Ideas and Ideals

The philosophical heritage of the great French philosopher Gilbert Simondon is being slowly but steadily mastered by domestic philosophy. In the present article, we will try to make out one of the important issues related to the key problem raised by Simondon – the problem of individuation, namely, the origin of individualized beings in the light of such concept – important for Simondon's philosophical strategy – as transduction, drawing also other concomitant ideas. In the course of the narration, it will be considered how transduction was understood in the psychological studies of the French scientist Jean Piaget. Also it will be shown that although Simondon wrote before the advent of studies relating to complexity, chaos and self-organization and did not speak directly about interdisciplinarity, it can nevertheless be said that his work can be considered as a direct precursor of these trends in science. Moreover, his work can offer them a kind of ontology, which substantiates the conclusions reached by these disciplines, given Simondon’s continued interest in cybernetics and thermodynamics, as precursors to these scientific strategies. An example of this is the specifically interpreted theory of phase transitions proposed by Simondon. Besides, Simondon believes that there are no permanent organizations, but there are only organizational processes. Transduction forms a link between such processes. It keeps the latter in a metastable state, which persists for a long time. Simultaneously, the mechanisms of transduction influence on organization and cause, at times, significant changes in it. Therefore, Simondon's reflections on transduction (in inanimate, living and social formations) are very important and modern.

The article explores modern transformations of science. First, the author analyzes a popular thesis of the “epochal break” in the development of this social institution, the specifics of its manifestation, the chronology of the changes (mainly the period of 1970-80 is analyzed). On the basis of a critical analysis of numerous publications of foreign authors the article discusses in detail such concepts as “science of the 2nd kind”, “post-normal science”, “triple helix”, “postmodernist primacy of technologies”. The author pays special attention to the analysis how the above mentioned changes correlate with modern Russian science. Much attention is paid to the influence of neoliberal ideology and economic policy on the sphere of science, because science policies in developed economies are imbued by neoliberal spirit, the science sphere is rapidly commercializing, production and knowledge dissemination practices are increasingly being translated into market principles of planning, financing and evaluating results. This leads to the deep deformation of the traditional for science ethical principles and rules of conduct in the professional scientific community. The majority of reforms in the field of fundamental science in Russia since 1992 have been planned and carried out also in the mainstream of neo-liberalism; in particular, the volume of freely circulating information in the institutes of the RAS has significantly decreased due to the introduction of restrictions on the part of research customers, as well as increased competition among researchers.

The author puts forward proposals for reforming domestic education on the eve of global changes in the global social system. The paper does not give concrete practical recommendations, but rather the methodology of such reforms, criticizing the competence-based approach. The author was guided by the idea that the new does not arise by the eradication or destruction of the old, but next to the old, gradually expanding and displacing the old. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, the author shares his thoughts on the transformation of the competence-based approach in order to bring it in line with the domestic theory and practice of education, which will combine the best achievements of the national tradition with Western experience. The second part is devoted to the guidelines of the reforming of education process. In the context of global transformations of the entire socio-cultural system, a new version of the cultural revolution in Russian society can become a reference point, which will prepare new industrialization, which is possible, however, only in favorable conditions. At the present time, it is necessary to at least keep all the best that we have in the educational system from further destruction. The third part of the article is devoted to the reflection on the reformation of the system of postgraduate education. The idea is to stimulate the process of networking between scientists from central and provincial universities, resulting in a mutual reinforcement effect: provincial scientists and educators will have access to the latest achievements of science, and scientists from capitals will get new opportunities to influence civil society in Russia.

  The article considers the experience of the Republic of Korea in formation of the world-class universities, reflecting the specificities of the Asian educational model. The development of world-class universities, which meet the requirements of national governments in the context of international competitiveness and economic globalization, becomes a priority in the policy of many countries. Universities are successfully integrated in the world economy; they satisfy national requirements and become the dominant part in interaction between the government and business. Such Asian countries as the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan have taken a huge leap forward in modernization of higher education and today universities of these countries rank at the top of the best international surveys. This result has been achieved by introducing the Western model of education, based on Asian societies’ traditional elements of hierarchy in the educational system and the pursuit of knowledge. The South Korean universities have become the major leaders of international rankings among Asian countries due to the programs realized by the South Korean government. These programs have enhanced research practices and increased the universities’ prestigiousness and competitiveness. The world-class university model of Jamil Salmi permits the analysis of modernization of the South Korean higher educational system according to three main factors: high concentration of talent, abundant resources and favorable governance. Attracting foreign experts and collaboration with foreign academic staff have contributed to the creation of research networks, the quality of education has increased and the main universities of South Korea have become the centers of technology and innovation. No less important is the fact that modernization of universities is based on cultural values of Korean society.