General scientific methods of cognition. In search of truth.

The concept of "method" includes a set of operations and techniques for theoretical and practical mastery of reality. The method offers man a whole system of principles, rules, requirements, following which he can quickly achieve the intended goal. There is a special field of knowledge that assigns special significance to the study of methods, it is called methodology. Its main task is to study the characteristics of methods of cognition: origin, efficiency and essence.

Methods of cognition are usually divided according to the breadth of application in the process of scientific research. The general scientific methods of cognition are divided into two large groups: metaphysical and dialectical. In the middle of the XIX century, metaphysical methods increasingly began to be replaced by dialectical methods, because of the rapid development of natural science. A dialectical group of methods is represented by general scientific methods of cognition, which are widely used in various scientific fields, that is, they have a fairly wide range of applications.

Observation is always the main tool that accompanies general scientific methods of cognition. It always plays a very important role in scientific knowledge, because it allows you to gather a huge amount of information about the environment. An experiment is a more complex, in comparison with observation, method of empirical consciousness. It involves a purposeful, active and strictly controlled impact of the researcher directly on the object, to study its connections, properties or other aspects. The experiment has a number of inherent features:

1. Experiment allows you to study the subject in its pure form, eliminating various side factors that complicate the research process.
2. During the experiment, you can put the subject in unusual, extreme conditions.
3. During the experiment, you can interfere with its development, and adjust the further course of the experiment.
4. You can conduct an experiment any number of times, as required to obtain reliable results.

The preparation and conduct of a scientific experiment requires the fulfillment of certain conditions on the part of the experimenter.

So, conducting a scientific experiment:

1. Never done at random. The experiment always assumes the existence of a strictly formulated research goal.
2. Never done blindly. The experiment is always based on some theoretical premise.
3. Not carried out unplanned. The contractor must have a preliminary plan for the experiment.
4. Always requires a certain technical equipment necessary for its proper implementation.
5. Requires a high level of specialization of people who will be engaged in the experiment.

Dialectics and metaphysics are not only philosophical concepts on the basis of which general scientific methods of cognition are based. These are the greatest universal methods of cognition, which allow us to understand not only the scientific picture of the world, but also to develop our own theory of discovery.

Knowledge and use of general scientific methods of cognition does not exclude the application of private and special scientific methods of cognition of various phenomena. Private scientific methods of cognition are a set of principles and methods of cognition, scientific procedures and techniques that are applied in this or that field of science, corresponding to the basic forms of the motion of matter. As a rule, these methods relate to mechanics, chemistry, physics, biology and some of the humanities.

Despite the most diverse methods of cognition used in the most diverse fields of science and technology, all scientists are striving for the same goal - to make the world as reliable as possible. Most likely, in the very near future they will succeed.