To begin with, what are the functions of philosophy? First of all, they can be characterized as the main directions of the application of philosophy, through which it becomes possible to realize its inherent goals, objectives, and the purpose of science. The functions of philosophy are usually distinguished as follows: worldview, methodological, mental-theoretical, epistemological, critical, axiological, social, educational, humanitarian, prognostic.
The meaning of the functions of philosophy
Each of these has its own direction. They are characterized by the following concepts:
- The task of the worldview function is to form a holistic picture of the world, to analyze the principles of human interaction with the world around him, his place in it, and so on.
- As for the methodological function, its task is to present methods by which it will be possible to learn about the world around us.
- The essence of the mental-theoretical function is to teach to generalize the world around us, to use logical schemes and systems of surrounding reality.
- The epistemological - one of the basic, stands at the top, and its task is to correctly and reliably learn the world. This is such a peculiar mechanism of cognition.
- Nowhere and without a critical function. Indeed, with its help, everything that happens is not only questioned, but also thanks to this doubt, new concepts, contradictions are opened, the boundaries of knowledge are expanded and the reliability of existing knowledge is increased.
- The task of the social function is to explain the causes of the emergence of society and the essence of its existence as a whole.
- The educational function is needed in order to convey to society humanistic goals and ideals, principles of morality, and also help in the search for the meaning of life.
- Predictive is the opportunity to suggest what trends in the development of mankind may be observed in the future.
All of them are the basis of philosophy.
Axiological function
We turn to this function in more detail. What is she like? It’s worth starting with the origin. Translated from Greek, the word axios means "valuable." Consequently, the essence of the axiological function is to evaluate the reality surrounding us from the point of view of a variety of values (moral, ethical, social and so on). Its main task is to preserve everything that is valuable and necessary that is useful, and that which is obsolete, that it is obsolete, that is left in the past. Of particular importance is the axiological function in the critical periods of history.
What is the point?
Philosophy not only raises questions about the meaning of life, about death and immortality, but also some questions that act as dominant. The axiological function distinguishes long-term trends from short-term ones, while clearly discarding what is superficial, leaving only what is fundamental. Simply put, it separates the important from the unimportant. Thanks to this function, a person can form a personal system of values, which is of paramount importance in the life of everyone. Since it reflects the life position and worldview. Consequently, the philosophical and axiological functions of philosophy are responsible for those aspects that predetermine human behavior in society.
How does it work?
The functions of philosophy, philosophical, methodological, axiological, contribute to the fact that, having gained knowledge about some objects or processes taking place in society, people immediately begin to analyze and determine what is useful for them specifically to “draw out” from these objects and events. An appraisal process takes place, after which something that brings some benefit, good or benefit to society is selected. Sometimes this function is called the socio-axiological function of philosophy, since it is directly related to society as a whole, and not just to a specific person.
Assessment process
The evaluation process is based on the following aspects: these are the natural / social properties of the subject / process and their significance. The individual during the evaluation process expresses his attitude through approval or disapproval. It is also worth mentioning that no evaluation process is possible without comparison. This happens as follows: two or more objects / events / processes are compared in order to select one, a concrete one from those proposed.
Estimated Equivalents
To carry out the comparison process, a socially significant equivalent is used, and they are of the following types:
- Social norm (legality / illegality, justice / injustice, good / evil, and so on).
- Another commensurate subject / process (books are more useful than films, democracy is better than authoritarianism, sports are better than sitting at home, and so on).
- Any symbol of appreciation (surroundings, as in the picture, sunset, like cotton candy, and so on).
In order to choose the necessary valuation equivalent, a person is based on actual interests and on his previous experience.
What is value?
Still, the basis of the axiological function of culture and philosophy is value. So what is it? First of all, these are the objective properties of objects or processes whose task is to benefit people and work for good. This value can manifest itself in a positive, negative and zero way. As a result of the assessment process, we get a subjective opinion about a particular subject or situation, the so-called value assessment. Evaluation is not an eternal concept, since it is a manifestation of value in a particular life situation, and it can change over time. It turns out that from the point of view of philosophy, value is an objective concept, and evaluation is purely subjective. This is because a concept such as value has social significance for everyone, but value judgments in most cases have only particular importance.
Features of value judgments
First of all, it is always the opinion of a specific person or several people about something, these data are characterized by utilitarianism and accompany absolutely every stage of conscious control. There are two types of assessment: professional, or expert, and everyday. If we are talking about the latter type, then intuition is of paramount importance. The objectivity of the assessment depends on the social experience of the people who participate in the assessment process. The higher it is, the more correctly the ordinary assessment is recognized.
Ordinary and professional assessment
Here you can put an equal sign with the concept of "public opinion". It is studied not only by scientists, but also by politicians in order to use it for their own purposes. If we try to determine public opinion, we can say that this is a state of consciousness of a certain community, which expresses its attitude to the processes taking place in their social reality. In turn, professional assessment is the task of experts in a particular field. Scientists conclude that professional assessment today acquires the character of an independent branch of spiritual activity. Today, social examination has four forms of manifestation: service (internal and external), legal, economic, scientific.
Philosophical answers to worldview questions
We already know that philosophy is the theoretical basis of a worldview, and it is for this reason that the main problem lies in understanding the relationship between consciousness and the objective world. In this objective world, consciousness arose, as well as the relationship of consciousness and matter. In the scientific world, this problem is usually divided into the following elements. First of all, this is the question, what is the cause of all things - matter or consciousness? In the second - do we still know the world or not? It is the answers to these questions that reveal the essence of the problem of the relationship between consciousness and the world. In accordance with the developed theories, philosophers are divided into two categories: idealists and materialists. But despite this separation, materialism and idealism are interconnected aspects of one big process, and not an absolute contradiction, as you might think.
Cognizability of the world
Another issue that must be considered is whether the world is cognizable or not. Most scientists affirmatively answer this question, the other half firmly believe that a person does not have the opportunity to know the world around him. Such philosophers are called agnostics. They explain this by the fact that a person has limited personal cognitive capabilities, and Kant, for example, believed that the knowledge of the world by a person is impossible due to the objective unknowability of phenomena as such. In fact, the role of philosophy in human life and society is invaluable. At a minimum, this science is the basis of culture; it shares and at the same time connects various branches of knowledge and practice. The problems that philosophy studies are nothing but life, a reflection of the surrounding reality. And only the solution and analysis of these problems make it possible for an individual to realize and comprehend the world around him, his “I”, search for the meaning of life, determine his purpose, realize himself as a person in any sphere of life.