FORMATION OF THE ONTOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY: SUBSTANTIAL AND RELATIONAL PARADIGMS

Abstract

The problem of the ontological foundations of science and technology in connection with the development of scientific, technical and technological spheres attracts increasingly wider attention of specialists. This issue becomes even more extensive when it comes to the ontology of technology and engineering activities. If, until the 20th century, scientists considered the issue of the ontological nature of science and technology separately as independent spheres of activity, or more attention was paid to the issue of the ontology of science (without paying attention to the ontology of technology), then in the 20th-21st centuries, the issue of ontology is actively raised, leaving no doubt about the relevance of this topic, filling the gaps. The article considers, first of all, approaches of a socio-humanitarian nature, but their analysis leads to conclusions about the need for a deeper analysis. Therefore, two conceptual approaches in the form of two ontological systems that originated in the times of ancient philosophy become central to the discussion. The relationship between science and technology is considered through the prism of the role of the theoretical and empirical nature of knowledge. A thesis was put forward about the substantive paradigm of the relationship between science and technology, on the basis of which an answer is given to the understanding of the ontology of technology. But in the 20th and 21st centuries, the situation is changing: by the middle of the 20th century, science and technology have moved into their new quality - their unity, which can be understood as the unity of theoretical and empirical (practical) knowledge. Speaking of science, this primarily concerns physics (since the technical revolution, the technical breakthrough was carried out as a breakthrough in physics, therefore the concept of «science» is understood, first of all, physics). All this together allows us to assert that a new paradigm is being formed - a relational one. When adopting the position on the relational ontological paradigm regarding the foundations of science and technology, it should be understood that in principle there are no objective, predetermined and unambiguously leading algorithms for solving these problems and crises. Each of the solutions is chosen and adjusted by trial and error, often quite tragic. In this sense, the turbulent and complex history of the 20th century in its tragedy does not teach us to choose a less than optimal solution.