Doctor of Philosophy, professor R.Yu. Rakhmatullin
Bashkir state agrarian university, Russia
Reflection principle in scientific
knowledge
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in
"Materialism and Empiric" suggested that all matter possesses a
property of reflection. Reflection recognized in pre-Marxist materialism,
however, as Lenin pointed out, the main problem of the old materialism was its
inability to apply dialectics to the theory of reflection, so that means a
passive reflection of the image of the outside world. Consciousness is seen as
a mirror reflection of objective reality.
In
accordance with the theory of reflection, it is the result of changes in the
two interacting systems: both active and passive. As
Lenin explained, this property is by its nature a sense of identity. The Soviet
philosophy believed that scientific knowledge should be seen as the result of
reflection of the object. This followed from the fact that Soviet philosophers
regarded consciousness as the highest form of reflection. The essence of this
theory is that consciousness is regarded as highly material property to reflect
the objective reality. Reflection in nature – the ability to material objects
to leave the traces of other material objects in contact with them [1].
According to the Marxist theory of knowledge, reflection property
develops with the development of the matter. four stages in the development of
the reflection can be distinguished:
1. Physical and chemical reflection. It appears, for example, a deformation
of the interacting systems.
2. Biological reflection. It appears as a reaction of lower organisms
and plants to outside influence.
3. Mental reflection. It is inherent in the animals with the presence of
the higher nervous system, the brain. These include sensation and perception.
4. Consciousness. This form is only a person has reflected.
Consciousness presupposes thinking.
Thus,
consciousness can be seen as the highest form of reflection of reality. Unlike
other forms of it, consciousness has two characteristics: a) it is
predominantly reflected by means of characters, where the signs are the
concepts; b) is the highest form of anticipatory reflection [3, p. 142-149; 4,
p. 26-27]. Man, as the highest form of reflection of the media, so it has an
advantage over other living creatures.
The
theory of reflection is the basis of Marxist epistemology. It has a specific
task: the disclosure of the most common features and regularities inherent in
all levels and forms of reflection; study the origin and development of forms
of mental reflection, including the origin of consciousness and
specially-scientific justification possibilities of human cognitive activity;
examination of the relationship characteristics of the content and form of the
image, knowledge; disclosure processes in inanimate nature; clarification of
the interaction in technology, communications and management.
Reflection
principle has been criticized by the philosophers who claim that the theory of
reflection allegedly restricts the scope of human existence, underestimate the
creative activity of consciousness, and reflection is proposed to replace the
concept of a category of practice. But this theory has never denied the
creative activity of consciousness, since "human consciousness not only
reflects the objective world, but creates it" [2, p. 194]. But only on the
basis of an adequate reflection of the objective world can be a creative human
activity, transform the world. The fact that the theory of reflection there is
the notion of "anticipatory reflection", which suggests that in some
cases the result can express knowledge of future events. And it is very
important note: because one of the main functions of science is prediction.
Thus,
Marxist philosophy understands reflection dialectically, as a complex and
contradictory process of interaction between the sensory and rational
cognition, mental and practical activities as a process in which a person does
not passively adapt to the external world, and acts upon it, transforming and
subjecting it to their purposes.
So
devoid of any foundation attempts to criticize the Marxist theory of
reflection, which supposedly condemns the knowing subject to the passive
contemplation of the world. In contrast, active objective activity of man and
of humanity is possible only on the basis of the reflectance functions of
consciousness, providing an adequate knowledge of the world and the impact of
it in conformity with the objective laws.
In
contemporary epistemology observed dominance of constructivism. Scientific
knowledge is regarded as design, created by scientists. In our opinion, this
statement does not take into account the role of the object in cognition. After
all, the result of knowledge – knowledge – depends not only on the
characteristics of the subject of knowledge, but also on the characteristics of
the object. It is important to understand that knowledge is not a copy of the
object. But this does not mean that knowledge has no relation to the object. We
believe that between the subject and the knowledge about the object exists
isomorphism attitude. We believe that realism and constructivism – this is
extreme. Knowledge is the synthesis of the subjective and the objective.
Thus, to abandon
the theory of reflection in scientific knowledge should not be. Of course,
knowledge is not a copy of the object. But between knowing and the object there
is a connection. Most likely, we can say that there is a relationship between
them izoforfizm.
References:
1. Lenin's theory of
reflection and modern science. M. 1966. 302 p.
2. Lenin V.I. Full composition of writings. T. 29. M.,
1969. 813 p.
3. Rakhmatullin R.Y. Philosophy: Lectures. Ufa, 1998.
310 p.
4. Rakhmatullin R.Y. Man as an object of philosophical
inquiry. Ufa, 1997.
66 p.