Anthony Beavers gives a talk on the philosophy of information and philosophical revolutions at The Sorbonne. He argues that philosophy today faces a crisis of relevance as it has become too scholastic and detached from the pressing issues of the time. However, examining the four revolutions in the history of information provides an opportunity to make philosophy timely again by understanding how human understanding has transformed over different eras.

1. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
The
Philosophy
of
Informa2on
and
the
Structure
of
Philosophical
Revolu2ons
Seminar
on
the
Philosophy
of
the
Web
The
Sorbonne,
19
May
2012

2. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
The
Philosophy
of
Informa2on
and
the
Structure
of
Philosophical
Revolu2ons
Based
largely
on
two
previous
papers:
• Historicizing
Floridi:
The
Ques2on
of
Method,
The
State
of
the
Profession,
and
the
Timeliness
of
Floridi’s
Philosophy
of
Informa2on.
E<ca
&
Poli<ca
13.2
(2011),
255-­‐275.
• In
the
Beginning
Was
the
Word
and
Then
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on.
In
Luciano
Floridi's
Philosophy
of
Technology:
Cri<cal
Reflec<ons,
edited
by
Hilmi
Demir
(Springer,
Philosophy
of
Engineering
and
Technology
Book
Series,
2012),
forthcoming.

3. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Contents
of
Talk

4. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Contents
of
Talk
(Slightly
More
Linearly)
• A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
• Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
• A
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
• Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐
incidence
• What
Unifies
the
Progress
of
Informa2on
History?
• 1982:
The
Beginning
of
the
End
or
the
Seminar
on
the
Philosophy
of
the
Web
End
of
the
Beginning?
The
Sorbonne,
19
May
2012
• What
Does
Philosophy
Require
in
the
Informa2on
Age?

5. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
“A
philosophy
that
is
not
2mely
but
2meless
is
not
a
philosophia
perennis,
which
unreasonably
claims
unbounded
validity
over
past
and
future
intellectual
posi2ons,
but
a
stagnant
philosophy,
unable
to
contribute,
keep
track
of,
and
interact
with,
the
cultural
evolu2on
that
philosophical
reflec2on
itself
has
helped
to
bring
about,
and
hence
to
flourish.”
(Floridi,
2011,
p.
12)
Does
this
view
imply
rela2vism
or
relevance?

6. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
Provoca'on
There
once
was
a
philosopher
not
to
be
named,
who
betrayed
his
teacher
and
in
so
doing
made
a
mess
of
“the
profession.”
This
master
remarked
that
no
great
philosopher
was
wrong,
but
that
each
reported
on
how
we
stood
in
rela2on
to
being
during
his
historical
epoch.
While
naming
him
may
lead
to
immediate
dismissal,
he
nonetheless
s2rred
the
pot
and
in
so
doing
tried
to
revitalize
a
profession
that
was
languishing
in
his
midst.
This
man
was
no
rela2vist,
but
one
who
sought
only
to
make
philosophy
relevant
again.
For
what
could
make
the
history
of
philosophy
more
relevant
than
to
read
it
as
a
record
of
human
transforma2on
rather
than
a
compe22on
to
find
the
one
truth
that
could
stand
s2ll
for
all
2me?
That
man
was
part
poet,
part
philosopher,
part
provocateur;
and
with
that
insight,
he
managed
to
uncover
more
than
most
previous
philosophers
covered
over
in
a
life2me.

7. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
Concep'on
Any
philosophy
of
import
(and
let
us
not
forget
that
those
with
no
import
are
also
not
remembered)
…
1) …
is
embodied
in
the
ethos
of
a
2me
and
2) set
to
answer
ques2ons
that
are
pressing
for
its
day.
3) Consequently,
genuine
philosophy
changes
over
2me.
If
it
does
not,
it
gets
stuck
in
sedimented
thought,
bickers
over
triviali2es,
risks
irrelevance
and
loses
its
ability
to
transform
the
world.
Does
philosophy
today
find
itself
in
this
predicament?

8. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
Diagnosis
Philosophy
today
is
scholas2c.
“It
manifests
itself
as
a
pedan2c
and
ocen
intolerant
adherence
to
some
discourse
(teachings,
methods,
values,
viewpoints,
canons
of
authors,
posi2ons,
theories,
or
selec2ons
of
problems
etc.),
set
by
a
par2cular
group
(a
philosopher,
a
school
of
thought,
a
movement,
a
trend,
a
fashion),
at
the
expense
of
other
alterna2ves,
which
are
ignored
or
opposed.
It
fixes,
as
permanently
and
objec2vely
as
possible,
a
toolbox
of
philosophical
concepts
and
vocabulary
suitable
for
standardizing
its
discourse
(its
special
isms)
and
the
research
agenda
of
the
community.
In
this
way,
scholas2cism
favours
the
professionaliza2on
of
philosophy:
scholas2cs
are
‘lovers’
who
detest
the
idea
of
being
amateurs
and
wish
to
become
professional.”
(Floridi,
2011,
p.
9)
Are
we
therefore
at
the
end
of
philosophy
as
a
discipline?

9. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
Prognosis
• Philosophy
is
today
in
a
very
precarious
posi2on.
It
must
either
adapt
or
die.
• (Adapta2on,
however,
cannot
be
unduly
forced.
That
is,
it
must
be
both
appropriate
and
2mely.
Is
it
the
right
2me?)
• We
have
been
in
this
situa2on
before
and
have
managed
to
survive
to
become
relevant
once
again.
So,
there
may
be
cause
for
hope
…
maybe.
When?
• Just
acer
the
epoch
of
Medieval
Scholas2cism,
when
new
mathema2cal
methods
and
changes
in
the
informa2on
environment
created
the
necessity
of
squaring
a
dying
ins2tu2on
of
philosophy
with
new
scien2fic
discoveries.
But
there
is
much
more
to
this
story
…
to
be
outlined
in
a
moment.

10. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
A
Crisis
of
Relevance
in
Global
Propor2on
Prescrip'on
1. A
willingness
to
confront
the
situa2on
head
on
with
no
self-­‐decep2on
and
some
much
needed
input
from
other
fields;
2. A
grounded
concep2on
of
the
current
geopoli2cal
landscape
and
the
informa2onal
circumstances
that
have
brought
it
about;
and
3. A
proper
understanding
of
the
movement
of
philosophy
through
history
along
with
the
precipita2ng
causes
that
have
inspired
its
transforma2ons.
The
remainder
of
this
talk
will
start
in
the
direc2on
of
number
3.

11. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
1. The
Epigraphic
Revolu'on
–
the
inven2on
of
wri2ng;
the
spa2aliza2on
of
oral
and
temporal
informa2on
flow
retemporalized
in
the
act
of
reading;
text;
phoneme
to
grapheme,
grapheme
back
to
phoneme.
2. The
Prin'ng
Revolu'on
–
the
mass
produc2on
of
wri2ng;
the
easy
transportability
of
text
that
allowed
informa2on
to
flow
quickly
and
efficiently
along
mul2ple
routes
simultaneously.
3. The
Mul'media
Revolu'on
–
the
industrializa2on
of
informa2on
and
its
flow;
the
decoupling
of
this
flow
from
the
exigencies
of
transporta2on
technology;
mass
media
and
real-­‐2me
dissemina2on.
4. The
Digital
Revolu'on
–
the
reduc2on
of
informa2on
itself,
regardless
of
type,
to
a
common
code;
the
smallest
alphabet,
a
bit
stream
to
carry
all
informa2on,
allowing
it
to
be
transmijed,
processed
and
stored
using
the
same
technologies.

12. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
1.
The
Epigraphic
Revolu'on
(c
3500
BCE
–
1450
CE)
1. Offline
storage
–
extended
mind
and
memory
2. Transportability
across
space
and
2me
3. With
the
phone2c
alphabet,
immediate
translatability
from
speech
to
text
During
the
epigraphic
revolu2on,
innova2on
generally
concerned
portability
and
permanence;
clay
tables,
papyrus,
parchment,
paper,
the
first
copyists
(scribes)
and
libraries.

13. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
2.
The
Prin'ng
Revolu'on
(c
1450
CE
–
1830
CE)
1. Everything
from
the
Epigraphic
Revolu2on,
plus
…
2. The
mass
produc2on
of
text
3. Increase
in
literacy
by
transla2on
of
text
into
vernacular
languages
4. Private
reading;
the
populariza2on
of
books
and
pamphlets
With
out
a
prin2ng
press,
there
could
have
been
no
Reforma2on.

14. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
2.
The
Prin'ng
Revolu'on
(c
1450
CE
–
1830
CE)
Deibert
(1997)
aptly
describes
the
situa2on:
"About
20
million
books
were
printed
before
1500
in
Europe
among
a
popula2on
at
the
2me
of
about
100
million.
This
number
of
books,
produced
in
the
first
ficy
years
of
prin2ng,
eclipsed
the
en2re
es2mated
product
of
the
previous
thousand
years"
(p.
65).
He
goes
on
to
note
that
"Febvre
and
Mar2n
(1976)
es2mate
that
150
million
to
200
million
were
then
produced
in
the
next
hundred
years.”

15. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
3.
The
Mul'media
Revolu'on
(c
1830
CE
–
1980
CE)
1. Everything
from
the
Prin2ng
Revolu2on,
plus
…
2. The
decoupling
of
informa2on
from
transporta2on
3. Immediate
dissemina2on
of
informa2on,
(mostly
in
one
direc2on)
4. The
emergence
of
global
community
and
a
developing
awareness
of
world-­‐wide
concern
Ocen
overlooked,
the
Mul2media
Revolu2on
made
world
war
possible
and
brought
with
it
new
problems
in
cross-­‐cultural
understanding.

16. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
3.
The
Mul'media
Revolu'on
(c
1830
CE
–
1980
CE)
1836
–
Telegraphy
1906
–
Radio
(the
“wireless”)
1839
–
Daguerreotype
1906
–
Teletype
1856
–
Telegraphic
Printer
1914
–
Telescribe
1863
–
Stock
Ticker
1926
–
Television
1877
–
Telephone
1927
–
Electric
Phonograph
1878
–
Phonograph
1928
–
Na2onal
Broadcas2ng
System
1880
–
Light
Bulb
1928
–
Magne2c
Tape
1880
–
Photophone
1948
–
Cable
Television
1881
–
Wireless
Telegraphy
1958
–
Casseje
Tape
1881
–
Wax
Cylinder
1963
–
Touch
Tone
Phone
1891
–
Mo2on
Picture
Camera
1966
–
GE
Color
Television
1898
–
Rotary
Telephone
1969
–
Video
Casseje
Recorder
All
dates
approximate

17. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
3.
The
Mul'media
Revolu'on
(c
1830
CE
–
1980
CE)
“What
we
might
call
the
telephoniza2on
of
city
life,
for
lack
of
a
simpler
word,
has
remarkably
altered
our
manner
of
living
from
what
it
was
in
the
days
of
Abraham
Lincoln.
It
has
enabled
us
to
be
more
social
and
coopera2ve.
It
has
literally
abolished
the
isola2on
of
separate
families,
and
has
made
us
members
of
one
great
family.
It
has
become
so
truly
an
organ
of
the
social
body
that
by
telephone
we
now
enter
into
contracts,
give
evidence,
try
lawsuits,
make
speeches,
propose
marriage,
confer
degrees,
appeal
to
voters,
and
do
almost
everything
else
that
is
a
majer
of
speech.”
(Casson,
1910,
p.
199.
N.B.,
the
quote
predates
the
inven2on
of
the
television.)

18. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
4.
The
Digital
Revolu'on
(c
1980
CE
–
present)
1. Everything
from
the
Mul2media
Revolu2on,
plus
…
2. A
common
code
for
all
informa2on
to
expedite
its
transmission
3. The
rapid
emergence
of
a
global
informa2on
environment
with
ubiquitous
access
to
almost
anything
from
almost
anywhere
4. The
prolifera2on
of
informa2on
beyond
the
scope
of
our
understanding
Facebook,
now
in
its
8th
year,
is
the
3rd
largest
civic
organiza2on
on
the
planet
and
the
largest
social
science
database
ever
compiled
in
the
history
of
the
world.

19. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on
4.
The
Digital
Revolu'on
(c
1980
CE
–
present)
In
a
recent
study,
researchers
at
Berkeley's
School
of
Informa2on
Management
and
Systems
es2mated
that
humanity
had
accumulated
approximately
12
exabytes
of
data
in
the
course
of
its
en2re
history
un2l
the
commodifica2on
of
computers,
but
that
it
had
produced
more
than
5
exabytes
of
data
just
in
2002
….
Five
exabytes
of
informa2on
is
equivalent
in
size
to
the
informa2on
contained
in
37,000
new
libraries
the
size
of
the
Library
of
Congress
book
collec2ons’
(Lyman
and
Varian
[2003]).
In
2002,
this
was
almost
800
MB
of
recorded
data
produced
per
person.
It
is
like
saying
that
every
newborn
baby
came
into
the
world
with
a
burden
of
30
feet
of
books,
the
equivalent
of
800
MB
of
data
on
paper.
This
exponen2al
escala2on
has
been
relentless:
‘between
2006
and
2010
[...]
the
digital
universe
will
increase
more
than
six
fold
from
161
exabytes
to
988
exabytes.’
(Floridi,
2009,
p.
154)

20. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
Enabling
Causes
&
Necessary
Condi'ons
P
-­‐>
Q
|
P
||
Q
~Q
-­‐>
~P
|
~P
||
~Q
A
philosophical
quandary
is
involved
in
how
to
read
“-­‐>”.
On
the
one
hand,
and
in
both
examples,
it
represents
logical
entailment.
In
fact,
the
two
expressions
are
logically
equivalent.
But
can
we
provide
a
causal
reading
to
the
“-­‐>”
connector?
“P
causes
Q”
means
that
in
the
presence
of
P,
Q
will
occur.
Can
we
therefore
say
that
the
absence
of
Q
“causes”
the
absence
of
P,
since
in
the
absence
of
Q,
P
cannot
occur?
If
so,
what
kind
of
causa2on
is
represented
by
a
necessary
condi2on?
Borrowing
a
term
from
Deacon
(Norton,
2011),
it
seems
that
we
need
to
speak
of
“specific
absences”
when
considering
technological
causes.

21. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
The
Logic
of
Specific
Absences
I
Causally
(and
counterfactually),
to
say
that
P
-­‐>
Q
is
to
say
that
~P
-­‐>
~Q
and
not
~Q
-­‐>
~P,
as
logical
entailment
requires.
There
are
plenty
of
examples:
To
say
that
“the
fire
caused
the
house
to
burn
down”
is
not
to
say
that
“the
house
not
burning
down
caused
the
fire
not
to
occur”
(nonsense),
but
that
“if
there
had
been
no
fire,
the
house
would
not
have
burned
down.”
Thus,
the
“-­‐>”
cannot
be
read
simultaneously
as
indica2ng
logical
entailment
and
causal
rela2on.
But
this
does
not
mean
that
an
expression
in
the
nega2ve
form
of
~Q
-­‐>
~P
is
causally
inert,
since
some2mes
expressions
of
this
sort
can
be
true
and
some2mes
false.

22. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
The
Logic
of
Specific
Absences
II
Consider
~Q
-­‐>
~P
again.
Whether
we
agree
or
disagree
over
the
content,
the
no2on
of
specific
absences
as
causes
is
not
nonsense.
Case
1:
The
absence
of
industrialized
communica2on
caused
(i.e.,
posi2vely
inhibited)
informa2on
from
being
transmijed
apart
from
the
transporta2on
industry.
Case
2:
The
absence
of
Mar2ans
on
earth
caused
(i.e.,
posi2vely
inhibited)
informa2on
from
being
transmijed
apart
from
the
transporta2on
industry.
The
first
seems
true
(though
perhaps
within
limits);
the
second
is
obviously
false.
If
truth
and
falsity
can
be
applied
to
such
nega2ve
causa2on,
then
a
logic
of
specific
absence
seems
possible.

23. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
Specific
Absences
and
Technological
Causes
I
Generally,
technological
causes
operate
as
enabling
condi2ons
that
answer
to
specific
absences
that
address
pressing
needs.
The
problem
needing
a
solu2on
can
then
be
thought
of
as
negated
consequent
and
its
poten2al
solu2on
as
a
negated
antecedent
in
a
condi2onal
statement.
Thus,
let
X
represent
the
solu2on
that
will
solve
the
problem
of
world
hunger
and
Y
represent
the
world
being
fed.
~X
-­‐>
~Y
means
the
absence
of
X
causes
the
absence
of
Y,
and
that
finding
X
is
to
solve
the
problem
represented
by
~Y,
that
is,
this
is
to
say
that
X
causes
Y.

24. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Digress
on
the
Metaphysics
of
Technology
Specific
Absences
and
Technological
Causes
II
In
other
words
the
absence
of
specific
technologies
are
inhibitory
causes
in
cases
where
a
problem
is
present
that
is
awai2ng
a
solu2on
and
a
specific
technology
offers
the
needed
solu2on.
Ques'ons
Concerning
Informa'on
Technology
• Given
the
persistent
historical
development
of
informa2on
and
communica2on
technologies,
what
are
the
persistent
problems
to
which
they
provide
an
answer?
• Does
the
presence
of
one
technological
solu2on
create
an
absence
that
causes
other
problems,
thereby
necessita2ng
other
informa2on-­‐technological
solu2ons?
• Can
this
be
formalized
into
a
causal
logic
of
informa2on-­‐technological
change?

25. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐Incidence
1.
The
Epigraphic
Revolu'on
&
Ancient
Philosophy
“Both
wri2ng
and
prin2ng
favor
and
encourage
an
abstract,
ra2onal
cogni2ve
orienta2on
by
arres2ng
the
flow
of
oral
conversa2on,
permi{ng
the
comparison
and
juxtaposi2on
of
words
and
documents,
and
detaching
the
content
of
com-­‐
munica2on
from
place,
2me,
and
personality.”
(Deibert,
1997,
p.
84)
“Schools
of
oratory
grew
up
to
teach
the
art
of
speech
making
(really,
speech
wri2ng),
the
most
famous
of
which
was
perhaps
that
of
Isocrates.
The
sheer
presence
of
the
amount
of
Greek
legal
oratory
we
s2ll
possess
in
wri2ng
tes2fies
to
this
fact.
More
important
for
the
discipline
of
philosophy
is
the
climate
of
sophistry
that
this
created
for
which
Plato’s
Academy
could
become
an
an2dote.”
(Beavers,
2011)

26. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐Incidence
1.
The
Epigraphic
Revolu'on
&
Ancient
Philosophy
Though
talk
of
Plato
and
the
sophists
is
the
stuff
of
introductory
classes,
this
clash
between
persuasion
and
truth-­‐telling
nonetheless
provided
the
cri2cal
context
for
understanding
Plato’s
corpus
and
perhaps
jus2fies
his
skep2cism
over
wri2ng
expressed
in
the
Phaedrus.
Greek
philosophy
emerges
in
a
social
and
poli2cal
climate
that
problema2zed
the
rela2onship
between
speech
and
wri2ng
in
light
of
social
problems
arising
by
confusion
in
the
informa2on
environment
of
the
day
and
that
may
have
led,
at
least
on
a
Platonic
reading,
to
the
Athenian
loss
of
the
Peloponnesian
War.
Philosophy
began,
in
other
words,
with
a
pressing
need
to
sort
out
the
true
from
the
false
in
an
age
where
the
confla2on
of
speech
and
wri2ng
made
this
necessary.
Only
in
such
a
context
could
it
make
sense
for
Socrates
(or
anyone)
to
ask
another
to
“hand
over
a
speech”
(on
reflec2on,
an
odd
locu2on)
for
scru2ny.
(Redacted
from
Beavers,
2011)

27. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐Incidence
2.
The
Prin'ng
Revolu'on
&
Modern
Philosophy
“The
gradual
rise
of
individualism
as
both
a
prevailing
symbolic
form
and
a
predomi-­‐
nant
moral
idea
flourished
in
the
prin2ng
environment.
The
mass
produc2on
of
printed
material
favored
newly
circula2ng
no2ons
of
authorship,
copyright,
and
in-­‐
dividual
subjec2vity,
while
the
portability
of
printed
books
facilitated
the
trend
to-­‐
ward
silent,
private
reading
and
intellectual
isola2on
and
reflec2on.
(Deibert,
1997,
p.
100)
The
Reforma2on
brought
with
it
not
only
a
theological
protestan2sm,
but
also
an
epistemic
one,
perhaps
best
represented
by
Descartes’
turn
from
the
received
wisdom
of
the
ancients
to
the
desire
to
establish
truth
on
his
own.
Other
moderns
followed
in
his
wake
by
applying
mathema2cal
methods
to
philosophical
ques2ons
in
an
ajempt
to
bring
philosophy
in
line
with
a
newly
developing
science.

28. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐Incidence
3.
The
Mul'media
Revolu'on
&
19th/20th
Century
Philosophy
“The
[19th
century]
reac2on
[to
Kant]
was
largely
centered
around
a
telling
issue,
the
individual
against
an
emerging
mass
society,
Hegel
arguing
on
behalf
of
society
(on
some
readings)
and
Marx,
Kierkegaard
and
Nietzsche
(along
with
others)
advoca2ng
for
the
individual
that
was
being
exploited
or
lost
in
a
herd.
During
this
par2cular
period
of
philosophy
it
was
as
if
philosophy
was
an2cipa2ng
changes
in
informa2on
technology
that
would
come
later
in
the
century,
or
perhaps
bejer
put,
that
society
itself
was
providing
a
vacuum
that
would
need
to
be
filled
by
such
technologies.”
(Beavers,
2011,
p.
267)
Later
in
the
century,
acer
1880,
language
itself
became
a
central
preoccupa2on
in
philosophy
in
a
contest
between
Frege
and
Husserl.
Philosophy
divides
into
two
methodological
camps,
one
favoring
the
analysis
of
language,
the
other
an
imagis2c
descrip2on
of
experience.
The
argument
con2nues
to
this
very
day.

29. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
Philosophical
and
Intellectual
Co-­‐Incidence
4.
The
Digital
Revolu'on
&
…
Neo-­‐scholas2cism
or
Innova2on?
The
answer
is
up
to
us
…
But,
then,
what
should
we
embrace?

30. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
What
Unifies
the
Progress
of
Informa2on
History?
3000
BCE
1450
CE
1940
CE
20??
CE
This
is
precisely
to
ask:
Given
the
persistent
historical
development
of
informa2on
and
communica2on
technologies,
what
are
the
persistent
problems
to
which
they
provide
an
answer?

31. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
What
Unifies
the
Progress
of
Informa2on
History?
The
Human/Computer
Network
• While
focusing
on
the
developing
of
informa2on
technologies
in
isola2on
paints
a
portrait
of
improvements
in
data
storage,
increases
in
the
speed
of
transmission,
and
the
ease
of
retrieval,
viewing
the
history
from
a
func2onal
point
of
view,
leads
to
a
“network
concep2on”
of
our
interconnec2vity.
• The
history
of
informa2on
is,
thus,
the
history
of
an
emerging
ubiquitous
network
in
which
subnet
assimilates
with
subnet
to
allow
informa2on
to
flow
more
freely
and
more
openly.
• With
the
Digital
Revolu2on,
one-­‐way
media
gives
way
to
two-­‐way
interac2vity,
thus
wiring
mind
to
mind
in
a
global
informa2on
network
rather
than
situa2ng
individuals
orthogonally
toward
centers
of
ins2tu2onalized
authority.

32. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
What
Unifies
the
Progress
of
Informa2on
History?
The
Human/Computer
Network
If
we
wish
to
preserve
some
semblance
of
a
Turing
metaphor,
we
could
say
that
humans
and
networked
computers
are
both:
• Read/write
heads
with
internal
informa2on
buffers
(on
board
storage)
that
interact
with
a
common
tape.
• That
the
networked
world
is
precisely
such
a
tape;
that
is,
an
offline
informa2on
store
for
each
of
us
as
individuals.
• And
that
from
a
cogni2ve
science
point
of
view,
intelligence
is
a
property
best
ajributed
to
the
species,
while
individuals
(both
human
and
computers)
are
mere
nodes
that
contribute
par2ally
to
an
emerging
global
species
intellect.

33. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
1982:
The
Beginning
of
the
End
or
the
End
of
the
Beginning?
• If
one
had
to
pick
a
year
when
informa2on
started
to
take
another
leap
forward,
it
could
be
1982.
• Digi2zed
media
was
just
star2ng
to
become
popular.
• Yet,
we
s2ll
largely
understood
ourselves
as
captured
in
a
media
environment
of
one
way
communica2on.
• But
as
we
will
learn
in
the
next
decade,
interac2vity
will
change
everything.

34. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
1982:
The
Beginning
of
the
End
or
the
End
of
the
Beginning?
In
1982
Emmanuel
Levinas
characterized
society
at
the
2me
as
one
...
“whose
boundaries
have
become,
in
a
sense,
planetary:
a
society,
in
which,
due
to
the
ease
of
modern
communica2ons
and
transport,
and
the
worldwide
scale
of
its
industrial
economy,
each
person
feels
simultaneously
that
he
is
related
to
humanity
as
a
whole,
and
equally
that
he
is
alone
and
lost.
With
each
radio
broadcast
and
each
day's
papers
one
may
well
feel
caught
up
in
the
most
distant
events,
and
connected
to
mankind
everywhere;
but
one
also
understands
that
one's
personal
des2ny,
freedom
or
happiness
is
subject
to
causes
which
operate
with
inhumane
force.
One
understands
that
the
very
progress
of
technology—and
here
I
am
taking
up
a
commonplace—which
relates
everyone
in
the
world
to
everyone
else,
is
inseparable
from
a
necessity
which
leaves
all
men
anonymous.
Impersonal
forms
of
rela2onship
come
to
replace
the
more
direct
forms,
the
'short
connec2ons'
as
Ricoeur
calls
them,
in
an
excessively
programmed
world.”
(Levinas,
1982,
p.
212)
Is
this
twen2eth-­‐century
diagnosis
being
undone
by
the
presence
of
the
Internet?

35. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
What
Does
Philosophy
Require
in
the
Informa2on
Age?
Conclusion
If
we
are
to
escape
irrelevance
and
contribute
to
the
viability
of
our
species:
• We
must
turn
our
ajen2on
to
problems
that
ul2mately
plague
the
species
and
if
lec
unsolved
will
lead
to
our
demise.
This
does
not
mean
universal
ac2vi2sm,
since
there
is
serious
work
to
be
done
across
all
branches
of
philosophy.
• We
must
drop
the
agonis2c
no2on
that
philosophy
proceeds
by
combat
and
help
each
other
form
the
best
arguments
possible
for
whichever
posi2on
is
being
advoca2ng.
• We
must
accept
our
responsibility
to
protect
the
integrity
of
informa2on,
pu{ng
the
search
for
truth
second
to
a
more
primary
direc2ve
of
preserving
the
integrity
of
the
infosphere.
We
are
and
always
have
been
shepherds
of
informa2on.

36. Anthony
F.
Beavers,
Ph.D. Professor
of
Philosophy
References
• Beavers,
A.
Historicizing
Floridi:
The
Ques2on
of
Method,
The
State
of
the
Profession,
and
the
Timeliness
of
Floridi’s
Philosophy
of
Informa2on.
E<ca
&
Poli<ca
13.2
(2011),
255-­‐275.
• Beavers,
A.
In
the
Beginning
Was
the
Word
and
Then
Four
Revolu2ons
in
the
History
of
Informa2on.
In
Luciano
Floridi's
Philosophy
of
Technology:
Cri<cal
Reflec<ons,
edited
by
Hilmi
Demir
(Springer,
Philosophy
of
Engineering
and
Technology
Book
Series,
2012),
forthcoming.
• Casson,
H.
The
history
of
the
telephone.
A.
C.
McClurg
and
Co.,
1910.
• Deacon,
T.
Incomplete
Nature.
Norton,
2011.
• Deibert,
R.
Parchment,
Prin<ng,
and
Hypermedia:
Communica<on
in
World
Order
Transforma<on.
Columbia,
1997.
• Febvre,
L
and
H-­‐J
Mar2n.
The
coming
of
the
book:
The
impact
of
prin<ng
1450-­‐1800.
Translated
by
David
Gerard.
Verso,
1958/1976.
• Floridi,
L.
The
informa2on
society
and
its
philosophy:
Introduc2on
to
the
special
issue
on
‘The
philosophy
of
informa2on,
its
nature
and
future
developments.’
The
Informa<on
Society
25.3
(2009):
153-­‐158.
• Floridi,
L.
The
Philosophy
of
Informa<on.
Oxford,
2011.
• Levinas,
E.
The
pact.
In
The
Levinas
reader,
ed.
Seán
Hand,
211-­‐226.
Blackwell,
1982/1989.
• Lyman,
P.
and
H.
Varian.
How
much
informa<on?
2003.
hjp://www2.sims
.berkeley.edu/research/
projects/how-­‐much-­‐info-­‐2003/,
2003.
Accessed
14
February
2011.