Philosophical and anthropological foundations of cognitive warfare: mechanisms of influence, strategic goals and sociocultural consequences
Research Article
How to Cite
Olenich T.S., Frantsuzov R.I. Philosophical and anthropological foundations of cognitive warfare: mechanisms of influence, strategic goals and sociocultural consequences. Humanities of the South of Russia. 2026. Vol. 15. No. 2. P. 49-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2026.2.4 (in Russ.).
Abstract
Objective of the study. A systematic analysis of the phenomenon of cognitive warfare from a philosophical-anthropological perspective, revealing its essence, mechanisms of influence on consciousness, strategic goals of the aggressor, and the consequences for culture.
Methodological basis of the study. The research is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, combining philosophical-anthropological and cultural analyses of the phenomenon of "cognitive war" with references to communication theory, the "Overton window" concept, cognitive psychology, and sociology. Open NATO reports on cognitive warfare, domestic and international studies dedicated to "brain wars," as well as classical works (A. Gramsci, P. Bourdieu, W. Lippmann, E. Bernays, and others) focused on mass manipulation are analyzed.
Results of the study. It has been established that cognitive warfare constitutes a new non-conventional form of conflict aimed at undermining rationality, identity, and cultural foundations of society. Key mechanisms of cognitive influence are described, including technological tools—cyber means, neurotechnologies, artificial intelligence; media environment—social networks, disinformation; psychological techniques—cognitive biases, framing, myths—and strategic goals of the aggressor—destabilization of society, imposition of a favorable narrative. The socio-cultural consequences of cognitive attacks are also presented, such as fragmentation of collective consciousness, erosion of values, and loss of trust.
Prospects of the study. The philosophical-anthropological approach to analyzing the phenomenon of cognitive warfare provides a basis for viewing the conflict as pressure on subjectivity and intersubjective foundations of the social world. It reveals mechanisms of reconstruction of meaning-making, trust, and identity in the digital environment, and allows for establishing criteria for permissible boundaries of interference in thought, especially given the development of neurotechnologies and artificial intelligence.
Keywords:
cognitive warfare, information warfare, consciousness manipulation, cognitive biases, mass consciousness, identity, cognitive security
References
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Lynch M. STS, symmetry and post-truth. Social Studies of Science. 2017; 47(4): 593– 599.
Naganuma K. Warfare in the cognitive domain: narrative, emotionality, and collective memory. NIDS Commentary. 2021; 163: 23 p.
Rickli J.-M., Mantellassi F., Glasser G. Peace of mind: cognitive warfare and the governance of subversion in the 21st century. Geneva: Geneva Centre for Security Policy, 2023; 9;15 p.
Bourdieu P. Sociology of social space. M. : Institut eksperimental'noy sotsiologii; – SPb. : Aleteyya = Moscow: Institute of Experimental Sociology; Saint Petersburg: Aleteya; 2007. 288 p. ISBN 978-5-903354-054. (In Russ.)
Bourdieu P. Forms of capital. Ekonomicheskaya sotsiologiya = Economic sociology. 2002; 3(5): 60–74. (In Russ.)
Vasenkin A.V., Vasileva N.A. Worldview problems of NBIC technologies. Manuskript = Manuscript. 2018; 8(94): 64–68. https://doi.org/10.30853/manuscript.2018-8.14. (In Russ.)
Goncharenko A.R., Asafov A.N. The concept of cognitive warfare: NATO preparation for future conflicts. Izvestiya Tulskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Gumanitarnye nauki = Proceedings of Tula State University. Humanities. 2025; 1: 31–45. https://doi.org/10.24412/2071-6141-2025-1-31-45. (In Russ.)
Gramsci A. Prison notebooks. In 3 parts. Part 1. Moskva: Politizdat = Moscow: Politizdat, 1991; 560 p. ISBN 5-250-00897-6. (In Russ.)
Zhdanov M.A., Sidorov M.P. The role of national identity in achieving superiority over the West in conditions of cognitive warfare. Voennaya mysl = Military thought. 2023; 6:37–45. (In Russ.)
Zabarin A.V., Marchenko G.V. Cognitive security: modern threats to society and their neutralization. Upravlencheskoe konsultirovanie = Administrative consulting. 2024; 5(185):197–207. https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2024-5-197-207. (In Russ.)
Clausewitz C. On war. M.: Logos; Nauka = Moscow: Logos; Science; 1994. 448 p. ISBN 5-88439-080-7. (In Russ.)
Leontiev G.D., Leontieva L.S. Freedom of choice and network “echo effects” of information consumption. Sotsiodinamika = Sociodynamics. 2024; 1:53–63. https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-7144.2024.1.68951. (In Russ.)
Medushevsky A.N. Cognitive warfare: social control, mind management and a tool of global domination (part 2). Voprosy teoreticheskoy ekonomiki = Issues of theoretical economics. 2023; 3(20): 92–107. https://doi.org/10.52342/2587-7666VTE_2023_3_92_107. (In Russ.)
Medushevsky A.N. Law in the era of cognitive warfare: guarantees of freedom of thought in the face of new technologies of mind manipulation. Sravnitelnoe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie = Comparative constitutional review. 2024; 33(1):110–137. https://doi.org/10.21128/1812-7126-2024-1-110-137. (In Russ.)
Prolegomena of cognitive security. Ed. by I.F. Kefeli. SPb: Petropolis = Saint Petersburg: Petropolis, 2023; 488 p. ISBN 978-5-9676-1526-9. (In Russ.)
Savushkina M.A. Deepfake as a digital weapon of hybrid warfare. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta = Bulletin of Omsk University. 2024; 29(4): 45–54. https://doi.org/10.24147/1812-3996.2024.4.45-54. (In Russ.)
Seliverstova N.A. Cultural reproduction: issues of methodology and research methods. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie = Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. 2012; 3: 59–63. (In Russ.)
Shatin Yu.V. Post-truth as a rhetorical phenomenon in modern media space. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya = Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Series: History and philology. 2020; 19(6): 250–257. https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2020-19-6-250-257. (In Russ.)
Shipunova O.D., Mureyko L.V. Cognitive scenarios in the construction of mass consciousness. Nauchno-tekhnicheskie vedomosti SPbPU. Gumanitarnye i obshchestvennye nauki = St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Journal. Humanities and social sciences. 2016; 3(250): 93–101. https://doi.org/10.5862/JHSS.250.11. (In Russ.)
Backes O., Swab A. Cognitive warfare. Cambridge, MA: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, 2019; 50 p.
Bernal A., Carter C., Singh I. et al. Cognitive warfare: an attack on truth and thought. Norfolk, VA: NATO Innovation Hub; Laurel, MD: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 2020; 45 p.
Burda R. Cognitive warfare as part of society: never-ending battle for minds. The Hague: Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, 2023; 13 p.
Claverie B., Cluzel du F. Cognitive warfare: the advent of the depth of “cognitics” in the field of warfare. NATO Collaboration Support Office, 2022; 9 p.
Claverie B., Cluzel du F. The cognitive warfare concept. NATO Allied Command Transformation, Innovation Hub, 2021; 11 p.
Cluzel du F. Cognitive warfare, a battle for the brain. NATO Allied Command Transformation, 2020; 12 p.
Cluzel du F. Cognitive warfare. Norfolk, VA: NATO Allied Command Transformation, Innovation Hub, 2020; 12 p.
Deppe C., Binder A., Himmighoffen H. et al. Cognitive warfare: a conceptual analysis of the NATO ACT cognitive warfare exploratory concept. Frontiers in Big Data, 2024; 7;13 p.
Etter M.D. Cognitive readiness: an important research focus for national security. In: Roco M.C., Bainbridge W.S. (Eds.). Converging technologies for improving human performance: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC). Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation; 2002.
Gu L., Kropotov V., Yarochkin F. The fake news machine: how propagandists abuse the Internet and manipulate the public. Tokyo: Trend Micro, 2017; 80 p.
Ienca M. On neurorights. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2021; 15: 701258. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.701258
Keyes R. The post-truth era: dishonesty and deception in contemporary life. New York: St. Martin’s Press; 2004. VIII, 312 p.
Lynch M. STS, symmetry and post-truth. Social Studies of Science. 2017; 47(4): 593– 599.
Naganuma K. Warfare in the cognitive domain: narrative, emotionality, and collective memory. NIDS Commentary. 2021; 163: 23 p.
Rickli J.-M., Mantellassi F., Glasser G. Peace of mind: cognitive warfare and the governance of subversion in the 21st century. Geneva: Geneva Centre for Security Policy, 2023; 9;15 p.
Article
Received: 08.01.2026
Accepted: 23.04.2026
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APA
Olenich, T. S., & Frantsuzov, R. I. (2026). Philosophical and anthropological foundations of cognitive warfare: mechanisms of influence, strategic goals and sociocultural consequences. Humanities of the South of Russia, 15(2), 49-63. https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2026.2.4
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PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY
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