On the Rationality of Argumentation in Contemporary Pedagogics (Methodological Aspect)

Abstract

Discussions, analysis of hypotheses, critical review of publications, polemics, and other forms of immanent scientific criticism are a condition for the development of scientific, and even more so, philosophical knowledge. It is important, how­ever, that these forms of critical communication of scientists are realized in the form of a constructive dialogue, the participants of which strictly follow the ra­tional correctness of their argumentation and adequately respond to criticism.
The reason for writing this collective article was the appearance in the field
of pedagogical researches of works that contain conceptually incorrect and practi­cally unsubstantiated statements. Meanwhile, we are talking about a research area in which errors can provoke very serious negative consequences for Russia. The intentions of the authors by no means include imposing their point of view on cer­tain problems of modern education – the article demonstrates, using specific ex­amples, elements of incorrect logical and substantial constructions used by partic­ipants in scientific discussions and assesses their possible consequences for education and upbringing, as well as their theoretical understanding of pedagogi­cal problems. The authors proceed from methodological guidelines that direct re­searchers toward a “harmonizing dialogue” (A.A. Potebnja), and in this context, special attention is paid, so to speak, to the constructive role of “mistakes” which are found in scientific discussions, and their transformation into “growth points” of knowledge, as soon as a researcher is ready for their reflective evaluation.