Emergence and evolution of meaning – The GDI revisiting programme. Part 2: The regressive perspective – Bottom-up

By José María Díaz Nafría (University of León, Spain), Rainer Zimmermann (Munich University of Applied Sciences)

Though the hermeneutical cycle could be represented by the famous adagio of Heraclitus “the way up and the way down is one and the same”, in strict sense the cycle of interpretation is intrinsically irreversible. Such irreversibility is also inherent to thermodynamic and informational cycles, as well as to the evolution of complexity in the universe from the most elementary interaction of matter – as represented by spin networks – to the creation of molecules, biological structures, cognitive and social systems, as discussed in the first part. Such argued “skeleton-of-the-universe” provides as well an upwards path to the hierarchical evolution of complexity, as a downwards path to interpret and modify reality. The argued fundamentality in the emergence of regularities and meaning imposes essential constraints to the interaction with the world when we aim at interpreting it. One of these emergencies – relevant to our means of awareness – is represented by electromagnetic fields, which correspond to the regularity arising from the interaction of a more elementary level of matter. Our vision (even if assisted by microscopic techniques) is strictly constrained to the structural regularities of the electromagnetic fields. It is easy to show from the corresponding structural constraints that the world is not as we observe it. However, since we are products of the world as well – i.e. attached to the same skeleton-of-the-universe –, the very complexity of our mechanism of awareness has the possibility of creatively imagining reality, similar as the world creates it. Information – in a cognitive sense, which can be derived from a wider perspective of information in other natural processes – correspond to the actualization of this creative imagination while interacting with the world. This interaction imposes a non-reversible path in the interpretation of reality.

• Access to the presentation at the interdisciplinary workshop on information and technology: “The Difference That Make a Difference” DTMAD-2010 at the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, September, 2011

 

Emergence and evolution of meaning – The GDI revisiting programme. Part 1: The progressive perspective – Top-down

By Rainer Zimmermann (Munich University of Applied Sciences), José María Díaz Nafría (University of León, Spain)

In this first part of the paper, the category of meaning is traced forward starting from the origin of the Universe itself as well as its very grounding in pre-geometry. Different from many former approaches in the theories of information and also in biosemiotics, we will show that the forms of meaning emerge simultaneously (alongside) with information. Hence, information is always meaningful (in a sense to be explicated) rather than meaning showing up as a later specification of information within social systems only. This perspective taken has two immediate consequences: 1. We follow the GDI as defined by Floridi, though we modify it somehow as to the aspect of truthfulness. 2. We can conceptually solve Capurro’s trilemma. Hence, what we actually do is to follow the strict (i.e. optimistic) line of UTI in the sense of Hofkirchner’s. While doing this, we treat matter, energy, and information as three different categorial aspects of one and the same underlying primordial structure. We thus demonstrate the presently developing convergence of physics, biology, and computer science (as well as the various theories of information) in some detail and draft out a line of argument eventually leading up to the further unification of UTI and biosemiotics.

• Access to the draft version of the article to be published in the journal Information
• This paper has been presented in the interdisciplinary workshop on information and technology: The difference that makes a difference at the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, September, 2011

 

Glossarium BITri: glossary of concepts, metaphors, theories and problems concerning information

e-Book – 1. bilingual Edition – 2010

Coordinated by: J.M. Díaz Nafría, F. Salto Alemany, M. Pérez-Montoro Gutiérrez

Developed by: Juan Miguel Aguado, Carlos Aguilar, Basil Al Hadithi, Yorgos Andreadakis, Leticia Barrionuevo, Sylvia Burset, Manuel Campos, Rafael Capurro, Eva Carbonero, Emilia Curras, José Maria Díaz, Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic, Peter Fleissner, Anto Florio, Anabel Fraga, Christian Fuchs, Xosé Antón García-Sampedro, Roberto Gejman, Mehrad Golkhosravi, Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Anthony Hoffmann, Manuel Liz, Rosa Macarro, Alfredo Marcos, Estela Mastromatteo, Jorge Morato, José Antonio Moreiro, Mercedes Osorio , Julio Ostalé, Mario Pérez-Montoro, Carmen Requena, Blanca Rodríguez, Francisco Salto, Lydia Sánchez, Sonia Sánchez-Cuadrado, Jérôme Segal, Margarita Vázquez

Published: Universidad de León – ISBN : 978-84-9773-554-4, with Creative Common License 3.0

Introduction

Terms included in this glossary recap some of the main concepts, theories, problems and metaphors concerning INFORMATION in all spheres of knowledge.  This is the first edition of an ambitious enterprise covering at its completion all relevant notions relating to INFORMATION in any scientific context. As such, this Glossarium BITri is part of the broader project BITrum, which is committed to the mutual understanding of all disciplines devoted to information across fields of knowledge and practice.

This glossary pretends to make explicit the conflicts and agreements among use and meaning of terms related to information phenomena. Information is approached from opposing paradigms and also from competing and cooperating disciplines. Both in science and in ordinary life, conceptual, ethical, technical and societal problems regard information in an essential way. This glossary does not endorse or presuppose any paradigm or any theory, but rather locates into a public, explicit and commonly understandable space some of the crucial assumptions dividing informational concepts, theories, problems and metaphors. Moreover, we purport to embrace all distinct paradigms with a critical and comprehensive attitude.

The glossary is the result of an original methodology, which places any entrance under the responsibility of its editor. Authors possibly distinct from the editor contribute to different articles with texts, comments or discussions. Since authors come from many distinct fields of knowledge, each article should reflect many perspectival but rigorous approaches.

The glossary is an open work: the number and contents of all its entrances are updated and submitted to revision by editors and authors. For this reason, this first edition is only a first step in the active development of this collaborative methodology. Any interested reader wishing to contribute, may contact the general editors.

This glossary is most indebted to the enthusiasm and work of José María Díaz Nafría. The editorial team, authors and correctors thank the Universidad de León and Caja España for their support to this initiative.

Francisco Salto Alemany, León, November 2010

Contents: Introduction (in English and Spanish), Glossary (in English and Spanish), Indexes, Methodology, Abbreviations, Editorial team.

• Access to the electronic book of the GlossariumBITri
• Publication Announcement in Glossarium BITri electronic system
• Cover of the book case (DVD size, CD size)

 

Towards a transdisciplinary frame: Bridging domains, a multidimensional approach to information

José María Díaz Nafría (Science of Information Institute, Washington, U.S.A; Universidad de León, Spain) and Francisco Salto Alemany (Area of Logic and Philosophy of science, Universidad de León,Spain)

Abstract of the paper: A trans-disciplinary frame is proposed, aimed at addressing the very understanding of information in all its variety. It aims at unifying perspectives and integrating techniques from different fields of knowledge and practice, searching for the most overarching account of information phenomena, a better formalization of real processes and a global stance towards problems concerning information. Such research frame might try to answer: Which are the basic distinct accounts of information to be applied in fields from telecommunication to philosophy, from biology to documentation, from logic to quantum physics? Which are the minimum primitive concepts that may cover all of them? Is a unified theory feasible? Could a better information measure be found? Could the societal and practical interest be better preserved in an integrated perspective of information?

The methodological proposal aims at opening a space for the interweaving of different scientific frameworks (characterized by specific paradigms and methodologies) to delve into the very landscape of information, searching for a transdisciplinary treatment of theoretical, technical and practical problems concerning information. It is based on an already active interdisciplinary International community and a critical mass of research groups at the global level. By means of bridging these communities, a new transdisciplinary science of information might emerge as an integrated framework in which information will be considered in all its formal, natural, cognitive, social, technical, ethical and philosophical aspects.

• Full article published in Sciforum, site of the FIS2010 – 4th International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijin, August 2010.
• A reviewed version will be part of the forthcoming issue of the journal TripleC 8(2).
• Presentation of the paper at FIS2010 (plenary session 3).

 

Extraction of information of audio-visual contents

Carlos Aguilar, Lidya Sánchez & Manuel Campos (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain)

In this article we show how it is possible to use Channel Theory [Barwise and Seligman, 1997] for modeling the process of information extraction realized by audiences of audio-visual contents. To do this, we rely on the concepts proposed by Channel Theory and, especially, its treatment of representational systems. We then show how the information an agent is capable of extracting from a content depends on the number of channels he is able to establish between the content and the set of classifications he is able to discriminate. The agent can endeavor the extraction of information through these channels from the totality of content; however, we discuss the advantages of extracting from its constituents in order to obtain a greater number of informational items that represent it. After showing how the extraction process is endeavored for each channel, we propose a method of representation of all the informative values an agent can obtain from a content using a matrix constituted by the channels the agent is able to establish on the content (source classifications), and the ones he can understand as individual (destination classifications). We finally show how this representation allows reflecting the evolution of the informative items through the evolution of audio-visual content.

• Full article published in Sciforum (preliminary version), site of the FIS2010 - 4th International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijin, August 2010.
• A reviewed version will be published in the forthcoming issue of the journal TripleC 8(2).

 

Is information a sufficient basis for cognition? (Part 1: Critique of Dretske’s vision)

José María Díaz Nafría (Science of Information Institute, Washington, U.S.A; Universidad de León, Spain) and Mario Pérez-Montoro (Department of Information Science, University of Barcelona, Spain)

Based upon the natural limits of observation, we tackle a critical review of Dretske’s approach to information, knowledge and perception. The physics of the manifestation of an arbitrary object –tackled in Part 2 as a separate article– sets forth an informational boundary stating that information cannot be enough to support our cognitive processes. The problems do not rely –as Dretske supposes- on the lacks of the channel, but on the very nature of observation. Furthermore, Dretske’s approach –handcuffed to his maximalist support on information- presents some lacks concerning processual character of information, fuzziness of perception and knowledge, contents de dicto and conventional regularities. The posed limits and problems intend to settle new foundations for a more refined conjunction of information and knowledge.

• Full article published in Sciforum, site of the FIS2010- 4th International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijin, August 2010.
• It will be published in a reviewed version in the forthcoming issue of the journal TripleC 8(2).
• Presentation of the article at FIS2010.

 

Is information a sufficient basis for cognition? (Part 2: Physical foundations)

José María Díaz Nafría (Science of Information Institute, Washington, U.S.A; Universidad de León, Spain) and Mario Pérez-Montoro (Department of Information Science, University of Barcelona, Spain)

In this second part of our inquiry into the relation between information and cognition, we delve into the physical limits of the manifestation of an arbitrary object first with independence of any observer, then considering the nature of perception. The analysis of the manifestations of an object in a homogeneous environment by means of wave phenomena shows that the information carried by such manifestations offers a constitutive fuzziness and ambiguity of the observed object. On the one hand, the details that can be specified concerning the object are strictly limited by the wave length; on the other hand, the volumetric details of the object (i.e. its bowls) are outlawed to the observer, not in virtue of the object opacity, but to the very dimension or complexity of the wave phenomenon in the space surrounding the object. The analysis of perception, considering this physical boundary and the specificity of the animal sensitivity, shows the combined role of other concurrent or previous percept and some a priori knowledge in the perception and awareness of reality.

• Full article published in Sciforum, site of the FIS2010- 4th International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijin, August 2010.
• It will be part of the forthcoming issue of the journal TripleC 8(2).

 

What is information? A multidimensional concern

José María Díaz Nafría (Universidad de León, Spain)

Abstract: Looking for an answer to the posed question, we will first go through a brief historical enquiry aiming at exploring the development of the uses given to the Latin word “informatio” from its Greek roots until its scientific formalisation in hands of the Mathematical Theory of Communication. Secondly and starting from the conceptual limitations of Shannon’s theory, we will put forward the most important theoretical demands claimed by many scientific and technical fields, directly concerned with the usage of information concepts. Such claims eventually entail an open critic to Shannon’s definition with different degrees of radicality, proposing a perspective change in which the different uses and disciplinary interests might be better represented. In order to foster an interdisciplinary approach aiming at gathering together the competing views of information and at bridging their theoretical and practical interests, a sketched glossary of concepts concerning information is proposed as an interdisciplinary tool.

• Full article published in TripleC, 8(1), 77-108.

 

An integrated framework for information, communication and knowledge definitions

Roberto Gejman (Computer Science Departament, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, CHILE)

An integrated set of definitions and distinctions in the information, communication and knowledge field is proposed.  It is argued that more attention must be given to records, usually confused with information.  Descriptions are shown to be the fundamental facts behind information. Information is defined as an abstract concept, free of material or syntactic constraints.  Information is observer free but it is dependent on the shared ontological background of communities. The world may be characterized as being structured by only six components.  Knowledge is the capacity to act effectively and it is not information. Information quantity and its relation with the entropy of physical systems are shown to be more ambiguous and less important than they are usually thought of.  It is argued that information studies should move on from these old concerns to confront the vital information challenges in this globalized information society with information superabundance.

• Full article published in Triple C, 7(2), special issue What is really information?
• Spanish article published in ¿Qué es información?, 2008

 

Information, Self-Reference and Observation Theory in the Context of Social Sciences Epistemology

Juan Miguel Aguado (School of Information and Communication Studies, Universidad de Murcia, Spain)

By attempting to fix an observable magnitude, the concept of information involves a cognitive model that enables a double ontological rupture: between subject and world, on one side, and between cognition and action, on the other side. A genealogical approach to information as a simultaneously epistemological and cognitive crossroad highlights the centrality of observation theory in the resolution of its contradictions. The recursive nature of observation inherent to informational logics makes constructivist assumptions especially relevant as a key contribution for an epistemological revision of the ideas of information and communication.

• Full article published in Triple C, 7(2), special issue What is really information?
• Spanish article published in ¿Qué es información?, 2008