Asymmetry of Screen and Book Culture

Abstract

The digital tsunami, the invasion of which was unimaginable just a generation ago, raises numerous questions among philosophers, cultural scientists, and specialists in other professions. Some of these questions run as follows: is the transition from book culture to screen culture irreversible; are there intermediate stages of this transition; and, why is there no reverse development of the book from the film? Answers are offered in this article. The accepted view is that the standard of book culture is literature (presumably a novel), and in particular, philosophical treatises; and the genuine “screen” paragon is cinema (a film), and a play on television, as a mediator. Other forms of cultural phenomena, events and facts are also discussed, which are associated with the indicated invasion of “digitals” into the life of society and of the individual, causing a restructuring of private and public consciousness.