Philosophy has many functions. One of the fundamental - epistemological. It is associated with a person’s ability to think and comprehend the world. The function of cognition in philosophy is, on the one hand, the very algorithm of knowing the world around itself, and on the other hand, ideas and conceptual theories that explain these mechanisms.
Contemplation
The most important part of all philosophical doctrine is the epistemological function or the function of cognition. It was explored in ancient times. The process of cognition can be divided into three parts - contemplation, presentation and thinking. Without them, an epistemological function is impossible. At the initial stage of cognition, the act of sensing matter or an object is performed. At this moment, the subject is in contact with the object (the person perceives something new for him).
Contemplation is rich in freshness and fullness of sensations. At the same time, it remains the most modest in its degree of comprehension. The first sensation is extremely important. It contains all the thoughts, ideas and concepts of man about the subject. Different sensory organs can be used as conductors: smell, touch, sight, hearing and taste. This variety of tools determines the variety of possible sensations. Each of them is a unique excitement with its intensity and qualities.
Image formation
The second stage of contemplation is the manifestation of attention. This intelligence reaction is based on the fact that all sensations are different. Because of this, each of them causes unique effects. An epistemological function belonging to contemplation could not have existed without a person's ability to show attention.
At the third stage, contemplation is formed as such. With the manifestation of attention, sensations cease to be fragmented and communicate with each other. Thanks to this, the intellect gains the opportunity to contemplate in the literal sense of this concept. So, a person turns sensations into meaningful feelings and creates on their basis a holistic visible image. It is separated from the subject itself and becomes an independent idea of the subject.
Representation
Representation is contemplation acquired by man. There is a fundamental difference between the two processes. For contemplation, a person needs the presence of an object, while for presentation it is not necessary. In order to recreate a certain image in his mind, a person uses his own memory. In it, as in a piggy bank, are all representations of the individual.
The first act of remembrance occurs. The epistemological function of philosophy is that philosophy helps to understand the mechanisms of cognition. Memories are an important material for the reconstruction of images on the basis of which thinking begins. At this last stage, a person acquires new knowledge. But to get them without a certain idea is impossible.
Imagination
When images fall into the human sphere of representation, they get rid of all kinds of real connections that are characteristic of them in the world around them. At this stage, a new tool is used - imagination. Using existing images, intelligence can create something completely new, different from the original material. The ability of imagination has its roots. It appeared due to the difference and similarity of the surrounding objects. Different images provide food for imagination. The more of them, the more unique the result can be.
Imagination is distinguished by its reproducing power, with the help of which a person evokes images on the surface of his own consciousness. In addition, this mechanism works based on the ability to build associations. Finally, imagination has creative power. It reproduces signs and symbols, using which a person brings new images from his consciousness into the outside world.
Proponents of the philosophical theory of sensualism attached great importance to the associating power of imagination. The study of this phenomenon involved John Locke and George Berkeley. They believed that there were certain laws of associations of ideas. At the same time, Hegel opposed them, arguing that imagination acts according to other rules. He defended the idea that the uniqueness of associations is associated only with the individual characteristics of each individual person.
Symbols and signs
To express his own subjective ideas, a person uses images of objects. So he creates the characters. An example is the image of a fox, which means cunning behavior. As a rule, a symbol has only one property that corresponds to a person’s view. All other features are not taken into account.
But not all representations can be expressed using symbols. The human imagination often creates images that do not correspond to real objects. In this case, signs are used. Symbols are based on the natural and well-known properties of the world. Signs are not tied to these features in any way; they can be chaotic and illogical.
Thinking
Philosophical schools offer different hypotheses, conceptual approaches, and theories about whether human thinking can know the world around it. There are both optimists and pessimists on this score. Proponents of Gnosticism believe that people can get true immutable knowledge. For this, a person uses thinking. This process has several immutable attributes. First of all, it is his verbal nature. Words constitute the fabric of thought; without them, thinking and the epistemological function itself are simply impossible.
Human reasoning has a form and content. These characteristics are closely interconnected. Initially, thinking is carried out only according to form. This means that a person can arbitrarily use his own vocabulary and build any constructions from words, even if they make no sense. For example, compare sour and green. True thinking arises at the moment when a person turns this tool to the content of the concept of objects.
Objects and their concepts
The most important epistemological function of philosophy is that philosophy emphasizes that the world can and must be understood. But for this it is necessary to master the tools given by nature to man. It includes both contemplation and imagination. And thinking is a key tool. It is necessary to comprehend the concept of an object.
Philosophers of different generations and eras argued about what is hidden behind this formulation. To date, humanitarian science has given a clear answer - each subject consists of many elements. For his knowledge, it is necessary to identify all the parts, and then put them together. But even individual objects or phenomena do not exist in isolation from the rest of the world. They constitute organized and complex systems. Focusing on this pattern, we can formulate an important rule of knowledge of the world. In order to understand the essence of an object, it is necessary to study not only it, but also the system to which it belongs.
Anatomy of thinking
Cognitive activity consists of three stages: reason, judgment of the concept and reason. Together, they form a harmonious process that allows a person to produce new knowledge. At the stage of reason, thinking is an object. At the stage of narrowing the concept, it analyzes the concept of the object of knowledge. Finally, at the stage of the mind, thinking comes to a definite conclusion.
The epistemological function of philosophy and the process of cognition interested many philosophers. However, the greatest contribution to the modern understanding of these phenomena was made by Immanuel Kant. He managed to indicate two extreme degrees of activity of thinking: reason and reason. His colleague Georg Hegel determined the middle stage of the concept's judgments. Long before them, the classical theory of knowledge in his writings was set forth by Aristotle. He became the author of the important thesis that existence can be perceived by the senses or comprehended by the mind, as well as the idea that a name (concept) acquires meaning only thanks to a person, since no names exist by nature.
The components of cognition
Contemplation, perception and thinking gave a person the opportunity to use three ways of expressing his own knowledge about the world around him. Contemplation can take the form of unique works of art. A figurative representation became the foundation for the birth of religion and the corresponding picture of the world. Thanks to thinking, humanity has scientific knowledge. They are built in a coherent single system.
Thinking has another amazing feature. The concepts of objects comprehended with his help become his own tool and property. So a person reproduces and accumulates knowledge. New concepts appear on the basis of already obtained and generalized ones. Thinking can theoretically transform a person's ideas about objects.
Cognition in Political Science
An epistemological function can consist both in a person’s actual knowledge of reality in general and in certain types of activity or scientific disciplines. For example, there is a certain knowledge in philosophy and political science. In such cases, this concept acquires more tangible boundaries. The epistemological function of political science is manifested in the fact that this discipline is intended to clarify political reality.
Science reveals its connections and characteristics. The epistemological function of political science is to determine the political system of the state and the social system. With the help of theoretical tools, one can attribute the power apparatus to one or another typical template. For example, everyone knows such concepts as democracy, totalitarianism and authoritarianism. The epistemological function of political science is that experts can characterize power according to one of these terms. In this case, the analysis of the main elements of the state machine. For example, the state of parliament, its independence from the executive branch and the degree of influence on the legislative process are examined .
Knowledge Analysis and New Theories
Only the epistemological function of political science ultimately provides an answer to the question of what state institutions are in. Over the centuries of its existence, this science has created several universal methods of cognition in its narrow theoretical field. Although today there are a huge number of states, all of them function according to the principles identified and defined back in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The epistemological function of political science is also a way to systematize conclusions and propose an ideal political system. The search for utopia based on the successful and unsuccessful experience of past generations continues today. Part of the epistemological function of political science is that based on the findings of scientists, different theories are being built about the future of the state and its relations with society.