Some authors, most notably Luciano Floridi, have recently argued for a notion of “strongly” semantic information, according to which information “encapsulates” truth (the so-called “veridicality thesis”). We propose a simple framework to compare different formal explications of this concept and assess their relative merits. It turns out that the most adequate proposal is that based on the notion of “partial truth”, which measures the amount of “information about the truth” conveyed by a given statement. We conclude with some critical remarks concerning the veridicality thesis in connection with the role played by truth and information as relevant cognitive goals of inquiry.

Strongly Semantic Information as Information About the Truth

Cevolani G
2014-01-01

Abstract

Some authors, most notably Luciano Floridi, have recently argued for a notion of “strongly” semantic information, according to which information “encapsulates” truth (the so-called “veridicality thesis”). We propose a simple framework to compare different formal explications of this concept and assess their relative merits. It turns out that the most adequate proposal is that based on the notion of “partial truth”, which measures the amount of “information about the truth” conveyed by a given statement. We conclude with some critical remarks concerning the veridicality thesis in connection with the role played by truth and information as relevant cognitive goals of inquiry.
2014
978-3-319-06079-8
(Strongly) Semantic information
Cognitive decision theory
Informative truth
Misinformation
Partial truth
Truth
Truthlikeness
Veridicality thesis
Verisimilitude
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11771/6484
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