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The Use and Abuse of Classification
What influence do systems of classification have on the construction of worldviews? How far do such systems form the basic and unchallenged presuppositions of such worldviews, or to what extent are they the subject of conscious reflection and criticism on the part of those who use them? Classificatory systems have been extensively studied by social anthropologists, cognitive scientists, philosophers, linguists, and historians. My aim here is to see what light the comparative data can throw on some of the philosophical issues traditionally discussed under the rubrics of the conflict between realism and relativism, the (in)commensurability of belief systems, ...
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