Harnad, S. (2011) Lunch Uncertain [Review of: Floridi, Luciano (2011) The Philosophy of
Information (Oxford)]. Times Literary Supplement, 5664 . pp. 22-23.
http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/22962
ABSTRACT: The usual way to try to ground knowing according to contemporary theory of
knowledge is: We know something if (1) it’s true, (2) we believe it, and (3) we believe it
for the “right” reasons. Floridi proposes a better way. His grounding is based partly on
probability theory, and partly on a question/answer network of verbal and behavioural
interactions evolving in time. This is rather like modeling the data-exchange between a
data-seeker who needs to know which button to press on a food-dispenser and a data-knower
who already knows the correct number. The success criterion, hence the grounding, is
whether the seeker’s probability of lunch is indeed increasing (hence uncertainty is
decreasing) as a result of the interaction. Floridi also suggests that his philosophy of
information casts some light on the problem of consciousness. I’m not so sure.