Title

V.A. MIRONOV (Tomskii SU)

About scientific status of geology in works of russian and american researchers

Due to the rapid development of science and technology in the last hundred years the traditional classifications of scientific knowledge created mainly in the nineteenth century cease to satisfy completely scientific community because can’t give adequate interpretation of the methods and approaches applied in these or those areas of knowledge. An example of the discipline which isn’t falling under a framework of determination of humanitarian and natural­-science knowledge is the geology. As the science about Earth studying the planet, geology belongs to natural-­science knowledge what an object of her research – a part of inanimate nature testifies to. However, in geology the significant and crucial role is played by interpretative (hermeneutical) methodology which as it is considered to be, is characteristic of humanitarian knowledge. The purpose of work is lighting and comparison of approaches of domestic and American researchers to a solution of the problem of the status of scientific character of geology, and also definition of a role of each methodology in the course of geological knowledge.
Keywords: geology, philosophy of geology, theory of knowledge, philosophy and methodology of science, hermeneutics, interpretation.