Abstract
Under the impact of information technology and the information sciences, major changes are occurring in both science and philosophy that constitute an informational turn. The recently developed Philosophy of Information has integrated the unique dualistic ontological properties of information, and scientific rationality can now be seen to include an interactive relationship between science and philosophy. Information, in particular Information Science is thus part of the structure, and not just of the content, of philosophy. In this mode of knowledge development, science transforms philosophy and philosophy can critique both science and itself. I see a process of convergence taking place that is leading to a Unified Science-Philosophy of Information, a system of disciplines of which the Philosophy of Information is a part, and Information Science achieves an additional dimension based on this fundamental philosophical stance. I argue further that a proper new Philosophy of Science would be an informational metaphilosophy in that a Unified Science-Philosophy of Information includes both a new content of Science and new dynamics of the relations between a science and its philosophy.
Highlights
The rapid expansion of the information sciences after emerging from the domain of communication has raised many philosophical questions about the nature of information and its mode of existence
The major problem addressed is to properly characterize the changes that are taking place in knowledge as a whole. These movements, I suggest, can be described as a convergence leading to a Unified Science-Philosophy of Information, a system of disciplines of which the Philosophy of Information is a part, and Information Science achieves an additional dimension based on this fundamental philosophical stance
Information Science requires a transformation of the scientific paradigm, which will result in a brand-new scientific system which uses information theory as the predominant approach to cognition, forcing general information theory to be seen as interacting with traditional scientific systems
Summary
The rapid expansion of the information sciences after emerging from the domain of communication has raised many philosophical questions about the nature of information and its mode of existence. The approach I have taken is to start from the assumptions of philosophy as they were understood in the last quarter of the 20th Century and see what the implications are of the properties of information for a proper discussion of information science, philosophy and their relation. The major problem addressed is to properly characterize the changes that are taking place in knowledge as a whole. These movements, I suggest, can be described as a convergence leading to a Unified Science-Philosophy of Information, a system of disciplines of which the Philosophy of Information is a part, and Information Science achieves an additional dimension based on this fundamental philosophical stance. To anchor my theory in philosophy, I will start with one of the basic topics in philosophy, the question of existence
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