Infosphere: Definition, History of the Term, and Place in Projection Ontology

The article systematizes the concept of "infosphere" — a term introduced into scholarly circulation at the end of the 20th century and widely disseminated through the works of Luciano Floridi. The infosphere is defined as the information environment of the Earth, encompassing the information systems of all living matter — from molecular (DNA, RNA, proteins) and cellular (signaling cascades, quorum sensing) to organismal (animal communication, plant signals) and civilizational (language, writing, internet). Human information environments are the upper level of the biospheric infosphere, not a separate sphere. The history of the term is traced: from the concepts of the biosphere and noosphere (Vernadsky, Teilhard de Chardin) through the works of Floridi (2011, 2014) to contemporary research in the philosophy of information, culturology, and social communication. It is shown that the infosphere, unlike the information field and information space, is always tied to the Earth and the biosphere. The place of the infosphere in the projection ontology of EFOS is discussed: the infosphere is a local projection of inforeality at levels F2 (biological matter) and F3 (civilizational matter) in the 7FM program. A hierarchy is proposed: EFOS → inforeality {F, S, O, R, P} → infosphere → observable reality. Comparison is made with biosemiotics (Sebeok, Hoffmeyer), Floridi's information ontology, and Shannon's information theory. Similarities and differences are noted: biosemiotics does not postulate a single source of projections; Floridi does not distinguish ontological and epistemic levels; Shannon works at the level of the signal, not ontology. The article concludes with observations on the need for further refinement of the concept of the infosphere and its distinction from inforeality. All statements about the connection of the infosphere with the EFOS model are hypothetical in character. Version 2.1. License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.