Gheorghe Clitan

Theory of Information between Philosophy and Engineering

I will discuss several aspects of the two recent kind of approaches to the Information Theory: the philosophical one (The Philosophy of Information - PI) and the engineering one (The Theory of Communication and Information - TCI). One of these aspect refers to the historical filiation of the two kind of approaches to the two main categories of the Information Theory: the Semantic Theory of Information and the Mathematical Theory of Communication. On the historical filiation, I will retain the definitions given to the information from both theoretical perspectives, then I will compare them and show that they lead to a similar manner of expressing the Communication Problem (CP). Another aspect refers to the typologies of information, corresponding to its nature: information about reality (semantic information), information as reality (technological information) and information for reality (cultural information). I will emphasize the connection between this typology and the three levels of standard formulation of the CP (the level A – syntactical, the level B – semantical and the level C – pragmatical), yet I will underline the function played by the semantical part of information in referring to the Information Theory. Then, I will show the way in which the semantical treatment of information allows the junction between PI and TCI in the context of recent attempts of unifying the information theory (The Unified Theory of Information – UTI) and in the context of enthroning the technological information. In the end, I will argue for an ethic of information, taking into account “the pragmatic turn”, favored by UTI and I will exemplify it with the aid of several concepts often used in communication sciences: genuine information (true, public), disinformation (false, erroneous/wrong) and misinformation (of persuasion, of manipulation).

Teoria informatiei - intre filosofie si inginerie

Voi discuta cateva aspecte ale celor doua tipuri actuale de raportari la Teoria Informatiei:  filosofice (Filisofia Informatiei, FI) si ingeneresti (Teoria Comunicatiei si Informatiei, TCI).  Unul dintre acestea vizeaza filiatia istorica a celor doua tipuri de raportari la cele doua ipostaze principale ale Teoriei Informatiei: Teoria Semantica a Informatiei, respectiv Teoria Matematica a Comunicatiei. Pe filiera istorica retin definitiile date informatiei de cele doua teorii, le compar si arat ca ele conduc la o maniera asemanatoare deformulare a problemei comunicarii (PC). Un alt aspect se refera la tipologizarea informatiei, potrivit naturii ei, in: informatie despre realitate (informatie semantica), informatie ca realitate (informatie tehnologica) si informatie pentru realitate (informatie culturala). Scot in evidenta legatura dintre aceasta tipologizare si cele trei nivele de formulare standard a PC (nivelul A - sintaxic, nivelul B - semantic si nivelul C –pragmatic), dar pun accent pe rolul jucat in raportarea la teoria informatiei de componenta semantica a informatiei. Arat, apoi, cum tratarea semantica a informatiei permite jonctiunea dintre FI si TCI in contextul incercarilor actuale de unificare a teoriei informatiei (Teoria Unificata a Informatiei – TUI) si in cel de instapanire a informatiei tehnologice.  In final, argumentez pentru o etica a informatiei luand in discutie “turnura pragmatica” favorizata de TUI si exemplificand-o cu ajutorul catorva concepte des vehiculate in stiintele comunicarii: informatie autentica (adevarata, publica), informatie eronata (falsa, gresita) si informatie de dezinformare (de persuadare, de manipulare).