The Logic of Knowledge and the Flow of Information

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11023-013-9310-x

Abstract: In this paper I look at Fred Dretske’s account of information and knowledge as developed in Knowledge and The Flow of Information. In particular, I translate Dretske’s probabilistic definition of information to a modal logical framework and subsequently use this to explicate the conception of information and its flow which is central to his account, including the notions of channel conditions and relevant alternatives. Some key products of this task are an analysis of the issue of information closure and an investigation into some of the logical properties of Dretske’s account of information flow.

Launch of the Society for the Philosophy of Information

The Society for the Philosophy of Information (SPI) and its members promote the philosophy of information and its community by organising research, teaching, editorial, and networking activities. At their website you can find everything you need to know about the SPI and the philosophy of information.

http://www.socphilinfo.org

Towards a Framework for Semantic Information

Towards a Framework for Semantic Information (my PhD thesis)

Abstract: This thesis addresses some important questions regarding an account of semantic information. Starting with the contention that semantic information is to be understood as truthful meaningful data, several key elements for an account of semantic information are developed. After an introductory overview of information, the thesis is developed over four chapters. ‘Quantifying Semantic Information’ looks at the quantification of semantic information as represented in terms of propositional logic. The main objective is to investigate how traditional inverse probabilistic approaches to quantifying semantic information can be replaced with approaches based on the notion of truthlikeness. In ‘Agent-Relative Informativeness’ the results of the previous chapter are combined with belief revision in order to construct a formal framework in which to, amongst other things, measure agent-relative informativeness; how informative some piece of information is relative to a given agent. ‘Environmental Information and Information Flow’ analyses several existing accounts of environmental information and information flow before using this investigation to develop a better account of and explicate these notions. Finally, ‘Information and Knowledge’ contributes towards the case for an informational epistemology, based on Fred Dretske’s information-theoretic account of knowledge.

CFP – 5th Workshop on Philosophy of Information

CFP 5th Workshop on Philosophy of Information
27th-28th March 2013
University of Hertfordshire, UK

Submissions are invited for the Fifth Workshop on the Philosophy of Information, which will take place at the University of Hertfordshire, 27th-28th March 2013

The topic this year will be the intersections between qualitative and quantitative views of information.

There is no registration fee, and no fee for the refreshments, lunches, and the workshop dinner.
Bursaries that will cover the participation expenses will be awarded on the basis of need and scientific merit.

Please send abstracts of approximately 1000 words to Mrs Penny Driscoll, <[email protected]>, no later than 1 February 2013.

A selection of the best papers will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, tba. Papers from the 4th workshop are forthcoming in Minds and Machines.

The Workshop is organised by the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics
http://www.philosophyofinformation.net, in collaboration with the AHRC project ‘Understanding Information Quality Standards and their Challenges’ (2011-2013)
http://www.philosophyofinformation.net/IQ/AHRC_Information_Quality_Project/Home.html
For more information about format and previous participants, see previous workshops in the series:
http://philosophyofinformation.net/WPI/WPI_Home/Home.html