Science SVG is a field of human activity aimed at developing and systematizing objective knowledge about reality. The basis of this activity is the collection of facts, their constant updating and systematization, critical analysis and, on this basis, the synthesis of new knowledge or generalizations that not only describe the observed natural or social phenomena, but also allow to build causal links with the ultimate goal of forecasting. Those hypotheses, which are confirmed by facts or experiments, are formulated in the form of laws of nature or society.
Science SVG in the broad sense includes all conditions and components of the corresponding activity:
- The division and cooperation of scientific work;
- Scientific institutions, experimental and laboratory equipment;
- Research methods;
- Conceptual and categorical apparatus;
- Scientific information system;
- The entire amount of scientific knowledge accumulated earlier.
Main features of Science SVG
The main source:
Science is knowledge, fixed in a certain system of signs, based on exact rules.
Science is always fixed in a maximally defined (for each historical level) language.
Science is a system of knowledge about the laws of functioning and development of objects.
Science is knowledge that is empirically tested and confirmed.
Science is a system of constantly growing and growing knowledge. This replenishment is carried out with the help of the most perfect methods.
Science has a composition that includes the subject, theory and hypothesis, method and fact, description of empirical material.
Science SVG History
With the development of writing in the countries of ancient civilizations, empirical knowledge about nature, man and society was accumulated and comprehended, there were rudiments of mathematics, logic, geometry, astronomy, medicine. Predecessors of modern scientists were philosophers of Ancient Greece and Rome for whom reflections and search of truth become the basic occupation. In Ancient Greece there are variants of classification of knowledge.
The science in modern understanding began to develop since XVI-XVII centuries. In the course of historical development its influence went beyond the development of technology and technology. The science has turned to the major social, humanitarian institute which renders considerable influence on all spheres of a society and culture. The volume of scientific activity since XVII century doubles approximately every 10-15 years (growth of discoveries, scientific information, number of scientists).
The development of science alternates between extensive and revolutionary periods – scientific revolutions that lead to changes in its structure, principles of knowledge, categories and methods, as well as forms of its organization. Science is characterized by a dialectical combination of processes of its differentiation and integration, development of fundamental and applied research.
Science SVG Community
The scientific community is made up of all people involved in science. The scientific community is a complex, self-organizing system in which government institutions, social organizations and informal groups operate. A distinctive feature of this community is the increased recognition of the authority achieved by scientific advances and the reduced recognition of the authority of the authorities, which sometimes leads to conflict between the state and the scientific community. It is also worth noting that informal groups and especially individuals are more effective than in other social spheres. The most important tasks of the scientific community are the recognition or rejection of new ideas and theories, ensuring the development of scientific knowledge, as well as support for the education and training of new researchers.
Lifestyles and worldviews of the scientific community may differ significantly from those of the general public. The scientific community is now thought to be dominated by atheistic and skeptical views. Studies conducted in the 1990s showed that only 7% of members of the American National Academy of Sciences and 3.3% of members of the British Academy of Sciences were believers. At the same time, according to a national survey, 68.5% of the UK population consider themselves believers. V.L. Ginzburg pointed out in an article on Atheism.ru that “In the article of Ising (“Search” № 25, 1998) there is a table published earlier in Nature (v. 386, p. 435, 1997), indicating that among the American scientists in 1916 was 42% of the faithful, and in 1996. 39% of believers, i.e., their reduction is not significant. This seems strange in the light of the great achievements of science over the past 80 years between surveys,” he suggested that the possible reason for this was “the reaction to the militant atheism of the Communists”. Sociologist Elaine Howard Eklandpra conducted a survey of 1,646 faculty members working in elite U.S. universities, asking them to answer 36 questions on faith and spiritual practices, in which he found that among natural scientists (biology, physics and chemistry) non-believers and atheists are 38%, with the majority of non-believers – 41% among biologists, while sociologists – 31%, and the lowest number – 27% – among political scientists. According to data published in June 2005 by researchers at the University of Chicago, 76% of U.S. doctors consider themselves believers and 59% believe that there is an afterlife. The history of science testifies to the variability of dominant ideas and doctrines in science, as well as their dependence on the political situation of the respective state or historical period.