Abstract
"Meaning" is a key concept for understanding a variety of processes in living systems. However, due to its elusive nature and "subjective" appearance it has been neglected by information science. In this paper, I outline a theory of meaning and try to explain how one can determine the meaning of an indeterminate sign. Meaning-making is considered to be a procedure for extracting the information conveyed by a message, and information is considered to be the values one may assign to an indeterminate signal. In this context, meaning-making is described in terms of a constraint-satisfaction problem that relies heavily on contextual cues and inferences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1435-1449 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Information Sciences |
| Volume | 176 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 20 Mar 2006 |
Keywords
- Computational semiotics
- Foundations of information science
- Gregory Bateson
- Meaning
- Meaning-making
- Semiotics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Software
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Theoretical Computer Science
- Computer Science Applications
- Information Systems and Management
- Artificial Intelligence