Information philosophy

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The information philosophy ( PI ) is a transdisciplinary research field of philosophy that deals with conceptual problems of information science concerned. According to Floridi, your research questions can be divided into two methodological approaches:

  1. The critical examination of the conceptual nature and basic rules of information , including dynamics, uses and sciences.
  2. The explanation and application of information theoretical and data processing methodology for dealing with philosophical problems.

history

In the late 1980s, the introduction of home computers made scientific work on information philosophy and data processing in the digital field possible. The following epoch was mainly connected by expectations towards the computer and the associated possibilities for new solutions. Thought experiments like the Turing test could now be turned into reality. The computer should bring new solutions to problems and later also create new philosophical problems in the course of the digital revolution . The information philosophy emerged as a derivative of the philosophy of artificial intelligence , information logic , cybernetics , sociology , ethics and language and information science. First mentioned in an essay by Floridis, the philosophy of information developed into an independent subject.

Recognition as a subject

The initial euphoria about the new possibilities of philosophical work in this field subsided relatively quickly, as the response, also due to the methodology in question, was initially quite sobering. In 2002, Floridi published an article that reopened the question of a dedicated information research subject. The problem with PI was that philosophical faculties did not regard it as a separate subject. In his explanatory and defense paper, Floridi summarizes the criteria that a subject must meet in order for it to be recognized by traditional philosophy:

  1. Find a key question
  2. Motivating forces for scientists to do research in the field
  3. Deliberate separation from other fields
  4. Sufficient research items to enable subfields

For Floridi, the question of information is in the foreground. More concretely, this means examining the conceptual nature of this term to such an extent that definitional work enables it to be applied in the practical area. The large selection of application areas that distinguish PI as a transdisciplinary subject should, in his opinion, guarantee a certain attraction for researchers. The boundaries to other subjects become diffuse due to the contribution of articles and research, as there is no uniform style within them. The task of the PI is to criticize such writings, to include them in a canon if they are received positively and to show a unifying character. Such a canon is in turn divided into subfields to enable concentrated work on certain questions. The methodology of the subject is also applied to past philosophical problems and re-analyzed on an information-theoretical level. Due to the nature of the concept of information, every philosophical discussion is theoretically possible.

Definitions

The fundamental problem of whether to define information lies in the inherently tautological nature of the question. Since the definition of information could only be explained by information, the definition needs to be clarified in a more abstract way. This problem lies specifically with the word “information”, the circumstances and functions of which can be described, but cannot be condensed into an essence. Different authors try to come up with possible solutions to enable work in the field on universal assumptions, but only rarely are the same, which disrupts and delays the work process. In 1993, Claude Shannon formulated a thesis that describes the possible research process in an information-philosophical field:

"The word information has been given different meanings by various writers in the general field of information theory. It is likely that at least a number of these will prove sufficiently useful in certain applications to deserve further study and permanent recognition. It is hardly to be expected that a single concept of information would satisfactory account for the numerous possible applications of this general field. "

“The word information has been given different meanings by different authors in the field of information theory. It is likely that at least a certain number of these will turn out to be useful for certain areas of application and thus deserve further investigation as well as permanent recognition. However, it is not to be expected that a single concept of information will prove sufficient for the multiple areas of this field. "

- Claude E. Shannon

The PI therefore uses, similar to information theory , definition approaches that have shown themselves to be meaningful for its field. Such a definition for the PI is presented by Floridi 2002:

  1. The critical examination of the conceptual nature and basic rules of information, including its dynamics, uses and sciences.
  2. The explanation and application of information theoretical and data processing methodology for dealing with philosophical problems.

This definition is not to be understood as a definition of “information”, but as a working thesis for the PI department. Examining appropriate problems and tasks is part of the methodology. In addition, there is the possible distinction between types of information listed by Floridi:

  • Information "as" reality (e.g. physical signals with no truth value, natural information )
  • Information "about" reality (semantic information that can be alethically qualified; e.g. language)
  • Information "for" reality (e .g. DNA )

methodology

The PI puts its main focus on methodology and the search for sufficient definitions and approaches. According to this, it differs from information theory, which prefers data processing as an area of ​​investigation to the information presented to it. Floridi's definition is broken down into several points; these should be illuminated for a better understanding. The first part of its definition deals with the work areas related to information. On the one hand, the structural factors and the structure of informative environments, including their properties, forms of interaction, their internal development, etc. are to be examined. The life cycles of information also appear as a field of investigation. In summary, this area observes the appearance or emergence of information, its processing and organization, its use and its disappearance. The second part of Floridi's definition deals with the methodology used by the PI, which can be adapted to expand the understanding of the cognitive and linguistic properties of humans and possibly AIs. The scientific fields could be summarized with the following general terms:

Approaches to work in the subject of PI

  1. Conceptual experiments in silico : The possibility of solving philosophical questions and thought experiments using computers.
  2. Pancomputationalism : The assumption that every real situation could also be created virtually with a certain degree of abstraction - the following questions arise:
    1. How can one differentiate such systems from others?
    2. Can such a system also not be an information system?

Authors

literature

Books

items

  • Luciano Floridi: What is the Philosophy of Information? In: Metaphilosophy. Volume 33 No. 1/2, Metaphilosophy LLC, USA & Blackwell Publishing, UK 2002 ( PDF file; 99.6 kB , accessed on October 22, 2016)
  • Luciano Floridi: Two Approaches to the Philosophy of Information. In: Minds and Machines Volume 13, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, pp. 459–469 ( PDF file; 80 kB , accessed on October 22, 2016)
  • Luciano Floridi: Open Problems in the Philosophy of Information. In: Metaphilosophy Volume 35 No. 4, Metaphilosophy LLC, USA & Blackwell Publishing, UK 2004 ( PDF file; 99.6 kB , accessed on October 22, 2016)
  • Luciano Floridi: The Philosophy of Information: 10 Years Later. In: Metaphilosophy. Metaphilosophy LLC, USA & Blackwell Publishing, UK 2004 ( PDF file; 476 kB , accessed October 22, 2016)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ What is the philosophy of information , p. 131
  2. ^ What is the philosophy of information , p. 137
  3. ^ A b The Lattice Theory of Information . In: Shannon 1993, p. 180
  4. ↑ Open problems in the philosophy of Information , p. 7
  5. ↑ Luciano Floridi: Semantic Conceptions of Information. In: plato.stanford.edu - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2015, accessed on October 5, 2017 (English, first published on October 5, 2005; revised on January 7, 2015).
  6. ^ What is the philosophy of information , p. 138
  7. ^ What is the philosophy of information , p. 138, sh. Footnote 11
  8. ^ What is the philosophy of information , p. 139
  9. ↑ see also Turing test , dilemma , zombies