«Knowledge» and «Information» in the Structure of Modern Rationality and Human Activity

Abstract

The problem of definition and correlation of «information» and «knowledge» concepts relevant for the rational activity of the modern human is analyzed in the article. The authors are sure both of these concepts should be considered strictly within a certain type of scientific rationality. The modern post-non-classical type of scientific rationality connects the human activity more with the emotional than with the intellectual perception of knowledge and information. So the world around us is no longer a result of cognition, but an object of pleasure connected with experience of new feelings and emotions. Within the latest rational tradition knowledge and information are functionally performing the same tasks: they are the main tools for ensuring the vital activity of the modern human. In the modern world pragmatism and utilitarianism have become the main characters of knowledge and information. They both are turned into a form of specific pragmatic matrix of rational activity typical for the modern human. The last one values most of all the pertinence of information and the performativity of knowledge.