Information Philosophy

Transcendental Philosophy in the Age of Information: Floridi's Neo-Kantian Epistemology (Extended Abstract)

by Anthony Beavers

First Paragraph: Transcendental philosophy is typically acknowledged as a product of Kant and exemplified in his... more First Paragraph: Transcendental philosophy is typically acknowledged as a product of Kant and exemplified in his Critique of Pure Reason (KrV). While definitions of the word “transcendental” and “transcendent” differ greatly across philosophy generally, Kant employs the terms narrowly. The term “transcendental” names “all knowledge which is occupied not so much with objects as with the mode of our knowledge of objects in so far as this mode of knowledge is to be possible a priori” (KrV A11, B25). In KrV, transcendental arguments take the form of isolating the necessary conditions for a given Y, and then deducing that if X is a necessary condition for Y, and Y is the case, then X is the case. The term “transcendent,” on the other hand, refers to that which lies beyond the realm of the knowable or, at least, beyond experience (A296, B351). Though the two terms have different def- initions, in KrV they become intertwined in problematic ways that were recognized even by earlier critics of the work, including Schopenhauer (1818/2010, appendix) and Adickes (1929). For instance, while KrV attempts to isolate the necessary conditions for the possibility of knowledge, any attempt to do so must of necessity make reference to the transcendent while simultaneously asserting that knowledge of it, even knowledge that it “exists,” is impossible. Indeed, to argue that anything follows of necessity is itself impossible to ground, since the concept of necessity itself is a necessary condition for knowledge and is therefore also deduced by transcendental argument. Herein lies the problem of transcendental philosophy in general; it somewhat resembles Wittgenstein’s famous “ladder.” If KrV is correct, it could not have been written. The same concern haunts other approaches to transcendental philosophy, as witnessed in Husserl’s descriptive tran- scendental phenomenology (see his Cartesian Meditations (1929/1960) and Ideas (1931/1962)) and Heidegger’s (abandoned) existential and methodologically re- gressive version in Being and Time (1927/1962); it might for the purpose of this essay thus be called “the transcendental problem.” At the outset, though the transcendental problem appears in many versions of transcendental philosophy, it does not appear in Floridi’s epistemology. Two reasons for this, I believe, are that his adoption of computer science methodologies allows us to use the notion of recursion instead of regression and that his transcendental application of levels of abstraction (LoAs) from computer science is constrained by data in a way that would violate Kant’s methodology.

Intervista a Luciano Floridi

by Leonardo Caffo

Historicizing Floridi: The Question of Method, the State of the Profession, and the Timeliness of Floridi's Philosophy of Information

by Anthony Beavers

First Paragraph: There once was a philosopher not to be named, who betrayed his teacher and inso doing made a mess of... more First Paragraph: There once was a philosopher not to be named, who betrayed his teacher and inso doing made a mess of “the profession.” This master remarked that no great philosopher was wrong, but that each reported on how we stood in relation to being during his historical epoch. While naming him may lead to immediate dismissal, he nonetheless stirred the pot and in so doing tried to revitalize a profession that was languishing in his midst. This man was no relativist, but one who sought only to make philosophy relevant again. For what could make the history of philosophy more relevant than to read it as a record of human transformationrather than a competition to find the one truth that could stand still for all time? That man was part poet, part philosopher, part provocateur; and with that insight,he managed to uncover more than most previous philosophers covered over in alifetime. Those who know him already know of whom I speak; those who don’twill already be harboring suspicions.

Cultural Evolution and the Internet: A Critical Inquiry Respecting the Convergence of Art & Science

by Hans H. Diebner

In: Conference Proceedings of 'MutaMorphosis: Challenging Arts and Sciences', 8th - 10th of November 2007, CIANT, Prague, Czech Republic, 2009.

In the Beginning Was the Word and Then Four Revolutions in the History of Information

by Anthony Beavers

First Paragraph: In the beginning was the word, or grunt, or groan, or signal of some sort. This,however, hardly... more First Paragraph: In the beginning was the word, or grunt, or groan, or signal of some sort. This,however, hardly qualifies as an information revolution, at least in any standard technological sense. Nature is replete with meaningful signs, and we must imagine that our early ancestors noticed natural patterns that helped to determine when to sow and when to reap, which animal tracks to follow, what to eat, and so forth. Spoken words at first must have been meaningful in some similar sense. But in time the word became flesh (corpus) and dwelt among us, as "inscription" (literally, to put into writing) inaugurated the dawn of human history. This did not happen instantly. One place to enter the story is with clay tokens to represent trade transactions that in time became accounting tablets and, then, the world's first literature (Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, The Epic of Gilgamesh, etc.) and codesof law (The Codes of Ur-Nammu, Lipit-Ishtar, Hammurabi, and so forth.) This event happened around the north shore of the Persian Gulf sometime in the 4th millennium BCE and was enshrouded in mystery as the role of the scribe trained in the art of inscribing and deciphering signs belonged to the priest (Deibert 1997). With the sanction of religion, writing gave birth to "civility" (literally, life in the city) and defined the line between "history" and "pre-history," the latter being a term designating everything that happened before. There is little doubt that the invention of writing was significant and that it deserves recognition as the first revolution in the history of information. Life as we live it today would have been impossible otherwise.

Mechanists of the Revolution: The Case of Edison and Bell

by Anthony Beavers

Review of Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction by Luciano Floridi

by Anthony Beavers

First Paragraph: Luciano Floridi’s Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction is a survey of some important ideas that... more First Paragraph: Luciano Floridi’s Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction is a survey of some important ideas that ground the newly emerging area of philosophy known, thanks to Floridi, as the philosophy of information. It was written as a textbook for philosophy students interested in the digital age, but is probably more useful for postgraduates who want to investigate intersections between philosophy and computer science, information theory and ICT (information and communications technology). The book is divided into five independent chapters followed by a worthy, though impressionistic, afterthought under the title of the conclusion.

SPECIFICATION

by Raymond Turner

Minds and Machines
DOI: 10.1007/s11023-011-9239-x

The specification and implementation of computational artefacts occurs throughout the discipline of computer science.... more The specification and implementation of computational artefacts occurs throughout the discipline of computer science. Consequently, unpacking its nature should constitute one of the core areas of the philosophy of computer science. This paper presents a conceptual analysis of the central role of specification in the discipline.

Entrevista com o Prof. Dr. Ricardo Pereira Tassinari

by Joao Moraes

A inserção da Teoria da Informação nos estudos da ação

by Joao Moraes

Explicando a ação numa perspectiva informacional

by Joao Moraes

Chalmers e Searle nos estudos da consciência: algum avanço?

by Joao Moraes

O conceito peirceano de informação genuína e seu emprego na explicação da ação

by Joao Moraes

A virada informacional na Filosofia: alguma novidade no estudo da mente?

by Joao Moraes