Some Footnotes for Theorizing the “Information Society”

Abstract

So-called “Information Society” has witnessed various discourses on the dynamic transition from the capitalist to the post-capitalist society. Although these discourses have been around the socio-economic dimensions, the urgent need is the philosophical or epistemological elaboration of the unexperienced and unpredictable aspect of the newly coming society. To clarify these issues, this article introduces Japanese Government's information policy, then discusses the changing phases of the concept of the “Information.” The The postmodernist thinking that knowledge and information is the axis principle of advanced societies, has been joined with the socio-political theory of the “Information Society, ” some theorists develop the new level of the discussion. Through the introduction of these discussions, this article tries to elucidate the theoretical meaning of the “Information Society.”