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A Pluralistic Approach to the Philosophy of Classification
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Any classification system should be evaluated with respect to a variety of philosophical and practical concerns. This paper explores several distinct issues: the nature of a work, the value of a statement, the contribution of information science to philosophy, the nature of hierarchy, ethical evaluation, pre- versus postcoordination, the lived experience of librarians, and formalization versus natural language. It evaluates a particular approach to classification in terms of each of these but draws general lessons for philosophical evaluation. That approach to classification emphasizes the free combination of basic concepts representing both real things in the world and the relationships among these; works are also classified in terms of theories, methods, and perspectives applied.
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- 2015-04-28
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- Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. This article first appeared in Library Trends, Volume 63, Issue 3, Winter 2015, pages 591-614.