Informatics and Divine Economy
A lightly edited text message to my friend Carlos after we had [this discussion].
I think I missed the mark in my description of the aim of computer science.
Some call the field “informatics” instead of computer science and say that it is the study of the transformation of information. The study of DNA as a store and processor of information would be included in the field of informatics.
Instead of saying that the aim of computer science is the production of a machine that executes human will, I think it would be better to say that some people are fascinated with the transformation of information. They love it. They study it because they want to understand the principles of reality which govern the transformation of information.
I think people are fascinated by this for the same reason we are fascinated by anything - informatics reveals something about the nature of reality, which is to say that it reveals something about Being.
Transformation of information is related to communication.
I can convey meaning to you through a series of signs (written or spoken words, etc.). I can transform meaning into signs, and you can transform those signs back into meaning and “get what I mean.”
A theologian I like (Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer - check out his lectures on YouTube) believes that reality is best understood as a medium of communication through which God communicates Himself to His creatures. You could say that the study of divine economy* is the highest form of informatics.
People who are intuitively drawn to informatics must be drawn for that reason. They see God reflected in the transformation of information. It is a burning bush that calls to them.
John 1 says that “In the beginning, the Logos was with God and the Logos was God.” The Logos is the common agent in every instance of transformation of information. For that reason, you could say that informatics is a study of the Logos, which is a study of truth (as it trans-forms from state to state), which is a study of Christ.
* Divine Economy (from the Catechism of the Catholic Church): From a greek word (oikonomia, literally “management of a household” or “stewardship”) which refers to God’s revelation and communication of himself to the world in time for the sake of the salvation of all humanity; hence, the economy of salvation. The Fathers of the Church distinguished oikonomia from theologia; the latter term refers to the mystery of the internal life of the Trinity. The economy of salvation, on the other hand, refers to God’s activity in creating and governing the world, particularly with regard to his plan for the salvation of the world in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a plan which is being accomplished through his Body the Church...