Launch of the Society for the Philosophy of Information

The Society was founded during the fourth workshop on the philosophy of information held at the University of Hertfordshire in May 2012, and is now ready to open its membership to anyone interested in the philosophy of information while promoting its scientific and educational activities.

Prior collaborations, including part of the work done at the Oxford-based IEG research-group, several editorial projects ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], ...), and a highly successful workshop-series, will find a new home in this society. In addition to this legacy, several new activities will be launched and led by some of the current members of the society.

Concretely, the SPI:

• brings together scholars in the area harnessing the multidisciplinary and international nature of the Philosophy of Information;
• organises workshops, seminars, conferences and other similar activities to explore the philosophical issues concerning the concept of information and its cognate notions;
• publishes teaching material for undergraduate and graduate courses on the Philosophy of Information;
• maintains a state-of-the-art collection of bibliographic resources;
• fosters editorial projects and funding proposals.

In this way, the SPI offers learning and research instruments to undergraduate and graduate students, while promoting the academic network and activities of junior and senior academics whose work focuses on the Philosophy of Information.

The website of the SPI is the main centre of activity where we present the aim and focus of the philosophy of information, the mission of its society, and, most importantly, provide information about the current and soon to be launched activities of the SPI. The current activities include:

• a regularly updated PI-related news feed;
• an overview of previous workshops in the philosophy of information, and an announcement of the fifth workshop;
• a brand new textbook on the philosophy of information that forms the cornerstone of our teaching resources;

While the soon to be launched activities include:

• a sustained presence of SPI-sponsored sessions at international conferences;
• a repository of teaching resources, including an overview of courses in the philosophy of information that are currently taught;
• bibliographic resources on the philosophy of information, including an annotated bibliography;
• an overview of the many edited volumes and monographs on the philosophy of information that were published during the last ten years;
• book-reviews and book-symposia on notable publications that fit within or are relevant to the philosophy of information.

Interested researchers and students are encouraged to support this enterprise by becoming a member (link) and by taking part in the activities of the society.