论信息概念的历史演化及其科学化

The Historical Evolution of the Concept of Information and Its Scientization

信息概念的原始含义包含两个层次,即"赋予质料以形式的行动"的本体论含义和"传授知识给某人的行为"的认识论含义。由于信息概念的词根与哲学概念"形式"相同,因此整个西方哲学史可以从信息概念的角度来重新理解。不过随着近代以来哲学的认识论转向,信息的本体论含义被抛弃了;在信息概念的科学化中认识论含义也被信息的概率定义所取代。然而,要想满足信息研究的需要,必须复兴信息的原始含义并根据当前语境进行适应性转型。

The original meaning of the concept of information includes two aspects： the ontological meaning that ＂the action of giving a form to something material＂ and the epistemological meaning that ＂the act of communicating knowledge to another person ＂. Since the root of the concept of information is same with philosophical concept form, we can understand history of western philosophy in terms of information. However, the ontological meaning of information was lost in Epistemological Turn and the epistemological meaning was also replaced by the statistical meaning in the process of scientizing the concept of information. Nevertheless, we should revive the original meanings of the concept of information and revise them according to the current context if we want to establish a satisfying theory of information affording our needs.