments or concepts and the object.

Cognition is a complex process. Cognition cannot be stopped or limited. The results of knowledge always change in the process of the emergence of new knowledge - this is the idea of relative truth. In cognitive activity, it is possible to obtain knowledge that will not coincide with reality, therefore delusion is a necessary moment of the real cognitive process. This can lead to confusion:

■ incompleteness, one-sidedness of the study;

■ hypothetical knowledge, which, without receiving sufficient verification, is accepted as true;

■ limited, underdeveloped practice, that is, a criterion that can show quite accurately what this knowledge is - truth or error;

■ the desire of the subject of cognition to see in the object under study what he wants, to confirm his assumptions, or, based on what is already known, to conclude by analogy about the unknown.

Types of misconceptions:

1. error - the result of incorrect actions of an individual in any field of activity. Errors can be logical and factual. The first arise as a result of violation of the rules of logic; the second - insufficient study of the subject.

2. Lie - a deliberate distortion of knowledge, the expression of a judgment that is obviously inconsistent with the real state of affairs.

3. Disinformation - conscious or unconscious transmission of obviously false knowledge.

4. Illusion is a distortion of the perception of reality. When a person perceives, an image of an object is created that does not exist in reality or exists in a different form. The illusion may be caused by disturbances in the process of human perception of the external world. These violations can be objective or subjective.

The role of misconceptions in cognition is ambiguous. The appearance of a misconception in the process of cognition can lead a person away from the truth, but the discovery of a misconception contributes to the creation of a problematic situation that will give impetus to the further expansion and development of knowledge and will open up new paths to obtaining true knowledge.

Questions and tasks:

1. Which of the following judgments corresponds to the materialistic understanding of the process of cognition?

Cognition is:

a) the process of immersing the “mind” in reality;

b) the soul’s recollection of what it contemplated in the world of ideas;

c) ordering signals from the external world with the help of a priori forms of sensuality and reason;

d) contemplation in one’s consciousness of the essence of one’s existence;

e) reflection of objective reality in human consciousness;

f) combining innate ideas under the influence of empirical facts.

2. Representatives of which philosophical schools made the following statements?

a) “...The senses give us correct images of things, we know these very things,...the external world influences our senses.”

c) “...I don’t know whether there is an objective reality reflected by our sensations, I declare it impossible to know this.”

d) “A person’s knowledge never achieves more than his senses give him: everything that is inaccessible to the senses is also inaccessible to the mind.”

3. Analyze the following judgments and determine which philosophical direction they can be attributed to?

The feeling is:

a) a conventional sign with which our consciousness denotes external influence;

b) an elementary subjective sensory image of the objective world;

c) sensory reflection of individual properties of objects in the objective world;

d) direct connection of human consciousness with the outside world;

e) the elementary result of the influence of the external world on the senses;

f) the only information channel that provides a person with information about the outside world;

g) transformation of the energy of external stimulation into a fact of consciousness.

4. Give a philosophical assessment to the following statement by the French physicist and mathematician A. Poincaré: “It can be surprising to resort to feelings when it comes to mathematical proofs, which, it would seem, are associated only with the mind. But this would mean that we forget about the sense of mathematical beauty, the sense of harmony of numbers and shapes, geometric expressiveness. This is a real aesthetic feeling, familiar to all real mathematicians. Truly, there is a feeling here!”

5. Why is a person’s reflection of reality approximate?

6. The ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides (c. 540 - c. 470 BC) argued: “The thought of an object and the subject of thought are one and the same.” Do you agree with this statement?

7. The world is infinite and we will never be able to fully understand it. Does it follow from this that the world is unknowable?

8. To the question: “Could a person know more if he had more senses?” - there is such an answer: “No, a person has as many sense organs as he needs for cognition.” Do you agree with this answer?

9. L. Feuerbach wrote that he has nothing in common with those philosophers who close their eyes to make it easier to think. What tendency in philosophy are these words directed against?

10. Why is abstract thinking a qualitatively higher level of cognition in relation to sensory reflection?

11. Name (from the list below) a philosophical school that views truth as the “fruit” of agreement.

a) Eclecticism;

b) conventionalism;

c) sophistry;

d) dialectics;

d) dogmatism.

12. “The question of the existence of extraterrestrial life... is like any other scientific problem. His decision depends on unanimity: if the majority of reputable scientists accept the evidence of extraterrestrial life as sufficient, then its existence will become a scientific fact.” The same thing “...the same happened with the outdated theory of phlogiston, or light ether” (Corliss W. Mysteries of the Universe. M., 1970. - P. 218 219). How do you feel about this judgment?

13. “Absolute truth is not an eternal truth that passes unchanged from one level of knowledge to another, but a property of objectively true knowledge, which consists in the fact that such knowledge is never discarded. This kind of knowledge is always a prerequisite for deeper and more fundamental truths. Moreover, it is contained in them in a removed form. Absolute truth manifests itself in the growth of knowledge" (Chudinov E.M. The Nature of Scientific Truth. M., 1977. - P. 49-50). Do you agree with the author of this provision?

14. Based on the main functions of practice, discuss problem situations:

a) Practice is the basis of knowledge, but it itself relies on certain knowledge. How to combine these provisions correctly?

b) What does the primacy of practice mean if it always represents goal-setting activity?

15. Which of the following statements correspond to the dialectical-materialist understanding of truth?

a) Intuitively clear and self-evident position.

b) An idea whose leadership leads to success.

c) Knowledge that corresponds to the evidence of the senses.

d) The coincidence of human thought with the ideal forms of the world spirit.

e) Majority opinion.

g) That which corresponds to a person's goal.

h) Correspondence of knowledge to the subject’s sensations.

i) Knowledge that is an adequate reflection of the objective world.

16. Choose the correct sentence:

a) There are no true and no false thoughts, “true” or “false” are just names or evaluations.

b) All thoughts are only true, there are no false thoughts.

c) There are generally true thoughts and there are completely false thoughts.

d) Each statement is true or false only in a strictly defined respect.

17. “...To find the truth, it is necessary once in your life, as far as possible, to question everything” (R. Descartes). Evaluate the “principle of doubt.” Under what conditions does this principle lead to agnosticism?

18. Find the “grains” of absolute truths and moments that were later clarified or replaced in the following provisions:

a) The whole world consists of atoms - the smallest, indivisible particles of matter.

b) An atom is a positively charged medium in which negatively charged particles - electrons - are interspersed.

c) An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus around which electrons rotate. An atom is like a miniature solar system.

19. Having set himself the goal of studying whether electricity has any effect on a magnetic needle near a wire carrying current, Ampere discovered that it was turning. Based on this discovery, he suggested that the magnetism of the Earth is caused by currents flowing around the Earth in the direction from west to east. He further came to the general opinion that the magnetic properties of any body are determined by closed electric currents within it. In what forms did the movement of thought among physicists take place?

20. “The materialist dialectic of Marx and Engels certainly includes relativism, but is not reduced to it, that is, it recognizes the relativity of all our knowledge not in the sense of denying objective truth, but in the sense of the historical conditionality of the limits of approximation of our knowledge to this truth” (Lenin V .I. Complete collection. T. 18 P. 139). In this regard, answer the questions:

a) What interpretation does the relativity of human knowledge receive in relativism?

c) How does the dialectical-materialist understanding of the relativity of human knowledge differ from relativism?

d) Can delusion be considered an element of true knowledge?

21. Is every human activity a practice? Consider from this point of view the following types of activity: education, invention, ideological struggle, amateur performances, artistic creativity, scientific research, war, religious rituals, training.

22. A famous aphorism says: “Practice without theory is blind, and theory without practice is just an intellectual game.” Give a philosophical interpretation of this aphorism.

23. What are the specifics of socio-historical practice? Justify each answer.

a) It is more subjective than material production.

b) She is more creative in nature.

c) It is aimed at transforming social relations.

d) It directly reflects the class interests of people.

e) In it, objective laws are manifested through the activities of people.

24. What is the most important feature of knowledge of social phenomena?

25. List the common features that are inherent in the knowledge of both natural and social phenomena.

26. What specific feature of social cognition did the materialist philosopher Hobbes write about: “I have no doubt that if the truth that the three angles of a triangle are equal to the two angles of a square were contrary to anyone’s right to power or to the interests of those who already have power, then since it if it were in the power of those whose interests are affected by this truth, then the teaching of geometry would be, if not disputed, then by burning all books on geometry superseded" (Hobbes. Leviathan. M., 1936. - P. 101)?

27. What is the specificity of factual, empirical material in the social sciences compared to natural science?

28. How does an experiment in social cognition differ from an experiment in the natural sciences?

29. What are the features of foreseeing social phenomena in contrast to foreseeing natural phenomena?

30. Why is the historical method of particular importance in the knowledge of social phenomena?

31. What is foresight in philosophy? Give examples of foresight in philosophy.

32. In the work of I.S. Turgenev “Rudin” we read: “Why do you believe in facts?” - “How why? That’s great! Facts, it’s a known matter, everyone knows what facts are... I judge them from experience, from my own feelings.” “Can’t feeling deceive you? Does feeling tell you that the Sun goes around the Earth... or maybe you don’t agree with Copernicus?” Intervene in the dispute between Rudin and Pegasov and express your opinion about the nature of the fact. Can facts be assessed using the concepts of “truth”, “false”, “misconception”?

33. “...The simplest truth, obtained in the simplest, inductive way, is always incomplete, because experience is always incomplete” (Lenin V.I. Complete collection of works. T. 29. - P. 162). Why is knowledge gained inductively limited? What gives rise to this limitation?

34. “The law of inertia is the first great success in physics, in fact its effective beginning. It was derived by thinking about an idealized experiment, a body constantly moving without friction or the interaction of any other external forces. From this example, and later from many others