Description
Book SynopsisOne of the lost classics of French philosophy, Cybernetics and the Origin of Information has never before been published in English. Raymond Ruyer—who was a major influence on Simondon and Deleuze, among others—originally wrote this book, one of the first critiques of Norbert Wiener’s cybernetics program, in 1954. At once critical and analytical, it is a deep exploration of information theory, cybernetics, and the philosophical assumptions and implications of both. Among the themes covered in the book are the main types of information machines, information’s relationship to behavior and communication, and the nature of entropy and time in cybernetics. This translation contributes to understanding the rich history of cybernetics and the philosophy of information. A true hidden gem in the history of philosophical thought, this text will help readers understand foundational criticisms of ideas that have led to artificial intelligence.
Trade ReviewThis book should be read by anyone interested in cybernetics, information theory, and the philosophy of information. In it, Ruyer critically distances himself from classic approaches to automation and information, which will shape the development of information and communication technologies in the following decades. His philosophical discussion is balanced and insightful, often anticipating much later debates, and when the history of the philosophy of information will be written, Ruyer’s work and this book will undoubtedly deserve a chapter. The translators must be congratulated for making this volume available in English, in an accessible and reliable translation.
-- Luciano Floridi, professor of philosophy and ethics of information, University of Oxford and professor of sociology of culture and communication, University of Bologna
Table of ContentsTranslator’s Introduction: Raymond Ruyer and the Philosophy of Information
Ashley Woodward
Note on the Translation
Introduction
1. The Main Types of Information Machines
2. Framing Activities and Framed Mechanisms
3. The Space of Behaviour and Axiological ‘Space’
4. Communication
5. The Origin of Information
6. Negative Anti-chance and Positive Anti-chance
7. Past-Future and Cybernetics
8. The Mixed Origin of Information
9. Summary and Conclusion (to the First Edition)
10. The Problems of Cybernetics in 1967
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author and Translators
