Philosophy of information / edited by Pieter Adriaans and Johan van Benthem.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Adriaans, Pieter.

Benthem, Johan van, 1949-

Albert E. Visk, W'28, Memorial Book Fund.

Series:

Handbook of the philosophy of science ; v. 8.

Handbook of the philosophy of science ; v. 8

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Information theory--Philosophy.

Information theory.

Physical Description:

xii, 807 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Boston : North Holland, 2008.

Summary:

This Handbook provides the first comprehensive technical overview of a new emerging field: the philosophy of information. In the 20th century, highly successful formal definitions of the notion of information have been developed in mathematical information theory, logical semantics, and the theory of algorithmic computation. These notions have had a great impact in a wide range of disciplines such as physics, biology, cognitive science, computer science, logic, economics, and linguistics - all the way from the natural sciences to the social sciences and humanities. Gradually, this new stance has also percolated into mainstream philosophy, where the concept of 'information' may become pivotal to advancing age-old problems.

This book has contributions by innovative authors from many disciplines. It contains introductions to the major formal notions of information as well as chapters that analyze the processes using and transforming information in various domains. On top of that, there are chapters on philosophical foundations of the informational turn in the sciences, but also, on a possible informational turn within the heartland of philosophy itself. This book is required reading for anybody who wants to do serious research in this exciting new area, or simply wants to become familiar with the state of the art. In particular, philosophers will find new avenues that transcend the traditional distinction between 'continental' and 'analytical' traditions.

Contents:

General Preface / Dov Gabbay, Paul Thagard and John Woods

pt. A. Introduction and Scene Setting

Introduction. Information is what Information does / Pieter Adriaans and Johan van Benthem

pt. B. History of Ideas: Information Concepts

Epistemology and Information / Fred Dretske

Information in Natural Language / Hans Kamp and Martin Stokhof

Trends in the Philosophy of Information / Luciano Floridi

Learning and the Cooperative Computational Universe / Pieter Adriaans

pt. C. Three Major Foundational Approaches

Quantitative Theory of Information / Peter Harremoes and Flemming Topsoe

Stories of Logic and Information / Johan van Benthem and Maricarmen Martinez

Algorithmic Information Theory / Peter D. Grunwald and Paul M.B. Vitanyi

pt. D. Major Themes in Transforming and Using Information

Ockham's Razor, Truth, and Information / Kevin T. Kelly

Epistemic Logic and Information Update / Alexandru Baltag, Hans P. van Ditmarsch and Lawrence S. Moss

Information Structures in Belief Revision / Hans Rott

Information, Processes and Games / Samson Abramsky

Information and Beliefs in Game Theory / Bernard Walliser

pt. E. Information in the Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences

Information in Computer Science / J. Michael Dunn

Physics of Information / F. Alexander Bais and J. Doyne Farmer

Information in the Study of Human Interaction / Keith Devlin and Duska Rosenberg

Philosophy of AI and the AI of Philosophy / John McCarthy

Information, Computation, and Cognitive Science / Margaret A. Boden

Information in Biological Systems / John Collier.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Albert E. Visk, W'28, Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9780444517265

044451726X

OCLC:

166334194