Dictionary of logic - logical analysis. Logical analysis of concepts

logical analysis

application of funds mathematical logic to discuss and solve philosophical and methodological problems. Expressing a problem in formal language gives it precision and a certain clarity, which can sometimes make it easier to find a solution. At the same time, it often turns out that the formal expression of a problem is not entirely adequate to its substantive understanding. Then we try to improve this expression and make it more adequate. At the same time, a deeper meaningful understanding of the problem being analyzed occurs. For example, when A. Tarski constructs a precise formal definition of the concept of truth, he applies the concept of truth to sentences. This gives rise to the question of what we attribute the concept of truth to sentences or judgments. Discussion of this issue allows us to more deeply understand the nature of judgment and proposal.

Basics of the L. a. method were laid down in the works of the German mathematician and logician G. Frege and the English. logician and philosopher B. Russell. However, it became widespread in the works of representatives of logical positivism, who proclaimed that the main task of philosophy is logic. language of science. Despite significant successes in solving individual problems achieved by R. Carnap, K. Hempel, K. Reichenbach and others, representatives of logical positivism in general were unable to use all the heuristic capabilities of the LA method, because due to their epistemological installations limited the basis of this method to the means of extensional logic. Currently, the method of L. a. is often used at various stages of philosophical and methodological research: for a clearer formulation of problems, for identifying hidden assumptions of a particular point of view, for clarifying and comparing competing concepts, for their more rigorous and systematic presentation, etc. You just need to remember the limitations this method and the dangers associated with its use. The precision of expressions to which the LA method leads is often accompanied by an impoverishment of content. The simplicity and clarity of the formal expression of a problem can sometimes create the illusion of a solution where further research and discussion are still required. The difficulties of formal representation and concerns about its adequacy can lead us away from discussions of a properly philosophical or methodological problem and force us to deal with technical issues that lack philosophical meaning. By the way, this is what happened with many methodological problems of logical positivism. If we remember this and consider the formal expression of a philosophical and methodological problem not as an end result, but as aid deeper philosophical analysis, as some intermediate stage in the course of philosophical research, then such formal expressions can sometimes be useful (see: Logic of scientific knowledge). LOGICAL LAW, or: Law of logic, an expression containing only logical constants and variables and being true in any (non-empty) subject area. An example of L. z. Any law of propositional logic can serve (say, the law of non-contradiction, the law of excluded middle, De Morgan's law, the law of indirect evidence, etc.) or predicate logic.

L. z. also called (logical) tautology. In general, a logical tautology is an expression that remains true no matter what objects are being discussed, or an “always” true expression. For example, in the expression “It is not true that p and not-p,” which represents the law of non-contradiction, statements must be substituted for the variable p. All results of such substitutions (“It is not true that 11 is a prime number and at the same time is not prime,” etc.) are true statements. In the expression “If for all x it is true that x is P, then there is no x that is not P,” representing the law of predicate logic, instead of the variable x the name of an object from any (non-empty) subject area should be substituted, and instead of the variable P some property .

All results of such substitutions represent true statements (“If it is true for all people that they are mortal, then there is no immortal person,” “If every metal is ductile, then there are no non-plastic metals,” etc.).

The concept of L. z. is directly related to the concept of logical implication: the conclusion logically follows from the accepted premises if it is connected with them by a logical law. For example, from the premises “If p, then q” and “If q, then r” the conclusion “If p, then r” logically follows, since the expression “If (if p, then q, and if q, then r), then (if p, then r)" is a transitivity law (say, from the premises "If a person is a father, then he is a parent" and "If a person is a parent, then he is a father or mother" according to this law the corollary "If a person is a father, then he is the father or the mother").

Modern logic studies logical laws only as elements of systems of such laws. Each of the logical systems contains an infinite set of logics. and is an abstract sign model that gives a description of a specific fragment, or type, of reasoning. For example, an infinite number of systems that have significant commonality and are united within the framework of modal logic, breaks down into epistemic logic, deontic logic, evaluation logic, time logic, etc.

In modern logic, logical systems have been built that do not contain the law of non-contradiction (paraconsistent logic), the law of excluded middle, the law of indirect evidence (intuitionistic logic), etc.

LOGICAL ANALYSIS

Logical hazard analysis is based on the concepts of Boolean algebra (algebra of logic).
In logical algebra, variables denoted by capital letters usually have the meaning of certain events or factors. For example, you can designate with symbol A an event consisting of damage to some part of the machine. If this happens, then we say that A = T or that A is true. If this event does not occur, we say that A = F or that A is false. Such statements are valid for a certain time interval and the probability associated with the occurrence of an event. Variables in logic algebra take two values: true or false (appearance or non-appearance). Similarly, functions take two values ​​depending on the combination of Boolean variables. Functions are formed using the operators AND, OR and NOT. The meaning of these operations is determined by truth tables.

The true value of a function is determined by the values ​​of the variables included in it. For example, let function A have the form
A = BC + D.
To determine the true value of A, you need to know the true values ​​of four variables. The calculation of the value of individual terms is carried out in the order: (1) NOT, (2) AND and (3) OR. Thus, if B=FALSE, C=TRUE, D=TRUE and E=FALSE, then using the tables we get:
A = FT + T = FT + TT = F + T = T.

The order in which the operations are evaluated can be changed by using parentheses, with the expressions in the inner brackets being evaluated first. For example,
A = B() = F() = F() = F = FT = F.

With certain skills, such calculations are made quite quickly.
Of particular interest is the application of logical algebra to the analysis of suspected industrial hazards.

EXAMPLE 1. A new machine has a chain drive, which, although it has a protective device, must be removed in this operating mode. In normal mode, the circuit itself operates at high voltage. Therefore, you can expect it to wear out quickly and break periodically. Particles from other equipment entering the circuit can also cause it to break. In the event of a circuit break, the existing protective device, depending on the circumstances, may not provide protection to the worker.

The logical variables in this case will be:
A - circuit protection is removed;
B - the chain wears out and breaks;
C - technological particles lead to an open circuit;
D - the protection is sufficient to protect the worker in any case.
X - corresponds to presence dangerous situation. The logical operation will take the form
X = A + B + C or X = A + (B + C).

To prevent a dangerous situation, it is necessary that the value X does not become true. This occurs when A is false, D is true, or both B and C are false.

Let us show another example of using the principles of logical algebra. In particular, we will apply the identification of a true event with one, and a false one with zero.

EXAMPLE 2. During the construction of a compressor station building, finishing work was carried out. A team of finishers, numbering five people, worked on scaffolding at a height of 3 m from the zero level. While installing the buckets of mortar, the scaffolding collapsed. Four people were injured. Eyewitnesses of the accident, victims and officials gave evidence on the basis of which the main factors of the accident were identified.

Let's denote these factors by logical variables (capital letters):
A - the scaffolding met the technical specifications (TU) and safety regulations (PTR);
B - the crane operator was unwell;
C - the load on the scaffolding satisfied the specifications and safety regulations;
D - the tap was faulty;
E - the load on the scaffolding was too heavy;
F - at the moment of lowering the load, the boom was rotated;
G - before starting work, the crane operator inspected the crane;
H - before starting work, the foreman inspected the scaffolding.

Analysis of the causes of an accident (failure) using Boolean functions is performed as follows. Having established the factors of the accident (AS), a matrix form is compiled (Table 6.11.1) to describe it. If an eyewitness claims that this factor took place, “1” is entered in the corresponding column; if not, then “0”; in the absence of adequate information, a dash “-” is entered. Then they compose the logical algebra function (Fal). For each eyewitness, their own conjunction is determined. If the factor took place, then the letter is written in the affirmative meaning; if not, in the form of inversions; with "-" the letter is omitted. The resulting function is minimized by searching through all equivalent formulas (or using appropriate methods) and subjected to analysis, in which the main causes of the accident and the factors accompanying them are established.

Table 6.11.1
Preparing data for compiling Fal

We write the required Fal, for which X is an accident, in the form
X = ADH+ACD+BF+DG+D+DF+H.

The minimal formula will look like
X = BF + D + ACD + FH.

If an accident occurs, then X=1, i.e. one of four alternatives occurs:
- the crane operator was not healthy, the crane was in good working order, there was a turn of the boom at the moment of lowering the load;
- the crane operator was healthy, the crane was faulty;
- the scaffolding satisfied the specifications and safety regulations, the load on the scaffolding satisfied the specifications and safety regulations, the load was installed on the scaffolding in accordance with the requirements of the safety regulations;
- the crane was in good working order, the boom was turned at the moment the load was lowered, the foreman inspected the scaffolding before starting work.

From the examples it is obvious that the algebra of logic does not answer the question posed, but it makes it possible to pose the problem in such a way that a solution can be made with minimal labor input for subsequent analysis and reduce the number of subsystems under consideration.

The method based on forms and laws includes ways and means of study and explanation. It can and is applied to the study of a wide variety of disciplines. The logical method in dialectics coincides with the materialistic one, and the formal method, for example, is used in the development of legal reality and many other areas of knowledge.

Right

Due to its special features and capabilities, the legal environment is the most favorable for the application and use of logic. Since here there is a formally defined, consistent and strictly fixed system, including a mass of legislative definitions that meet the rules for establishing concepts (through the closest genus, species difference, genetic definition, through a description of instructions, and so on), the logical method in the field of law fully manifests itself. Each law of logic - contradiction and identity, sufficient reason, excluded middle - reflects the main features of this method. The main processes and procedures (primarily law enforcement and are built strictly in accordance with the rules for operating inferences, judgments, concepts.

The logical method is applied already at the stage of main definitions: legal norm- a judgment that meets all the requirements of judgment in general, and the application of law to a situation or a specific person is a syllogism, that is, a deductive conclusion, where the legal norm is the main premise, the case given for consideration is a minor premise, and the decision in this case is the conclusion. Since ancient times, analogies, methods of proof and logical operations have been in the arsenal of jurisprudence. It is simply necessary to use the logical method of research when studying and explaining law. Only in this way can one avoid contradictions in the legislative construction of an effective system of law, where positive (existing) law is consistent with all the requirements of the natural, and also be able to competently apply legal norms.

General logical methods: analysis

Among the logical methods of cognition of processes, phenomena, and objects of the objective world, there are synthesis, analysis, idealization, abstraction, deduction, generalization, analogy, induction, modeling, extrapolation and hypothesis.

The logical method of research (cognition) begins with analysis, that is, with a schedule, analysis, and dissection of the object being studied. This technique involves a mental or practical analysis of the composition of elements - characteristics, properties, structural parts, after which each element is subject to separate study as part of the whole. Analysis has various types, depending on the specifics of the object being studied. Modern science adopts system analysis - an approach to the object being studied as an organized system, where the elements are inextricably and organically interconnected and influence each other.

Methods of logical analysis include a methodological approach to the fruits of cognitive activity, that is, the study of people's knowledge, all its forms and types, and knowledge is expressed in natural and artificial means of language, based on the laws of logic. For example, studying society as an integral system, system analysis divides it into political, economic, moral, legal and the like, where each aspect of social existence and consciousness is studied separately. The logical method of cognition through analysis reveals structural elements - types, types, levels of knowledge, formalized by a certain text. Next, their correlation, the falsity or truth of statements is established, the conceptual apparatus that implements knowledge is clarified, the validity, consistency and evidence of this knowledge is established.

Synthesis

Synthesis is research, without which the structural-logical method is impossible. Through synthesis, all existing knowledge is combined into something whole. For lawyers, these are patterns and laws formulated on the basis of personal research, all the postulates of the general theory of state and law, as well as special interbranch and sectoral theories of law.

A truly thinking person always uses logical methods, and analysis and synthesis are always interconnected. Here we can note the analytical and at the same time synthetic nature of the thinking of a good lawyer - prosecutor, lawyer, judge, investigator. Professional activity For example, a judge certainly provides for an analysis of all materials that are submitted to the court, and then, based on research into what is read and heard, he draws up a mental holistic picture of the case. Thus, the interdependence of analysis and synthesis helps in the accurate and impartial conduct of legal proceedings.

Abstraction

General scientific logical methods can be supplemented by abstraction (abstraction), which is the process of mental abstraction from certain general or individual properties, relationships, characteristics of the subject being studied, since at the moment the particulars are not of interest. Aristotle, the founder of this concept, interpreted abstraction as the process of separating everything random and secondary from the general and main. Now this term is used much more widely. This is both in everyday and scientific knowledge, being both an algorithm and an order for the procedure of abstraction according to the rules of abstraction, this is the construction of abstract objects in scientific knowledge. The essence of this method is not as simple as it seems. First of all, it is necessary, again, a detailed study of a real object, phenomenon or process, isolating in it various qualities, features, properties, after which everything that is unimportant is swept aside.

This process of cognition is also the result. That is, the research process is the study of phenomena and objects, and the goal is to identify specific characteristics. The result is the acquired knowledge in categories, concepts, ideas, judgments, theories, laws. For example, logic can abstract from not so important individual characteristics if it studies the way of thinking of a particular person, and takes into account the common features inherent in all subjects. A lawyer’s thinking, for example, is regulated by legal norms, so he is abstracted from all sorts of manifestations of relations on the part of society, and studies primarily legal relations, i.e., only what is sanctioned and regulated by law.

Idealization

This type of abstraction helps create ideal objects. The concept of an idealized object differs from other concepts in that, along with the real characteristics of the object, it also reflects those that are far from real properties, and in their pure form are not present at all in the objects under study. Using the method of idealization in modern sciences, theoretical objects are created that help build reasoning and draw conclusions related to real-life objects. This term is used in two meanings - as a process and as a result, which is also very similar to the method of analysis. The first meaning of idealization is understood as a mentally created idealized object during the formation of idealized assumptions, that is, the conditions under which a really existing object can be described and explained.

As a result of this process, idealized concepts and laws appear, which are called logical constructs. As an example of an idealized object, one can cite the concept of a rule of law state. The concept exists, but the rule of law in the form in which it is commonly understood does not yet exist. However, lawyers can use this concept to build reasoning and draw conclusions regarding the activities of certain real-life entities, for example states, based on the characteristics that specifically rule of law inherent: basic human rights are constitutionally and legislatively enshrined, laws prevail in state and public life, the individual is legally protected, and so on.

Generalization, induction and deduction

It is in the process of generalization that corresponding hypotheses, theories and concepts are formed. This method in legal knowledge can exist in the form of a generalization based on the analysis of professional experience in specific cases, in the form of creating a theory of law through a theoretical generalization of the practical construction and implementation of legal activity, in the form of a generalization of sectoral empirical theories of law.

Induction and deduction are logical methods of cognition used in finding conclusions from source data. Both methods are naturally interrelated: deduction helps to draw conclusions from theoretical ideas, laws, principles, since it is associated with the construction of an idealized object, and induction generalizes empirical patterns. The knowledge that is obtained through induction is just a prerequisite for the emergence of new knowledge - demonstrative, which already becomes the basis for partial theoretical truths.

Analogy, extrapolation

Analogy is one of the most effective methods cognitive process. With its help, great discoveries in science were made. Its essence is that certain properties and characteristics are transferred from one subject of research to another, and in the same way the relationships and connections between one and another set of objects are transferred.

Extrapolation is a type of induction, generalization and analogy; this method is very widely used in almost all sciences. Qualitative characteristics are distributed from one area of ​​a subject to another, from the past to the future, from the present to the future, quantitative characteristics are transferred in the same way, some areas of knowledge are equalized with others, like the method of mathematical induction, for example. Most often, the extrapolation method is used for the purpose of forecasting and justifying the transfer of knowledge to other subject areas. For lawyers, this is the analogy of law and the analogy of law.

Simulation, hypothesis

Simulation in modern science is used very actively to find ways to obtain the latest scientific results. The essence of this method is the construction of one or another model that studies social or natural objects. A model is usually understood to mean many things, these can be: analogue, method, type, system, theory, picture of the world, interpretation, algorithm and much more. If it is impossible to study the object directly, then the model acts as an imitation of the original instead. For example, an investigative experiment.

And a hypothesis (assumption) as a method is used in the meaning of problematic knowledge or an idea that allows you to combine a body of knowledge into their system. Legal activity uses a hypothesis in all its meanings: an assumption is made regarding the actual data of a certain object, phenomenon or process, regarding the causes of problems and predicting the future. The same data can become material for several hypotheses, so-called versions. This method is also used for forensic investigation.

Formal-logical method

Formal logic helps to obtain knowledge about the laws of inference from proven truths. Previously established truths, which are the basis of inference, do not require recourse to experience in each specific case, since knowledge is obtained using the rules and laws of thinking. Boolean Methods scientific research include traditional and mathematical logic.

The first uses analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, specification, analogy and comparison to obtain new conclusions. And mathematical, also called symbolic, logic applies more rigorous methods used in mathematics to problems of formal logic. A special language of formulas can logically and adequately describe the structure of evidence and build a strict and accurate theory, using the description of judgments in their extension - the description of inferences.

Historical method

Completely different research techniques are used to build theoretical knowledge about developing and complex objects that cannot be reproduced through experience. For example, the Universe. How to see its formation, the origin of species and the emergence of man? Historical and logical methods of cognition will help here. The historical is capable of penetrating with thought into real history with the diversity of its specifics, identifying historical facts and mentally recreating the historical process, revealing the logical pattern of development.

Logical reveals patterns in a different way. He does not need to directly examine the course of real history; he reveals objective reality by studying the historical process at the highest stages of development, where he concisely reproduces the structure and functioning of historical evolution in its most basic features. This method is good in biology, where phylogeny is repeated in ontogeny. Both historical and logical methods exist as methods for building purely theoretical knowledge.

Before starting a study, a sociologist must choose the right methodological procedure. To do this, it is necessary to solve three main problems that ensure the receipt of reliable and adequate sociological information. First, to clarify those aspects of the theoretical concepts that are used in this study. Secondly, analyze a practical problem at the level of theoretical knowledge. Thirdly, ensure the measurement and recording of the phenomena being studied using quantitative statistical indicators. Let's consider this situation in more detail.

This section of the program provides for such methodological procedures, without which it is impossible to implement a unified research concept in the tools, and therefore, realize its goal and verify the correctness of the hypotheses put forward. Their essence lies in the logical structuring of the basic concepts that define the subject of research.

Logical analysis of basic concepts- this is the logical structuring of the initial concepts that define the subject of research, an accurate explanation of their content and structure.

Logical analysis presupposes an accurate explanation of the content and structure of the original concepts, and on this basis, an understanding of the relationship between the properties of the phenomenon being studied. Subsequently, it will help to correctly explain the results obtained. The result of such a procedure is theoretical model of the subject of research, which we will talk about in more detail later.

3.2.5. Theoretical interpretation

Otherwise called logical analysis theoretical interpretation of concepts 8. Theoretical interpretation of concepts aims to create theoretical model. This is a generalized expression of a problem situation in scientific knowledge. In specific conditions, each time there is a new relationship between the information that the sociologist has before the start of the study and that he will receive. The combinations of factors influencing the formation of a problem situation are also different. The elementary requirements for a sociologist suggest that in the theoretical part of the program he will define key concepts in relation to this particular problem situation.

Thus, theoretical interpretation, since we have used this concept, includes three types of procedures:

♦ descriptive interpretation, or a clear, clear and unambiguous description of the concepts that you are going to use when building your model;

♦ structural interpretation, which involves establishing order among the described concepts, arranging them, identifying mutual connections, etc. 9 ;

♦ factor interpretation - establishing connections (sometimes expressed in quantitative terms) between initial concepts and variables.

The problem situation is described by its participants in terms of practical activity. Depending on life experience, work experience or cultural level of people, their opinions more or less adequately reflect the problem situation and ways to solve it. It is on this ability that the use is based

method of expert assessments. However, practical consciousness is influenced by group and individual interests. Therefore, the sociologist must describe the problem situation in strict terms. scientific terms, which will then be used to develop tools for data collection and theoretical interpretation. The ability to define concepts and terms is a high and complex art; you cannot learn it right away; you need a large stock of knowledge and considerable experience. Every time a sociologist asks himself questions: what is a city, what is a family, what is solidarity, etc.? He defined the concept incorrectly and went to the wrong place, in the wrong scientific direction. For example, a city can be defined as a populated area whose residents are usually employed outside of agriculture. But what does such a definition give to a sociologist? Is there a sociological view of the world here? Is it necessary to include somewhere a social community, a special way of life, the sociocultural functions of the city, etc.? For example, we can describe a city as follows:

CITY - locality, whose residents are usually employed outside of agriculture. A city is a large, permanent and relatively large community of people concentrated in one place and not producing food for themselves. As a rule, a city is an industrial hub and a major cultural center. City- This is the place where human material and spiritual activities are carried out. Its concrete purpose is to satisfy material needs, and its abstract purpose is to satisfy spiritual aspirations. Therefore, the city has a changing and static character. It is dynamic, as it involves the exchange of information and material assets, it is static, since it has special places for religious, administrative, commercial, etc. buildings. Modern cities are divided into small (up to 50 thousand), medium (50-100 thousand), large (250-500 thousand), largest (500 thousand - 1 million) and millionaire cities (over 1 million inhabitants). Many large cities have satellite cities. A satellite city is a city or urban-type settlement developing near large city and component with it unified system. Often cities and satellite cities combine to form urban agglomerations, which can be combined into megalopolises. Depending on the subject specialization, the activities of the majority of city residents are divided into universal (multidisciplinary, equally represented by all industries) and specialized (textile, mining, agro-industrial, trade, craft, mining, science cities, military towns), living and dead, monument cities , cities as religious, political, cultural, economic centers of the country, capital and non-capital cities, etc.

This is an example of a detailed definition of the concept “city”, which we did not give in detail, because it could take up a single page. It is important to understand that a detailed theoretical definition of initial concepts facilitates the further development of a research program, because it helps to move quite organically to the next stages, for example, the operationalization of concepts, and at the very end of the study - to the interpretation of empirical data.

When we, therefore, starting from the original definition of the city, begin to seek out new aspects of the problem that are closely related to sociology, we not only carry out the correct descriptive interpretation, but also move on to the next step - structural interpretation.

Next step in the theoretical interpretation - a description of the structure in the form of a sequential development of the content of the initial and most general concepts through a system of more specific ones. For example, the concept of “job satisfaction” is defined through satisfaction with the specialty, the content and nature of the work, remuneration, relationships with fellow workers and immediate management, and finally, as a holistic emotional-evaluative attitude of the employee to the entire set of elements of the work situation.

In addition to the structural interpretation of the concepts describing the subject of research, it is necessary to carry out a factorial interpretation of the same concepts, i.e. show their connections with objective and subjective factors. For example, we can identify such objective factors of job satisfaction as its conditions and organization, level wages, functional content of labor, etc. Subjective factors include individual characteristics of the worker (socio-demographic and role: gender, age, education, qualifications, work experience), as well as subjective factors of job satisfaction. They are divided into those related to the sphere of consciousness (industrial awareness, the place of work in the system of life values, motivation for work) and to the sphere of behavior and results of work activity (fulfillment of planned tasks, level of discipline, initiative in work, quality of manufactured products).

Structural and factorial interpretation of the initial concepts (as a preliminary system analysis 10) reflects a priori

(before the start of the study) the sociologist’s ideas about the subject of research, which form his hypothetical model and serve as the basis for the formation of working hypotheses.

Hypothesizing

The set of hypotheses reflects the richness and possibilities of the theoretical concept and the general focus of the research.

Hypothesis- a scientific assumption put forward to explain the phenomena and processes being studied, which must be confirmed or refuted.

Their preliminary nomination can predetermine the internal logic of the entire research process. Hypotheses are explicitly or implicitly expressed assumptions about the nature and causes of the problem being studied.

For example, if, in the course of analyzing the reasons for poor performance at a university, assumptions are made about 1) the low quality of teaching of a number of subjects, 2) the distraction of students from studying for additional earnings, 3) the administration’s undemandingness in academic performance and discipline, 4) miscalculations in competitive admission to the university, then these are the ones that should be tested in the study. Hypotheses must be precise, specific, clear and relate only to the subject of the study. How the hypotheses are formulated often determines what research methods will be used. Thus, the hypothesis about the low quality of teaching requires an expert survey, and the hypothesis about the distraction of students for additional work requires a regular survey of respondents.

An example of successful formulation and testing of a hypothesis in the course of an empirical study is the one conducted by I.M. Popova in 1970-1974. at industrial enterprises (mainly at ship repair yards and in the port) in Odessa, a questionnaire survey 11. The purpose of the study was to reveal the structure of labor consciousness and the influence of material incentives (salaries) on the behavior of workers.

Even at the stage of constructing a theoretical model of the subject of research, the sociologist put forward the assumption: “Satisfaction with salary is determined not only by its actual value, but also by the fundamental possibility of having a higher salary. The closer the real salary is to the one that is in principle possible, the higher the satisfaction should be

salary. The fundamentally possible salary is the social norm of salary” 12.

Having chosen the statistical indicator of the average progressive salary as the empirical referent of the concept of “social salary norm”, I.M. Popova set out to check the correctness this provision. It was necessary to answer the question by purely empirical means: the salary of which group of people the employee correlates with his own when solving a problem, which for him is a “social norm”. The further logic of theoretical interpretation inevitably had to unfold along the line of deepening into the conceptual apparatus of social psychology. The concepts of reference group and identification were used. As a reference I.M. Popova took her own professional group of workers. Determining what or who acts as a reference group for a particular person requires not theoretical conclusions, but experimental, one might say, even experimental verification. Why is this question not as simple as it might seem? In the late 80s - early 90s. Miners' strikes swept across the country. At the first stage, speech Not it was about paying wages delayed for several months, as happened in the mid-90s. Among the demands the miners initially put forward was an increase in wages. Moreover, they also focused on a certain, intuitively felt, but not clearly manifested, social standard of salary. They believed that due to the difficult working conditions in which they had to work underground, they should be paid almost like a minister. They directly pointed out that officials received a lot but worked little. Thus, the reference group for them was not its professional group, but completely different. And in the mid-90s, when all miners began to receive significant delays in their salaries, their own professional group could not act as a reference group. After calculating the density of connections (rank correlation) between the average salary and salary satisfaction, between the average progressive salary and salary satisfaction, I.M. Popova came to withdraw- Du: “The assumption that the social norm of wages is the average non-progressive wage of a socio-professional group can be considered, it seems to us, a completely reasonable hypothesis” 13. Confirmation gi- The research was carried out in compliance with the most stringent scientific and methodological requirements. The slightest nuances were taken into account. This applies not only to the hypothesis about social norm salary, but also all other hypotheses put forward and then tested in the study. Thus, it was suggested that “the closest connection should exist between satisfaction

contentment wages and assessment of those elements of the work situation on which the level of salary depends.” When two series of values ​​were compared, it turned out that, indeed, the most significant for satisfaction were assessments of the conformity of work, qualifications and work organization. Empirical data have confirmed that “the difference in real wages does not coincide with the difference in indices of job qualifications, i.e. Employees’ perceptions of the job’s suitability for qualifications are approximately the same in different salary groups. The assessment of labor organization by workers with different salary levels steadily decreases as wages increase. This is explained by the fact that salary increases, as a rule, depend on work experience and skill level. The decrease in the labor organization assessment index as wages increase also confirms the fact that we discovered that experienced and qualified workers are highly demanding of such an element of the work situation as labor organization” 15.

To formulate a hypothesis, you need to have some preliminary information based on the results of past studies or data from economics, statistics, and psychology. Descriptive, exploratory studies may not have hypotheses, but analytical studies that study causal relationships, functional dependencies, as a rule, are always based on hypotheses about which parameters are connected by dependencies, what the nature, direction and strength of such dependencies are. An example of a working hypothesis - the level of labor discipline depends more on the influence of the foreman on the organization of work than on the personal example of the foreman in relation to labor discipline.

Depending on the theoretical level of the interpreted concepts, hypotheses are divided into basic and inferential (consequence hypotheses), i.e. they form hierarchical chains that duplicate the theoretical interpretation of concepts. An example of the main hypothesis: “The degree of consistency between job satisfaction and employee turnover will be largely determined by both the available social group objective and subjective opportunities for realizing their attitude to work and actual behavior (in particular, in acts of dismissal and choosing a new place of work), and the adequacy of a conscious attitude to work, needs - interests and representation of this attitude.

to verbal satisfaction" 16. Strictly speaking, there is not one, but several hypotheses about the factors that determine the degree of consistency between job satisfaction and employee turnover. These hypotheses reveal the following questions: a) objective possibilities of implementing the attitude towards work in actual behavior (is it possible to find a new place of work); b) subjective possibilities for such behavior (whether the employee knows about them and considers such behavior acceptable); c) whether the employee is adequately aware of the connection between his attitude to work and his personal needs and interests; d) whether his answers to the questionnaire reflect his actual attitude towards work. These hypotheses are equivalent, and together they describe the structure of connections between the two unresolved ones.

The hypothesis-consequence from the main hypothesis is formulated by the authors as the assumption that since the state of the named components (subjective and objective reasons for changing jobs) are different among age and qualification groups, the closeness of the connection between job satisfaction* and staff turnover will be different here.

The next hypothesis, based on the previous one: a closer relationship between job satisfaction and staff turnover will be among workers with short work experience and a low level of qualifications.

The ability to form hypotheses is as necessary for an applied sociologist as for an academic researcher. These are not idle theoretical exercises or “games of concepts”, but the development of logical supports for the collection and analysis of empirical data. If the authors of the study formulated hypotheses, then empirical data serves to test them: confirm or refute them. If there were no hypotheses at the “input” of the study, then at the “output” the sociologist, as a rule, helplessly describes in the report the percentage distribution of answers to the survey questions and offers trivial practical recommendations that are obvious at the level of common sense.

3.2.7. Empirical interpretation of concepts

The main requirement for formulating a hypothesis is that it must be empirically testable. This means that concepts entering | included in the hypothesis can describe only those phenomena that

which are accessible to observation, measurement, registration, and analysis. The selection of such concepts is ensured by a special procedure, which is called empirical interpretation (or operationalization). General concepts are given specific definitions that indicate the actions of people, the results of their activities, opinions, knowledge, assessments, and specific events and objects. The need for empirical interpretation arises from the fact that many phenomena or trends are inaccessible to direct perception; they are detected indirectly. We are talking about social needs, value orientations, motivation for dismissal, attitude towards work, which can only be recorded through people’s statements about the facts of their consciousness or behavior, or by observing and recording the conditions of their activities, or based on the analysis of documents.

Concepts denoting registered characteristics are called indicator concepts. The process of searching for indicators is a multi-stage procedure and schematically looks like constructing a “tree of goals” (it is used in forecasting and planning), only in this case the sociologist substantiates the movement towards a cognitive goal, i.e. obtaining empirical factors on which practical conclusions and recommendations will be based in the future. If the hierarchy of concepts that mediates the transition from key concepts to registered indicators is clearly indicated in the program, this means that the logical structure of the problem situation is fixed. After collecting empirical information, it is again compared with this structure and then, on this basis, a meaningful interpretation of the research results is carried out. Some of the initial hypotheses are not confirmed and are discarded, and those that have passed practical testing will serve as the initial basis for implementation.

Empirical indicator - an element or characteristic of an object that can be observed and measured. In fundamental research, indicators serve as empirical and operational interpretations of supporting concepts. They present (represent) the characteristics of the object being studied and, being put in accordance with theoretical concepts, express the actual empirical content of concepts and connections of concepts.

The key concept is always larger than the indicators that register it. Job satisfaction is a holistic social phenomenon, it does not decompose completely into private satisfactions. The general (key) concept gives us an unstructured (intuitive) image of a fragment of reality. Concepts such as need, interest, satisfaction, use

are used both in theory and in everyday practice, although they are not synonymous. If the questionnaire asks “Are you satisfied?.., Do you have an interest in?.., Do you have a need?..”, then the information received does not at all exhaust the content of theoretical concepts. As studies of the 60-70s showed, integral assessments of respondents’ job satisfaction ambiguously correlate with their answers to questions about satisfaction with certain aspects of the work situation. Therefore, methodologists talk about “transfer” and compensation of these estimates.

At the stage of empirical interpretation, the main task is to ensure maximum Full description research problems in indicator concepts, to form a “universe” of indicators. Their list can be very extensive, given that the indicators are selected from the initial concepts that make up the structural and factorial interpretation of the concepts. But in real practice, not all indicators are always used (many do not have a source of information or duplicate each other or, finally, have insufficiently reliable methodological support). Therefore, the selection of indicators is made according to three criteria: a) meaningful representation of key concepts (the requirement for the necessity and sufficiency of indicators for an empirical description of the research problem); b) the provision of indicators with potential sources of information (documents, facts, objects and behavior accessible to external observation; verbal information obtained by questioning); c) possibilities of methodological support of sources.

Having collected a “universe” of indicators (it is advisable to describe each indicator on a separate card), the sociologist must correlate them with a hypothetical model of the research problem in order to check to what extent the main structural blocks are provided with them, whether the distribution of indicators has turned out according to the principle “where is dense and where is empty” . Without such control, gaps are discovered too late - at the stage of data interpretation, when it turns out that the questionnaire contains unnecessary questions, but does not include the necessary ones. Or: information was collected by survey, although it is easier and more reliable to obtain it based on document analysis or external observation.

If it is known that the required indicator involves reference to documents or the collection of verbal information, then before deciding whether to use it or discard it, it is useful to answer the following questions: is it possible to obtain the necessary documents, how relevant is the information contained in them to the purpose of the study, is such information reliable

No, is there time, personnel and methodology to process the existing volume of documentary information?

To describe a research problem in a system of empirical indicators means to ensure a transition from a theoretical description of a research problem to empirically recorded facts and actions.

3.3. Methodological part of the program

During the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. sociologists paid little attention to the justification of research methods. They mainly developed questionnaires, but did not care about theoretical justification and control of their methodological quality. Meanwhile, the accumulation of reliable data is the basis for repeated research and additional analysis. Information about the conditions under which questionnaires were used, how to analyze documents, and what forms of data recording observers worked with is necessary in order to compare the results of previously conducted studies or plan a methodology for repeated ones. For sociological services, the systematic collection and storage of methodological information about conducted research becomes important. The main document containing such information is the Methodological Section of the program (a possible form of collecting and storing methodological information is a special document - “Passport of Sociological Research”). It ensures the continuity of the methodological culture of researchers when changing factory sociologists and is documentary evidence of the level of professionalism during their certification.

3.3.1. Sample

The program must describe the type of sample with a brief justification for the feasibility of its use in accordance with the objectives of the study, the requirements of representativeness and the organizational capabilities of this study.

The sample population is determined by the object of the study itself (for example, a survey of students, pensioners, Sberbank depositors, enterprise employees). The difference between an object and a sample population is that the second is smaller in volume and represents a smaller copy of the first. If the object of study covers tens of thousands of people, then you

Borochka totality - hundreds. Therefore, most sociological studies are not continuous, but selective: according to strict rules, a certain number of people are selected, reflecting the socio-demographic characteristics of the structure of the object being studied, i.e. a sample is formed. The research design carefully describes the sampling design, including justification of the survey technique; approaches to determining the reliability of the information received are indicated (it is necessary in order to verify the degree of legitimacy of the dissemination of the obtained conclusions to the entire object of study). This project may be refined in the future.

Sampling project- an indication of the principles for isolating from an object that totality of people (or other sources of information) who subsequently. will be covered by the survey.

The sample design specifies the principles for selecting from the object the population of people (or other sources of information) that will subsequently be covered by the survey; the survey technique is justified; approaches to determining the reliability of the information received are indicated (it is necessary in order to verify the degree of legitimacy of the dissemination of the obtained conclusions to the entire object of study).

3.3.2. Rationale for empirical data collection methods

This section specifies the technical and organizational parameters of the data collection methods (DCA) used. If we're talking about about the analysis of documents, then you should indicate which sources (statistical forms, plans, reports, etc.) will be studied; whether traditional methods or formalized content analysis will be used. When using content analysis, coding cards and instructions for coders should be included with the program.

The use of a survey method also requires a description of its technical and organizational structure: whether questionnaires, interviews or a mixed strategy are used; where the survey is conducted: at the place of residence, place of work or in target audience(at the cinema, at an appointment at a departmental clinic, at factory service centers, at a dispensary, etc.)? What specific type of survey is used: handout, courier-

ekaya, in the workplace; group (classroom) questioning; in the presence of the questionnaire or without it; mail, press survey? The interviewing methodology should be described in equal detail: it is advisable to attach instructions for questionnaires (interviewers) and questionnaire forms to the program.

3.3.3. Methods of collecting information

The most common method of collecting sociological information is a survey. There are several types of surveys, primarily questionnaires and interviews.

Questionnaire involves respondents filling out the questionnaire independently. Individual and group questioning, face-to-face and correspondence, is possible. An example of a correspondence survey is a postal survey or a survey through a newspaper.

Interviewing represents a personal communication between a sociologist and a respondent, when he asks questions and records the respondent’s answers. There are several types of interviewing: direct (when the sociologist directly talks with the respondent); indirect (telephone conversation); formalized (a questionnaire is developed in advance); focused (a specific phenomenon is put in the spotlight) and free interview (free conversation without a predetermined topic). Telephone interviews are now widespread.

An important type of information collection is sociological observation- purposeful, systematized perception of any phenomenon with subsequent recording of the results on a form or in an observation diary using film, photo or radio tape recording equipment. Observation may be unformalized (when there is no detailed observation plan, only common features situation) or formalized (there is a detailed observation plan, instructions, sufficient information about the object has been obtained).

Document analysis used in combination with other methods and can be of a control nature. The source is Reports, protocols, decisions, publications, letters, notes, personal files, reports, archival materials, etc.

An important point in preparing research and collecting information is the development of tools: questionnaires, interview forms, registration cards, observation diaries, etc. Of all survey methods, questionnaires are the most commonly used.

A sociological questionnaire is a system of questions united by a single research plan aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the research object. Compiling a questionnaire is a complex, labor-intensive task that requires certain professional skills. Only by observing certain requirements when compiling it can one obtain objective data.

When designing methodological support for a research program, a sociologist must take into account the following circumstances.

1. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness of research should not be ensured at the expense of data quality. This is the main requirement, compliance with which characterizes professional excellence.

2. No method is universal, but has its own clearly defined cognitive capabilities.

3. There are no “good” and “bad” methods at all; there are methods that are adequate and inadequate for research tasks. Choosing a reliable method means logically justifying its suitability for the task at hand.

4. The reliability of the method is ensured not only by its validity, but also by compliance with the rules of its application.

6. Each method, when tested in a pilot study, behaves in its own way, and therefore requires special approbation rules.

3.3.4. Data processing and analysis methods

This section specifies the method of processing empirical information (manual or machine); content of work on preparing information for processing (quality control of filling out questionnaires, manual coding of answers to open questions, editing questionnaires, monitoring for logical consistency, etc.); the amount of preparatory work and the approximate costs of its implementation.

Data- primary information obtained as a result of sociological

whom research; respondents’ answers, expert assessments, observation results, etc.

In sociology, the facts collected in empirical research are called data. The concepts of “sociological data” and “empirical data” in textbooks and dictionaries are usually

are not specifically defined and are usually considered synonyms. Concepts of this kind are taken for granted, familiar, and familiar to every professional sociologist. Empirical data appear only at a certain stage - after a field survey (mass collection of information at sites).

The following operations can be performed with sociological data: 1) prepare them for processing; encrypt, encode, etc.; 2) process (manually or using a computer); tabulate, calculate multidimensional distributions of features, classify, etc.; 3) analyze; 4) interpret.

The data analysis stage is a set of procedures that make up the data transformation stages. The main ones are: the stage of preparation for collecting and analyzing information; the operational stage of primary data processing, checking the reliability of information, generating descriptive data, and interpreting them; the resulting stage of summarizing the analysis data and implementing the applied function. At each stage, relatively independent tasks are solved. At the same time, the course of analysis in the study is quite flexible. Along with the general and established sequence of stages, a certain cyclical and iterative nature of a number of procedures develops, and the need arises to return to previous stages. Thus, in the course of interpreting the obtained indicators and testing hypotheses for clarification (explanation), new data subsets are formed, new hypotheses and indicators are changed or constructed. Accordingly, the stages and analysis procedures presented in the diagrams set only the general direction of the data analysis cycle.

Data analysis represents a kind of “pinnacle” of the entire procedure of sociological research, its result, for the sake of which everything, in fact, is done. Data analysis methods are described in accordance with the developed information collection methodology. Such universal analysis procedures are indicated as obtaining primary (linear) distributions of answers to questionnaire questions; double (paired) connections between the studied characteristics (variables); coupling coefficients that will be obtained on a computer.

Data analysis is the main type of sociological research aimed at identifying stable, essential properties and trends of the object being studied; includes the selection and calculation of indicators, justification and proof of hypotheses, drawing research conclusions. Based on it, the lo-

logical harmony, consistency, validity of all research procedures.

The main purpose of data analysis: to record information about the object under study in the form of signs, determine its reliability, develop objective and subjective-evaluative characteristics and indicators of the process under study, justify and test hypotheses, summarize the results of the study, establish directions and forms of their practical application.

Basic regulatory requirements: the guiding role of theoretical requirements, methodological principles; conceptual relationship of all stages of analysis with the research program;. ensuring completeness, reliability of information and reliability of research results; systematization, compression and more complete expression of information through the use of logical, mathematical-statistical and information methods, effective procedures, and modern technical means at all stages of analysis; iterative nature of the analysis process, increasing the level of validity of information at each subsequent stage of the study; full use of the competence of specialists, development of the creative initiative of performers.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - world famous English scientist, philosopher, public figure. At sixteen he read the Autobiography of his godfather J.S. Mill, who made a great impression on him. Mill also wrote the first theoretical work on philosophy, read by Russell at the age of eighteen. This work (“System of Logic”) had a noticeable influence on the future philosophical positions of Russell Kanke, Viktor Andreevich. Basic philosophical directions and concepts of science [Text]: textbook. manual for universities, rec. Ministry of Education of Russia. Federation / V.A. Kanke. - M.: Logos, 2010. - 327 p..

There are three periods in Russell's work. The first, devoted to the development of mathematics and philosophy, lasted - along with studies - about ten years (1890-1900). The next, most fruitful period (1900-1910) was devoted to the logical study of the foundations of mathematics. At this time, Russell wrote the book “Principles of Mathematics” (1903), the article “On Notation” (1905) and co-authored with A.N. Whitehead - the fundamental work "Principia Mathematica" ("Principles of Mathematics"). Last work, completed by 1910, brought the authors world fame. Forty-year-old Russell entered the third period, the main content of which was the development of a wide range of philosophical topics and the publication of popular works, which Russell himself valued much more than research for a narrow circle of specialists.

Having lived for almost a hundred years, Russell created many works covering the theory of knowledge and the history of philosophy, problems of religion and morality, pedagogy and politics. He very fully illuminated and critically analyzed his own creativity and the evolution of his views in his “Autobiography,” the article “My Intellectual Development” and the book “My Philosophical Development.” The author's general philosophical reasoning was at times eclectic; he often fell under different influences and developed slightly different concepts. His most serious and enduring philosophical interests were associated with mathematics and symbolic logic. He made fundamental contributions to these areas of knowledge that determined the development of analytical philosophy.

Russell's close attention to the study of the nature of knowledge also remained unchanged. This did not mean that philosophical problems were narrowed down for him to the theory of knowledge: the question “what is the world in which we live” was considered as more important. But this question could only be answered by understanding whether human beings could know anything, and if they could, what and how. Following the tradition of Hume and Kant, Russell distinguishes two fundamentally different approaches to knowledge: naturalistic, based on common sense, and a much deeper philosophical one, based on a critical attitude to the results of knowledge. Characteristic the first is naive realism, the confidence that things are as they are perceived. In the course of philosophical research, it is realized that in place of the seemingly obvious, simple, complex structures actually exist, and doubt arises about the reliability of “simple” situations that previously seemed undoubted. As a result, firm confidence is replaced by methodical caution. Mature scientific knowledge (and such for Russell and most philosophers of science in general, as a rule, were physics and mathematics) recognizes the existence of a significant distance between knowledge and its object, takes into account the complexity of ways to recreate objects in the course of scientific research.

Russell characterized his positions as scientific common sense. He proceeded from the fact that the world in its usual understanding is a world of people and things, that beyond the horizon of our “small” world there is a “big” world - the Universe. Its components are events that exist in the form of colored spots of a certain shade and shape, tangible properties, sounds of a certain height, duration, and others. Each such element is called a unit. It is considered indisputable that we have known only an infinitesimal part of the Universe, that “countless centuries have passed during which there has been no knowledge at all,” and perhaps “countless centuries will again come during which there will be no knowledge.” It is also not questioned that when speaking of “cognition,” they usually assume a difference between the knower and the known. Common sense does not sharply contrast science and everyday knowledge, knowledge and beliefs, since it recognizes: science basically tells the truth, we move towards knowledge through opinion (belief), the difference between the two is not so fundamental and is determined only by the degree of plausibility .

The largest of Russell's philosophical works on the theory of knowledge are “Analysis of Consciousness” (1921) and the work “Human Knowledge, Its Sphere and Limits” (1948), which summed up many years of reflection. In his general philosophical discussions about knowledge, Russell generally repeats much of what is known from the works of D. Hume, I. Kant, J.S. Mill, E. Mach and others. What was new was the task that captivated him and was successfully solved: to give the empiricism of the past, which was usually based on psychology, an effective logical apparatus. In the ideas and methods of mathematical (or symbolic) logic, which was successfully developing at that time, he discovered powerful reinforcement of the tradition of empiricism, nominalism and atomism in the theory of knowledge.

A real achievement was the new ideas he put forward in the field of logical analysis of knowledge, which turned out to be very effective for solving problems traditionally considered philosophical. This led Russell to believe that logic, even in its modern formalized form, was deeply connected with philosophy. A distinctive feature of analytical philosophy, first of all, was the unprecedented convergence of logic and the theory of knowledge.

A significant role here was played by Russell and A. Whitehead's study of the foundations of mathematics, which, after 10 years of hard work, culminated in the three-volume work "Principia Mathematica" ("Principles of Mathematics"). The authors sought to implement the program of logicism formulated by G. Frege (to prove that pure mathematics is a branch of logic). The task was successfully completed. For many problems in the foundation of mathematics, which had previously been studied rather speculatively, rigorous solutions were found using logical-mathematical methods. The work "Principles of Mathematics" was perceived by contemporaries as a mathematical, logical and philosophical triumph. Mathematical problems were closely intertwined in him with logical and philosophical problems, the solution of which fell to Russell.

Having adopted the program of logicism, he was imbued with the conviction that not a single concept, not a single axiom should be taken on faith. It was assumed that logic and mathematics are in principle homogeneous, that both the simplest laws of logic and complex theorems of mathematics can be derived from a small set of elementary ideas, that mathematics is essentially the same logic, only more mature and developed. This idea had already been expressed by Frege by that time. A special role in his program of logicism was assigned to the solution of complex logical problems, primarily the elimination of paradoxes. But his philosophical views (Platonism) prevented him from realizing his ideas of logical analysis of language and the development of analytical philosophy. Russell managed to do this, largely thanks to a fundamentally different philosophical platform that corresponded to the technology itself and the procedures of logical analysis.

Russell's most important logical discoveries are the theory of descriptions and the theory of logical types. The main subject of the theory of descriptions is denoting expressions that ensure the informativeness of messages and the connection of language with reality. Russell's attention was drawn to the characteristic difficulties of their use, which arise from our tendency to see behind every grammatically correct denoting expression a corresponding object. For example, we say: “I met a person,” although it is impossible to meet a person at all. The difficulties hidden in generalizing expressions have long been known: they are thought of as designations of certain abstract entities (universals), which leads to “realism” of the Platonic type.

The analysis of language revealed more and more new logical puzzles and accompanying philosophical difficulties, which in principle had been known for a long time and were most characteristic of abstract levels of reasoning. This was most acutely manifested in the paradoxes of the foundations of mathematics, which is what Russell encountered. Common sense and the lessons of philosophical criticism told him that the reality of the matter is not as language sometimes suggests to us.

The basis of Russell's analysis of denoting phrases (the theory of descriptions) was the idea that the meaning of a denoting expression can be learned either through direct acquaintance with the corresponding denoted object, or through its description. Familiarity is a direct indication of the named object, its visual, sensory presentation. Description is a verbal description of an object according to its characteristics. To avoid confusion, Russell proposed a strict distinction between names and descriptions as two different types of relation of signs to an object. In addition, he noted that the description can be definite - referring to an individual specific object ("the capital of England" and others) and indefinite - relating to a class of objects. Russell's new important clarification was the distinction between proper names and definite descriptions. He emphasized that even a definite (individualized) description still does not directly indicate the corresponding object, since it takes the sign in abstraction from its bearer. As a result, one can, for example, understand the expression “the man who discovered the elliptical shape of planetary orbits,” but not know that this man was Kepler. Finally, in the theory of descriptions, a new, clarifying interpretation of sentences including denoting phrases was proposed. Russell came to the conclusion that difficulties in understanding denoting phrases arise from an incorrect analysis of the sentences in which they are included. An essential role in adequate analysis is played by understanding the statement as a whole as a variable, the meaning of which depends on the expressions included in it.

Russell's concept of logic, which grew out of the philosophy of mathematics, was characterized by extreme nominalism. Logic was identified with syntax, with the rules for the meaningful arrangement of words. Any symbol that goes beyond the simple naming of a single object was interpreted as not really corresponding to anything. In other words, any somewhat general concept (for example, a class of objects) was thought of simply as a word, a “symbolic fiction,” and operations on these concepts were purely verbal.

Along with the theory of descriptions, to overcome logical difficulties and paradoxes, Russell put forward the theory of types, according to which “that which includes the totality of something must not include itself.” In other words, Russell proposed to clearly distinguish classes of concepts according to the degree of their generality. A clear separation of logical types (categories) and the establishment of linguistic prohibitions on their mixing was intended to get rid of “illegal universalities” and eliminate the paradoxes that arise, according to Russell, due to unlimited operation with the concept “everything”.

From Russell's theory it followed that when logical types (categories) are mixed, sentences arise that are devoid of meaning and cannot be characterized as either true or false. Such errors lead to logically dead-end situations, which type theory is designed to prevent. Without pretending to explain, much less change the actual practice of using language, it brought categorical clarity to its work. This conclusion influenced all subsequent development of analytical philosophy.

So, as a result of these studies, logical analysis is developed. Its task is not to examine objects, not to obtain new truths about the world (this is a matter of science), but to clarify, clarify the meaning of words and sentences that make up knowledge. This is achieved by translation, reformulation of less clear provisions into clearer ones. Russell put forward a detailed theory of logical analysis as a method of translating knowledge into a more precise language. The doctrine of analysis was a logical concept that Russell arrived at through the philosophy of mathematics. Logical analysis was primarily concerned with problems of language.

“Our investigation,” wrote Russell, “must begin with a test of words, and then of syntax.” But at the same time, it is believed that clarifying language turns out to be a means of clearer information about objects, since it clarifies the meaning, the substantive content of statements.

Russell did not limit himself to applying this method to mathematics; the method of logical analysis was also given a philosophical interpretation and application, which gave rise to a wide movement of so-called analytical philosophy.

As Russell noted, his logical doctrine led him in turn to a certain type of philosophy that seemed to justify the process of analysis. Russell directly bases his philosophy on his logic: “My logic is atomistic. Hence my metaphysics is atomistic. Therefore, I prefer to call my philosophy “logical atomism.” Having put forward the thesis that logic is the essence of philosophy, Russell comes to the following conclusion: “I believe that logic is fundamental to philosophy, and schools should be characterized by their logic rather than by their metaphysics." So, in contrast to the previous idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe philosophical neutrality of formal logic, Russell defends the position of its active and even fundamental role, developing the idea of ​​​​a logical method of construction and justification philosophy History and philosophy of science [Text]: textbook for graduate students / [B.T. Alekseev [and others]; edited by A.S. Mamzin [and others]: St. Petersburg. 2008. - 304 p.