The logic of information : a theory of philosophy as conceptual design /

Floridi (Univ. of Oxford, UK) is at the forefront of the burgeoning field known as philosophy of information (PI). Though his previous volumes have laid groundwork in the ethics, ontology, and epistemology of information, in this volume the author seeks to elevate PI from a mere subset of philosophy to a system for understanding philosophy itself. Arguing for non-naturalism and non-relativistic constructionism, Floridi reconceptualizes the entire field of philosophy. The first three chapters establish the meta-theoretical approach of philosophy as conceptual design, in which one constructs information from the raw data of reality in order to resolve open questions. The remaining seven chapters take a more straightforward theoretical approach, applying the lens of a constructionist design philosophy to issues pertaining to testimony, information quality, modeling, and the logic of information. Floridi's goals are ambitious, and his approach to philosophy as conceptual design depends on the acceptance of his prior work in PI. Readers unfamiliar with Floridi may want to start elsewhere; likewise, readers with prior disagreements with his theories may remain unconvinced. Still, for those familiar with Floridi's work, this latest volume offers a cogent, consistent, and coherent culmination of more than two decades of his theorizing about PI. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Lane Alan Wilkinson, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga