On "Society Thinks, Therefore Society Is" --Also on logically starting point of social epistemology and social information Science

Abstract

In this paper, we advance and explain a proposition, "society thinks, therefore society is", and believe that the proposition is the logically starting point of the social epistemology and social information science. There is a Hierarchical structure in the world of life. Observing at human individual level: individual thinks with his brain but each of his cells can not think, even a nerve cell; though society consists of individuals, but it can not think because it has not a brain like individual's one. However, from the viewpoint of theoretical informatics, society, person, cell, DNA, and bio-molecule have a common feature, i.e., "input - processing - output" (IPO) of information, then they are all able to think though among them there some difference, i.e., the distinction of the structure and content of their thought. If the Descartes "I think, therefore I am" is the first assumption of individual epistemology in the industrial era, then in the information age, the first assumption of social epistemology and social information science should be "society thinks, therefore society is".