The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate how Paul Feyerabend’s anarchistic theory of knowledge can help our understanding of bibliographical classification and to analyse how epistemological assumptions are manifested in bibliographic classification. Paul Feyerabend’s anarchistic theory of knowledge and science is the theoretical approach of this thesis. The first part of the thesis consists of an introduction to bibliographical classification and epistemology. The second part of the thesis focuses on certain epistemological positions, such as empiricism, rationalism, idealism, realism, pragmatism and positivism, and how these positions are manifested in classification. The implications of each epistemological position is analysed with Feyerabend’s theoretical framework. The third, and final part of the thesis, examines how bibliographical classification can be improved by a pluralistic and relativistic attitude towards epistemology and classification. The findings are that bibliographical classification is influenced by a number of different epistemologies and that they effect several different aspects of classification such as: 1) the method in which the system is constructed, 2) which classes or categories that are included in the system, 3) in what way the ‘subject’ or ‘content’ of a document is established, 4) how different forms of knowledge is treated and valued within the system, and 5) how the system is evaluated. Another finding is that no classification system, which is founded on epistemological positions, can be said to be neutral or objective, and that all such classifications are influenced by political, cultural and social presumptions. / Uppsatsnivå: D
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hb-18398 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Tennevall, Emma |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan, University of Borås/Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Magisteruppsats i biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap vid Bibliotekshögskolan/Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, 1404-0891 ; 2006:130 |
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