Luciano Floridi

This Guide provides an ambitious state-of-the-art survey of the fundamental themes, problems, arguments and theories constituting the philosophy of computing.A complete guide to the philosophy of computing and information. Comprises 26 newly-written chapters by leading international experts. Provides a complete, critical introduction to the field. Each chapter combines careful scholarship with an engaging writing style. Includes an exhaustive glossary of technical terms. Ideal as a course text, but also of interest to researchers and general readers.

Can knowledge provide its own justification? This sceptical challenge - known as the problem of the criterion - is one of the major issues in the history of epistemology, and this volume provides its first comprehensive study, in a span of time that goes from Sextus Empiricus to Quine. After an essential introduction to the notions of knowledge and of philosophy of knowledge, the book provides a detailed reconstruction of the history of the problem. There follows a conceptual analysis of its logical features, and a comparative examination of a phenomenology of solutions that have been suggested in the course of the history of philosophy in order to overcome it, from Descartes to Popper. In this context, an indirect approach to the problem of the criterion is defended as the most successful strategy against the sceptical challenge.

Information: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of information, central to modern science and society, from thermodynamics and DNA to our use of the mobile phone and the Internet. It moves from a brief look at the mathematical roots of information — its definition and measurement in ‘bits’ — to its role in genetics, and its social meaning and value, before considering the ethics of information, including issues of ownership, privacy, and accessibility; copyright and open source. This VSI also considers concepts such as ‘Infoglut’ (too much information to process) and the emergence of an information society.

"Floridi argues that we must expand our ecological and ethical approach to cover both natural and man-made realities, putting the 'e' in an environmentalism that can deal successfully with the new challenges posed by our digital technologies and information society."--Provided by publisher. "Is the informational world of smartphones and social media changing who we are and how we relate to others and the environment? Are we becoming informational organisms or 'inforgs', deeply enmeshed in a globe-spanning 'infosphere'? Luciano Floridi thinks so. In this exciting and provocative book, he considers the deeper implications of a future--almost upon us even now--in which we are always online, and the barriers between reality and the virtual world we inhabit when we switch on our computers finally dissolve. We are in the midst of a fourth revolution, he argues, as profound as those produced by Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud: a revolution set to change our sense of self, our relationships, society, politics, wars, and our management of the environment. We need to understand these changes and revise our ethics to reap the benefits and avoid the risks of this brave, new world." -- Jacket.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, healthcare, industrial production and business, social relations and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and hence on contemporary ethical debates. The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics provides an ambitious and authoritative introduction to the field, with discussions of a range of topics including privacy, ownership, freedom of speech, responsibility, technological determinism, the digital divide, cyber warfare, and online pornography. It offers an accessible and thoughtful survey of the transformations brought about by ICTs and their implications for the future of human life and society, for the evaluation of behaviour, and for the evolution of moral values and rights. It will be a valuable book for all who are interested in the ethical aspects of the information society in which we live. - Publisher.

"This Guide provides an ambitious, state-of-the-art survey of the themes, problems, arguments, and theories constituting the innovative field of the philosophy of computing and information. Written by an international group of leading experts, the 26 newly commissioned chapters present a complete, systematic, and critical introduction to a wide range of topics, including computer ethics, internet culture, digital art, cybernetics, and hypertext theory. Combining careful scholarship and lucid exposition, each chapter serves as a self-standing introduction to its topic. Supporting online resources include an exhaustive glossary of technical terms, expanded further reading sections, and a wide-ranging introduction explaining the nature of the new informational paradigm in philosophy. The Guide offers students a first foundation for understanding the philosophy of computing and information. It will also engage those general readers who are curious about the new computational and informational turn in philosophy, and researchers interested in broadening their experience. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.