2020/2, стр. 174 - 183

PHILOSOPHY AS AN INTEGRATIVE COMPONENT OF EDUCATIONAL CULTURE IN THE SITUATION OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY: SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Резюме:

Ключови думи:

1)Vladislav Sheleketa, 1)Natalia Kazintseva,
2)Vasilij Ivakhnov, 1)Valeria Zagovenyeva
1)Belgorod State Technological University (Russia)

2)Volgograd State Technical University (Russia)

Abstract. The system-forming significance of philosophical education in the system of humanitarian and technological knowledge, as well as the determining influence of philosophical culture and worldview on the system of meaning and the phenomenon of vitality, is updated in the information society. This problem is especially acute in situations of existential crises especially.

The co-authors apply an integrative methodology for combining psychological and philosophical discourses, relying on the conceptual and methodological apparatus of researchers – both psychologists and philosophers, and sociologists.

The fundamental existential significance of philosophical worldview in the system of education and training leads to the conclusion that it is necessary to restore the status of philosophical knowledge as an integrative component of educational culture. The considered philosophical sociological and psychological aspects of existential values will help to reveal the axiological potential of the person, which is realized in the process of education and professional activity.

Keywords: educational culture; information society; meaning generation,; life armation; philosophical worldview

Introduction

Globalization, acceleration of the technical process present new requirements for the personality traits of the young generation, and especially for the formation of value orientations. The Russians, whose birth took place in the 90s, inherited the post-Soviet era, and with it, parents, whose life experience cannot adequately help to cope with the emerging difficulties of the modern world, since the change of epochs was divided between generations of Soviet parents and their post-Soviet children. The experience of Soviet life became unclaimed, and children became teachers to their parents, teaching and explaining how to use gadgets, bank cards, navigators and other products of the technological process.

The consciousness of a young man in the current situation of an information technocratic society has a dominant characteristic of incompleteness, undergoes serious changes, which are expressed in negative trends such as a limited worldview; uncritical thinking; lack of a holistic picture of the world; weak ability to self-reflection. This creates a deficit of an adequate assessment of a person's own abilities. All of the above problems are associated primarily with the features of the modern educational system, which is in the service of the information technocratic society. The trend associated with the differentiation of scientific knowledge and laid down by positivists has created a situation of excessive concretization of scientific knowledge as a whole. This is reflected in the system of modern education, which is literally fixated on applied disciplines, while sacrificing the fundamental foundations of scientific general theoretical knowledge. Satisfying the needs and demands of the modern economic system in the conditions of higher education, a “image-format” of a narrow-profile specialist is produced and reproduced. This trend has found expression in a decrease in the volume of social and humanitarian knowledge taught. The current trend of integration returns us to the first stages of the formation of scientific knowledge, which, in essence, was philosophical knowledge. Philosophy, wrote I. Kant, “serves not as an organ for expansion, but as a discipline for defining boundaries, and instead of revealing the truth, it has a modest merit: it protects against delusions” (Kant, 1994: 581).

Materials and methods

In many studies of the psychological characteristics of the generation of the 90s, the fact of the presence of a new innovative mentality that was not characteristic of the Soviet generation (70s) and the transitional generation (80s) is noted in the structure of the mentality of the generation of the 90s, researchers also note their characteristic unsustainable value system. Among the dominant values are creativity, personal prestige and active social contacts. In last place are spiritual satisfaction and underestimation of one’s past and future. At the same time, researchers note a high satisfaction with the activities of the generation of the 90s than that of the generation of the 80s. Many researchers consider pessimism, aggressiveness, and anxiety before the future a characteristic of those born in the 90s (M. V. Vdovina, M. I. Postnikova, M. V. Saporovskaya, etc. (Saporovskaya, 2012)). This is greatly facilitated by the modern education system, orienting the young man to possessing things and knowledge of a predominantly material plan. At the same time, as noted by J. Maritain: “Philosophy is essentially a disinterested activity, oriented to truth, attractive in itself, and not to utilitarian activity aimed at mastering things. And that is why we need it” (Maritene, 2001: 275).

The absence of such a fundamental characteristic of consciousness as the criticality of thinking leads to a labyrinth of consciousness, a closed worldview and understanding of the world, and a lack of ability to analyze the situation from all sides. This gives rise to a state of enslavement of thinking and leads the young man to imitate life and the subsequent thinning of all existential characteristics of a person’s life (vitality, meaningfulness, free will, etc.). Hegel noted that the teaching of philosophy should always be guided by such a goal, which consists “not only in narrow training in the specialty, but also in the education of the spirit” (Hegel, 1972: 566).

One of the main functions of philosophy is value, which helps to find benchmarks for a young person in society, in fact, declaring the absence of moral values. In this sense, K. Popper notes: “The main task of philosophy is critical reflection on the structure of the universe, our place in the world, as well as on our cognitive abilities and the ability to do good and evil” (Popper, 2001: 135). For example, in the framework of engineering education, the role of the value function of philosophy cannot be overestimated: firstly, in the assessment of technology as a social phenomenon and the consequences of scientific and technological progress. Secondly, in the formation of the ethical responsibility of the engineer and scientist for the results of their activities, which can lead to spiritual and physical degradation of a person. Summing up the above, we can conclude: philosophy acts as an integrative component of the integrated education and the process of socialization of the individual. It also acts as a system-forming component of a person’s personality, since it is universal knowledge.

Philosophy, wrote Ortega y Gasset, is “a synonym for exalted theoretical heroism. She, like her subject, is apparently destined to constantly be in search of her own absoluteness and universality. That is why Aristotle, the founder of our discipline, called it “philosophy” – “a science that is constantly looking for itself” (Ortega y Gasset, 1991: 35). These studies confirm the opinion of the British psychologist Zygmunt Bauman that a new, “liquid”, “fluid” generation has emerged over the past 20 years – a generation of virtual pastime that is characterized by estrangement, an inability to build strong and close relationships that have a broken system attachments, there is a lack of live communication and there is no ability to feel and understand oneself. The lack of desire for full involvement and involvement in a social group reduces the level of communication skills, leads to disappointment in life and makes young people more vulnerable to the challenge of uncertainty. On the other hand, as the researcher notes, the “current generation” is more mobile, it is not burdened with long-term obligations, it can more easily change circumstances and change to meet the requirements of the changed conditions (Bauman, 2005).

Understanding the phenomenon of "uncertainty" as different from the concepts of “being” and “nothing” is considered in their work by V.A. Kuvakin and V.P. Kovaleva (Kuvakin, 2006), thus introducing the third substance of human existence. YES. Leont'ev breeds the concepts of “unknown” and “uncertainty.” He defines uncertainty as “something objectively indefinite, connected with the world order, and not with the limitations of our knowledge” (Leontiev, 2015). Depending on how a person relates to uncertainty, what strategy a person chooses, depends on his personal development or stagnation.

M. Chiksentmihayli connects the problem of the modern world with the growing “challenge of complexity”, which puts a person in a situation of choice. The diculty is how to solve the dilemma between “getting away from choice” and “accepting choice”. Refusal of a choice allows a person to keep himself unchanged without risk and worries about this. Accepting the challenge of uncertainty expands the possibilities of man, gives an impetus to development, but also increases the possible risks of human life. In 2007, N. Taleb introduced the concept of “Black Swan” into the economy, which reveals the meaning of the stagnation effect when unpredictable phenomena occur in the global economy. He described the intellectual fear of uncertainty inherent in most people and the inability to act effectively where, despite the unpredictability of what happened, huge resources for development lie. The term “black swan” rapidly entered politics, medicine, and management. We can safely say that the term “black swan” will soon take a place in psychology, which is looking for ways to counter the effect of uncertainty (Taleb, 2018), which defines situations that can injure some and give an impetus to personal growth of others.

In the modern world, a need arose for the development of such a personality trait that N. Taleb defined as “anti-fragility”, P. Tillich defined as “courage to accept anxiety” in order to withstand and withstand the new conditions of a rapidly changing world. The world of postmodernism makes new demands on a person “to strengthen the role of the person’s inner supports as a reaction to the growth of uncertainty and decrease the supports in the outside world” (Grishina, 2015). Consequently, the challenge of uncertainty imposes an unbearable burden on the modern person between accepting the challenge and avoiding, accepting responsibility for the choice made in favor of uncertainty and gaining unlimited opportunities for personal growth. We can say that a person, deciding on the choice of uncertainty, opens up the possibility of growth. But what gives a person the opportunity to cope with the anxiety of uncertainty? What makes one take risks, abandoning the habitual being in favor of self-realization? It is important to note that in answering these questions in psychology, close and nonetheless different concepts are used. Thus, P. Tillich calls the concept of “courage to be” the “readiness to act in spite of”, which gives a person the opportunity to withstand stress, a way to overcome extreme situations, the ability to personal development in dicult life circumstances. He considers the loss of meaning the most dangerous alarm of our time, and then it is precisely “courage, courage to be” that helps to find meaning inside the destruction of meaning or even to accept the absence of meaning (Tillich, 1952: 9).

The results of the study

The appeal to the topic of resilience has become relevant recently not because resilience has become more in demand in the modern world than before, but because a modern person in the world of postmodernism needed a different model of resilience. Now this is not just a confrontation with the challenges of fate, which each person develops individually, which means that vitality is also required in different dosages. Now this is a special opportunity (or impossibility) of all mankind to confront the challenges of uncertainty, which humanity itself has generated in the pursuit of progress and globalization. The more rapidly a society develops intellectually, the stronger it experiences an intellectual fear of the unpredictable and unsystematic. The stronger the person’s desire to systematize the world and the knowledge around him, the more vulnerable he becomes when he encounters “black swans” that go beyond forecasting.

Modern human life takes place in a rapidly changing information, socioeconomic and political field. Globalization and the influence of postmodernism, which replaced the admiration for progress and faith in the ever-growing morality of mankind; changes in the former stable picture of the world of mankind and the undermining of the once unshakable value-semantic orientations presented a new challenge to the person of uncertainty, which required a person to have a reasonable different view of his own abilities and sources of personal resources.

The postmodern era redirected humanity to the sphere of consumption, undermined faith in the linear development of society, the benefit of science, the inviolability of traditions, but at the same time expanded the horizons of personal opportunities, gave a person freedom of choice, laying on him all responsibility for the architecture of his own life and for its failures. In this regard, humanity is faced not only with the problem of constant choice, but also with anxiety to make the wrong choice. That is why stress in the modern world has become an attribute of highly industrialized countries, and the 20th century is called the “age of stress.” Thus, the “challenge of uncertainty” requires a new generation of formation of special qualities that can overcome stress, transforming it into a source of their own development. This requires an existential understanding of being as freedom, the ability to create oneself as one would like to be ideally. “Man is freedom” – such is the understanding of being in one phrase of Jean-Paul Sartre, which allows a person to be the master of his destiny, to be able to manage and transform the life and events of his destiny. This freedom allows a person not only to realize all his talents, according to the philosopher, but also to be both a subject and an object of free being. A successful life filled with creativity is not possible without the freedom of choice and the full responsibility of man for his fate.

Albert Camus assigns an important role in acquiring freedom to knowledge that allows one to break beyond the bounds of unfreedom, and creativity can mobilize all the best in a person: perseverance, will, discipline. It is creativity that gives form to human being. A. Camus considers the fate of man as the result of the creation of man himself. Activity and determination give fate direction and meaning. The vitality of a person is associated with finding the values of being. In order not to run away all life from diculties and life itself, you only need to find human values that can strengthen the spirit and perseverance. The activity of A. Camus is replaced by the brighter concept of “rebellion”: “rebellion means existing” (Camus, 1990). These ideas conceal not only powerful energy, which is characteristic of a resilient person, but also a fierce defense of selected values and the struggle for the meaning of life.

The meaning makes people not only find the strength to hold on to life, showing their vitality, but also go to the bonfire for the sake of the idea, cover the grenade with their bodies, perform military tasks for the peace of others, as the development of the personality is not only aimed at supporting life itself for the sake of life, but also the desire to live for the sake of something important in his life, which is of great importance for a person.

As we see, the student age appears before us with certain prerequisites for resilience, many of which are quite well developed at a previous age. The cognitive potential of a person manifests itself in the ability to find causal relationships of events and phenomena, to assess their capabilities and abilities, to form a civil and scientific worldview, developed theoretical thinking allows reflection to see and evaluate a student not only himself in the profession, but also his place in the world in general; communicative potential is realized in “involvement” through character, the ability to enter into relationships at different levels (business, intimate and personal), determines the ability to cooperate; the creative potential of a person is realized in educational and professional activities and in hobbies; the axiological potential of a personality determines all three components of vitality. The answer to the question: “What does a person value?” Covers both the sphere of involvement and communication, the struggle that he is ready to wage for the sake of something or someone, and the risk that he is ready to take in the name of something valuable to his personality.

The active formation of a worldview at a student age is one of the main neoplasms of this psychological age. Moral consciousness is being formed, stable value orientations, ideals, and civic position are being formed. Aworldview is a belief system that acquires a personal meaning, colored by a sense of truth (youthful maximalism often takes place here). This process is existential in nature, as it is associated with the solution of life-meaning problems. Self-determination is associated with the recognition of their involvement in a group, society, ethnic group in a new, socially significant position. The problem of the meaning of life becomes central in the worldview system. Consequently, the student age is sensitive for the development of sustainable value orientations and the search for the meaning of life.

The value aspect of philosophical knowledge and the importance of this aspect in the system of upbringing and education was indicated above in the article. The term “values” has several meanings. The philosophical aspect of understanding values is determined by such signs as usefulness, importance, significance. In sociology, values are called desired goals. In psychology, values are understood as the structural component of the personality that regulates and directs life activity. It can be said that the axiological potential of a student’s personality is a stable hierarchy of values that determine and determine the development of the personality and its vitality. Meaningful life orientations at the student age determine the whole life activity of young people, since the task of finding the meaning of life and choosing your life path is the main task of this age. Life-meaning values are formed and built into a certain hierarchy due to the development of theoretical thinking, orientation not just on knowledge, but on the way of their extraction, coloring values in realistic colors, which allows you to get rid of unrealistic “castles in the air” and proceed to real plans. A stable hierarchy of value orientations speaks of a developed reflection, which allows you to critically evaluate yourself and your capabilities and work on your shortcomings.

Educational gaps in the ability to use the fruits of digital culture lead to increased opportunities, to social domination within class, gender, racial and other differences. For teenagers and the younger generation, media reality based on information networks and technologies has a higher status in comparison with everyday objective reality. Therefore, the safety factor here is of course dicult to overestimate. Indeed, “information” is the space of interaction between an individual included in education as the main elevator of social activity and social prestige - universities. Security in this context takes on new dimensions as humanitarian preparedness for building social ties without compromising the core values of the digital community.

The discussion of the results

All of the above regarding the problems of education is directly related to the technocratic civilization, the “information society”. Not only because of the schematically frozen, extremely rationalized, which manifested itself initially in industrial production, which passed from a warm, lively individual craft to a stamped-stereotyped industrial. And then – in the phenomena of “worldviews”, “general scientific picture of the world”, and today, to a greater extent – in stereotypes broadcast through the media, and in education, which has become the “system of formation of worldview patterns and mindset settings.”

In general, as you know, the pathos and original positivism lies in the opposite to the classical for clinical psychology paternalistic practice of stigmatization, using the category of “deviation” for schizophrenia and other psychological deviations and mental deviations. On the contrary, schizoanalysis reveals opportunities for, in fact, a healthier schizophrenic positioning of a person in the world by himself, since such schizoids is in some way a condition for freedom from social norms, economic coercion and the like “ulcers” of capitalism and modern society. The main idea, as you can catch from the texts of J. Deleuze and F. Guattari, is that machine thinking, behavior, positioning oneself in being is indestructible and due to the very form of being of a person and his consciousness in the world. The machine of a machine and the production of production as the bad infinity of reality, into which we are included and described by schizoanalysts, is, to a certain extent, “psychosis or schizophrenia of being itself. “Production, produced, the identity of production and produced ... It is this identity that forms the third term in the linear series – a huge undifferentiated object. At some point, everything stops, everything freezes (then everything starts again). In a sense, it would be better if nothing worked, nothing functioned” (Deleuze, 2007: 10), exclaim Deleuze and Guattari, and at the end of this phrase we notice the despair not only of the authors, but also of the world itself, which allowed itself to be drawn into this endless chain of self-generation, which is essentially meaningless.

In this sense, all claims of technological optimism associated today with technocratic trends can be diagnosed, of course, within the competence of philosophical discourse, and not psychiatric clinically as schizoid. The schizoid in the framework of the theory of accentuations appears – in contrast to the clinically diagnosed schizophrenic – as a person with a latent tendency to split the various sides of his personality and their subsequent autonomation. And there is plenty of evidence for this in modern society. So, one of the most common is multiple subjectivity, manifested in the fact that in the space of the Internet and social networks a person can live the life of several (two or more) individuals, and this diffusion spreads and covers all aspects of his being. The most obvious consequence is the formation of multiple personalities, either autonomous, freely split off from the integrity of spiritual-bodily existence. The phenomenon of multiple identities is closely associated with what could be called a latent crisis of self-identity, which is why constant attempts are made – mainly by young people – to acquire a socially approved person by constantly demonstrating their personal lives (uploading their photos, updating statuses, etc.) – the process of creating a person, as representatives of analytical psychology would interpret this process. In this sense, the ability of philosophical thinking to systematize would help to avoid such “splitting” of consciousness.

The way out of this meta-theoretical crisis, writes G.N. Kuzmenko, in the social sciences and humanities, in our opinion, lies in the purposeful and systematic development of the historical and philosophical competence of a narrow specialist. First of all, an emphasis is needed on the philosophical foundations of the conceptual apparatus of a particular science, which helps to reveal semantic shifts in key concepts (person, society, activity, education, creativity, etc.) that occurred during the change of scientific pictures of the world (Kuzmenko, 2019: 17). Here we can agree with the words of Karl Jaspers that “philosophy contains a claim: to find the meaning of life on top of all goals in the world – to reveal a meaning that embraces these goals, to realize, as if crossing life, this meaning in the present – to serve through the present simultaneously and the future - never reduce any person or person at all to a means. The constant task of philosophizing is this: to become a true person through the understanding of being ...” (Jaspers, 1991: 500).

Conclusion

The ontological, ontocentric approach to the psychological being of a person allows us to solve the problem of multiplicity and partial nature, the limited applicability of methodologies, and also makes the criterion of psychological health “authenticity” as an expression of “ontological transparency” of a person’s psychological states for himself. Despite the echoes of psychoanalytic methodology, existential analysis is especially appropriate in the context of discussions about the alienated and schizoid being of a person of technocentric civilization. What can be more transparent and clearer, self-evident and not subject to doubt in reliability, than correspondence to the very essence of being. This is the essence of the psychological content of the formation of philosophical culture.

It is necessary to restore the status of philosophical knowledge as an integrative component of educational culture. In this regard, we can state the inescapable and constantly present problem of self-determination of a young man in acute existential situations of choice, a solution and a way out of which can only be found by means of generation and subsequent life armation.

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