Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to answer the question: is it possible to use evolutionary paradigm to the analysis of patterns of scientific knowledge of political reality? What content should invest in the concept of «political and evolutionary epistemology»? The answer to these questions, according to the first approach, is based on the ambiguous political and evolutionary epistemology - in broad and narrow senses. In a broad sense political and evolutionary epistemology should be interpreted as synonymous to the term «political evolution and information theory», the subject of the analysis of which is to understand the patterns of occurrence and development of cognitive abilities of the political actor. This knowledge of political reality is considered analogous to the procedures adaptation that allows political actors not only to receive the necessary information about political reality, but also a means to shape behavior that is adequate to the conditions of political reality. In the narrow sense political and evolutionary epistemology should be regarded as a scientific discipline that studies the patterns of knowledge about the political reality in the context of the theory of evolutionism. The evolutionary approach to scientific knowledge of political reality can interpret it as one of the components of the process of global evolution. Knowledge of the political reality should be seen as adapting of political actor to it, that can not only obtain the necessary information about the political reality, but also a means to shape behavior, adequate conditions of political reality. Evolutionary interpretation of scientific knowledge of political reality can solve the problem of the correlation of social and intellectual factors of political science, explore the dual rational and irrational nature of political reality, understand the phenomenon of the growth of scientific knowledge about the political reality of others.