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What is "Information"?

 
 
mikeymojo
 
  1  
Reply Sat 18 Jan, 2014 09:44 am
@fresco,
You know what I 'mean' fresco, otherwise you wouldn't have replied. A simple yes, no, or maybe should suffice for the context in which we both understand. Could our processing of the information we receive, detect, sense, bring about our conscious state of mind at any given point in our lives? If so, why would it matter if our existence where completely materialistic, completely illusionary, or anything that lays in between?
fresco
 
  1  
Reply Sat 18 Jan, 2014 10:08 am
@mikeymojo,
Sorry mikey, but you use too many words each of which are philosophically or scientifically problematic to give a straight "yes" or "no". For example the answer to...
Quote:
Could our processing of the information we receive, detect, sense, bring about our conscious state of mind

...depends for example on what view of consciousness you hold (which can range from anything from an epiphenomenon of brain chemistry to an aspect of a holistic entity). Similarly the nature of "reception" and "detection" depend on whether you consider them to be active or passive, or even "where" they might take place (consider the concept of "non-locality" in physics for example).

In short "information" has become a buzz word ...a commodity....in recent technological times, but its ontological, epistemological or functional status is far from clear. (Apologies for the jargon words).
mikeymojo
 
  1  
Reply Sat 18 Jan, 2014 10:29 am
@fresco,
I was asking a question about what consciousness is. I don't know, thus have no clear view of what consciousness is nor a solid opinion of what i believe it may be. Information to me is another word for the perception and understanding of what is experienced.
fresco
 
  1  
Reply Sat 18 Jan, 2014 11:49 am
@mikeymojo,
What consciousness "is" may not be answerable to anybody's satisfaction. The alternative (suggested by Wittgenstein) might be to consider how the word "consciousness" is used. For example we might use it to denote "a state of awareness of situations internal and external to the body" in contrast say to "a state of unconsciousness". In that sense it may be the case that the word "information" is used in a particular conjunction with it. On the other hand we may wish to consider dreaming or hallucination to be other states of "consciousness" (compared with deep coma) and in that case we might ask what part the word "information" plays if any, in characterizing those states. The situation is complicated by the fact that we can do quite complex tasks "automatically" like riding a bike, and clearly here the concept of "information processing at a subconscious level" may be evoked.

If you are interested in this and have the stamina, you might like to investigate this archive: http://consc.net/online

Similar problems can arise with the question of what perception "is".
0 Replies
 
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Reply Sat 18 Jan, 2014 12:31 pm
@John Jones,
Yes, accumulated information. The creation of language was based on the accumulation of words. Without foreknowledge of some basic words, language would have not developed to its present form. Read the book, The Meaning of Everything, to learn about the development of the first English language dictionary.
0 Replies
 
 

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