Onlife

The Information Society An International Journal, Volume 25 Issue 3 2009 has just published a special issue on the philosophy of information. Here is the tale of contents: INTRODUCTION The Information Society and Its Philosophy: Introduction to the Special Issue on “The Philosophy of Information, Its Nature, and Future Developments” 153 – 158 Author: Luciano Floridi DOI: 10.1080/01972240902848583 ARTICLES Floridi's Philosophy of Information and Information Ethics: Current Perspectives, Future Directions 159 – 168 Author: Charles Ess DOI: 10.1080/01972240902848708 From the Philosophy of Information to the Philosophy of Information Culture 169 – 174 Authors: Adam Briggle; Carl Mitcham DOI: 10.1080/01972240902848765 Epistemic Values and Information Management 175 – 189 Authors: Don Fallis; Dennis Whitcomb DOI: 10.1080/01972240902848831 Developing the Information and Knowledge Agend...

Against Digital Ontology , Synthese , 2009, 168.1, (2009), 151-178. Abstract The paper argues that digital ontology (the ultimate nature of reality is digital, and the universe is a computational system equivalent to a Turing Machine) should be carefully distinguished from informational ontology (the ultimate nature of reality is structural), in order to abandon the former and retain only the latter as a promising line of research. Digital vs. analogue is a Boolean dichotomy typical of our computational paradigm, but digital and analogue are only “modes of presentation” of Being (to paraphrase Kant), that is, ways in which reality is experienced or conceptualised by an epistemic agent at a given level of abstraction. A preferable alternative is provided by an informational approach to structural realism, according to which knowledge of the world is knowledge of its structures. The most reasonable ontological commitment turns out to be in favour of an interpretation of reali...

First Call for Papers InterFace is a new type of annual event. Part conference, part workshop, part networking opportunity, it will bring together postdocs, early career academics and postgraduate researchers from the fields of Information Technology and the Humanities in order to foster cutting-edge collaboration. As well as having a focus on Digital Humanities, it will also be an important forum for Humanities contributions to Computer Science. The event will furthermore provide a permanent web presence for communication between delegates both during, and following, the conference. Delegate numbers are limited to 80 (half representing each sector) and all participants will be expected to present a poster or a ‘lightning talk’ (a two minute presentation) as a stimulus for discussion and networking sessions. Delegates can also expect to receive illuminating keynote talks from world-leading experts, presentations on successful interdisciplinary projects, ‘Insider’s Guides’ and workshop...

NA-CAP@IU 2009: Networks and Their Philosophical Implications June 14th - 16th At Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana In recent years, across several different academic disciplines, including biology, computer science, cognitive science, informatics, philosophy and psychology, a shift in the study of complex systems is readily visible. This shift away from a focus on the individual components of a system to the interrelations between them has provided the groundwork for what might broadly be called a "network" perspective, as it has become increasingly clear that simple components can produce astoundingly complex and varied behavior when they work in consort. Evidence for this observation is seen everywhere from biological neural networks, stigmergic systems, and animal behavior to networked computing, social networking, and dynamic systems. This conference will explore the philosophical implications of this network perspective as it applies to the broader scope of top...