Science as a social phenomenon of knowledge and mastering of reality

Abstract

The present stage of the development of society is characterized by the progressive development of science on the background of the complexity of the common problems of mankind, increasing the amount of scientific information, new forms of communication. Back in ancient societies of Egypt, India, China appeared the foundations of philosophical and other knowledge, which made it possible to develop science.  Ancient science considered a human being as an integral part of whole nature.

The transformation of science into a social institution took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. and the structure of which is gradually becoming more complicated. Modern "productive" functions of science are implemented in the following directions: use for the development of production, the development of science through the development of fundamental research, the study of human phenomenon, as well as the processes of management and forecasting of possible scenarios for the social development of civilization.

All this suggests the formation of a multi-dimensional image of modern science as a system of knowledge and a social institution. As a complex sociocultural phenomenon, science is regarded as a system of knowledge, forms of social consciousness and human activity.

The study of patterns and trends in the development of scientific knowledge, its social functions and role becomes an important aspect of understanding modern social reality. Finding the general in the phenomena, revealing the general connections and laws, philosophy generates the general methodological principles of interaction with the natural sciences.