INF5020 – Philosophy of Information
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course aims to give a cross-disciplinary overview of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of information as it applies to fields like computation, AI, complexity, linguistics, cognitive sciences, ethics, design etc. A sound historical overview of the philosophy of information is prioritized, which is then used to study and discuss current views and developments. Focus is upon the impacts of different philosophical views of information upon various fields and communities in general, and upon science and the scientific community in particular.
Learning outcome
The course gives an overview of the philosophy of information in history as well as an overview of new developments in order to equip graduate students and researchers with sufficient awareness of how common stances related to the nature of information affects informatics, various other fields and their own studies. The course is also intended to open participants up for research within philosophy of information itself, within information design and other related areas.
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Prerequisites
Recommended previous knowledge
It is highly recommended that the participant has some background in philosophy of science and theories and stances related to (or opposing) technology determinism. A course like INF5010 – Social aspects of technology and science (discontinued) would be recommended. Sufficient knowledge of some field of informatics (like software engineering, human-computer interaction, programming languages or formal methods) will enhance the understanding of this courses relevance for informatics and its various fields.
Teaching
Lectures, seminars (in the form of presentations and panels), three thematic individual essays and one individual term project including “own” definition/model of information and the impact of this definition/model upon a known field, theory, technology etc (or upon own work).
Examination
Three individual essays, 20% each (total 60%), and one individual term project, 40%. Grading Style: A-F.
Other
Note that the first lecture is compulsory.
Course Auditor: Yngve Lindsj?rn