Conceptualizations of information and ways of thinking

From: Christophe Menant <[email protected]>
Date: Sat 14 Dec 2002 - 18:18:52 CET

Dear Wolfgang,
Here are some points your article brings up that I would like
to comment.
Presentation of "information" as a super concept that deserves
being subdivised into relevant particular concepts is an interesting
way to addres the subject, as it is true that "information" per se
addresses an immense field of events.
Your next point is to propose three fields: Cognition (content of
consciousness), communication (common understanding),
cooperation (sense embodied in social structures).
A comment would be about the entry point you choose (in terms
of complexity) to introduce the concept of information: the level
of human (cognition).
I feel one can take information as beginning to exist at the level
of basic life (lower organization level than human), or even
at the level of matter (see Edwina's approach relative to
"informed matter"). But later, in your "unifying perspective", you
reword this entry point as "self organizing systems cognizing their
umwelt". This wording can be looked at as containing basic life (but
not matter). Could you provide more precision about your entry point
for information concept introduction ?
Also, you write that "properties of information in non human
domains are usually extrapolated from properties of information in the
human domain". I agree with this statement as being a fact, but do not
really understand the rational behind it.
Indeed, I feel that information really exists, and is to be considered, at
levels of organization lower that human. And extrapolating to non human
cases the properties of information as understod for human is a bit risky.
This because the level of human posseses specific performances (reflected
consciousness, highly developped domain of emotions) that are not
currently extrapolatable to non human cases.
And anthropocentrism may be misleading (one could prefer an evolutionist
approach starting from a well understood position at basic life level, and
then climbing up the ladder of complexity. Understanding that the nature
of human is still to be explained in scientific terms).
Then you distinguish two views on information: subjectivist and objectivist.
This seems quite close to the two approaches of knowledge: constructivism
(knowledge as specific build up of reality by the knowing element) and
representationalism (knowledge as a true image of the outside world).
Would you agree on this comparison ?
If by any chance you have developped elsewhere some of the points
addressed in your short article, please let us know.

Regards

Christophe
Received on Sat Dec 14 18:18:48 2002

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