Cognitive communication and resource approach to social work practices

authors: Nataliia Denysenko, Tetiana Shchyrytsia

Urgency of the research.  The urgency of the research lies in the evolving practices of social work within the context of democratizing Ukrainian society and prioritizing the values and norms of a legal society. This transformation is influenced by the social order and the ethos of social work, guided by the fundamental values of freedom, justice, and solidarity, particularly in reflection on crisis situations.

Target setting. This study marks the first engagement with the concept of cognitive communication within Ukrainian social-philosophical and educational discourses concerning the practices of social work and volunteerism as a resource.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. Recent research and publications are analyzed by integrating the potential of Socratic dialogue, the tradition of dialogical philosophy by M. Buber, J. Habermas's theory of communicative action, discourse ethics by J. Habermas and K.-O. Apel, the phenome-nological investigations into the topology of the Other by B. Waldenfels, trust research by O. Kozhemiakina, historical explorations of “distant closeness” by V. Yermolenko, and other detailed studies that specifically elaborate on cognitive (linguistic) communication as the linguistic-communicative competence of the social worker.

The research objective. The research objective is to define the theoretical and practical significance of cognitive (linguistic) communication and volunteerism as a resource in social work.

The statement of basic materials. In the paradigm of the communicative turn from subjectivity to intersubjectivity, this study suggests employing the concept of cognitive communication, defining its content and form based on social work theories. It covers psychologically oriented, humanistic-personalistic, role theory and stigma, and the Strength-Based Perspective theories. To describe volunteerism as a resource in social work practices, Pierre Bourdieu's concept of social capital is utilized.

Conclusions. The conclusions offer specific proposals for using a lexicon in social work practices with people with disabilities that does not diminish their human dignity, which appears a priori in everyday communication. It was emphasized that such communication is possible only under conditions of trust. Future developments in volunteerism and other forms of everyday social work practices are intended to be explored within the horizon of self-organizational system functioning.

Keywords: cognition, communication, communicative action, communicative competence, communicative turn in 20th-century philosophy, social work practices, volunteerism as a resource in social work

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