Philosophy and Ideas
What do we need to know? What should be the main divisions in a taxonomy of knowledge?
I wanted to start from first principles by thinking about the areas that from the human situation need to be understood. Interestingly, this approach highlighted two domains, consciousness and practical reason, that are fundamental but relatively underexamined.
I came to a seven-part division:
This order partly reflects a historic sequence. First there was the physical cosmos. Then there was life on earth. Then there was humanity with societies, consciousness, practical reason, thought and local concerns.
The order also reflects a series of dichotomies. Consciousness is about the subjective point of view in contrast to (1) to (3) which concern the objective point of view. Practical reason is about what to do while (1) to (4) are about what is. Thinking is about the processes of thought, which is a meta view compared with (1) to (5) which are all subjects of thought. Finally, local knowledge contrasts with (1) to (6) which are more universal.
Subjects commonly cut across the seven domains. Geography can be physical (1) or human (3). Psychology is partly about the subjective view (3), partly about an external view of how people act (3) and partly about cognition (6). Philosophy can be applied to all areas, but particularly how we think (6), what we should do (5) the nature of subjective experience (4) and what there is (1).
Other taxonomies are possible. For example, the category of thought could be expanded to absorb consciousness and practical reason. Other categories could be added such as arts, religion and commerce.
But I have found the seven-part taxonomy very helpful for my thinking. It gives context to show what is important and to see the extent of our knowledge and ignorance. I am currently thinking about the most important things we should know under the different headings, some of which have only recently been understood and remain unintuitive and disputed.
I have also enjoyed playing with subjects that don’t easily fit into the taxonomy. Music, I have come to think, is mainly about enjoying local music, but it also has a universal subjective nature, features in social history, comes from our biology and is based on the physical. Mathematics I take to be mainly a tool for thought, but this is controversial. Computing is also created from thought but is substantiated in the physical.
I was keen to see consciousness as a distinct area. How we experience the world is fundamental to our lives and what is of value to us. The taxonomy highlights that we do not know as much about subject experience as we could, relative to its importance. I think there is scope to better understand the nature of human consciousness, its potential range and how it can be improved. The taxonomy also shows that our ignorance of the subjective experience of non-human animals is our biggest and most important lacuna.
Equally, I wanted to keep practical reason separate. Making choices is a fundamental human function, and this is arguably the most important area to which reason and understanding can be applied. Again, the taxonomy highlights the importance of this domain, our relative ignorance, and the scope to improve our understanding and the choices we make.
So, I am finding my simple seven-way split of knowledge helpful to my personal understanding. Perhaps it may be a more generally useful tool for thinking? Definitely category (7), possibly category (6).