Empirical and Theoretical Levels of World Knowledge

Key words: knowledge of the world, empirical and theoretical knowledge, worldview, scientific knowledge, theory, practice World knowledge is a system of complex knowledge about reality, in the structure of which two complementary levels are distinguished: empirical and theoretical. Scientific knowledge of the world should be distinguished from an individual scientific-theoretical system. Despite all its value, it has no scientific basis, since it is subject exclusively to personal, subjective influence. The formation of world knowledge and a scientific picture of the world is an endless process, since reality is constantly in the process of transformation. So, it is impossible to create complete knowledge of reality. In search of a worldview, scientific consciousness constantly moves away from the boundaries of sensory cognition, makes the transition from the concrete to the abstract, contemplative field. The only true measure of the validity of theoretical knowledge is practice. A theory can be considered complete and reliable only when its principles are tested through experimentation and either confirmed or refuted in practice.