Page 23 - Geology and Geochemistry of Oil and Gas

2 SYSTEMS APPROACH IN SCIENCE

entitled The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of
Favored Races in the Struggle for Life (1859). Intuitive approach, however, is sub-
jective. Objective description of this phenomena could only be achieved through the
development of scientific methodologies.
The foundation of objective approach was developed by English politician, phi-
losopher, and essayist Francis Bacon (1561–1626), and French mathematician, sci-
entist, and philosopher Rene ´ Descartes (1596 –1650). The former, in his most
important philosophical work entitled Instauratio Magna (1620), redefined the task
of natural science, seeing it as a means of empirical discovery and a method of
increasing human power over nature, and maintained that only a sound method
results is a true knowledge. The latter, in his books entitled Meditation on First
Philosophy (1641), Discourse on Method (1637), and Principles of Philosophy (1644),
ignored accepted scholastic philosophy and stated that the person should doubt all
sense experiences and that only the axioms or postulates that are beyond any doubt
may be used as a basis for scientific logical constructions. Both concepts are still
unshakable and were used for the development of a systems (system-structural)
approach in science.
As Dmitriyevskiy correctly noted, ‘‘systemity is a general pattern in the structure
of material universe’’ (1993, p. 2). At the same time, even the perfect study meth-
odology does not guarantee the true knowledge. A lot depends on (1) the reliability
of empirical base, (2) the availability of sufficiently differentiated and in-depth the-
oretical apparatus, (3) the scientist’s qualifications, and (4) materialistically under-
stood factors, such as intuition and creative imagination (Lopatin, 1983, p. 22).
There are numerous definitions of a ‘‘system’’. All of them, however, are vague.
For example, according to one of the definitions: ‘‘The system is a set of interacting
elements’’ (Afanasyev, 1973, p. 39), or a clearer definition: ‘‘The system is a complex
of interconnected elements that form some integrity’’ (Gvishiani, 1980). Vagueness
here is hidden in ‘‘a complex of interconnected elements’’ and in ‘‘some integrity’’.
The following questions arise: Which elements and how are they interconnected? Are
the elements uniform, variable in size, or heterogeneous? What type of connections:
physical or logical? What kind of integrity: logical, mechanical, energetic, or their
absence?
We understand that it is easier to criticize than to create. Thus, let us develop a
definition of ‘‘geologic system’’ best suited for studying theoretical problems of
petroleum geology.
It may be stated that the geologic system is an aggregate of interrelated natural
elements of lithosphere that form an integral whole, with specific properties changing
with time. This definition is similar to the definition given by Buryakovsky et al.
(1990): ‘‘Interrelated elements are involved in the naturally occurring processes
eventually resulting in profound changes in the component elements and in sub-
stantial changes of the whole system, i.e., practically, the appearance of a new sys-
tem’’.
Many authors provide only the most general methodological recommendations
for using the system-structural analysis when studying systems. This may be accepted
if structural analysis is broadly understood as a process of explaining the interaction