Definition and Essence of Information

Abstract

It has been 60 years since the essential attributes of information were explored in the field of philosophy, resulting in many contentious schools of thought and a wide division of opinions. Some scholars in China and abroad have been trying to build a new system of information philosophy from an ontological perspective, so as to explain the world. In this paper, the author puts forward a definition of information and its mathematical expressions in order to demonstrate that information is the collection of three kinds of attributes of things. Analysis suggests that the essence of information is the interaction of matters and the representation of the law of causality in philosophy. The paper also explores the ways in which information—as a noun—is a term that people have customarily used and confused. Eventually, the induction, differentiation and utilization of information, as conventionally understood, should be applied into studying matters themselves.