[On the concept of "information"]

The recent approaches of generalization of "information" beyond the classical field of communication theory are characterized by explication and by first suggestions of generalized information theories. A critical assessment of the two books "Information I" and "Information II" written by H. VOLZ are given to what extent they may contribute to this discussion. Especially, the new definition of an all-embracing notion of information given in these books is criticized because it seems not to be suited as basis for a generalized theory. In contrast to this, the idea of information as a measure of structural differences between probability distributions in a state space is proposed for mathematical description of specific biological properties in general. In this view, the one distribution is that of the physical possibilities and the other is that which is connected with the realizations by the biological system. The latter consists of the states which are optimal for the function of the biological system. They are selected from the set of physically possible states. As abstract mathematical quantity the statistical entropy of a random experiment is used. Finally it is indicated that this information-theoretical description may contribute to the understanding of the connections between physics, cybernetics, and biology.