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The Semantic Sphere 1: Computation, Cognition and Information Economy

Name: The Semantic Sphere 1: Computation, Cognition and Information Economy
Author: Pierre Lévy
ISBN: 9781848212510

by Pierre Lévy

October 2011

Intermediate to advanced

416 pages

12h 14m

English

Wiley

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: General Introduction
1.1. The vision: to enhance cognitive processes1.1.1. The semantic imperative1.1.2. The ethical imperative1.1.3. The technical imperative1.2. A transdisciplinary intellectual adventure1.2.1. The years of training, 1975—19921.2.2. The years of conception, 1992—20021.2.2.1. The generalized trivium1.2.2.2. Archetypes1.2.2.2.1. Comments on the archetypes1.2.2.3. Triplication1.2.2.4. The dialectic of address and message1.2.2.5. Toward a dialectic of virtual and actual1.2.2.6. Further research1.2.3. The years of gestation, 2002—20101.2.3.1. A model of collective intelligence1.2.3.2. A regular language1.3. The result: toward hypercortical cognition1.3.1. A system of coordinates1.3.1.1. Paradigmatic links1.3.1.1.1. Etymological links1.3.1.1.2. Taxonomic links1.3.1.1.3. Symmetrical links1.3.1.1.4. Serial links1.3.1.2. Syntagmatic links1.3.1.3. A computational topology1.3.2. An information economy1.3.3. A Hypercortex to contribute to cognitive augmentation1.3.3.1. A scientific model of human cognition1.3.3.2. Knowledge management that respects cultural diversity1.3.3.3. A writing that makes the intellectual mastery of information flows possible1.3.3.4. Humanistic openness or post-human singularity?1.4. General plan of this book
Part 1. The Philosophy of Iinformation
Chapter 2: The Nature of Information
2.1. Orientation2.2. The information paradigm2.2.1. Information and symbolic systems2.2.2. The sources of the information paradigm2.2.3. Information between form and difference2.2.4. Information and time2.3. Layers of encoding2.3.1. A layered structure2.3.2. The physicochemical and organic layers2.3.3. The phenomenal layer2.3.4. The symbolic layer2.3.5. A synthetic view of the layers of information2.4. Evolution in information nature2.5. The unity of nature2.5.1. Natural information and cultural information2.5.2. Nature as a “great symbol”
Chapter 3: Symbolic Cognition
3.1. Delimitation of the field of symbolic cognition3.1.1. Singularity3.1.2. Social and technical dimensions3.1.3. Symbolic manipulation goes far beyond linguistic competence and “reason”3.2. The secondary reflexivity of symbolic cognition3.2.1. The primary reflexivity of phenomenal consciousness3.2.2. The secondary reflexivity of discursive consciousness3.3. Symbolic power and its manifestations3.4. The reciprocal enveloping of the phenomenal world and semantic world3.5. The open intelligence of culture3.6. Differences between animal and human collective intelligence
Chapter 4: Creative Conversation
4.1. Beyond “collective stupidity”4.2. Reflexive explication and sharing of knowledge4.2.1. Personal and social knowledge management4.2.1.1. Introduction to knowledge management4.2.1.2. The cycle of personal knowledge management4.2.1.2.1. Attention management4.2.1.2.2. Choice of sources4.2.1.2.3. Collection, filtering, categorization and recording of information flows4.2.1.2.4. Synthesis, sharing and conversation4.2.1.2.5. The feedback loop of personal knowledge management4.2.1.2.6. Techniques pass but cognitive function remains4.2.2. The role of explication in social knowledge management4.2.3. Dialectic of memory and creative conversation4.3. The symbolic medium of creative conversation4.3.1. The question of the symbolic medium4.3.2. The metalinguistic articulation of organized memory4.3.3. How can creative conversation organize digital memory?
Chapter 5: Toward an Epistemological Transformation of the Human Sciences
5.1. The stakes of human development5.1.1. The scope of human development5.1.2. In search of models of human development5.1.3. Social capital and human development5.1.4. The knowledge society and human development: a six-pole model5.2. Critique of the human sciences5.2.1. Human sciences and natural sciences5.2.2. Internal fragmentation5.2.3. Methodological weaknesses5.2.4. Lack of coordination5.3. The threefold renewal of the human sciences5.3.1. New possibilities for collaboration5.3.1.1. Direct access to and collective use of data and tools5.3.1.1. Direct access to and collective use of data and tools5.3.1.3. A new type of informal creative conversation5.3.2. New possibilities for observation, memory and calculation5.3.2.1. Availability of data and calculating power5.3.2.2. Absence of the tools for semantic synthesis needed to make full use of the new situation5.3.3. Toward a system of semantic coordinates5.3.3.1. Historical context5.3.3.2. A metalanguage that serves the human sciences5.4. The Ouroboros

Chapter 6: The Information Economy
6.1. The symbiosis of knowledge capital and cognitive labor6.1.1. The genealogy of capital6.1.2. The commons: the interdependence of human populations, ecosystems of ideas and biological ecosystems6.2. Toward scientific self-management of collective intelligence6.2.1. Political economy and collective intelligence6.2.2. The autopoiesis of collective intelligence6.3. Flows of symbolic energy6.3.1. The problem of the general equivalent6.3.2. The power of mana6.3.3. The complete circuit of information6.4. Ecosystems of ideas and the semantic information economy6.4.1. An “eco” paradigm for thinking about semantic information6.4.1.1. Etymology and general approach6.4.1.2. Distinction between unity and uniformity6.4.2. Ecosystems of ideas in epistemology6.4.3. General characteristics of ecosystems of ideas6.4.3.1. Ecosystems of ideas live in interdependence with human populations6.4.3.2. The world of ideas is not separate from the sensory world6.4.3.3. Ecosystems of ideas evolve6.5. The semantic information economy in the digital medium6.5.1. The prophets of media and the “global brain”6.5.2. Semantic information economy and the commons in the digital medium
Part 2. Modeling Cognition
Chapter 7: Introduction to the Scientific Knowledge of the Mind
7.1. Research program7.1.1. Profession of pragmatic faith7.1.2. Initial questions7.1.3. Instruments7.1.4. Subject-object7.1.5. Method and result.7.2. The mind in nature7.2.1. The uni-duality of communication nature7.2.1.1. Virtual and actual spheres of communication7.2.1.2. Actual space-time7.2.1.2. Actual space-time7.2.1.4. The interdependent co-emergence of the virtual and actual spheres7.2.2. The uni-ternarity of communication nature.7.3. The three symbolic functions of the cortex7.3.1. The syntactic function7.3.2. The semantic function7.3.3. The pragmatic function7.3.3.1. Interpretation, memory, action7.3.3.2. Ideas7.3.3.3. Pragmatics and general rhetoric7.3.4. The sign (S)/being (B)/thing (T) dialectic of symbolic cognition7.4. The IEML model of symbolic cognition7.4.1. The semantic sphere: the mathematical basis of the IEML model of the mind7.4.2. The Cortex, the Hypercortex and the semantic sphere7.4.3. The Cortex, the Hypercortex and the mind7.4.4. General structure of the IEML model7.4.5. IEML as machine: formal properties7.4.5.1. Toward a universal semantic calculus7.4.5.1. Toward a universal semantic calculus7.4.6. IEML as metalanguage: semantic properties7.4.6.1. STAR: The linguistic operating system of the IEML semantic machine7.4.6.2. IEML as a human language7.4.6.3. IEML as a computer language7.4.7. IEML as a universe of games: pragmatic properties7.4.7.1. The hermeneutic functions and the production of ideas7.4.7.1. The hermeneutic functions and the production of ideas7.4.7.3. IEML games and knowledge management7.5. The architecture of the Hypercortex7.5.1. The Internet7.5.2. The IEML semantic sphere7.5.3. Interdependence of the semantic sphere and the Internet7.5.4. New perspectives in computer science and the human sciences7.6. Overview: toward a reflexive collective intelligence
Chapter 8: The Computer Science Perspective: Toward a Reflexive Intelligence
8.1. Augmented collective intelligence8.1.1. A new field of research8.1.2. A direction for cultural evolution in the long term8.2. The purpose of automatic manipulation of symbols: cognitive modeling and self-knowledge8.2.1. Substitution or augmentation?8.2.2. Modeling of separate or connected intelligences?8.2.3. Conscious machines or machines that mirror collective cognition?8.2.3.1. Embodiment8.2.3.2. Know thyself8.2.3.3. Reflexive consciousness and computation of meaning8.2.3.4. The Hypercortex: serving reflexive intelligence8.3. The means of automatic manipulation of symbols: beyond probabilities and logic8.3.1. Exploration of graphs8.3.2. Limitations of statistics8.3.3. Limitations of logic8.3.4. Symbolic cognition cannot be modeled without full recognition of the interdependence in which it originates
Chapter 9: General Presentation of the IEML Semantic Sphere
9.1. Ideas9.1.1. Internal structure9.1.1.1. Percepts9.1.1.2. Affects9.1.1.3. Concepts9.1.1.4. Internal unity9.1.2. Production of ideas9.1.3. Networks of ideas9.2. Concepts9.2.1. A concept reflects a category in a symbol9.2.2. A concept interconnects concepts9.2.3. The IEML model of the concept9.2.4. Addressing of ideas by concepts9.2.4.1. On the relationship of ideas and concepts9.2.4.2. Why is it the concept that addresses the idea?9.2.4.3. The nature of semantic addressing9.3. Unity and calculability9.3.1. Functional calculability9.3.2. The unity of the mind9.3.3. Requirements of calculability for a system of semantic coordinates9.4. Symmetry9.4.1. Unity and symmetry9.4.2. Graph theory and the human sciences9.4.3. Group theory and the human sciences9.5. Internal coherence9.5.1. The mathematical formalization of concepts is a methodological necessity9.5.2. The identification code for concepts cannot be based directly on empirical data9.5.2.1. Inadequacy of a neural basis9.5.2.2. Inadequacy of a sociotechnical basis9.5.2.3. Inadequacy of a basis in natural languages9.5.2.4. Conclusion9.5.3. Concepts can only be distinguished through their mutual relationships9.6. Inexhaustible complexity9.6.1. The inexhaustible complexity of the mind9.6.2. The unlimited variety of concepts and their transformations9.6.3. The unlimited size of concepts
Chapter 10: The IEML Metalanguage
10.1. The problem of encoding concepts10.2. Text units10.2.1. The layers of text units10.2.2. Classes of text units10.2.3. The roles of text units10.3. Circuits of meaning10.3.1. Langue and parole10.3.2. Paradigmatic circuits10.3.3. Syntagmatic circuits10.4. Between text and circuits10.4.1. What is meaning?10.4.2. Correspondences between chains of signifiers and circuits of signifieds: the natural semantic machine10.4.3. The independence of the textual and conceptual machines10.4.4. The interdependence of textual and conceptual machines
Chapter 11: The IEML Semantic Machine
11.1. Overview of the functions involved in symbolic cognition11.1.1. Arithmetic and logical functions11.1.2. Hermeneutic functions11.1.3. Natural semantic functions11.1.3.1. The textual function11.1.3.2. The linguistic function11.1.3.3. The conceptual function11.1.3.4. The interdependence of semantic functions11.2. Requirements for the construction of the IEML semantic machine11.2.1. Concepts must be encoded in IEML as semantic networks11.2.2. The conceptual, textual and linguistic functions of the IEML semantic machine must be inseparable11.2.3. Concepts encoded in IEML must be variables of a transformation group11.2.4. Concepts encoded in IEML must be automatically translated into natural languages11.3. The IEML textual machine (S)11.3.1. Introduction to the textual machine11.3.2. The mathematical properties of IEML11.4. The STAR (Semantic Tool for Augmented Reasoning) linguistic engine (B)11.4.1. Introduction to the linguistic function11.4.2. Metalanguage11.4.3. Rules for the construction of circuits11.4.4. The dictionary11.4.5. The STAR dialect11.4.6. From USL to semantic circuit11.5. The conceptual machine (T)11.5.1. The transformation of semantic circuits11.5.2. The openness and complexity of the circuits of the semantic sphere11.6. Conclusion11.6.1. The unit of semantic information11.6.2. The two faces of the semantic sphere11.6.3. Directions of development
Chapter 12: The Hypercortex
12.1. The role of media and symbolic systems in cognition12.2. The digital medium12.2.1. General definition12.2.2. The automation of symbol manipulation12.2.3. The digitization of memory12.2.4. The compartmentalization of symbolic systems12.2.5. The non-computability of symbolic systems12.2.6. The opacity of the Web12.2.7. An unfinished matrix12.3. The evolution of the layers of addressing in the digital medium12.3.1. The era of big computers (addressing of bits)12.3.2. The age of personal computers and the Internet (addressing of automata)12.3.3. The era of the Web (addressing of data)12.3.4. The era of the semantic sphere (addressing of ideas)12.4. Between the Cortex and the Hypercortex12.4.1. Parallels between the Cortex and the Hypercortex12.5. Toward an observatory of collective intelligence12.5.1. Sensory-motor interfaces12.5.2. The IEML semantic machine12.5.3. The semantic sphere12.5.4. The IEML metalanguage: the key to semantic interoperability12.5.5. Ecosystems of ideas: introduction to hermeneutic memory12.6. Conclusion: the computability and interoperability of semantic and hermeneutic functions
Chapter 13: Hermeneutic Memory
13.1. Toward a semantic organization of memory13.1.1. Implications of collective processes of categorization in the digital medium13.1.2. A renewed approach to the problem of categorization13.2. The layers of complexity of memory13.3. Radical hermeneutics13.3.1. Introduction to the hermeneutic approach to cognition13.3.2. The thesis of radical hermeneutics13.3.2.1. It is impossible to separate cognition from memoryon13.3.2.2. All organization of memory is interpretative in nature13.3.3. Radical hermeneutics beyond the misunderstandings13.4. The hermeneutics of information13.4.1. Data13.4.2. Perception13.4.2.1. Categorization13.4.2.1. Categorization13.4.2.1. Categorization13.4.2.4. The production of intensity13.4.2.5. The result of perception: the phenomenal information unit13.4.3. The semantic information unit13.5. The hermeneutics of knowledge13.5.1. Thought13.5.2. The semantic information unit as a tool for cognitive modeling13.5.2.1. The information unit as an idea13.5.2.2. The information unit as an utterance13.5.2.3. The information unit as a meme13.5.3. The noumenal circuit as a tool for cognitive modeling13.5.3.1. The noumenal circuit as a theory13.5.3.2. The noumenal circuit as narrative13.5.3.3. Cognitive simulation13.5.4. Hierarchy of the functions of symbolic cognition13.5.4.1. Semantic functions13.5.4.2. Hermeneutic functions13.6. Wisdom13.7. Collective interpretation games13.7.1. Reading/writing13.7.2. Exploration13.7.3. Feedback13.7.4. Coordination of the games
Chapter 14. The Perspective of the Humanities: Toward Explicit Knowledge
14.1. Context14.1.1. The increasingly transnational, transdisciplinary and democratic nature of the human sciences14.1.2. Agendas and the stakes of power14.2. Methodology: the digital humanities14.2.1. The science of collective intelligence and the collective intelligence of the human sciences14.2.2. What are the digital humanities today?14.2.3. A new writing that serves the human sciences14.2.4. The encoding and semantic use of data14.3. Epistemology: explicating symbolic cognition14.3.1. Reflexive knowledge and non-reflexive knowledge14.3.2. The cognitive process14.3.3. Essences: the power of symbolic cognition14.3.4. Concepts: intellectual cognition14.3.5. Ideas: affective cognition14.3.6. Stories: narrative cognition14.3.7. Autopoietic cognition14.3.8. The dark side of power
Chapter 15. Observing Collective Intelligence
15.1. The semantic sphere as a mirror of concepts15.1.1. Reflecting the world of ideas15.1.2. The IEML semantic sphere15.2. The structure of the cognitive image15.2.1. The integration of data into calculable cognitive models15.2.2. The ternary structure of the cognitive image S/B/T15.2.2.1. The ternary structure of the semantic information unit15.2.2.2. The topological image: semantic circuits S15.2.2.3. The energy image: semantic currents 15.2.2.4. The referential image: multimedia data T15.2.3. The dual structure of the cognitive image U/A15.3. The two eyes of reflexive observation
Bibliography
Index

Content preview from The Semantic Sphere 1: Computation, Cognition and Information Economy

Chapter 12 The Hypercortex

Having recalled the essential role played by media and symbolic systems in human cognition, I will now paint a general portrait of the contemporary digital medium and its likely evolution. I will elaborate on the idea I mentioned in preceding chapters, that the IEML semantic machine paves the way for the emergence of a Hypercortex capable of reflecting human collective intelligence by using the storage and calculation power of the digital medium. As shown in Figure 12.1, this chapter gives an overview of the hypercortical cognition that will be contained in the digital medium.

12.1. The role of media and symbolic systems in cognition

There is no doubt that human cognition is based on biologically determined cerebral organization and neural activity¹. Nevertheless, recent decades have seen the publication of an impressive quantity of research on intellectual technologies and symbolic tools². The main idea that unifies this interdisciplinary area of research is that mechanisms of memory, communication media and symbolic systems – all of which are cultural – play an essential role in shaping cognitive skills, both individually and collectively³.

Figure 12.1. Position of Chapter 12 on the conceptual map

The invention of writing permitted the development of systematically organized knowledge (lists, tables, archives, accounting and complex hermeneutic procedures) ...

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The Semantic Sphere 1: Computation, Cognition and Information Economy

by Pierre Lévy

Chapter 12

The Hypercortex

12.1. The role of media and symbolic systems in cognition

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