Poznawcze zamknięcie. Strukturalna niewiedza a problem racjonalności

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of cognitive confinement. This aim is realized stepwise. First, the notion of cognitive niche is discussed. A cognitive niche is the sum of information and cognitive skills attributed to a specific subject (or species); these resources determine the subject’s cognitive ability – beginning with her perceptual apparatus, and extending (in the case of humans) intellectual capacities such as conceptualization and thinking. The paper examines two social phenomena that justify speaking of the cognitive niche and its alterations – the phenomena referred to as filter bubble and cognitive island. The second part of the paper introduces and discusses the notion of cognitive confinement. The latter refers to a pathological form of cognitive niche; it is a cognitive niche that impoverishes or distorts the epistemic interests of its inhabitant, so to speak, by actively blocking his/her access to some sources of information, problems and solutions. Finally, all of the issues mentioned can be viewed in the light of the problem of rationality (as it was understood by Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz). At the end of the day, it is the alleged irrationality of beliefs that gives rise to the filter bubbles and sparks lively debates in the social and political sciences these days.