This paper considers the relationships among meaning generation, selection, and the dynamics of discourse from a variety of perspectives ranging from information theory and biology to sociology. Following Husserl's idea of a horizon of meaning in intersubjective communication, we propose a way in which, using Shannon's equations, the generation and selection of meanings from a horizon of possibilities can be considered probabilistically. The information-theoretical dynamics we articulate considers a process of meaning generation within cultural evolution: information is imbued with meaning, and through this process, the number of options for the selection of meaning in discourse proliferates. The redundancy of possible meanings contributes to a codification of expectations within the discourse. Unlike hard-wired DNA, the codes of non-biological systems can co-evolve with the variations. Spanning horizons of meaning, the codes structure the communications as selection environments that shape discourses. Discursive knowledge can be considered as meta-coded communication which enables us to translate among differently coded communications. The dynamics of discursive knowledge production can thus infuse the historical dynamics with a cultural evolution by adding options, that is, by increasing redundancy. A calculus of redundancy is presented as an indicator whereby these dynamics of discourse and meaning may be explored empirically.
Deep Dive into Toward a Calculus of Redundancy: The feedback arrow of expectations in knowledge-based systems.
This paper considers the relationships among meaning generation, selection, and the dynamics of discourse from a variety of perspectives ranging from information theory and biology to sociology. Following Husserl’s idea of a horizon of meaning in intersubjective communication, we propose a way in which, using Shannon’s equations, the generation and selection of meanings from a horizon of possibilities can be considered probabilistically. The information-theoretical dynamics we articulate considers a process of meaning generation within cultural evolution: information is imbued with meaning, and through this process, the number of options for the selection of meaning in discourse proliferates. The redundancy of possible meanings contributes to a codification of expectations within the discourse. Unlike hard-wired DNA, the codes of non-biological systems can co-evolve with the variations. Spanning horizons of meaning, the codes structure the communications as selection environments that
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Toward a Calculus of Redundancy:
Signification, Codification, and Anticipation in Cultural Evolution
Loet Leydesdorff,a* Mark W. Johnson,b and Inga Ivanovac
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
(forthcoming)
Abstract
This paper considers the relationships among meaning generation, selection, and the dynamics of
discourse from a variety of perspectives ranging from information theory and biology to
sociology. Following Husserl’s idea of a horizon of meaning in intersubjective communication,
we propose a way in which, using Shannon’s equations, the generation and selection of meanings
from a horizon of possibilities can be considered probabilistically. The information-theoretical
dynamics we articulate considers a process of meaning generation within cultural evolution:
information is imbued with meaning, and through this process, the number of options for the
selection of meaning in discourse proliferates. The redundancy of possible meanings contributes
to a codification of expectations within the discourse. Unlike hard-wired DNA, the codes of non-
biological systems can co-evolve with the variations. Spanning horizons of meaning, the codes
structure the communications as selection environments that shape discourses. Discursive
knowledge can be considered as meta-coded communication which enables us to translate among
differently coded communications. The dynamics of discursive knowledge production can thus
infuse the historical dynamics with a cultural evolution by adding options, that is, by increasing
redundancy. A calculus of redundancy is presented as an indicator whereby these dynamics of
discourse and meaning may be explored empirically.
Keywords: redundancy, discursive knowledge, incursion, options, meaning, codification
a * corresponding author; University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), PO
Box 15793, 1001 NG Amsterdam, The Netherlands; email: loet@leydesdorff.net; ORCID: 0000-0002-7835-3098.
b University of Liverpool, Centre for Educational Development and Support, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences,
Brownlow Hill, Liverpool UK; email: mwj1@liverpool.ac.uk;
c Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University Higher School of
Economics (NRU HSE), 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russia; and School of Economics and
Management, Far Eastern Federal University, 8, Sukhanova St., Vladivostok 690990, Russia; inga.iva@mail.ru ;
ORCID: 0000-0002-5441-5231.
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Introduction
In this study, we analyze the relations between information processing and meaning processing
in interhuman communications. Different meanings can be provided to Shannon-type
information. In interhuman communications, however, meanings are provided with reference to
intersubjective horizons of meaning spanned by codes in the communication. Our objective is to
specify and operationalize the relations among these three dynamics of (1) information
processing, (2) the processing of meaning, and (3) the codification of communication. When
symbolically generalized, the codes can be expected to operate as coordination and selection
mechanisms—reducing uncertainty—whereas information processing generates uncertainty. The
operationalization in terms of mechanisms potentially generating redundancy will enable us to
specify an indicator for the trade-off between the evolutionary self-organization of codes in inter-
human communications and their historical variation in instantiations.
Although the analysis has philosophical overtones, we do not intend to formulate an
encompassing theory. We bring together specific insights from various perspectives relevant for
developing a calculus of redundancy: information theory, biology, evolution theory, the theory
and computation of anticipatory systems, and sociology. Can a calculus of redundancy be
envisaged, complementary to the calculus of information provided by Shannon’s (1948)
mathematical theory of communication (Bar-Hillel, 1955; Theil, 1972)? In our opinion, the
analytical distinctions between information, meaning, and knowledge as codified meaning can be
used to enrich the theoretical framework and can be operationalized.
The meaning of information can be changed independently of the information content of a
message, and the information content can change without consequences for its meaning. In other
words, a degree of freedom is added to the communication when one assigns meaning to a
Shannon-type information H—formalized as 𝐻= −∑𝑝𝑖
𝑖
log(𝑝𝑖) , where pi is the relative
frequency distribution of a random variable.1 The maximum entropy of systems which process
both information and meaning is not log(N)—the logarithm of the number of options N—but
1 If two is used as the base for the logarithm, the information is expressed
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