Luciano Floridi
Encyclopedia
Luciano Floridi currently holds the Research Chair in philosophy of information
and the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics, both at the University of Hertfordshire
, Department of Philosophy. He is also Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford
University, Senior Member of the Faculty of Philosophy and Research Associate and Fellow in Information Policy at OUCL (the Department of Computer Science), University of Oxford
. He is best known for his work on two areas of philosophical research: the philosophy of information
and information ethics
.
He is the founder and director of the IEG, an interdepartmental research group on the philosophy of information at the University of Oxford
, and of the GPI, the research Group in Philosophy of Information at the University of Hertfordshire
. He was the founder and director of the SWIF, the Italian e-journal of philosophy (1995–2008). His works have been translated into Chinese, French, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Persian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
in 1964 and studied at Rome University La Sapienza (Laurea, first class with distinction, 1988), where he was originally educated as a historian of philosophy. He soon became interested in analytic philosophy
and wrote his tesi di laurea (MA dissertation) for Rome University La Sapienza in philosophy of logic
, on Michael Dummett
's anti-realism
. He obtained his MPhil
(1989) and PhD
degree (1990) from the University of Warwick
, working in epistemology and philosophy of logic
with Susan Haack
(who was his PhD supervisor) and Michael Dummett
. Floridi's early student years are partly recounted in the non-fiction book The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece
, where he is "Luciano". During his graduate and postdoctoral years, he moved across the standard topics in analytic philosophy
in search of a new methodology, in order to approach contemporary problems from a perspective that would be heuristically powerful and intellectually enriching, when dealing with lively philosophical issues. During his graduate studies, he began to distance himself from classic analytic philosophy
. In his view, the analytic movement had lost its propelling force and was a retreating paradigm. For this reason, he worked on pragmatism
(especially Peirce) and foundationalist issues in epistemology and philosophy of logic
.
in 1990-1. He joined the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Oxford
in 1990 and the OUCL (Oxford's Department of Computer Science) in 1999. He was Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Wolfson College
, Oxford University (1990-4), Francis Yates Fellow in the History of Ideas at the Warburg Institute
, University of London
(1994–95) and Research Fellow in Philosophy at Wolfson College
, Oxford University (1994-2001). During these years in Oxford, he held several lecturerships in different Colleges. Between 1994 and 1996 he also held a post-doctoral research scholarship at the Department of Philosophy, University of Turin
. Between 2001 and 2006, he was Markle Foundation
Senior Research Fellow in Information Policy at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Oxford University. Between 2002 and 2008, he was Associate Professor of Logic at the Università degli Studi di Bari. In 2006, he became Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford
University, where he plays for the squash team. In 2008, he was appointed full professor of philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire
, where he holds the newly established research chair in philosophy of information
and, since 2009, the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics.
In his first book, Scepticism and the Foundation of Epistemology, Floridi was already looking for a concept of subject-independent knowledge close to what he now identifies as semantic information
. During his postdoctoral studies, as a Junior Research Fellow of Wolfson College
, University of Oxford
, he began to embrace a more Neo-Kantian philosophy, which led him to spend one academic year in Marburg
, where he focussed on Ernest Cassirer's version of Neo-Kantianism
. He began working exclusively on what is now known as the philosophy of information
during his years as Research Fellow, still at Wolfson College
, University of Oxford
. Floridi's Erdős number
is 3.
, the new area of research that has emerged from the computational/informational turn.
Floridi approaches the philosophy of information
from two perspectives:
For example, in the Preface of Philosophy and Computing, published in 1999, he wrote that the book was meant for two kinds of philosophy students: those who need to acquire some IT literacy in order to use computers efficiently, and those who may be interested in acquiring the background knowledge indispensable for developing a critical understanding of our digital age and hence beginning to work on that would-be branch of philosophy, the philosophy of information
, which he hoped may one day become part of Philosophia Prima. Since then, PI, or PCI (Philosophy of Computing and Information), has become his major research interest.
Floridi's perspective is that there is a need for a broader concept of information processing and flowing, which includes computation
, but not only computation. This new framework provides a very robust theoretical frame within which to place and make sense of the different lines of research that have taken shape since the fifties. The second advantage is PI’s diachronic perspective, a perspective on the development of philosophy through time. In his view, PI gives us a much wider and more profound perspective on what philosophy might have actually been doing.
Currently, Floridi is working on two areas of research: computer ethics
(see the entry information ethics
) and the concept of information
. Key to this area of work is the claim that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) is radically re-engineering or re-ontologizing
the infosphere
.
Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, University of Oxford
2008:
Ethics and Information Technology, Springer
, published a special issue in two numbers dedicated to his work.
See also his Information Ethics: A Reappraisal, with replies to the articles published in the special issue.
First philosopher to be awarded the Gauss Professorhip by
the Göttingen Academy of Sciences
.
2009:
Winner of the American Philosophical Association
's Barwise Prize
The APA's Newsletter dedicates two issues to his work.
See also his Replies.
Elected Fellow of the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour
.
Appointed UNESCO
Chair in Information and Computer Ethics.
2010:
Appointed Editor-in-chief of Springer
's new journal
Metaphilosophy, Blackwell-Wiley, published a special issue dedicated to his work.
See also his The Philosophy of Information - Ten Years Later, with replies to the articles published in the special issue.
University of Hertfordshire, Vice Chancellor Award 2010: "Highly commended for research supporting engagement with business, the profession and partner organisations".
Elected Fellow of the Center for Information Policy Research, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Knowledge, Technology and Policy, Springer
, published a special issue dedicated to his work.
2011:
Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, Taylor & Francis
, is preparing a special issue dedicated to his work.
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
and the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics, both at the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
, Department of Philosophy. He is also Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street...
University, Senior Member of the Faculty of Philosophy and Research Associate and Fellow in Information Policy at OUCL (the Department of Computer Science), University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He is best known for his work on two areas of philosophical research: the philosophy of information
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
and information ethics
Information ethics
Information ethics has been defined as "the branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society". It provides a critical framework for considering...
.
He is the founder and director of the IEG, an interdepartmental research group on the philosophy of information at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and of the GPI, the research Group in Philosophy of Information at the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
. He was the founder and director of the SWIF, the Italian e-journal of philosophy (1995–2008). His works have been translated into Chinese, French, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Persian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
Early life and education
Floridi was born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1964 and studied at Rome University La Sapienza (Laurea, first class with distinction, 1988), where he was originally educated as a historian of philosophy. He soon became interested in analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
and wrote his tesi di laurea (MA dissertation) for Rome University La Sapienza in philosophy of logic
Philosophy of logic
Following the developments in Formal logic with symbolic logic in the late nineteenth century and mathematical logic in the twentieth, topics traditionally treated by logic not being part of formal logic have tended to be termed either philosophy of logic or philosophical logic if no longer simply...
, on Michael Dummett
Michael Dummett
Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett FBA D.Litt is a British philosopher. He was, until 1992, Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford...
's anti-realism
Anti-realism
In analytic philosophy, the term anti-realism is used to describe any position involving either the denial of an objective reality of entities of a certain type or the denial that verification-transcendent statements about a type of entity are either true or false...
. He obtained his MPhil
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...
(1989) and PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree (1990) from the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, working in epistemology and philosophy of logic
Philosophy of logic
Following the developments in Formal logic with symbolic logic in the late nineteenth century and mathematical logic in the twentieth, topics traditionally treated by logic not being part of formal logic have tended to be termed either philosophy of logic or philosophical logic if no longer simply...
with Susan Haack
Susan Haack
Susan Haack is an English professor of philosophy and law at the University of Miami in the United States. She has written on logic, the philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics. Her pragmatism follows that of Charles Sanders Peirce.-Career:Haack is a graduate of the University of...
(who was his PhD supervisor) and Michael Dummett
Michael Dummett
Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett FBA D.Litt is a British philosopher. He was, until 1992, Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford...
. Floridi's early student years are partly recounted in the non-fiction book The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece is a non-fiction book by the author of A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr. The book traces the recent discovery of a Caravaggio painting, The Taking of Christ . The book is an extension of an article that first appeared in The New York Times...
, where he is "Luciano". During his graduate and postdoctoral years, he moved across the standard topics in analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
in search of a new methodology, in order to approach contemporary problems from a perspective that would be heuristically powerful and intellectually enriching, when dealing with lively philosophical issues. During his graduate studies, he began to distance himself from classic analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
. In his view, the analytic movement had lost its propelling force and was a retreating paradigm. For this reason, he worked on pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
(especially Peirce) and foundationalist issues in epistemology and philosophy of logic
Philosophy of logic
Following the developments in Formal logic with symbolic logic in the late nineteenth century and mathematical logic in the twentieth, topics traditionally treated by logic not being part of formal logic have tended to be termed either philosophy of logic or philosophical logic if no longer simply...
.
Academic career
He was appointed Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of WarwickUniversity of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
in 1990-1. He joined the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1990 and the OUCL (Oxford's Department of Computer Science) in 1999. He was Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Wolfson College
Wolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
, Oxford University (1990-4), Francis Yates Fellow in the History of Ideas at the Warburg Institute
Warburg Institute
The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of the influence of classical antiquity on all aspects of European civilisation.-History:The Institute was founded by...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(1994–95) and Research Fellow in Philosophy at Wolfson College
Wolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
, Oxford University (1994-2001). During these years in Oxford, he held several lecturerships in different Colleges. Between 1994 and 1996 he also held a post-doctoral research scholarship at the Department of Philosophy, University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
. Between 2001 and 2006, he was Markle Foundation
Markle Foundation
The Markle Foundation is an organization concerned with technology, health care, and national security.Emerging communications media and information technology create unprecedented opportunity to improve people's lives. The Markle Foundation works to realize this potential and promotes the use of...
Senior Research Fellow in Information Policy at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Oxford University. Between 2002 and 2008, he was Associate Professor of Logic at the Università degli Studi di Bari. In 2006, he became Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street...
University, where he plays for the squash team. In 2008, he was appointed full professor of philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
, where he holds the newly established research chair in philosophy of information
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
and, since 2009, the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics.
In his first book, Scepticism and the Foundation of Epistemology, Floridi was already looking for a concept of subject-independent knowledge close to what he now identifies as semantic information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
. During his postdoctoral studies, as a Junior Research Fellow of Wolfson College
Wolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, he began to embrace a more Neo-Kantian philosophy, which led him to spend one academic year in Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
, where he focussed on Ernest Cassirer's version of Neo-Kantianism
Neo-Kantianism
Neo-Kantianism refers broadly to a revived type of philosophy along the lines of that laid down by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century, or more specifically by Schopenhauer's criticism of the Kantian philosophy in his work The World as Will and Representation , as well as by other post-Kantian...
. He began working exclusively on what is now known as the philosophy of information
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
during his years as Research Fellow, still at Wolfson College
Wolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. Floridi's Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
is 3.
Philosophy
According to Floridi, it is necessary to develop a constructionist philosophy, where design, modelling and implementation replace analysis and dissection. Shifting from one set of tasks to the other, philosophy could then stop retreating into the increasingly small corner of its self-sustaining investigations, and hence re-acquire a wider view about what really matters. Slowly, Floridi has come to characterise his constructionist philosophy as an innovative field, now known as the philosophy of informationPhilosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
, the new area of research that has emerged from the computational/informational turn.
Floridi approaches the philosophy of information
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
from two perspectives:
- the purely theoretical perspective provided by logicLogicIn philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and epistemology, and - the technical perspective provided by computer scienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, ITInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and Humanities Computing.
For example, in the Preface of Philosophy and Computing, published in 1999, he wrote that the book was meant for two kinds of philosophy students: those who need to acquire some IT literacy in order to use computers efficiently, and those who may be interested in acquiring the background knowledge indispensable for developing a critical understanding of our digital age and hence beginning to work on that would-be branch of philosophy, the philosophy of information
Philosophy of information
The philosophy of information is the area of research that studies conceptual issues arising at the intersection of computer science, information technology, and philosophy.It includes:...
, which he hoped may one day become part of Philosophia Prima. Since then, PI, or PCI (Philosophy of Computing and Information), has become his major research interest.
Floridi's perspective is that there is a need for a broader concept of information processing and flowing, which includes computation
Computation
Computation is defined as any type of calculation. Also defined as use of computer technology in Information processing.Computation is a process following a well-defined model understood and expressed in an algorithm, protocol, network topology, etc...
, but not only computation. This new framework provides a very robust theoretical frame within which to place and make sense of the different lines of research that have taken shape since the fifties. The second advantage is PI’s diachronic perspective, a perspective on the development of philosophy through time. In his view, PI gives us a much wider and more profound perspective on what philosophy might have actually been doing.
Currently, Floridi is working on two areas of research: computer ethics
Computer ethics
Computer Ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct....
(see the entry information ethics
Information ethics
Information ethics has been defined as "the branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society". It provides a critical framework for considering...
) and the concept of information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
. Key to this area of work is the claim that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) is radically re-engineering or re-ontologizing
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
the infosphere
Infosphere
Infosphere is a neologism composed of information and sphere.The first documented use of the word "InfoSphere" was a 1971 Time Magazine book review by R.Z...
.
Books
- Augmented Intelligence — A Guide to IT for Philosophers. (in Italian) Rome: Armando, 1996.
- Scepticism and the Foundation of Epistemology - A Study in the Metalogical Fallacies. Leiden: Brill PublishersBrill PublishersBrill is an international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands. With offices in Leiden and Boston, Brill today publishes more than 134 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year...
, 1996. - Internet - An Epistemological Essay. (in Italian and in French) Milan: Il Saggiatore, 1997.
- Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction. London/New York: RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 1999. - Sextus Empiricus, The Recovery and Transmission of Pyrrhonism. Oxford: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2002. - The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information. (editor) Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
- Philosophy of Computing and Information: 5 Questions. (editor) Automatic Press / VIP, 2008.
- Information. Oxford: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2010. A volume for the Very Short Introduction series. - The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics. (editor) Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 2010. - The Philosophy of Information. Oxford: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2010.
Podcasts and Videos
- The Fourth Revolution, a TED presentation, April 4, 2011.
- Relevant Information, the SIRLS/Thomson Scientific ISI Samuel Lazarow Memorial lecture, University of Arizona, USA, February 8, 2007. View the Presentation while you listen to the podcast. Download Lecture (MP3, 52MB). Download Question and Answer Session following the Lecture (MP3, 39MB). Quicktime Streaming Video (requires the Quicktime Plug-in, broadband recommended). Windows Video (.wmv format, requires IE and Media Player version 9 or higher for streaming). iPod Compatible (.m4v, 375MB, download only).
- A Look into the Future of ICT North American Computing and Philosophy Conference, August 10–12, 2006, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
, USA. - Where are we in the philosophy of information?, June 21, 2006, University of BergenBergenBergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway. Abstract online - The Logic of Information, presentation, discussion, Télé-universitéTélé-universitéTélé-université, or TÉLUQ, is a component of the Université du Québec à Montréal. TÉLUQ became a component of UQAM in June 2005. The enabling legislation is An Act respecting educational institutions at the university level. -Programs:...
(Université du QuébecUniversité du QuébecThe University of Quebec is a system of ten provincially-run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates university programs for more than 87,000 students. It offers more than 300 programs...
), 11 May 2005, Montréal, Canada. - From Augmented Intelligence to Augmented Responsibility, North American Computing and Philosophy Conference, January 24, 2002, Oregon State UniversityOregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
, USA. - Artificial Evil and the Foundation of Computer Ethics, presentation, discussion, CEPE2000 Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry, July 14–16, 2000, Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, USA.
Recognitions and Awards
2007:Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
2008:
Ethics and Information Technology, Springer
Springer Science+Business Media
- Selected publications :* Encyclopaedia of Mathematics* Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete * Graduate Texts in Mathematics * Grothendieck's Séminaire de géométrie algébrique...
, published a special issue in two numbers dedicated to his work.
See also his Information Ethics: A Reappraisal, with replies to the articles published in the special issue.
First philosopher to be awarded the Gauss Professorhip by
the Göttingen Academy of Sciences
Göttingen Academy of Sciences
The Göttingen Academy of Sciences is the second oldest of the seven academies of sciences in Germany. It has the task of promoting research under its own auspices and in collaboration with academics in and outside Germany...
.
2009:
Winner of the American Philosophical Association
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work...
's Barwise Prize
Barwise prize
The Barwise prize was established in 2002 by the American Philosophical Association, in conjunction with the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers, on the basis of a proposal from the International Association for Computing and Philosophy for significant and sustained contributions to areas...
The APA's Newsletter dedicates two issues to his work.
See also his Replies.
Elected Fellow of the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour
Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour
The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour or SSAISB or AISB is a nonprofit, scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behaviour and their simulation and embodiment in machines...
.
Appointed UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Chair in Information and Computer Ethics.
2010:
Appointed Editor-in-chief of Springer
Springer Science+Business Media
- Selected publications :* Encyclopaedia of Mathematics* Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete * Graduate Texts in Mathematics * Grothendieck's Séminaire de géométrie algébrique...
's new journal
Metaphilosophy, Blackwell-Wiley, published a special issue dedicated to his work.
See also his The Philosophy of Information - Ten Years Later, with replies to the articles published in the special issue.
University of Hertfordshire, Vice Chancellor Award 2010: "Highly commended for research supporting engagement with business, the profession and partner organisations".
Elected Fellow of the Center for Information Policy Research, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Knowledge, Technology and Policy, Springer
Springer Science+Business Media
- Selected publications :* Encyclopaedia of Mathematics* Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete * Graduate Texts in Mathematics * Grothendieck's Séminaire de géométrie algébrique...
, published a special issue dedicated to his work.
2011:
Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
, is preparing a special issue dedicated to his work.
See also
- Digital physicsDigital physicsIn physics and cosmology, digital physics is a collection of theoretical perspectives based on the premise that the universe is, at heart, describable by information, and is therefore computable...
- Information theoryInformation theoryInformation theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
- Logic of informationLogic of informationThe logic of information, or the logical theory of information, considers the information content of logical signs and expressions along the lines initially developed by Charles Sanders Peirce...
- Philosophy of artificial intelligencePhilosophy of artificial intelligenceThe philosophy of artificial intelligence attempts to answer such questions as:* Can a machine act intelligently? Can it solve any problem that a person would solve by thinking?...
- Philosophy of technologyPhilosophy of technologyThe philosophy of technology is a philosophical field dedicated to studying the nature of technology and its social effects.- History :Considered under the rubric of the Greek term techne , the philosophy of technology goes to the very roots of Western philosophy.* In his Republic, Plato sees...
External links
- "Luciano Floridi on The Fourth Revolution" podcast of an interview with Nigel Warburton, also available on iTunes.
- Home page and articles online
- INSEIT Member spotlight, May 2008 (in English)
- http://www.philosophyofinformation.net/media/intervista%20rai%20international.mp3Interview for RAIRAIRAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
International, Taccuino Italiano, 5 March 2008 (in Italian)] - Interview for the American Philosophical Association — Philosophy And Computing Newsletter
- Biography, in English
- Biography, in Italian, from Cervelli in Fuga (Roma: Accenti, 2001)