Information Transfer 1 Running Head: INFORMATION TRANSFER CYLE AND KANTIANISM LI803XO Information Transfer & the Knowledge Society An Example of the Information Transfer Cycle using Kantianism Gordon Turner
Information Transfer 2 An Examination of the Information Transfer Cycle using Kantianism Introduction The information transfer cycle consists of the following eight phases: creation, dissemination, organization, diffusion, utilization, and preservation. This is an active system where many stages overlap and shape each other. (Achleitner, 2006). The purpose of this process is to briefly describe each stage and illustrate this process by using Kantian philosophy as an example. Creation The creation phase is where knowledge is produced. Blumenritt and Johnson note that knowledge is linked to an explicit theory or theories, is embedded in a social context of explanation, and is endorsed, explicitly or implicitly, by a discipline or group of practitioners. (Blumenritt and Johnson, p.100). The philosopher Immanuel Kant s (1724-1804), seminal works were The Critique of Pure Reason (Kant, Trans., 1998), the Metaphysics of Morals, (Kant, Trans., 1998) and Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason (Kant, Trans., 1998). Two of his important early followers were Marcus Herz (1747-1803) and Karl C.E. Schmid (1761-1812) and his
Information Transfer 3 prominent early critics included Johann Gotfried Herder (1744 and Friedrich Schleirmacher (1768-1834).He also greatly influenced the growth and expansion of 19 th century German idealism as well as the neo-kantianism of that time, which included the Marburg and the Heidelberg schools Dissemination K.S. and B Van Velzen note that Dissemination consists of purposive, goal-oriented communication of information or knowledge that is specific and potentially useable, from one social system to another (as cited in Owens, 2001). It is the distribution of knowledge which involves numerous sources of information, such as print, TV, radio, and the internet. It should be noted that it is the one-way spread of information. Kant s works have been continually in print since his death and are widely available..there was the public TV series The Examined Life (1998, INTELECOM Intelligent Communications), which discussed Kantianism, among other topics. There are numerous Kantian resources online, such as the homepage of the North American Kant Society and the University of Marburg s Kant page. The
Information Transfer 4 University of Wales Press publishes The Kantian Review, which can also be accessed online. Organization Organization is the logical arrangement of a body of knowledge. One of the forms it takes is the encyclopedia, such as the Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ( Routledge, 2000) or the. New Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 22, Kant and Kantianism (New Encyclopedia Britannica,2002). Another form organization takes is in the library, where books on Kant can be found in the 100s in the Dewey Decimal System. The Library of Congress call numbers for Kant are B-BJ and its subject headings are: German philosophy, 18 th century and neo-kantianism. Indexing is another example of knowledge organization: a useful index of Kantianism is The Dictionary of Literary Biography (1978, volume 94). Diffusion Rogers (1983) defines diffusion as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system"(p.5). It is at this interactive stage that information is shaped and changed by users, and often overlaps with dissemination, which is the spread of information. Some
Information Transfer 5 examples from mass media include Philosophy Talk a radio call-in show(kalw, San Francisco), along with blogs such as "kantphilosophy.blogspot.com" and "transcendental-idealism.blogspot.com". The philosophy department at the University of Chicago moderates an electronic philosophy forum online on their home page. Academia is a key place location where Kantianism is discussed, shaped, and diffused. Many universities and colleges offer classes in this subject, such as William and Mary, (which is offering a "freshman seminar" on Kant in fall, 2006(William and Mary2006), Baylor University, which offers a "Kant Seminar"(Baylor,n.d.), and Oxford, which is offering "Post-Kantian Philosophy: The Politics of Philosophy (Oxford, 2006). The Society of Christian Philosophers recently hosted a conference called The Enlightenment Project, Revisited at Houghton College in Houghton, New York about the Enlightenment and Kant s work(society of Christian Philosophers, 2006). Utilization Utilization refers to who uses the information that has been created so far and how it is used. Professors use Kantianism in the classroom (which leads to diffusion) and they also comment on and criticize it, which leads to
Information Transfer 6 diffusion and creation. Students use and analyze Kant s work, and may also diffuse it by blogging, going to seminars, and attending workshops. Students who continue to a graduate school level will comment and add to Kantianism, thereby contributing to the process of creation. This is a dynamic process where one phase may overlap into another. Preservation Preservation is the storage and archiving of knowledge. There are several libraries with large Kant related collections, most notably UC Berkeley, (UC Berkeley Library homepage),the Berlin State Library,(Berlin State Library homepage), and the Braunschweig University Library (Braunschweig University Library homepage). In addition, there are several online databases and e-book collections at, for example, the University of Virginia Library(University of Virginia Library homepage), and the University of Bonn,(which has all of Kant s work available online in German) (University of Bonn Library homepage). Another aspect of preserving original Kantian papers, artifacts, and related items. The University of Marburg (University of Marburg home page) has
Information Transfer 7 digitalized versions of Kant s original papers. Tartu University in Tartu, Estonia has a collection of Kant s original manuscripts (together with his death mask)(tartu University homepage) and first editions of his works can found in the Latvian Academic Library in Riga, Latvia(Latvian Academic Library homepage). Princeton University also has an extensive collection of some of Kant s original manuscripts (Princeton University homepage) as does the Whipple Library at the University of Cambridge (University of Cambridge, Whipple Library, homepage). Conclusion The information transfer cycle begins with the creation and spread of knowledge, its organization, its modification, and ends with its preservation. Kantianism began with Kant and his early followers and detractors, has been disseminated through all types of media, was catalogued and organized in the library system, has been diffused in classrooms and seminars, and is preserved in various libraries and museums. It is a dynamic process that is constantly changing and renewing.
Information Transfer 8 References Achleitner,H. (2006,June).The information transfer cycle.lectures presented at LI803XO Information Transfer & the Knowledge Society, Emporia State University School of Library and Information Management, Portland, Oregon. Ahlstrom, L. (Producer). (1998). The examined life (Television series). INTELECOM Intelligent Communications. Baylor University, Waco,TX, "Kant seminar", retrieved June 15th, 2006 from http://www3.baylor.edu/~elmer_duncan/kant.htm Berlin State Library homepage, Berlin, Germany, retrieved June 22nd, 2006 from Braunschweig University Library, homepage, Braunschweig, German, retrieved June 22nd, 2006 from http://www.biblio-tu-bs.de The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg,VA, "Kant freshman seminar", retrieved June 15th, 2006 from http://www.wm.edu/philosophy/courses.php Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2000).London: New York: Routledge, 2000. Dictionary of Literary Biography. (1978). Detroit, MI: Gale Research. Johnston, R. &Blumenritt, R. (1998),Knowledge takes center stage. Science Communication 20(1),99-105. Kant blog, retrieved on July 1st, 2006 from http://kantphilosophy.blogspot.com
Information Transfer 9 Kant, I. (1998). Kant: Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason : And Other Writings (A. Wood and Di Giovanni,Trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kant, I.(1998). Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (M. Gregor,Trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kantian Review. Wales: University of Wales Press, retrieved June 16, 2006 from ttp://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/uwp/kant Latvian Academic Library, Riga, Latvia, homepage, retrieved July 4th, 2006 from http://www.acadlib.lv/e/ Manilla, B. (Producer). Philosophy talk (radio program). SanFrancisco: KALW. New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th ed.). Chicago: New Encyclopedia Britannica North American Kant Society homepage. Retrieved June 15,2006, from http://naks.ucsd.edu Owens, T.(2001).Dissemination: A key element of the ATE program. Western Michigan University: The Evaluation Center. Oxford University, "Post-Kantian Philosophy: The Politics of Philosophy", retrieved June 25th, 2006 from www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/lectures/current_lecture_list.rtf Princeton University homepage, retrieved June 30th, 2006 from http://www.princeton.edu/~rlindau/germweb3.htm
Information Transfer 10 Rogers, E.M., (1995). Elements of diffusion. In Rogers, E. M., Diffusion of innovations (pp.1-19). New York: Free Press. Society of Christian Philosophers, "The Enlightenment project, revisited", presented May 18-20, 2006 at Houghton College, Houghton, New York, retrieved July 4th, 2006 from http://scpmeeting.blogspot.com/ Tartu University Library, Tartu, Estonia, home page, retrieved July 1st, 2006 from http://www.kylalisele.ut.ee/museums/library Transcental idealism blog. Retrieved July 1st, 2006 from http://transcendentalidealism.blogspot.com/ University of Bonn Library, homepage, retrieved July 1st, 2006, from http://www.ikp.uni-bonn.de/kant/ University of California at Berkeley Library home page, retrieved July2nd, 2006 from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/german/collection.html University of Cambridge, Whipple Library, homepage, June 30th, 2006 from http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/library/speccoll.html University of Chicago Philosophy Project, retrieved June 17, 2006 from http://csmaclabwww.uchicago.edu/philosophyproject/philos.htm University of Marburg, Germany, Kant homepage, retrieved June 29,2006 from http://web.uni-marburg.de/kant// University of Virginia Library, homepage, retrieved July1st, 2006, from http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/klist.html
Filename: LI803infotransfinal Directory: C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon\My Documents\LI803infotransferandknowledgesociety\LI803Kantinfotransferpap er Template: C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dot Title: Running Head: INFORMATION TRANSFER CYLE AND KANTIANISM Subject: Author: Gordon Turner Keywords: Comments: Creation Date: 11/11/2008 8:21:00 PM Change Number: 2 Last Saved On: 11/11/2008 8:21:00 PM Last Saved By: Gordon Turner Total Editing Time: 2 Minutes Last Printed On: 11/11/2008 8:21:00 PM As of Last Complete Printing Number of Pages: 10 Number of Words: 1,682 (approx.) Number of Characters: 9,591 (approx.)