The allure of informational explanations

Rosa Cao (Stanford University)

Abstract: Informational explanations are offered for a wide range of phenomena.  The brain processes information; genes are informational entities; and qua computational devices, brains, genes, and computers can be treated similarly. I’ll argue that informational explanations in all these domains share a common weakness: their reliance on hidden information-users renders the explanations either circular or superfluous.  I’ll give illustrations of the various ways in which this deficiency is manifested.  While it’s clear that we are information-using creatures, that calls for an explanation – it’s the question, not the answer.