Philosophy’ Contribution to Human Capital Development of Researchers: Current State and Prospective Agenda

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study of the role of philosophy in the training of scientific personnel. It is shown that adaptation to the challenges associated with changes in the do Russian education system and global educational trends is one of the main tasks modern Russian philosophy’s facing. The participation of philosophy in the preparation of future scientists has a special place among the problems arising in that connection. The problem originates from the ambiguous relations between philosophy and, first of all, natural sciences. Although in the Soviet system of higher education philosophy was one of the leading educational disciplines, its function with respect to science was to introduce disciplinary scientists to the only true – truly scientific – worldview; in other words, it was ideological and dogmatic in nature. This reinforced the positivism’ view on philosophy that was already formed in the scientific community in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. According to this philosophy is useless or harmful for science. It has been shown that the post-soviet period has required revision of the concept of philosophy as a scientific and university discipline, which has not been fully implemented. The paper outlines the main points that may serve as the foundation for this kind of concept, namely mutual cognitive goals, philosophy's solution of cognitive tasks assumed by the existence of science, development of cognitive skills necessary for scientists, and initiation of knowledge that forms the ground for the development of non-cognitive skills within the framework of the philosophical studies. Finally, it is shown that the professional philosophical community can influence the level of philosophical education of disciplinary scientists and their perception of philosophy as part of the scientific system within the existing basic and postgraduate training courses, even in the absence of an increase in lecture and seminar courses, which is, however, also worth pursuing.