Ratiomorphism and Rationality in the So-Called Political Communication

Abstract

One of the basic problems of the so-called political communication is what follows: How to plan communication, with its political goals and functions, so that it would produce the expected results? Admittedly, these problems are already well recognized and theoreticized by researchers representing various disciplines (mostly, but not solely, by political scientists), and their findings are successfully used in practical actions of a political character. However, there is still space for other approaches that have so far been marginalized or completely absent from social sciences and humanities.

The article is divided into four main parts: onto-epistemological status of communication, ratio- and technoratiomorphism: mechanism and effects, immediate and prospective goals, ratiomorphism in the design of political communication.

The problem in question boils down to the problem of choice: What do people think while choosing and why do they think that? Or maybe they do not think, but choose? In the article, I consider this issue in connection with the evolutionary theory of cognition; “ratiomorphism” – a key term that appears here – comes from the language of evolutionary epistemologists. I argue that contemporary media technologies foster ratiomorphism rather than rationality, which, in turn, creates new ways of distorting communication, also within political communicating. Contemporary man is unable to keep track of political events, so ratiomorphism becomes the criterion of political choices, while the media fill with sophistry and populism. Rationality is left only to the elites.