Quality of Informing: Bias and Disinformation Philosophical Background and Roots

This is an inquiry into the background and the origins of bias and disinformation as viewed from the philosophical perspective. This paper demonstrates the undeniable analogy between the philosophical framework defined by Schopenhauer and the informational model of decision situations as viewed today in operations research, management sciences, and decision sciences. Bias, and disinformation—the main concerns of informing science are not aberrations or deviations— are the very nature of all communications among living entities. Within the realm of informing science, research that ignores this fact may produce unreliable results. One must face this reality head on. The inquiry contributes to the theoretical foundations of informing science. The results are presented for challenge, critique, and discussion.