In the present article, I will summarize the current controversy over the concept of information by reconstructing the discussion, beginning in the 1940s, of this seemingly innocent, but significant word. It seems to be innocent, because everybody talks about information, in-formation technology and an information socie-ty. It is however significant, because its definition implies a whole theory of knowledge. My main aim is to reconstruct the implicit structure of this discussion by identifying a number of characteristic definitions of information, thus providing an overview of the field, trying to avoid simplistic notions of the concept of information. The paper is supposed to act as a tool for continuing the discussion. Therefore, a selected and annotated bibliography is added as the final section.
Information - A Tricky Concept
What, then is the problem regarding the concept of information? What makes is so tricky? The basic problem seems to be that since the 1940s it has aimed at becoming a natural science con-cept, an objective thing, a substance, a "Ding an sich". But every time it has been close to becoming a decent, objective concept it has been caught up by its fate that information is a concept which implies a human subject. Information isn't just information in itself; it only becomes information when it is information to somebody, i.e. as a mental construction.
Thus, there are many potential definitions of information. At the one end, information may be defined as a thing. At the other end, information may be defined as a psychic construction. Within this continuum, logically speaking, it should be posssible to identify four concepts of information:
Firstly, information may be defined as something (a thing or a substance) existing in the ex-ternal world like heat, electricity, etc. Thus, information may be defined as something identifiable in the real world, i.e. as a difference in reality.
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