Keywords
manipulation
critical thinking
post-truth
cognitive resilience
disinformation
informational influence
philosophy of verification
ontology of truth
How to Cite
Abstract
The study is dedicated to the philosophical aspects of information warfare, encompassing issues of truth, manipulation, and critical thinking within the context of global informational confrontation. It examines the nature of information warfare as a phenomenon that extends beyond the purely military domain, addressing fundamental ontological, epistemological, and axiological questions. Particular attention is given to the transformation of the concepts of truth and reality under the influence of information technologies, which facilitate the creation of simulacra and cognitive illusions. The study explores the manipulative potential of information warfare as a mechanism for constructing public consciousness. It analyzes methods of informational influence that employ technological means to undermine traditional epistemological categories and generate alternative realities. Specifically, it investigates the interrelation between information flows and shifts in social paradigms, as well as the role of disinformation and cognitive overload in collective perception processes. Critical thinking is considered a metacognitive strategy for resisting informational entropy. The necessity of integrating hermeneutic analysis, phenomenological reduction, and deconstructivist critique into the process of intellectual autonomy is emphasized. The study examines the impact of cognitive variability on the ability to recognize manipulations and maintain epistemic sovereignty in the context of informational oversaturation. A separate focus is given to the phenomenon of truth in the era of post-truth and informational hyperreality. The study highlights the fact that truth in information warfare is increasingly reduced to instrumental efficiency, leading to the blurring of boundaries between reality and its simulated forms. The influence of algorithmically modified information environments on the cognitive dispositions of the contemporary subject and the social determination of truth is also analyzed. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of further philosophical reflection on the mechanisms of informational influence and the development of strategies for fostering cognitive resilience against manipulative practices.
References
1. Taddeo, M. (2012). Information warfare: A philosophical perspective. Philosophy & Technology, (25), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-011-0040-9
2. Mercier, H. (2021). How good are we at evaluating communicated information? Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, (89), 257–272. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1358246121000096
3. Likarchuk, N. V., & Likarchuk, D. S. (2022). Informatsiino-psykholohichni viiny: mizhnarodno-politychnyi analiz [Information-psychological wars: International political analysis]. Mizhnarodni vidnosyny: teoretyko-praktychni aspekty – International Relations: Theoretical and Practical Aspects, (9), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.31866/2616-745X.9.2022.265457 (in Ukrainian)
4. Di Pietro, R., Raponi, S., Caprolu, M., & Cresci, S. (2021). New dimensions of information warfare. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60618-3
5. Bennett, W. L., & Livingston, S. (2023). A brief history of the disinformation age: Information wars and the decline of institutional authority. In S. Salgado & S. Papathanassopoulos (Eds.), Streamlining political communication concepts (pp. 43–73). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45335-9_4
6. Clack, T., & Johnson, R. (Eds.). (2021). The world information war: Western resilience, campaigning, and cognitive effects. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003046905
7. Kryzhanovska, T. O. (2024). Filosofski smysly medialnosti [Philosophical meanings of mediality]. Aktualni problemy filosofii ta sotsiolohii – Current Problems of Philosophy and Sociology, (48), 51–56. https://doi.org/10.32782/apfs.v048.2024.8 (in Ukrainian)
8. Dowse, A., & Bachmann, S. D. (2022). Information warfare: Methods to counter disinformation. Defense & Security Analysis, 38(4), 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2022.2117285
9. Thompson, S. A., & Alba, D. (2022, March 3). Fact and Mythmaking Blend in Ukraine’s Information War. New York Times [Digital Edition]. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A754488329/AONE?u=anon~2d29e39d&sid=googleScholar&xid=a794ac8b
10. Likarchuk, N., Velychko, Z., Andrieieva, O., Lenda, R., & Vusyk, H. (2023). Manipulation as an element of the political process in social networks. Cuestiones Políticas, 41(76), 769–779. https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4176.45
11. Bryczek-Wróbel, P., & Moszczyński, M. (2022). The evolution of the concept of information warfare in the modern information society of the post-truth era. Przegląd Nauk o Obronności, 7(13), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.37055/pno/152620
12. Khalilova, S. (2022). Philosophical aspects of globalization. Gospodarka i Innowacje, (28), 6–11. https://www.gospodarkainnowacje.pl/index.php/issue_view_32/article/view/854
13. Sopilko, I., et al. (2022). Information wars as a threat to the information security of Ukraine. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 39(3), 333–347. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21331
14. Danylian, O. H., & Dzioban, O. P. (2022). Suchasna viina: transformatsiia sensu v epokhu informatsiinykh tekhnolohii [Modern war: Transformation of meaning in the era of information technology]. Informatsiia i pravo – Information and Law, 4(43), 9–22. https://doi.org/10.37750/2616-6798.2022.4(43).269958 (in Ukrainian)
15. Voropayeva, T., & Averianova, N. (2021). Information and economic security as priority directions of the state policy of Ukraine in the context of the strategy of “smart power.” In 2021 IEEE 8th International Conference on Problems of Infocommunications, Science and Technology (PIC S&T) (pp. 489–494). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/PICST54195.2021.9772130
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Iryna Diatlova, Tetyana Kondratyuk-Antonova, Ivan Tsykhuliak