Philosophy and information science: The basics

Abstract

AbstractJudging by the reception of recent special issues of Social Epistemology (16, no. 1, 2002), Library Trends (52, no. 3, 2004), and the Journal of Documentation (61, no. 1, 2005), current levels of interest in philosophical topics among information scientists are high. Yet it can be difficult for the non‐specialist to gain effective entry to a literature that is sometimes perceived to have limited practical application and to be characterized by a forbidding technical vocabulary. In this panel session, four speakers with expertise in both information science and philosophy (Fallis, Ph.D. Philosophy, UC Irvine; Furner, M.A. Philosophy, Cambridge; Mathiesen, Ph.D. Philosophy, UC Irvine; Renear, Ph.D. Philosophy, Brown) will introduce attendees to the disciplinary intersection of the two fields by considering current issues, inviting comments, and provoking discussion among the panelists and the audience. The general questions to be discussed will include the following: What can information scientists learn from the advances being made in contemporary analytical philosophy? What relevance do ontology, epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of art have for the practicing information professional? What distinguishes “philosophy of information” from related fields? What are the issues and trends that are revealed as significant when we look at information‐related phenomena, practices, and scholarship from a philosophical viewpoint? What are the various ways in which taking a philosophical approach can help us to understand information‐related problems? How may philosophical work in information science be evaluated? And in what directions is such work likely to proceed in the future?