The concept of “document” in the epistemological system of knowledge: A methodological discourse in the philosophy of science

Abstract

Transformational changes in the modern scientific environment are conditioned by the information and technological development of all branches, among which document science has undergone significant changes due to digitalisation and the development of e-documenting, which leads to changes in the object of research and the expansion of interdisciplinary tasks and indicates the transition of the philosophy of science to a new stage of development. In the process of objectifying the conceptual search of philosophers of science, there was an evolution from relatively simple systems in the classical period to complex systems in the non-classical period and to complex systems that self-develop. The purpose of this study is to clarify the epistemological essence of the concept of “document” through the methodological prism of the theories of the philosophy of science. In the research process, general scientific methods and special methods of philosophy, documentation science, archival science, information science, and social communication were used. The synergy of general scientific and specialised methods, along with philosophical methodology, allowed for a comprehensive exploration of the concept of “document” as a sociocultural phenomenon, analysis of the philosophical characteristics of the document, and identification of interdisciplinary connections. Emphasis has been placed on positivist achievements, which have contributed not only to the activation of the search for and establishment of the informativeness of documents and their quantitative increase but also to the theoretical study of carriers of information from the past. Such processes have enriched knowledge about documents, contributing to the expansion of their methodological and epistemological boundaries. It should be noted that the post-positivist stage has caused philosophical discussions between representatives of the “historical school” and “critical rationalism”. The structure-forming functions of scientific knowledge and the sociologisation of the examination of the scientific information space, based on the methodology of the philosophy of science, have led to the acquisition of modern characteristics by document science, the development of complex interdisciplinary connections that ensure the integrity of the study of the document phenomenon. Thanks to the methodology of the philosophy of science in the research, the ideas of the unity of scientific knowledge, the epistemological and philosophical methodological determinism of document science, and the integral significance of philosophy in constructing a holistic scientific picture of the world have been revealed. The conceptual and terminological toolkits and mechanisms for introducing the philosophical concepts of determinism, causality, space, and time into the documentary discourse have been defined. Such modern trends in the development of the philosophy of science and an interdisciplinary approach to the scientific and theoretical substantiation of document science issues will contribute to the development of the discussion on documentation science issues and will lead to the emergence of new theoretical and methodological developments in the field of social communications