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The Phenomenon of Information
A Conceptual Approach to Information Flow
Authors:
Publisher:
2007
Summary
We are surrounded by information. Even the most routine situations in which we find ourselves conceal a hidden information flow. Every step we take, a host of signals meet us, providing information about what is happening in other parts of reality. The cherry tree in bloom reveals that spring has arrived. The footprint left on wet sand indicates that someone has walked along the beach. A red traffic light signals that we must bring our car to a halt.
In The Phenomenon of Information, author Mario Pérez-Montoro addresses the problems of providing a theoretical explanation of how a signal carries informational content, how to identify its characteristics, and how to define the mechanisms for describing it. To do this, Pérez-Montoro examines several theoretical approaches to the phenomenon of information: the mathematical theory of communication, Dretske's approach, and the relational theory of meaning. A critique of these efforts leads to the author's definition of informational content, named "the extensional approach," which is designed to overcome the conceptual limitations of the previous theories. The author proposes that his definition might serve as a basis on which a satisfactory analysis of the concept of information can be developed.
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Bibliographic data
Edition
1/2007
Copyright Year
2007
ISBN-Print
978-0-8108-5942-5
ISBN-Online
978-1-4616-7338-5
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
287
Product Type
Monograph
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Table of Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Description of Information Flow No access
3. Aim and Scope of this Work No access
1. Introduction No access
2. The Amount of Information No access
3. Amount of Information and Information Flow No access
4. Mathematical Constraints and Informational No access
1. Introduction No access
2. The Dretskean Approach No access
3. Difficulties with Dretske's Approach No access
4. Summary and Conclusions No access
1. Introduction No access
2. A New Conceptual Framework: The Relational Theory of Meaning No access
3. Linguistic Meaning and Informational Content No access
4. Agents and Informational Content No access
5. The Relational Theory of Meaning versus Dretske's Definition of Informational Content No access
6. Reliability, Fallibility, and Constraints No access
7. Summary and Conclusions No access
1. Introduction No access
2. The Extensional Approach No access
3. Channels, Reliability, and Fallibility No access
4. The Extensional Approach versus the Relational Theory of Meaning and the Dretskean Approach No access
5. Pure Informational Content and Incremental Informational Content No access
