Towards a Theoretical Foundation for Digital Archive Evaluation Based on the Method of Levels of Abstraction

Abstract

　This study proposes a conceptual framework for evaluating digital archives (DAs) based on Floridi’s Philosophy of Information (PI) and Information Ethics (IE) theories, addressing the current absence of an established theoretical foundation in this field. IE is a normative ethical theory that, on the basis of the ontological and epistemological presuppositions of the PI, seeks to promote the well-being of the infosphere. IE is based on a single value criterion reducible to the degree of entropy as evil, and moreover, by virtue of the concepts of “artificial agents” and “distributed morality,” it has the feature of enabling the ethical evaluation of complex entities that include artifacts; therefore, it is highly compatible with the evaluation of DAs, which are complex entities composed of multiple elements. The proposed conceptual framework adopts a three-tier structure that draws on the “method of Levels of Abstraction,” a core methodology in PI. Through context-sensitive adjustments and by defining entropy within each evaluation dimension, it enables pluralistic and flexible evaluation while maintaining overall consistency. This study establishes a theoretical foundation for DA evaluation tools and demonstrates a novel application of PI and IE.