“Two-faced Janus” of Socio-Cultural Codification

Abstract

The article analyzes the transformations in the cultural space that have occurred over the past decade. Special attention is paid to the concept of "code". The author examines the process of including this concept in scientific discourse. Draws attention to the fact that, despite the "vagueness" of this concept, it has been actively used in the process of distinguishing cultures since the second half of the twentieth century. The socio-cultural code is presented in the form of a system of certain rules, with the help of which the semantic content of the sign systems of a particular cultural space is revealed. Special attention is paid to the "layering" of cultural codes. The process of differentiation between "Own" and "Others" is demonstrated using the "inner" meaning included in the socio-cultural code. The ability to "read" the "hidden" in the cultural code made it possible to form a deeper understanding of socio-cultural identity. The article provides a brief analysis of the changes that have occurred in the cultural space of modern Russian society. Perception patterns, languages, forms of reproduction and exchange have changed before the eyes of one generation. The development of digital technologies led to the "explosion" of mass communication, which absorbed and dissolved any singularity, replaced the word with a picture. The expansion and growth of information, its endless extension begins to simulate meanings. The icon, the icon ceases to carry a layering. The effect of the picture is aimed at experiencing, not thinking. The author emphasizes that the changes that have taken place have led to transformations in the "encoding-decoding" system. Modern sociocultural codes are gradually losing their "hidden" meaning, becoming one-dimensional. Increasingly, the codification process resembles the principle of computer code, when everything "superfluous" is excluded from the scale of assessments and actions. In such a situation, the world begins to be evaluated only with the help of binary code as "good and bad".