Reproducibility as a Tool of Cognition (Epistemological Analysis)

Abstract

One of the most advanced areas of modern science is polydisciplinary research, which is based on experimental practices with special technical parameters. From the point of view of the philosophy of science, their specificity is directly related to the problem of results’ reproducibility because the cooperating discip­lines have different levels of sensitivity to technical details and side effects. Moreover, the details and accuracy of the actual reproducibility are discussed in various languages. Epistemologists focus on, first of all, the question of whether it is possible to replicate (i.e., absolutely exact repetition) the experiment results in a polydisciplinary space. And if not, then what is considered essential in the process of such experimentation with a particular subject field, and what is sec­ondary, what treat as a background, and what is a reproducibility result? In addi­tion, the methodological understanding of the reproducibility acquires unique heuristic significance in connection with the analysis of “deviations” arising from its replication. This means that the actual repetition of an experiment can be considered a normative criterion for its results’ scientific status and as a cog­nitive tool that opens up new research prospects. As a tool for expanding re­search horizons, the requirement of reproducibility in polydisciplinary experi­mental practices is at the center of attention of modern philosophical and methodological reflection on science.