The emergence of affordances of artifacts as a process of knowledge accumulation (on the example of weapons)

Aim – to determine the typology of weapons and to substantiate the need to assess the degree of destructive impact of the affordances of artifacts used as weapons on the surrounding objects and society as a whole. The Michael Cole's theory was used as the methodological basis of the study, which has a great applicative potential and allows you to give an object a comprehensive description. An "artifact" is a material man-made object produced in the process of creative transformation and intended for a specific purpose. The term "affordance", introduced by James Gibson, is interpreted as a "potential opportunity" for a detailed analysis of all possible options for the use of an artefact, depending on the person's current intentions. The author considers the process of active cognitive activity of the subject resulting in the invention of new functions of material objects from the standpoint of epistemological realism. The existing classification of weapons, from the point of view of the process of meaning formation, does not fully reveal all the features of its creation and functions laid down at the stages of design and production. The article presents the original typology of weapons based on the analysis of the stages of the evolution of mankind, the change in scientific representation of the world and the types of scientific rationality. The strict legislative regulation of the trade, production, acquisition, carrying and use of certain types of weapons pushes people, in cases of a threat to their life and health, to use ordinary household items as means of protection. Under these conditions, there is a need to revise existing approaches and methods for examination and evaluation of artefacts created by people that allow their use as a weapon.