University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Practical and philosophical considerations for defining information as well-formed, meaningful data in the Information Sciences

Dinneen, Jesse David; Brauner, Christian

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89817

Description

Title
Practical and philosophical considerations for defining information as well-formed, meaningful data in the Information Sciences
Author(s)
  • Dinneen, Jesse David
  • Brauner, Christian
Issue Date
2015
Keyword(s)
  • Philosophies of Information
  • Information Science
  • Librarianship
  • Libraries
Abstract
This paper demonstrates the practical and philosophical strengths of adopting Luciano Floridi’s “general definition of information” (GDI) for use in the information sciences (IS). Many definitions of information have been proposed, but little work has been done to determine which definitions are most coherent or useful. Consequently, doubts have been cast on the necessity and possibility of finding a definition. In response to these doubts, the paper shows how items and events central to IS are adequately described by Floridi’s conception of information, and demonstrates how it helps clarify the muddy theoretical framework resulting from the many previous definitions. To this end, it analyzes definitions, popular in IS, that conceive of information as energy, processes, knowledge, and physical objects. The paper finds that each of these definitions produces problematic or counterintuitive implications that the GDI suitably accounts for. It discusses the role of truth in IS, notes why the GDI is preferable to its truth-requiring variant, and ends with comments about the import of such a theory for IS research and practice.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89817
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2015.0012
Copyright and License Information
Copyright (2014) Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 63 (3) Winter 2015: Exploring Philosophies of Information PRIMARY
Library Trends 63 (3) Winter 2015: Exploring Philosophies of Information. Edited by Ken Herold