# A Dialogue Concerning the Essence and Role of Information in the World System
## 2 The Dialogue
Does [PERSON] hold the promise of simultaneous subjectivity and objectivity?This is why it is important for me to repeat the following quote that encapsulates how we can be in a better position to deal with information if we identify the Fundamental Problem of the Science of Information, which states:  
\"A key issue in reaching a unified definition of information is the fundamental problem of identifying how a human organism, in a self-referential process, develops from a state in which its knowledge of the human-organism-in-its-environment is almost non-existent to a state in which the human organism not only recognizes the existence of the environment but also sees itself as part of the human-organism-in-its-environment system. This allows a human organism not only to self-referentially engage with the environment and navigate through it, but also to transform it into its own image and likeness. In other words, the Fundamental Problem of the Science of Information concerns the phylogenetic development process, as well as the ontogenetic development process of Homo sapiens from a single cell to our current multicellular selves, all in a changing long-term and short-term environment, respectively [48].\"  
This process has been at the center of our phylogenetic and ontogenetic development since the beginning of our existence. It is only since the middle of the last century that we can say that we are beginning to ask fundamental questions about our existence. **M**: Thus, we can see that there are many problems with [PERSON]'s \"definition\" of information. Besides, there is no analysis of how [PERSON]'s \"definition\" is related to other definitions of information, for example, to [PERSON]'s entropy. At the same time, there is the general theory of information (GTI) where a comprehensive definition of information is given. **J**: What has not been said in the above exposition related to [PERSON] information is that [PERSON]'s perspective of information is subsumed by [PERSON]. The shortest argument is to recognize that [PERSON]'s difference which makes a difference is both syntactic and semantic in its approach. The syntactic approach by [PERSON] may be shown to be subsumed by [PERSON] simply because the binary combination (0, 1) is the difference that is used to develop a mathematical theory of communication. [PERSON] does not take anything away from [PERSON]'s syntactic approach, but he complements it by adding the semantic portion, which is still under development. **M**: Yes, your explanation not only makes clearer [PERSON]'s ideas but you elaborate a more precise description of information based on these ideas. **J**: I expect that this dialogue has provided me a platform from which to expound on the virtues and disadvantages of [PERSON]'s approach to information. Now, I would like to hear something about the general theory of information (GTI). **M**: The general theory of information (GTI) is an innovative approach, which provides a powerful means for all areas of information studies. It rigorously represents static, dynamic, and functional aspects and features of information. These features are modeled and explored by algebraic, analytical, and topological structures of operators in functional spaces as well as functors in the categorical setting forming information algebras, calculi, and topological spaces. It is possible to get acquainted with the GTI in the book _Theory of Information_[11], but I will briefly explain this theory here. The first thing that we need to know is that the GTI has three components: the _axiomatic foundations_, the _mathematical core_, and the _functional hull_. **J**: Please, explain what the axiomatic foundations of the GTI are as well as what the mathematical core and functional hull mean. **M**: At first, let us look at the axiomatic foundations of the GTI. They consist of the principles, postulates, and axioms of the GTI. **J**: Interesting, usually postulates and axioms are used in logically formalized mathematical theories.