{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T04:17:55Z","timestamp":1760242675274,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,20]],"date-time":"2016-01-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1453248000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>We address the nature of information from a systemic structural point of view. Starting from the Natural hierarchy of living systems, we elucidate its decomposition into two partial hierarchies associated with its extant levels and inter-level regions, respectively. External observation of a hierarchical system involves the generation of approximate hyperscalar representations of these two partials, which then reintegrate to give a singular metascalar result. We relate Havel\u2019s categories of reality and Peirce\u2019s categories of experience to this result, and indicate that the ultimate result of the reintegration of hyperscalar data and context is a sign which is information.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info7010001","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,20]],"date-time":"2016-01-20T11:19:41Z","timestamp":1453288781000},"page":"1","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Hierarchy and the Nature of Information"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Ron","family":"Cottam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Living Systems Project, Department of Electronics and Informatics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels B-1050, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Willy","family":"Ranson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interuniversity Micro Electronics Center (IMEC) vzw, Kapeldreef 75, Leuven B-8001, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roger","family":"Vounckx","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Living Systems Project, Department of Electronics and Informatics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels B-1050, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1007\/s10516-012-9185-0","article-title":"Hierarchical structures","volume":"22","author":"Salthe","year":"2012","journal-title":"Axiomathes"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Sigmund, K. (1993). Games of Life: Explorations in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1687","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhn205","article-title":"Seeing with profoundly deactivated mid-level visual areas: Non-hierarchical functioning in the human visual cortex","volume":"19","author":"Perry","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dodig-Crnkovic, G., and Giovagnoli, R. (2013). Computing Nature, Springer. SAPERE Series.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-37225-4"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Eldredge, N., and Salthe, S.N. (1984). Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology\u2014Volume 1, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dodig-Crnkovic, G., and Giovagnoli, R. (2013). Computing Nature, Springer. SAPERE Series.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-37225-4"},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"303","article-title":"Scale dimensions in nature","volume":"23","author":"Havel","year":"1995","journal-title":"Int. J. Gen. Syst."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Hartshorne, C., Weiss, P., and Burks, A. (1932). Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Belknap Press."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1387\/theoria.784","article-title":"Models for prediction, explanation and control: Recursive bayesian networks","volume":"70","author":"Casini","year":"2011","journal-title":"Theoria"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"339","DOI":"10.1007\/s11245-013-9220-9","article-title":"Mechanisms and the evidence hierarchy","volume":"33","author":"Clarke","year":"2014","journal-title":"Topoi"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1007\/s11023-008-9113-7","article-title":"The Method of Levels of Abstraction","volume":"18","author":"Floridi","year":"2008","journal-title":"Minds Mach."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rosen, R. (1991). Life Itself, Columbia UP.","DOI":"10.2307\/1446085"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"24","article-title":"Autocreative hierarchy I: Structure\u2014Ecosystemic dependence and autonomy","volume":"4","author":"Cottam","year":"2004","journal-title":"SEED J."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Wilby, J., Allen, J.K., and Loureiro-Koechlin, C. (2006, January 9\u201314). Living in hyperscale: Internalization as a search for reunification. Proceedings of the 50th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, Rohnert Park, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1177\/1059712311409446","article-title":"Plants: Adaptive behavior, root-brains, and minimal cognition","volume":"19","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adapt. Behav."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.31269\/triplec.v9i2.290","article-title":"Foundations for science of information: Reflection on the method of inquiry","volume":"9","author":"Schroeder","year":"2011","journal-title":"Triplec"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"56","article-title":"From philosophy to theory of information","volume":"18","author":"Schroeder","year":"2011","journal-title":"Inf. Theor. Appl."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1002\/sres.716","article-title":"Life and simple systems","volume":"22","author":"Cottam","year":"2005","journal-title":"Syst. Res. Behav. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"379","DOI":"10.1002\/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x","article-title":"A mathematical theory of communication","volume":"27","author":"Shannon","year":"1948","journal-title":"Bell Syst. Tech. J."}],"container-title":["Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/7\/1\/1\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T19:17:58Z","timestamp":1760210278000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/7\/1\/1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,20]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,3]]}},"alternative-id":["info7010001"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/info7010001","relation":{},"ISSN":["2078-2489"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2078-2489"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2016,1,20]]}}}