Informational Ontologies
Overview
Information is the true basis for reality, so it is more likely that consciousness is grounded in informational manipulations than physical phenomena.
Responses
An information ontology is no more persuasive or parsimonious than a physical ontology, where the latter is the basis for modern physics (e.g. quantum field theory or particle interpretations of quantum mechanics). Information (and Shannon Information) is better understood as a function of observer-knowledge, i.e. an epistemological issue rather than an ontological one. Likewise, Landauer's limit should be seen as a thermodynamic insight about physical state transitions, rather than some ontological grounding for information outside of physical matter.
Further reading
- Chalmers D (1996). The Conscious Mind (Chapter 8: Consciousness and Information)
- Wheeler JA (1990). Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links