University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

A pluralistic approach to the philosophy of classification

Szostak, Rick

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89829

Description

Title
A pluralistic approach to the philosophy of classification
Author(s)
Szostak, Rick
Issue Date
2015
Keyword(s)
  • Philosophies of Information
  • Information Science
  • Librarianship
  • Libraries
Abstract
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.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89829
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2015.0007
Copyright and License Information
Copyright (2014) Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 63 (3) Winter 2015: Exploring Philosophies of Information PRIMARY
Library Trends 63 (3) Winter 2015: Exploring Philosophies of Information. Edited by Ken Herold