A DISCIPLINE INDEPENDENT DEFINITION OF INFORMATION

Information may be defined as the characteristics of the output of a p rocess, these being informative about the process and the input. This discipline independent definition may be applied to all domains, from physics to epistemology. Hierarchies of processes, linked together, pr ovide a communication channel between each of the corresponding functi ons and layers in the hierarchies. Models of communication (Shannon), perception, observation, belief, and knowledge are suggested that are consistent with this conceptual framework of information as the value of the output of any process in a hierarchy of processes. Misinformati on and errors are considered.