On the problem of epistemological relevance of digital and information and communication strategies of educational gnosis
V. I. Strelchenko1, V. V. Balakhonskiy2, E. A. Ivanov1, L. V. Balakhonskaya3
1Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia
2St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia
3Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
Keywords: information, digitalization, information society, education, epistemology, scientific rationality, information-communication technologies
Abstract
Introduction. The existing concepts of digitalization, information, and information-communication technologies as key elements of the strategy of educational gnosis represent the expression of both historical and contemporary achievements in scientific rationality within the fields of mathematics, logic, cybernetics, and information theory. The doctrine of the information society, its inherent educational institutions, and the diverse forms of their speculative-theoretical representations are the result of modern attempts to clarify the cultural and civilizational meaning of the revolution in mathematics and computer technology. Therefore, the issue of the educational significance of digitalization and the techniques of information-communication modeling should be formulated and considered in the context of analyzing the nature of scientific knowledge, the conditions for its reliability and truth, its cognitive value, and the limits of applicability of methodological, conceptual, and terminological tools. Methodology. The study employs historical-critical and interdisciplinary approaches, encompassing a comparative philosophical-epistemological investigation of the concepts of the information society and the knowledge society. This is done within the context of analyzing their substantive (dialectical) and semantic (phenomenological) content, as well as examining the methodological and ideological strategies of digitalizing education. Dialectics is interpreted as the “science of connections in contrast to metaphysics”, a theory of the “unity of opposites” that enables the mental reconstruction of an object in its contradictoriness, processuality, and integrity. Phenomenology is utilized as a method grounded in techniques for expressing all substantive content through acts of consciousness, thereby de-objectifying objectified logical relations. The systematic application of a suite of philosophical-epistemological analytical tools offers a tangible prospect for uncovering the cognitive significance and delineating the boundaries of applicability of digital and information-communication technologies in the educational sphere. Discussion. The concepts of digitalization, information, and information-communication technologies, borrowed from the fields of mathematics, information theory, and cybernetics, are not epistemological tools that directly capture specific educational or, in general, any social entities. Conclusion. The solution to the tasks arising from this, namely determining the boundaries and identifying the substantive content of the “digital educational environment”, requires the development of a specialized system of philosophical-epistemological analysis tools that enables correct interdisciplinary synthesis.
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