Methodological Principles of Physics: at the Interface of History and Philosophy of Science (Towards the 50th Anniversary of the Book "Methodological Principles of Physics. History and Modernity" and the 110th Anniversary of the Birth of N.F. Ovchinnikov)

The article looks into the concept of methodological principles of physics (MPP), put forward by N.F. Ovchinnikov (1915–2010) in the 1970s and still serving as the basis for understanding the theorization of physical science. The article is devoted to the 50th anniversary of the first major (collective) work on the MPP concept (1975) and the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founder. The principle of symmetry is shown to have dominated in this system, particularly in physics of the 2nd half of 20th century. The article discusses how these principles work in constructing fundamental theories (as exemplified by Einstein's model of constructing a theory with the "Einstein arc"). It is proposed to supplement the methodology of research programmes with the MPP concept. An effective application of MPP in the elaboration of the standard model in particle physics, which is a modern theory of fundamental interactions, is demonstrated.