Description
Book SynopsisA novel way of looking at information challenges longstanding dogmas—from a preeminent German thinker
It is widely agreed that we live in an “information age,” but what exactly is information? This small, seemingly facile question is in fact surprisingly difficult, and it has occupied many of the best philosophical minds of the modern age.
In this wholly original addition to the quest to understand information, German philosopher Peter Janich argues that our understanding of information is based in the much broader history of scientific naturalism—the belief that science is a fundamental aspect of the world and not a human contrivance. His novel critique of this widespread dogma grounds science in human life practices and wrestles with the very fundamentals of the scientific way of understanding reality.
Offering new perspectives on the major contemporary fields of communications technology, neurobiology, and artificial intelligence, What Is Information? provides a deep look into humanity in an information age. Its arguments show ways of reconciling the sciences and the humanities, shining new light on the relationship of science to the natural world.
Trade Review"Peter Janich’s What is Information? is a philosophical unicorn. This short, punchy text offers civil defense against philosophical catastrophe. It is a one-stop shop for repairing conceptual sloppiness in how we talk about information. Written with a sly wit, it is not only abstract: its extended meditation on various technologies breaks fresh ground in the philosophy and history of media. Janich joins a multi-tongued chorus proclaiming that bad things happen when we let media get away with pretending to be invisible."—John Durham Peters, author of The Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media
Table of ContentsTranslators’ Introduction
Eric Hayot and Lea Pao
1. Information and Myth
2. Legacies
3. Articles of Faith
4. Information Concepts Today
5. Methodical Repair Work
6. Consequences
Translators’ Acknowledgments
Notes
Peter Janich: A Partial Bibliography
Index
