Theoretical Approaches to Information

Theoretical and philosophical approaches to information provides a context for HATII's research as well as forming a research theme in its own right. Issues of post-modernism, relativism, cognition and consciousness, with a particular emphasis on machine consciousness, enkinaesthesia, information and information processing in both computational and post-computational frameworks are areas of interest.

Susan Stuart, with her background in philosophy has adressed some of these issue in her co-edited book Computation, Information, Cognition: The Nexus and The Liminal (Cambridge Scholars, 2007). This work draws together a number of important strands in contemporary approaches to the philosophical and scientific questions that emerge when dealing with the issues of computing, information, cognition and the conceptual issues that arise at their intersections. Together with Michael Moss, from a background in history and archives, and James Currall, from one in statistics, Stuart collaborates in research into the foundational concepts of information sciences. They developed their ideas on digital identity for a special issue of the Journal of Applied Logic (2008) 6, on questions of authenticity and identity. More recently Stuart has published extensively on enkinaesthesia.