论数据的本质及其与信息的关系

On the Nature of Data and Its Relation to Information

大数据技术的进步,给传统科学哲学带来了诸多挑战。科学哲学家们需要重新思考数据的本质,进而深入思考数据的特性以及与信息的内在关联。对数据本质的理解主要有两种:一是关系论,二是表征论。以大数据技术的发展为依据,可知关系论更加合理,同时可将信息解释为数据加意义。数据和现象的区分,可以进一步为我们提供理解数据之本质的途径。从大数据的发展看数据和现象的区分,可以得知在不同语境中对数据的定义是不同的,因此数据的两种定义其实并没有冲突。通过对香农的信息定义的解读,可知信息和数据之间有着内在的关联,二者是关系实体的不同表述方式。解决问题的关键在于该定义所使用的语境,以及是否赋予"意义"在此关系之上,因此数据就是信息,万物皆可信息化或数据化。

The progress of big data technology has brought many challenges to the traditional philosophy of science.Philosophers of science need to rethink the nature of data,and then think about the characteristics of data and their relationship with information.There are two main views about the understanding of the nature of the data:first is relational theory,and second is representational theory.Based on the development of big data,we can see that the relational theory is more reasonable,and the information can be interpreted as data plus meaning.The distinction between data and phenomena can provide us with a way to understand the nature of the data further.From the development of big data,to understand the distinction between data and phenomena,one can learn that the definition of data in different contexts is different,so the two definitions of data are not in conflict.Through the interpretation of Shannon’s definition of information,there is an internal relationship between information and data.The two definitions are different ways of expressing the relation entity.The key to solve the problem is the context in which it is used,and whether or not the meaning is given to it,so data is information,and everything can be information or data.