Applying cognitive approach for political science methodology: problem statement

Abstract

The methodological apparatus of modern political science does not allow scholars to obtain answers to a number of significant questions, thus failing to provide an adequate understanding of the essence of ongoing political processes. The reason is that the Weberian sociological method, which lies at its core, focuses on analyzing the formal characteristics of political institutions, leaving their substantive dimensions outside its scope, particularly their ontological and value dimensions. Nevertheless, it is these dimensions that shape the meanings and goals of any political system. The article proposes a rethinking of the Weberian paradigm, which is based on the Western assumption that its value-based and ontological premises are universal. It advocates a metaphor-cognitive turn, which involves a shift from the analysis of institutions' declarative characteristics to the analysis of the ontological construction of the political system. Thus, the research focus shifts to real cognitive models that determine the adoption of political decisions. This provides a point of reference for the study of both Western and non-Western political systems: Western experience becomes one possible path of development rather than the only one, while the politicization, implicitly present in the Weberian method, becomes a reflexive entity. Significantly, this does not entail rendering political science archaic or provincial, on the contrary, it represents its qualitative development, with all its key achievements fully preserved while integrating them within a new paradigm. The proposed metaphor-cognitive turn is deeply innovative for both domestic and world political science, but it is based on several decades of successful developments in cognitive science in the social sciences and related fields — psychology, biology, economics, and, of course, IT and AI, where cognitive tools play a central role. The emergence of a cognitive dimension adds a crucial component to political theory, opening up the possibility of rethinking existing concepts and creating new ones. The proposed paradigm is more specific, making it possible to bring the precision of the social sciences closer to that of the natural sciences, providing new, quite modern opportunities for understanding and predicting political processes. It also highlights the potential of the productive use of AI tools and the possibility of integrating political science into the practical political process.