Free In the Beginning Was Information by Werner Gitt Page A

material) could be any one of these different actions. The purpose could, however, not even be mentioned, or could not have been imagined by the sender (e.g., documents with trivial contents surviving from previous centuries which provide researchers with important clues not intended by the original author).
    In this case also we can formulate significant empirical theorems:
Theorem 19: Every piece of information is intentional (the teleological aspect). [15]
Theorem 20: The teleological aspect of information is the most important level, since it comprises the intentions of the sender. The sum total of the four lower levels is that they are only a means for attaining the purpose (apobetics).
    Note: The teleological aspect may often overlap and coincide with the pragmatic aspect to a large extent, but it is theoretically always possible to distinguish the two.
Theorem 21: The five aspects of information (statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics) are valid for both the sender and the recipient. The five levels are involved in a continuous interplay between the two.
Theorem 22: The separate aspects of information are interlinked in such a way that every lower level is a necessary prerequisite for the realization of the next one above it.
    Whenever the teleological aspect is minimized or deliberately ignored, we should be aware of the fact that Theorem 19 is violated. Evolutionary doctrine deliberately denies any purposefulness that might be apparent. In the words of G.G. Simpson, an American zoologist, "Man is the result of a materialistic process having no purpose or intent; he represents the highest fortuitous organizational form of matter and energy."
    In this respect, one more theorem is required:
Theorem 23: There is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this.
    Synopsis: It should be clear that information is a multi-layered concept. Shannon’s theory embraces only a very small fraction of the real nature of information, as can easily be ascertained in terms of the five levels that we discussed. Contradictory statements and erroneous conclusions of many authors are a result of discussing information without being clear about the relevant level, nor whether the appropriate level lends itself to wide ranging conclusions. It is, for example, not possible to find answers about the origin of biological systems, when one only considers the statistical level. Even when impressive mathematical formulations are forthcoming, they will bring no clarification if they are restricted to the level of Shannon’s theory. Well-founded conclusions are only possible when the sender/recipient problem is treated fully at all five information levels.
    All of the Theorems 1 to 23 formulated thus far, as well as Theorems 24 to 30, which will follow, are based on empirical reality. They may thus be regarded as natural laws, since they exhibit the characteristics of natural laws as explained in chapter 2. These theorems have been tested in real situations (compare Theorem N1 in paragraph 2.3). Any natural law can be rejected the moment a single counter example is found, and this also holds for these information theorems. After many talks by the author at colleges and universities, both abroad and at home, no researcher could mention one single counter example. In one case, somebody said that it might be possible that one of these theorems could be negated a few million years in the future, when a counter example may be found. My answer was that it was possible, as in the case of all natural laws. However, even if one or more of the theorems could be nullified by a counter example after a few million years, we still have to accept them and live with them now.
    The seven most important results are repeated once more:
There can be no information without a code.
Any code is the result of a free and deliberate convention.
There can