Abstract
The symbiotic relationship of information environment and modes of perception, particularly with reference to culture, constitute the information ecosphere or “infosphere.” The conclusion of this piece is that legal information ecosphere—including its norms of communication, technologies, media, and unique cultural influences over perception (including epistemic presuppositions)—are significant factors in shaping legal systems. Furthermore, understanding the legal infosphere is vital in order to approach the essence of law. For as long as it has been important to know “what the law is,” the practice of law has been an information profession. However, just how the information ecosphere affects legal discourse and thinking has never been systematically studied, with minor exception. There has been significant study of how law attempts to regulate the flow of information through copyright, trademarks, doctrines of libel and slander, prohibitions on obscenity, censorship, and so on, but little is said about how information limits, shapes, and provides a medium for law to operate.
Presenters
Paul CallisterLibrary Director and Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, Missouri, United States Dana Neacsu
Librarian and Lecturer, Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia Law School, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Information Ecosophere, Law, Society, Knowledge Production, Legal History, Meaning Making
