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Temnova E.V. (2019). Felicitous vs dismal worldview in modern English media discourse. National Psychological Journal, 1, 109-121

Abstract

Background. The development of media and information structures in the recent decades has changed the scientific paradigm of knowledge. The scientists get focused on studying how the information is stored, processed and decoded using certain cognitive structures of the human architecture. 

Hypermedia as a means of manipulating the minds of their recipients combine scientific knowledge and ancient and modern myths. The cognitive potential of media sources is expanded via replacing previous anthropocentric concepts presented in the philosophical, religious and scientific approaches to culture. 

The Objective of the study is to look into the futuristic ideas implied in the media discourse and presented in the following conceptual spheres: Automated Labor, Cloud Technology, Cyborgs, Smart City, Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing , Immersive and Augmented reality, Cryptocurrency Finance.

Design. The following sections of English media are analyzed: World, Lifestyle, Science and Technology, Culture, Sport, Medicine and Health, Business and Finance. They include news, features, editorials, columns, etc., videos and even memes. The online quality papers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Economist, The Times, The Financial Times, etc. Network news portals (Reuters, BBC, Euronews, CNN), news websites and blogs (Huffington Post), video hosting sites (YouTube), cable and satellite television and radio channels (CNBC, Fortune, etc.) are in the focus of the research.
The sample includes 866 lexical units that shape either felicitous or dismal perception of the conceptual spheres identified within the media discourse.

The lexical expression of the concept spheres allow to shape the world of the future, which makes it possible to divide them into two categories. The first category contains lexical units that reflect positive associations with the technological advances that may occur in the human society of the future. The lexical expressions of the second category form a negative attitude towards the reality of the future in the recipient of media discourse materials.
Results. The futuristic worldview as a reflection of discursive concepts suggested and perceived via hypermedia is presented in two aspects either a positive perception of the advent of technologies and technological advance at a fast pace in the future, or a negative impact on humans and their values.

Conclusion. Shaping the view of potential worlds of the future in the English media discourse is a work with an open ending, which makes the recipient choose between good and evil. The split of the felicitous and dismal worldview helps the recipients to better understand its essence in the stream of potential technological and cultural changes in order to eliminate the social psychopathy associated with the emergence of new technologies.

The shift from the religious and philosophical paradigm to the scientific and futuristic worldview the attitude of people towards changes in social and public life.

Mental structures in the flow of hypermedia perceived through the futuristic concepts are to bring about new ways to explore the human nature and human intelligence, which contributes a lot to the development of science and are liable for further research.

Received: 10/24/2018
Accepted: 03/18/2019
Pages: 109-121
DOI: 10.11621/npj.2019.0110

Sections: Psychology of communication;

PDF: Download

Keywords: felicitous worldview; dismal worldview; news discourse; hypermedia; futurism; anthropocentric-based concepts;

Available Online 30.04.2019

Table 1. Philosophical, religious, scientific and futuristic worldview on basic concepts of human knowledge

 

 

Concepts

of human knowledge

Worldview

Philosophical

Religious

Scientific 

Futuristic 

Universe

Origin of the Universe, atom, materialistic issues 

The Universe and the surrounding world were created by God

 

Scientific theories of the origin of the Universe (e.g. Big Bang) cosmogony, physical bases of the material world (mechanics, physical, chemical, biological living of things) 

Man is a founder of the technological advance

 

Origin of Things

Material issues (space and time) vs ideal issues (consciousness, thinking, unconsciousness)

Man was created in the “image and likeness of God”

 

Technical advance; biological body living is regulated by the principles of physics, chemistry, etc. 

“+” The world flooded with artificial intelligence is the creation of man; leaving jobs for automated labour to avoid monotonous work or hazardous production;
"-" artificial intelligence evolves and begins to control a person, the enslavement of man by machinesis quite probable 

Cognition

Cognition as a dialectic combination of the material and spiritual issues; Self-perception 

(nosce te ipsum)

God works in mysterious ways, but these works are beyond doubting; knowledge descend from God if he wishes 

cognitive structures and some aspects of the human psyche are involved

"+" Expansion of human cognitive potential due to melding the human brain with a computer; human is merged with a machine (singularity)
“-” chiping, total control of over the human individual, zombies; unwillingness and impossibility to make changes, feeling of emptiness and apathy, frustration 

Human Behaviour and Social Living

fate is determined by the person’s behaviour (karma as salvation )

man is sinful in nature, punishment follows act committed

people are free to control their lives using knowledge of modern the world that are available

“+” Technical inventions (3D printing of organs, etc.) will relieve people from suffering; immersive and augmented reality will help avoid psychological problems in immersive reality; transition to inorganic life forms; technologically enhanced humans (body implants, microchips, nanobots)
“-” being a cyborg is costly; aggravation of social and property inequality; social, legal, human rights and freedoms of cyborgs are not identified, cyborgs are marginal citizens

Notions of the End of Living

soul relocation is optional (metempsychosis as a kind of prolonging life)

the future is seen as deliverance from sinful existence and victory over evil

adjustment using own strength and using technology and scientific advances (e.g. using achievements in medicine)

“+”Eternal living of humans (trans-humanism); relocating to other planets; transition to inorganic life forms
“-” human finding themselves within the information flow of quantum technologies will not save humanity from suffering; elimination of human self-identity; social anxiety and depression; low motivation; spiritual development will be blocked

Table 2. Linguistic units that manifest the felicitous worldview and the dismal worldview within the conceptual spheres of the media discourse.

#


Conceptual Sphere

Linguistic Expressions

Futuristic Worldview

Felicitous Worldview, %

Dismal Worldview, %

N N

% of the total  N

1

Automated Labour

98

11,3

87.3

15.4

2

Cloud Technology

91

10,5

64.7

22.4

 

3

Cyborgisation

173

20,0

79.6

31.8

 

4

“Smart” City

101

11,7

82.8

12.6

 

5

Artificial Intelligence

83

9,6

58.8

16.8

 

6

3D Printing

146

16,8

89.4

10.7

 

7

Immersive and Augmented Reality

59

6,8

38.1

36.8

 

8

Cryptocurrencies

115

13.3

18.8

14.7

 

 

 

8866

 

 

 

 

r

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For citing this article:

Temnova E.V. (2019). Felicitous vs dismal worldview in modern English media discourse. National Psychological Journal, 1, 109-121