On being informational: intertwining the communication and self-production flows

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advocate a change of perspective in the development of information science. At stake is whether this science will be able to make sense of both the astounding new practices in the world of knowledge and the even more astounding social transformations that revolve around information technologies. Tentatively a new way of thinking could be articulated along the guidelines herein discussed. An initial and important aspect concerns the definition of information itself. Rather than continuing with the endless discussions on what is information, it will be proposed, first, that information is indefinable per se; and second, that a consensus notion(s) might be established on how information should be handled in the core fields – or at least in the analysis of some prototypical “informational entities”. Design/methodology/approach – The research strategy proposed, naturalistic and empirically oriented, is based on the intertwining of self-production and communication flows as fundamental characteristics of informational entities – about “being in the world” in the informational way. Living cells, organisms (nervous systems), individuals, enterprises-markets, and societies would manifest these characteristics. In all of these existential realms, it is the collective action of communicating, self-producing agents or entities (“informational” ones, for short), connected in multiple, flexible ways, what makes possible the unfathomable complexity and adaptability emerging at all functional scales. Findings – Along this new perspective, meaning, knowledge, and intelligence may be approached rather consistently. The new conceptualizations may also be linked with the information revolution and the extraordinary expansion of knowledge in the times; a parallel with the knowledge-fundamentals of biological complexity will be suggested. Originality/value – Among the many problems to tackle for a renewed information science, a relevant matter concerns the way to organize the dialogue among so many different disciplinary perspectives dealing with information: it becomes an open question, indeed.