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7Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2008 1) 347-353
УДК 101.1x316.77
Methodology of Social Differentiation of the Informational Relations as a Philosophical Problem
Latypov I. Abdulkhaevich*
Udmurt State University, 1 Universitetskaya st., Izhevsk, 426034 Russia 1
Received 05.08.2008, received in revised form 10.09.2008, accepted 17.09.2008
The paper characterizes philosophical problem of social differentiation of the informational relations. The bases for this kind of differentiation are relations towards property of information. This kind of property denominates unique form of such personal objective differentiation of some events or processes that makes difference in the following social processes.
Keywords: social philosophy, differentiation, informational relations, informational property.
Introduction
Actuality of this research is connected with the information society development in which the meaning of proprietary information and intellectual property grow. It is necessary to create methodology of differentiation of the informational relations so that to research information inequality problem. Modern society began to be segregated on criterion of non-equal possibilities to use socially significant information.
In this regard philosophy is able to actualize some aspects of its methodological function towards scientific research of modern social processes and of informational aspects of objective reality. My attempt to form basis for methodology of differentiation of the informational relations actualizes some aspects of this function.
The term "informational relations" is used for social relations towards creation, storage, transmission and consumption of information.
Theoretical Base for Methodology of Social Differentiation of the Informational Relations
It is possible to use theory of social differentiation so that to analyze informational relations. This theory conveys communicative handling to social systems. It can be shown by the next definition: "system of higher order than separate personalities is society as a system of communication" (Luhmann, 2005, p. 10).
Social differentiation of the informational relations is carried out in this social system of communication. Developing social form named as an information society may be described as a global or sub-global system of communication which is characterized by the leading role of information production, dominating employment in this sphere and by prevalence of the informational relations in the system of social relations.
* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
1 © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
A criterion of prevalence of the informational relations characterizes a perspective of postinformation society (Hunt, 1994. p. 38-50).
In general «system differentiation is ... recursive creation of systems, is using of systems' creation for its own purposes. In this case system containing new created systems is reconstructed by means of next differentiation between this particular system and environment» (Luhmann, 2006, p. 9).
After Gregory Bateson Niklas Luhmann uses methodology of system differentiation for rethinking content of the term "information". New definition is given in this social-theoretical handling. "Information is a difference changing system's condition, i. e. difference which makes a difference" (Luhmann, 2005, p. 7). Modification of Luhmann's method permits to put into practice new social-philosophical definition of information.
Information is a term denominating such social person's differentiation of some new events or processes as to be able to make a difference in the subsequent public activity. Accordingly the own information denominates the differentiation that is been made by its social person.
Certain legal characteristics became apparent due to regulation principles of informational relations, information technologies and data protection, that were stated in the article 3 of appropriate Russian Federal Statute (Federal Statute of Russia «Of information..., 2006).
Accordingly, it is possible to reveal following characteristics: recognized necessity of provision for freedom of any legal data retrieval, obtaining, transmission, production and circulation of information; importance of openness of information about state organs' and local government's activity, open access to this information except certain cases prescribed by law; necessity of linguistic equality of all native-born nationalities in Russian Federation for the process
of information systems creation and exploitation; demand for information security; value of valid information and of timeliness of data transmission; recognized significance of inviolability of private life, unacceptability of acquisition, storage, usage and transmission of information about private life of any person without his permission.
But practical realization of these principles in regulation of social relations apropos of information activity faces difficult problems. Moreover, now information is not an object of Civil Law due to new redaction of Russian civil code. The actuality of problem of information relations regulation is more distinctive in connection with difficult defense of intellectual property rights on some digital production in the Internet.
Thus, "it is possible to say that relations towards information are not regulated enough. So it is necessary to solve problem of property on the objects of information relations" (Kopylov, 2003, p. 191).
My investigation is based on hypothesis that the most important information relations (from the viewpoint of its social differentiation) are relations towards property of information. Social-philosophical theory of property of information began to be constructed on an interdisciplinary base (Latypov, 2007) as a generalization of legal-philosophical and philosophic-economical investigations of this theme.
American writer and journalist Neil Schulman first introduced analogous term (Informational Property) to scientific and scholar usage without social-philosophic substantiation in 1989 (Schulman, 1989). Text "Informational Law" written by Kopylov V. A. shows juridical analysis of Informational Property which has important heuristic potential (Kopylov, 2003).
As it gives an opportunity to introduce term of informational property, much more it allows to discuss property of information. The question is that term of informational property is dubious.
First of all the content of property began to contain more and more information in modern society. So in the information society property itself more and more become informational by its content. Nevertheless informational content of property is not equal to property of information. On the other hand property of information is not equal to property at the information society. Moreover the term of property of information is unambiguously defining its object (may be changing object). The informational property may be ambiguously interpreted: not only by criterion of changing object, but by criterion of changing features of developing property relations (for example antique property or property of industrial age in comparison with property of informational age).
On the other side ambiguous term of informational property is criticized because together with its introduction it will be possible to introduce environmental property, political property etc. Property of information isn't so displeasing as incorrect nominal introduction of term "property of ecology" is displeasing. In according with it, the usage of term "property of information" is more preferable. Still the term "property of information" doesn't get deep philosophical generalization. Elimination of mentioning of this term in the Russian Federal Statute «Of information, information technologies and security of information» is an evidence of prematurity of any attempt to use it practically (Federal Statute of Russia «Of information...», 2006) without theoretical substantiation.
Juridical rejection of the term "property of information" is only an evidence of unready (and actually absent) philosophical base for it. Despite of elimination from some legislative acts, property of information is still investigated in some economic and juristic researches. Specific aspects of this term are still mentioned in some legislative
acts (Federal Statute of Russia «Of agreements on separation of production», 2006).
On the contrary, the term "informational property" was not used in Russian legislative acts. It is one more reason in order that main attention in my paper is paid to relations of property of information despite of its lesser euphony in comparison with term "informational property". In this case lesser euphony is relative, because lesser euphonic term "property of means of material production" was and remains good for many Russian researchers of relations of property.
Unreadiness to define legally term "property of information" is attached to dated terminology (methodology of its renewal should be developed by social philosophy and philosophy of law) and to remaining social unreadiness to essential widening of proprietary rights in informational resources (this term was also deleted from the Russian Federal Statute of information in 2006). It is necessary to form new cogitative thesaurus that will be able to express and to create possibilities to analyze functioning of property of information.
From the social-philosophical viewpoint property of information is the kind of property that denominates unique form of such personal objective differentiation of some events or processes that makes difference in the following social processes.
Results
Ability to make difference in the following social processes is keynote for relations of property of information as most important of information relations. Indeed, possibilities for social subject to get access to different results of familiarization with social experience that are fixed in adopted and revised data about different objects and processes are not enough (these possibilities characterize only possible property of information). Actually even with existing access to confidential information impossibility to
use it makes property of information to be unreal. Situation when some person has no property of socially significant information becomes socially dangerous, because as a rule it happens in case of extreme poverty and it sharpens social inequality.
Inequality in the information relations becomes a new form of social inequality. Sharpening problem of information inequality becomes more characteristic for the analysis of Russian status in the developing global information society and for local changes of social relations. On the international level it is attached to Russian information dependence on foreign suppliers of computer technologies.
Internal Russian problem of information inequality is attached to relations of production (production of information) and relations outside production. In Russia it is often attached to insufficient development of such social feature of information as needs of access to information. Particularly, it can be shown in the fact that new information needs are formed by information elite and by students (trying to become new information elite in Russia).
Next is problem of self-determination and social status of intellectual as a subject of information relations. Problems of determination of social status for the intellectuals are caused by understanding them as a salaried employees for information labor (production of public spirit) analyzing growing amount of data and by reducing them to function of information servants. Effective rendering of information service is largely characterized by the level of information needs satisfaction for consumers as subjects of information relations.
In this case inequality of information needs is attached to inequality of information relations. Information poverty is new kind of poverty that is formed in conditions of information inequality in modern society and is characterized by low level of possibilities for information activity of different
social subjects. Information poverty is opposed with information wealth having opposite level of information possibilities for social persons. Diminishing of level of information poverty is connected to qualitative rise of information needs of social persons and rise of average level of information wealth that is determined by property of information.
Information poverty means low limited information possibilities of making difference in following social events and characterizes absence of possibilities for influence on social processes. Accordingly, stratification of social space is characterized by new aspects in the information society. Different levels of information poverty are determined depending on social person. Particularly, individual, social-group, national and civilizational information poverty are differed. In this division social-group information poverty means underdevelopment or limited possibilities for developing property of information owned by micro-societal persons. National and civilizational information poverty means retardation in development of macro-societal or sub-global persons of property of information. An example for civilizational information poverty (or sub-global) is underdevelopment of South on the contrary to high level of informatization of North.
This term characterizes gap between different levels of possibilities for usage of information relations, inequality and hierarchy in the information society that is based on levels of access to socially significant information.
Material base for inequality in the information relations is economical relations. Under conditions of information inequality developed and underdeveloped countries may differently handle to problem of limitations in the information relations. For developed countries it is necessary to solve this problem under conditions of informational blow-up. But for underdeveloped
countries most important is problem of information poverty that means cultural differences also.
From the viewpoint of formation of information society in Russia, development of human capital also reveals the problem of inequality in the information relations. Hereafter human capital will be understood as a "set of knowledge, skills and abilities, that are possessed and used by people in labor process" (Vershinskaya et al., 2004, p. 11). On basis of this definition let's determine information capital.
Information capital is a term that denominates a kind of human capital which characterizes possibilities for such differentiation of some new events or processes as to be able to make a difference in the subsequent public activity. Information capital allows to characterize level of influence in a system of information relations.
Lack of information capital determines initially worse conditions of development (Latypov, 2008) in the information relations. Subsequently, marginalization of those persons of the information relations who has no information capital is developing.
Discussion
Aforementioned characteristics of social differentiation of the information relations may be reduced to differentiation of a system of such network interactions that are developing towards production, storage, transmission and consumption of information.
Possession of strategic information is characteristic for those persons who manage formation and development of information relations. Important contribution in development of the information relations may be done by such persons who own analytical information. But without strategic information they are in some dependence on holders of it.
Persons having only detailed information are sinking into a flood of unimportant and unnecessary
data. So perspectives of their information relations are restricted most of all. Depending on correlation of possibilities and roles of interacting persons it is possible to differ symmetric and non-symmetric information relations.
Symmetric information relations are constructed between persons with equal or inter-additional possibilities for information activity. Non-symmetric information relations are developing at another case.
On criterion of level of control over information relations they may be divided to centralized and non-centralized relations. On the other hand, centralized information relations are kind of non-symmetric relations, and non-centralized relations are partly crossed with symmetric relations but they don't coincide.
On criterion of intensity level of information exchange it is possible to divide active and passive information relations. On criterion of possible access information exchange for outer persons information relations may be divided to open and closed. Those persons of such passive or closed information relations who wish only to hold own information (for example know-how or scientific discoveries), they often face to the fact that their information ceases to be confidential due to independent researches of other persons.
Respectively, "person who wish only to hold own property will lose it, and who wish to increase own property have to change forms of it permanently" (Luhmann, 2005, p. 218), in that number to change forms of property of information.
Conclusion
In prospect of social development, situation of person in the information relations will be determined by value and amount of proprietary information and by means of its transmission through communication networks (for example, Internet). In this case value of information
means reliability, creative originality, and social significance. In modern society the main persons of information relations are not only proprietors of information and means of its production, but also persons of social innovations. Generally poly-subject sociality of the information relations is forming now.
Differentiation of the information relations is becoming built-in process in the development of infinite recursive network. Construction process of discursive practice in differentiation of the information relations turns out as infinite activity in creation of theoretical information that is being expressed in certain messages.
As a result certain sequence of differentiation of the information relations is being constructed. This sequence turns out as infinite. No ultimate authority fixes all differences of the information relations.
Thus, infinite sequence of analysis of such theoretical constructs is developed from primary
differences of the information relations fixed by the author of this research. This sequence defines recursive networks composed of many components that are being formed in accordance with development of field of information products and changes of information flows.
Subsequently, process of construction for term "person of the information relations" also is as infinite. Correspondingly, a sequence of similar theoretical constructs for a problem of an author is infinite also. An author is such person of the information relations who created scientific work, literary work, peace of music, work of art, computer program or database.
Slogan of creative author is: "I create, subsequently, I exist". Slogan of an author as a person of the information relations is: "I possess of information, subsequently, I can create".
Acknowledgments
My deep appreciation goes to those scholars who discussed materials of this research. In particular, I should like to acknowledge the attention of professor Kemerov V. E. I recognize his important hints on theory and methodology of social-philosophical investigation. A special word of thanks and deep appreciation is due professor Myasnikova L.A. for her kind and constructive criticism.
References
Federal Statute of Russia «Of agreements on separation of production» (The 29-th of December, 2004. № 199-®3). [Electronic document], ConsultantPlus, 2006, in Russian.
Federal Statute of Russia «Of information, information technologies and security of information» (The 27-th of July, 2006. № 149-®3), [Electronic document], ConsultantPlus, 2006, in Russian.
J. Hunt, «The Post-Information Society", The Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 1994, 38-50.
V.A. Kopylov, Informational law: matters of theory and practice (Moscow: Jurisprudent, 2003), in Russian.
I.A. Latypov, «Philosophical aspects of informational capital in modern society», Personality. Culture. Society, 10 (2) (2008), 255-261, in Russian.
I.A. Latypov, Property of information as a social-philosophical problem: monograph (Izhevsk: Udmurt University Press, 2007), in Russian.
N. Luhmann, Differentiation (Moscow: Logos, 2006), in Russian.
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N.J. Schulman, «Informational Property: Logorights» (1989), http://www.pulpless.com/bp21samp/ logorite.html
O.N. Vershinskaya, I.P. Tsapenko, S.B. Shaposhnik, «Human capital as a factor of electronic development of Moscow», Information Society, 3-4 (2004), 11-23, in Russian.
