Epistemology & Cognition Lab

Claims that computation is a form of information processing are common in computer and cognitive sciences. Unsurprisingly, the notions of'information' and 'computation' have become intimately intertwined. On the instructional information processing account, digital computation is a form of information processing. However, this account faces several problems, which stem from adopting Floridi's conceptual framework of information, that are discussed here. We briefly examine Coming's theory of control information as an alternative to Floridi's framework. Since both are found unsuitable for the task of explaining computation as a form of information processing, another conceptual framework is defended, namely, that of functional information.