“Information”—from an Evolutionary Point of View

“Information” (=information including its processing, communication, etc.) is indispensable for the modern understanding of processes within cells, tissues, organs, the organism, but also between individuals and social structures. Is “information” the mathematically applicable substitute for the omnipotent and in all living entities identical Vis Vitalis, applicable also to machines? Vis Vitalis was falsified by evolutionary theory. Its explanatory power was not “saved” with an alternative hypothesis. So the causal explanation of what could be handled previously with Vis Vitalis remains a “grey area” in the landscape of sciences. “Information” seems to fill the gap between, e.g., body and mind. Therefore, an analysis of “information” from an evolutionary view can be helpful even for information sciences: there are gaps which cannot be bridged sufficiently, especially between the different evolutionary levels up to the “hierarchical structure” of a person as a social being. An analysis is presented: the meaning and the indispensable carriers of “information” have changed within the evolutionary processes. Options and restrictions for an evolution-oriented use of “information” are discussed and applied. Doing this it seems possible not only to bridge the gap between the layers within the biological, emotional, cognitive and intellectual hierarchical levels within a person, but between persons and machines too. View Full-Text