Start Date
12-13-2015
Description
The need to further conceptual engagement with information has been raised repeatedly over the last forty years. Approaches to understanding information in Information Systems have so far focused on defining what information is. In this paper we propose a fundamentally different approach. Using Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language we develop a descriptive theory of information. Reviewing how information is used and what it is used for in the literature we state two claims about information: (1) information is used to describe intended information, potential information and information-in-use; (2) different facets of information can be described in relation to pragmatic, semantic, semiotic and empiric aspects of signs. This descriptive theory of information offers an alternative understanding of information for researchers, practitioners, and educators. Our research provides a first step for an alternative approach to information that is grounded in a non-representational understanding of language where words do not have definite meanings.
Recommended Citation
Boell, Sebastian and Cecez-Kecmanovic, Dubravka, "What is ‘Information’ Beyond a Definition?" (2015). ICIS 2015 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2015/proceedings/ConferenceTheme/4
What is ‘Information’ Beyond a Definition?
The need to further conceptual engagement with information has been raised repeatedly over the last forty years. Approaches to understanding information in Information Systems have so far focused on defining what information is. In this paper we propose a fundamentally different approach. Using Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language we develop a descriptive theory of information. Reviewing how information is used and what it is used for in the literature we state two claims about information: (1) information is used to describe intended information, potential information and information-in-use; (2) different facets of information can be described in relation to pragmatic, semantic, semiotic and empiric aspects of signs. This descriptive theory of information offers an alternative understanding of information for researchers, practitioners, and educators. Our research provides a first step for an alternative approach to information that is grounded in a non-representational understanding of language where words do not have definite meanings.