Department of Logic

The history of the present Department of Logic dates back to August 1944. Professor S. I. Povarnin was the first to be invited to teach logic. Before 1947, instruction in logic at the Faculty was given by the teaching staff of the “Section of Logic” comprised by the representatives of the Department of History of Philosophy and the Department of Dialectical and Historical Materialism. In 1947 the Department started functioning as a regular establishment. Such eminent scholars as Professors P. N. Pipunyurov, A. V. Savinov, A. I. Popov, I. Y. Chupakhin, A. M. Plotnikov, I. N. Brodsky, and O. F. Serebryannikov taught at the Department of Logic.

Since 1962 the Department has provided in-depth training of undergraduates in logic and cybernetics. Between 1965 and 1995 more than 200 students graduated from this Department.

In 1990 the Department began to hold regular scientific conferences “Modern Logic: Problems of Theory, History and Application in Science” with both Russian and foreign scholars participating. Materials of these conferences are published and also presented on the Internet (http://www.logics.spb.ru). Members of the highly qualified teaching staff carry out a considerable amount of research work, and take part in publishing the international electronic journal “Argumentation. Interpretation. Rhetoric” (http://www.argumentation.ru). They also give systematic and scholarly instruction and direct research groups under the guidance of Head of Department, Associated Professor A. I. Migunov.

Basic and optional courses offered at the Department include “Logic”, “Introduction into Cybernetics”, “Introduction into Constructive Logic”, “Introduction into Symbolic Logic”, “Temporal Logic”, “History of Logic”, “Aristotelian Logic”, “Logic and Phenomenology”, “Logical Semantics”, “Mathematical Logic”, “Basics of Rhetoric and Theory of Argumentation”, “Scholastic Logic”, “Theory of Natural Deduction”, “Theory of Logical Deduction”.

Among the publications of the teaching staff one ought to mention the works of I. N. Brodsky (Elementary Introduction into Mathematical Logic, 1964; Issues of Dialectics and Logic, 1964; Negativity of Proposition, 1973), O. F. Serebryannikov (Heuristic Principles and Logical Calculations, 1970; Issues of Dialectics and Logic, 1971), A. V. Savinov (Logical Laws of Thinking, 1958; Issues of Logic, 1959; Issues of Logic, 1960), I. Y. Chupakin (Issues of the Theory of Notion, 1961; Methodological Issues of the Theory of Notion, 1973). Recent publications include “Basics of the Logical Knowledge” (V. I. Kobzar, 1999), “Collection of Problems and Exercises in Logic” (L. G. Tonoyan, 1999), “Logical-Philosophical Studies” (L. G. Tonoyan, 2000), “Edmund Husserl and His “Cartesian Reflections” (Y. A. Slinin, 1998).

Exercises:

I. Comprehension Questions.

1. When was the Department of Logic founded?

2. Which prominent scholars worked at the Department?

3. What courses are offered by the teaching staff of the Department?

4. What research work is being carried out at the Department?

5. What divisions of logic do you know?

II. Word Study.

1. Translate into English:

1. временная логика
2. заведующий кафедрой
3. кибернетика
4. методологические проблемы
5. основы
6. отрицательность высказывания
7. понятие
8. преподавательский состав
9. проводить научные конференции
10. сборник задач

2. Translate into Russian:

calculation	deduction
eminent scholar	heuristic
in-depth training	participate
representative	scholarly instruction
to deliver lectures	under the guidance

III. Questions for Discussion:

a. Should instruction in logic be a part and parcel of compulsory curriculum for all university students? If so, why?

b. Should logic be taught at school? If so, starting in what year?

Department of Philosophy
of Science and Engineering

Philosophy of science is a field of research, which deals with systematisation of scientific knowledge. It investigates and works out general principles of methodology, mathematical, social and technical knowledge, studies the phenomenon of science in terms of modern culture and axiological aspects of scientific activity. Within the framework of philosophy of science a considerable amount of research is done into issues of historiography of scientific knowledge. It should be emphasized that the area of problems is not limited to traditional philosophical and methodological trends only (e.g. positivism, pragmatism), but embraces such trends of contemporary philosophy as phenomenology, existentialism, and hermeneutics.

Philosophy of science is one of the newest fields of philosophical studies lying at the confluence of applied disciplines, anthropology, logic, engineering and art. It inquires into the structure of technology and essence of technical mastering of reality, general principles of technical development, and axiological aspects of engineering activities.

Nowadays the world abounds in all sorts of engines, tools, machines, apparatuses, and mechanisms. But all this does not cover the notion of engineering. Engineering as it is understood in contemporary philosophy is everything that surrounds us; even a human body may be called a special mechanism. Interpretation of the subject matter in such a wide sense enables students affiliated with this Department to choose from a huge variety of themes for scientific research. It should be added that the Department actively co-operates in the academic process with the Department of Logic and the Department of Ontology and Theory of Knowledge. This close interaction provides undergraduates with an easy choice of subjects for their yearly papers.

The Department was founded in 1991 with Professors V. P. Branskiy and Y. A. Shapovalov playing an inspiring and decisive role in this undertaking. However, philosophical and methodological issues of science and engineering were investigated earlier by such well-known scholars as Professors V. I. Sviderskiy, V. A. Shtoff, and A. M. Mostepanenko. Nowadays the teaching staff includes their disciples - V. I. Branskiy, B. T. Alexeyev, R. A. Zotov and others. Among prominent specialists in the sphere of philosophy of science mention must be made of Professor E. F. Karavayev (currently, Head of Department), B. I. Ivanov, E. I. Kolchinskiy.

The variety of optional courses offered by the Department strives to highlight the most topical issues of philosophy of science, e.g. “Semiotics and Methodology of Science”, “Philosophy and Hermeneutics”, “Art, Science and Philosophy”, “Physics and Philosophy”, “Man in the Mirror of Science”, “Philosophical Problems of Technical Knowledge”, “Introduction into Cybernetics”, “History and Philosophy of Biology”, “The Notion of Science from Fichte to Husserl”, “Phenomenology as Scientific Philosophy”.

The teaching staff of the Department is actively engaged in scholarship. Scientific research is carried out in co-operation with Problem Council on Philosophy of Science and Engineering under the aegis of the Ministry of General and Professional Education of Russian Federation. The Department organizes all-Russian seminars in social synergism (the supervisor is Professor V. P. Branskiy) uniting many outstanding specialists in the sphere of science and philosophy.

Speaking about monographs published by the Department’s staff one cannot but mention the works by Professor Branskiy (Philosophical Grounds of the Problem of Synthesis of Relativist and Quantum Principles, 1973; Theory of Elementary Particles as an Object of Methodological Inquiry, 1989; Art and Philosophy, 1999), which received general acknowledgement. Others belong to E. F. Karavayev (Fundamental and Temporal Logic, 1983), Y. A. Shapovalov (Society and Engineer, 1984), B. T. Alexeyev (Philosophical Issues of Knowledge Formulation, 1988), R. A. Zotov in co-authorship with V. N. Kelasyev (Myths of Russian Consciousness, 1995; Self-Organization: Psycho- and Sociogenesis, 1996).

Exercises:

I. Comprehension Questions.

1. What is the subject matter of philosophy of science?

2. What does it investigate?

3. With what disciplines is it closely connected?

4. How does contemporary philosophy define engineering?

5. When was the Department opened?

6. What optional courses does the Department offer?

7. Name some prominent specialists in the sphere of philosophy of science.

II. Word Study.

1. Find synonyms in the text for the following words:

basics	field
in joint authorship	investigation
problem	recognition
sort	student
to consist of	to open

2. Pay attention to the pronunciation of loan words with the combination -ch-:

me ch anism

psy ch ogenesis

s ch olarship words of Greek origin

te ch nical

te ch nology

ma ch ine a word of French origin

Look up these words in a dictionary and check their pronunciation.

3. Learn the pronunciation and remember the following words:

acknowledgement/ək'nɒlıʤmənt/, n	aegis /'i:ʤıs/, n
axiological /ˌæksıə'lɔʤıkəl/, a	consciousness /'kɒnʃəsnəs/, n
cybernetics/ˌsaıbə'netıks/, n	emphasize /'emfəˌsaız/, vt
existentialism /ˌegzı'stenʃəˌlızm/, n	hermeneutics /ˌhə:mə'nju:tıks/, n
issue /'ıʃu:/, n	methodology /ˌmeθə'dɒləʤi]/, n
phenomenology /fənɒmı'nɒləʤi/, n	phenomenon (pl. -a) /fə'nɒmınən/, n
quantum /'kwɒntəm/, n	science /ˈsaɪəns/, n
sphere /sfıə/, n	supervisor /'sju:pəˌvaızə/, n
synergism /'sınəʤızm/, n	synthesis /'sınθəsıs/, n
theme/'θi:m/, n	to abound in /'əbaυnd/, vi
to affiliate /ə'fıliˌeıt/, vt	to enable /ı'neıbl/, vt
to highlight /'haılaıt/, vt

4. Note the difference between a Russian word “ техника ” and its English equivalents: technique, technology, technics, engineering.

Technique - a method of doing something that needs skill, especially in art, music, literature, etc.

Technology - 1) a branch of knowledge dealing with scientific and industrial methods and their practical use in industry; practical science.

E.g. nuclear technology / a high level of agricultural technology, etc.

2) machinery, methods, etc., based on this knowledge.

E.g. The printing plant uses the very latest technology.

Engineer - a person who is professionally trained to plan the making of machines, roads, bridges, electrical equipment, etc.

Engineering - the science or profession of an engineer.

5. Translate into English:

1. акварельная техника
2. изучать технику в колледже
3. инженерное искусство
4. наука и техника
5. новый технический прием
6. продвинутые компьютерные технологии
7. техника бега
8. технические науки

III. Questions for Discussion:

a. Do you think Philosophy of Science should be read to future physicists, mathematicians, programmers and engineers? Why?

b. Do you agree with the wide understanding of engineering offered in the text? Why?