On two 60 years old theories and the theory of fuzzy sets and systems: Cybernetics and information theory

60 years ago, 1948, Norbert Wiener's Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine and ldquoA Mathematical Theory of Communicationrdquo by Claude E. Shannon have been published. However, it is very probable that Shannon's article wouldn't have became famous without the help of Warren Weaver, whose popular text ldquoThe Mathematics of Communicationrdquo re-interpreted Shannon's work for broader scientific audiences. Later, Weaver's modified text was published together with Shannon's paper in the book The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Both events would have a far-reaching influence in the genesis of the theory of Fuzzy sets and Systems. Whereas Shannon focused on the measurement and coding of ldquoinformationrdquo in general communication systems, Wiener developed a meta-theory of feedback and governance operating across any simple or complex system. But there is also an epistemological link between these three scientific theories: The history of Cybernetics and Information theory gives a remarkable view on the historical path of the concept of information as a ldquofluctuating objectrdquo in the sense of H.-J-Rheinberger. This paper gives 1) a brief review on the history of the ldquoMathematical Theory of Communicationrdquo that is involved with the work of the two Bell engineers Harry Nyquist and Ralph V. L. Hartley, 2) some historical and philosophical considerations on the mentioned work of Shannon, Weaver, and Wiener. Finally, the paper presents epistemological reflections in historical perspective on the concept of ldquoinformationrdquo as a ldquofluctuating objectrdquo that we take as a fuzzy concept.