THE INFLUENCE OF ARISTOTLE’S IDEAS ON MODERN EPISTEMOLOGY

Abstract

The paper provides a comparative analysis of Aristotle’s epistemology and modern scientific ideas concerning the process of cognition. Following Aristotle’s ideas we can state that he implied the separation of a researcher and an object examined. However, today it has been proved that the subject and the object determine each other and form an integrated system. The main feature of Aristotle’s epistemology was to get truthful knowledge. But nowadays the epistemological process is directed at recognizing the existence of different irreducible to each other positions that have been obtained during its realization. It is offered to consider the reality as a multi-layer and multi-level one. Knowledge of the subject about the object will be different for every level of cognition, presuming their interconnection. It’s possible to conclude that Aristotle made an enormous contribution into the formation and further development of epistemology and his works turned out to be the starting point for current ideas about cognitive operations, their methods and results.