Interdisciplinary research: problem of modelling

 At the beginning of the XXIst century, wider and wider becomes the area of countries which undergo transformations. At the same time, more and more persons agree with the assertion concerning the necessity of recomprehension of the classical principles of construction of the scientific theories which were intrinsic to the “traditional” period with growing knowledge. The new epoch of “post-modern”, whose tendencies are displayed clearer and reinforce its influence further in the world, opposites the very possibility of existence of metatheories. New social conditions stimulate the researchers to the search for truth on the way of modelling in the framework of interdisciplinary researches.
Such a successive “agnosticism” forces us to appeal to epistemology by taking into account its close connection with the history of science.



In this relation, it is worth noting the position of the American philosopher T. Kuhn whose work “Structure of scientific revolutions” states the presence of a regular character of the development of scientific knowledge. In particular, by leaning on the cyclic model of development of scientific paradigms, he affirmed that they go through both the normal (steady) stage of their development and
the stage of scientific revolution. Having agreed on the whole with the concept of the cyclic development of science and with the thought about crisis phenomena in social sciences which sounds increasingly stronger among scientists, we consider it necessary to emphasize the significant distinctions of the essence of crisis phenomena which are revealed in the contemporary science in the countries of the West and East. The character of culturalhistorical development which is nonuniform on the whole and, as a consequence, the cultural bipolarity really existent in the world complicate the
very ideas of a model of developing scientific knowledge.
At the end of the XIXth century, by reflecting the genetic nature of the development of science, F. Engels proposed the following classification of sciences in his work “Dialektik der Natur”: mathematics, mechanics (along with astronomy), physics, chemistry, biology, sciences about thinking, and sciences about society.

On the whole, this classification mirrors the development of fundamental and applied researches, first of all, in the West. This viewpoint is supported by the history of scientific discoveries which determine, to a large extent, the character of the “second nature” surrounded us.
The Aristotle’s picture of the world predominated up to the appearance of the spirit of a “Faustean” or “Promethean” man who sets the aim to demythologize the animate nature and to place the inanimate nature in service.
From the second half of the XVth century, observations and experiment become efficient practices of scientific researches. For example, the yearbooks “Ephemerides” were published beginning from 1475, on pages of which the daily calculated disposition of planets was presented. In 1492, the first globe was constructed and, already in 1507, N. Copernicus discovered the heliocentric system which was not yet mathematically described at that time. J. Bruno introduced the notion of the infinity of the Universe having no center. At the same time, Paracelsus as a doctor, botanist, and chemist reformed medicine, by trying to explain the chemical and physical bases of life by means of the analysis of
phenomena. The improvement of navigation devices gave a possibility to realize the long journeys in open seas by mastering the geographic-spatial scopes.
Intellectual horizons were successfully mastered by Leonardo da Vinci who, in addition to a spiritually rich creative activity in art, made the significant contribution into mechanics by inventing a pump, lathe, hydraulic press, etc.
Of essential meaning for everyday life were the inventions of pocket clock and printing press.
Beginning from the period of Renaissance, a man is perceived in Europe as “a model of the world”, and a human mind is recognized as capable to improve the Universe created by the God. Due to this, the new outlook legalized a social motivation of innovations.

Instead of this, the Chinese spiritual tradition still resisted to the idea of linear progress intrinsic to the Europeans of the New time. The Chinese did not perceive the technological discoveries as the process of creation of a new “Babylonian tower” which would lead the humanity on the level of co-creation with God. In our opinion, this explains the fundamental distinction of the scientific traditions of the West and East.

During the XVII–XIXth centuries, empiricism and rationalism promoted the discoveries in natural sciences. We call only some of them. Mathematics: invention of logarithmic table (1614), formation of analytic geometry (1637), calculation of infinitesimals (1665). Mechanics and physics: discovery of the laws of fall and a pendulum (1609), refraction of light (1618), motion of planets (1619), diffusion of gases (1662), deviation of light (1665), gravitation (1666), speed of light (1675), wave theory of light (1690), light aberration (1728), kinetic theory of gases (1738), static electricity (1790).
Chemistry and biology: study of the blood circulation (1618), discovery of spermatozoa (1672), salts of silver (1727), systematization of living creatures (1735), discovery of hydrogen (1766), oxygen (1771), nitrogen (1772), invention of artificial sodium carbonate (1791), cement (1799).

It is worth noting that important scientific discoveries became possible due to the use of such technical inventions, as microscope (1590), telescope (1610), mercuric barometer (1643), pendulum clock (1657), manometer (1663), mercuric thermometer (1718), calibrated scale of thermometers (1742), boiler (1681), casted steel (1735), spinning machine (1738), breech-charged gun (1751), steel rolling production (1754), steam engine (1769), aerostat filled with hot air (1783), mechanical loom (1785), hydraulic press (1795), lithographic printing machine (1796), paper machine (1799), lathe (1800), steam-ship (1807), etc.