Towards Reconceptualizing the Core of the IS Field from a Neurobiological Perspective

摘要

The IS discipline has so far been unable to define the meaning of its foundational concepts “information” and “system”. As a consequence, the core of the IS field and its relation to the IT artifact, materiality, organization, and so on, are extensively discussed without reaching closure. To this end, this paper proposes a set of conceptual stepping stones towards reconsidering the core of the IS field from a neurobiological perspective. The analysis suggests that information can be defined as intrinsically related to individual, neural abilities for acting; and system as a dialectical relation between the individual and the IT artifact. As a consequence, information system is seen as having both an individual and social facet. These results indicate that a neurobiological perspective may open up new avenues for revitalizing the IS field.