«NAIVE EPISTEMOLOGY: ARE OUR CONTEMPORARIES SPONTANEOUS FOLLOWERS OF DESCARTES?»

Abstract

Subject of study 

The subject of naive epistemology can be defined more narrowly: it studies naive ideas about the nature and nature of knowledge. Researchers in this field are also interested in how people receive and transmit knowledge, and under the influence of what factors this knowledge is transformed in the process of communication? 

Goal 

The main purpose of the study is to find answers to the following questions: how do modern educated adults describe the interaction of mind and body? Are they spontaneous empiricists or rationalists? How do they cope with the explanation of cognitive paradoxes? 

Relevance 

In the second half of the 20th century, disciplines such as naive psychology and theory of consciousness were born, which study beliefs, assumptions and hypotheses about the world in everyday life, their influence on behavior and the development of processes that cause these processes. Researchers in this field are also interested in how people receive and transmit knowledge, and under the influence of what factors this knowledge is transformed in the process of communication. Do people rely on induction and empirical evidence in favor of their ideas (naive empiricism), or deductively deduce knowledge from premises that they consider axioms (naive rationalism). 

Scientific novelty 

Over the past decade, due to the proliferation of studies using reaction time analysis, which allows us to study the functioning of intuitive theories, a lot of empirical evidence has accumulated indicating the stability of early intuitive theories. The white spot in such works remains precisely the stability of ideas during a specific study. As a rule, each stimulus that needs to be evaluated is presented only once, which complicates the possibility of checking how consistent the subjects are in their responses related to the same mental model. 

Methods 

It is planned to conduct a series of factorial experimental studies using special network services (such as Pavlovia). 

Results 

• Mental models explaining different options for acquiring knowledge about knowledge (i.e., theories of naive epistemology) are classified; 

• The analysis and systematization of existing experimental methods for studying mental models has been carried out; 

• A plan has been developed for an experimental method of analyzing mental models of naive epistemology based on the reaction time of the responses of the subjects.   

Conclusion 

The differences in reaction time for conflicting and congruent statements can be explained in different ways. One of the possibilities is related to the functioning of mental models. On the one hand, the elements of the semantic network are activated by the first response, which provides acceleration of «closer», but not "distant" elements of it. On the other hand, the differences in response time may be due to the activation of inhibitory processes in the situation of verification of conflicting statements. Although the result is quite expected, the mechanisms of such a phenomenon remain an urgent topic for further research. 

Recommendations 

The results of this research can be used in the interests of the Department of Science, High Technology and Education of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as the Council for Science and Education under the President of the Russian Federation for  

• scientific and methodological support for changes in social sectors aimed at improving the effectiveness of education and science;  

• analysis of fundamental and long-term factors of trends in the formation of state policy in the field of scientific and innovative development;  

• qualitative improvement of education standards in the humanitarian sphere. 

Possible practical significance of research: analysis and prognostic examination of long-term factors and trends in the formation of state policy in the field of organization, development of education, public relations, as well as improvement of personnel policy. 

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