Contents Publisher Information Faces of Science by V. V. NALIMOV Edited by ROBERT G . COLODNY Illustrations bv M I K H A I ZLATKOVSKY L To Contents Published by 0 1981 IS1 Press Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Naiimov, V. V. (Vasilii Vasil'evich), 1 9 1 s Faces of Science. Translation from the Russian Includes bibliography and index . I. Science-Philosophy. 2. Science-Methodology. 3. Mathematical linguistics. I. Colodny, Robert Garland. Q175.N225 501 81-6654 AACR2 ISBN CL89495-010-X ~ 11. Title All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photographic, or magnetic, without prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America To view full text of any item below, please click on it Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTERI . The Structure of Science: Logic of Accepting Hypotheses . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Problems in Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Hypotheses Are Formulated . . . . . . . . How Hypotheses are Accepted . . . . . . . . . Paradigm-a Protective Mechanism in Science . . . . Mathematization of Knowledge as an Example o f Constructing a New Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . How Science Grows . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is the Probabilistic Evaluation of Hypotheses Possible? . . What is Science? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Can the Epistemological Role in Discoveries Be Estimated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some Historical Parallels and the Principal Consequence of Popper's Concept of the Growth of Knowledge . . . A Metaobserver's Glance at Science . . . . . . . . CHAPTER2. Scientific Creativity as a Manifestation of Intellectual Rebellion: A Bayesian Approach to the Problem . CHAPTER3. Mathematics as a Language of Science: Using Mathematics to Describe the External World . . . . Introduction: Formulation of the Problem . . . . . . Axiomatic-Deductive Construction of Traditional Mathematics: Logical Structures of Pure Mathematics . . . Limitations Imposed on Deductive Forms of Thinking by Godel's Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii xi 1 1 2 4 5 9 16 19 22 25 26 28 33 35 43 43 44 49 iv Faces of Science Mosaic Structures of the System of Judgments in Applied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mathematics Applied Mathematics as a Language: The Role of Sense Content Underlying the System of Signs . . . . . . Language of Mathematics as a Metalanguage: Mathematical Structures as Grammar of This Metalanguage . . . Variety of "Dialects" of the Metalanguage of Mathematics . Polysemy of the Language of Mathematics . . . . . . Mathematical Model as a Question to Nature Asked by a Researcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peculiarities of Teaching Applied Mathematics . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER4 . Why DO We Use Probabilistic Concepts to Describe the World? . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Criticism by T . R . Fine and V . N . Tutubalin . . . . . History of Determinism . . . . . . . . . . . . History of the Teaching of Chance . . . . . . . . Formation of a Probabilistic Paradigm . . . . . . . Ontology of Chance . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER5 . The Distribution Function of Probabilities as a Way to Determine Fuzzy Sets: Sketches for a Metatheory (A Dialogue with Zadeh) . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Distribution of Possibilities . . . . . . . . . Randomness as a Synonym of Fuzziness . . . . . . Fuzziness of Language Semantics . . . . . . . . . Extraparametric (Qualitative) Analysis of the Probabilistic Distribution Function . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER6 . On Some Parallels Between the Bohr Complementarity Principle and the Metaphoric Structure of Ordinary Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER7 . Science and the Biosphere: An Attempt at a Comparative Study of the Two Systems . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Emergence of Systems . . . . . . . . . . . Informationally Developing Systems Should Have Their Own Mechanism to Overcome Godel's Difficulties . . A Model with a Chance Generator . . . . . . . . Contents The Language of Science and the Biosphere, Two SelfOrganizing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 1nteractionwithExternalInformation. . . . . . . Exponential and Logistic Growth: Creation of Favorable Ecological Situations . . . . , . . . . . . . Fecundation as a Process of Information Interaction . . Communities in the Biosphere and in Science . . . . . The System's Freeing of Itself from Outdated Carriers of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The System of Restrictions That Stabilize Development. . The Single Wave of Evolution . . . . . . . . . . The Teleological Nature of a System . . . . . . . . A Glance at the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER8. The Problem of Complexity in Describing the World Scientifically: A Formal Analysis of Difficulties in Constructing Theoretical Biology . . . . . . . . Psychological Grounds for Judging Whether a Statement 1s True . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compactness of Theoretical Constructions in Physics . . Is a Compact Description of Knowledge Possible in Biology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Role of Computers in Efforts to Describe the World Scientifically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding Remarks: Dialectics of Reduction and Expansion of Knowledge in the Development of Science. . . CHAPTER9. The Penetration of the Humanities into Other Fields of Knowledge: Reflection on the Ways in Which Science Develops . . . . . . . . . . . . . Penetration of the Humanities into Scientific Disciplines . Cybernetic Nature of Science . . . . . . . . . . "Humanization" of Education . . . . . . . . . . The Need for Staff Educated in the Humanities . . . . Resistance to the "Humanization" of Knowledge . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER10. 1s a Scientific Approach to the Eschatological Problem Possible? A Logical Analysis of the Problem of Global Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Logical Analysis of the Problem of Forecasting . . . . Comparative Study of Cultures as a Way to Understanding the Peculiarities of Our Behavior . . . . . . . . vi Faces of Science Dullness as an lndex of the Quality of Culture . . . . . Probabilistic Model of Social Behavior . . . . . . . The Role of Science in the Evolving Ecological Crisis . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER11. Geographic Distribution of Scientific Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Stocking of the Library of Odessa University with Scientific Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Foreign Scientific Journals Among Separate Scientific Centers of the Soviet Union . . . . . . Distribution of the Journals Biometrika. Technometrics. and Lancet Among the Countries of the World . . . . World Distribution of Science Citation Index . . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER12. On the Stock Exchange of Science: Changing Demand for Intellectuals . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Employment Advertisements in Nature and New Scientisr and Science Journal . . . . . . . . Analysis of Employment Advertisements in the Times of London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER13 . Instead of a Conclusion . . . . . . . References . . Index of Names . lndex of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .