Сriteria for the analysis of the mediocrity culture
Authors: Petrenko V. V. 
Published: July 2022

The problems of analyzing the culture of mediocrity in the context of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of this phenomenon are considered. The specificity of determining the criteria for the analysis of mediocrity is determined. The criteria that should be used in the context of studying mediocrity as a sociocultural phenomenon are determined. It also determines the insufficient coverage of such issues in domestic literature, the need to bring it into a common European context.Various registers of research based on the anthropological principle are outlined, namely: linguistic, epistemological, ontological, phenomenological and communicative cultural manifestations of the manifestation of the anthropological principle in the information society of the postmodern era. The issues of the relationship between power and closeness, discursive practices and ideological narratives in the field of the formation of personal sensitivity and mechanisms of direct manipulation in circulation are analyzed.

The relevance of the article. Thanks to the work of J. Ortega y Gasset at the beginning of the XX century, the phenomenon of mass man was discovered, revealed against the background of mass ideologies and widespread industrialization that took place in Europe. At the same time, M. Heidegger as a result of phenomenological experiments discovered the impersonal man Dasein. This coincidence was not accidental, but historically determined, one might even say affective in the context of the First and then the Second World Wars, after which a new world order was established on the basis of what emerged in the XX century — anthropological reality. In the case of the study of mediocrity, it is necessary to talk about a new round of anthropology, which occurred as a result of a new technological revolution in the field of communication and informatization of societies in the late XX — early XXI century. The relevance of the research topic is to choose new criteria by which to recognize the mediocre person, and to point out new fundamental features that indicate its presence not only as something fragile but also as real, i. e. that is fully manifested in society, and creates a new type of culture. This article began with a discussion of those markers that can be identified analytically to clarify the question: what are the characteristics of the phenomenon of mediocrity, and what do they indicate?

The methodology of substantiation on the systematic analysis of the phenomenon of mediocrity, which makes it possible to see this phenomenon as a set of features that manifests itself through formal definition in different planes of language, ways of communication, ways of thinking and more. This requires a hermeneutic approach. A significant place in the study is occupied by phenomenology as an approach to the study of phenomena as such.

The scientific novelty of the article is to highlight the criteria that must be applied in the context of studying the phenomenon of mediocrity. Since the concept of mediocrity is not sufficiently clarified in domestic science, based on European experience, it became necessary to substantiate the criteria for the analysis of this phenomenon and its derivatives in the field of culture. The culture of mediocrity is a new anthropological form, the criteria for which are still not fully understood, as the subject of research is constructive and logically follows from the study and systematization of qualities and values that are inherent in the phenomenon but do not clarify its position in the social sphere. In this regard, identifying the criteria for analyzing and showing the presence of mediocrity as a given is a necessary element to pave the way for the development of research on this issue and is the first step towards the reception of mediocrity in the context of informatization and technology of modern societies.

The practical significance of the article is to prepare the ground for further analysis of mediocrity in the context of modern research of mass culture, in terms of culturological, philosophical, sociological research.

The results. The mass man underwent a transformation in the 1990s. Thanks to scientific progress, it has gradually become a conglomeration of mediocrities that permeates society and has ample opportunity to influence the real situation, articulating the already established ideological system that exists in cyberspace. Thus, a new social unit is formed, which is determined by the territorial nature, the constitution in social networks, skills of fast communication, ideological commitment and so on. Mediocrity as a speech effect is manifested on the Internet as a grey area of commentators who comment on information, and those who create an information product, based on the end user. In this context, the mediocre person consumes the information that is created for him: bloggers, opinion leaders, the media, and so on. on the basis of those substantially present features which contain mediocrity. Defining the mechanisms of functioning of mediocrity in the information space, we can conclude that mediocrity is not just an object of ideology, but also a new political subject of monologue format, which defines the new information totalitarianism.