Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Information (PHIL11197)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines different conceptual analyses of information and their implications for issues in cognitive science, epistemology, and internet ethics. The material divides roughly into two units. In the first unit, we cover the use of information as a foundational concept for grounding theories of knowledge and mental representation. In the second unit, we examine the way ethical considerations are transformed by informational interactions, addressing questions such as: Do interactions in virtual realms (chatrooms, MMORPGs, Second Life) carry the same ethical obligations as physical interactions? How does the algorithmic structure of social media accelerate the spread of fake news? and How does generative AI change our perspective on human creativity? |
| Course description |
This course addresses philosophical questions around information of two different kinds. The first half of the course considers information as a passive resource flowing through nature, and thereby potentially grounding theories of knowledge, inference, and mental representation. Topics covered in this unit of the course typically include Shannon information, semantic information, the distinction between natural and non-natural meaning, and the factivity (or not) of information.
The second unit considers the active role of information flow as it mediates human interactions on the internet, and how this active role interacts with cognitive biases to change our behavior, our interests, and our obligations. Topics will change from year to year to reflect current events, technological innovations, and student interest. Topics covered in recent years include: the role of social media in the spread of disinformation and fake news; political and ethical implications of the economic structure of the internet, including surveillance capitalism; information warfare; and the epistemology of Wikipedia.
In the final paper, students will be encouraged to pursue their own interests in information, combining distinctions and insights about information introduced in the course with their own relevant background experience through a self-designed research topic.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand technical references to information in the philosophy literature
- critically evaluate philosophical analyses of the concept of information
- develop core skills in philosophical argumentation, especially those that engage formal and empirical results
- participate in contemporary debate on the definition and ethics of information
- critically analyse and constructively intervene on policy debates concerning disinformation, fake news, and information ownership
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Reading List
General Background Reading:
Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Information (2016), ed. Floridi, Routledge
Philosophy of Information (2008), ed. Adriaans, van Benthem, Elsevier North Holland
Philosophical Introduction to Probability (2005), Maria Carla Giovatti, CSLI
The Philosophy of Information (2013), Floridi, OUP
The Ethics of Information (2015), Floridi, OUP
Essential Reading:
(examples for reference, mandatory readings still to be finalized)
Weaver, W. (1949) "Recent Contributions to the Mathematical Theory of Communication"
Dretske, F. I. (1983) 'Precis of Knowledge and the Flow of Infomation' (+ commentaries), Behavioral and Brain Sciences 6: 55-90.
Millikan, R. (2013). 'Natural information, intentional signs and animal communication.' In U. Stegmann (Ed.), Animal communication theory: Information and influence (pp. 133-146). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stegmann, U. (2015) "Prospects for Probabilistic Theories of Natural Information" Erkenntnis 80: 869-893
Israel, D. and Perry, J. (1990) 'What is Information?' In Philip P. Hanson (ed.), Information, Language and Cognition. University of British Columbia Press.
Floridi, L. . (2005) 'Is Semantic Information Meaningful Data?' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 70(2): 351-370.
Fetzer, J. H. (2004) "Information: Does it Have to be True?" Minds and Machines 14: 223-229.
Fallis, D. (2015) "What is Disinformation?" Library Trends 63: 401-426.
Gelfert, A. (2018) "Fake News: A Definition" Informal Logic 38: 84-117
Dibbell, J. (1993) 'A Rape in Cyberspace' The Village Voice
Wolfendale, J. (2007) "My avatar, my self: Virtual harm and attachment" Ethics and Information Technology 9:111-119
Schechtman, M. (2012) "The Story of my (Second) Life: Virtual Worlds and Narrative Identity" Philosophy of Technology 25:329-343
Zuboff, S. (2019) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Profile Books.
pp. v ("the definition"), 8-14, 63-97 (Ch.3), 232-253 (ch.8), 292-327 (ch.10)
Deutsch, D. (2002) 'It from Qubit' |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical and reflective thinking; creative problem solving; intellectual autonomy; research and enquiry; effective communication |
| Keywords | philosophy,information,knowledge,contemporary problems |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alistair Isaac
Tel: (0131 6)51 5174
Email: A.M.C.Isaac@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Olivia Coltman
Tel:
Email: ocoltman@ed.ac.uk |
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