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Propædia

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"Outline of Knowledge" redirects here. For an outline about knowledge, see Outline of knowledge.

The one-volume Propædia is the first of three parts of the 15th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, intended as a compendium and topical organization of the 12-volume Micropædia and the 17-volume Macropædia, which are organized alphabetically. Introduced in 1974 with the 15th edition, the Propædia and Micropædia were intended to replace the Index of the 14th edition; however, after widespread criticism, the Britannica restored the Index as a two-volume set in 1985. The core of the Propædia is its Outline of Knowledge, which seeks to provide a logical framework for all human knowledge. However, the Propædia also has several appendices listing the staff members, advisors and contributors to all three parts of the Britannica.

The last edition of the print Britannica was published in 2010.[1][2]

Outline of Knowledge[edit]

Like the Britannica as a whole, the Outline has three types of goals:[3]

According to Mortimer J. Adler, the designer of the Propaedia, all articles in the full Britannica were designed to fit into the Outline of Knowledge.[3]

The Outline has 167 sections, which are categorized into 41 divisions and then into 10 parts. Each part has an introductory essay written by the same individual responsible for developing the outline for that part, which was done in consultation and collaboration with a handful of other scholars. In all, 86 men and one woman were involved in developing the Outline of Knowledge.

The Outline was an eight-year project of Mortimer J. Adler, published 22 years after he published a similar effort (the Syntopicon) that attempts to provide an overview of the relationships among the "Great Ideas" in Adler's Great Books of the Western World series. (The Great Books were also published by the Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.) Adler stresses in his book, A Guidebook to Learning: For a Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom, that the ten categories should not be taken as hierarchical but as circular.

The whole of the Propædia's synoptic outline of knowledge deserves to be read carefully. It represents a twentieth-century scheme for the organization of knowledge that is more comprehensive than any other and that also accommodates the intellectual heterodoxy of our time.

— Mortimer J. Adler, in A Guidebook, pp. 91–2

Contents[edit]

1. Matter and Energy[edit]

The lead author was Nigel Calder, who wrote the introduction "The Universe of the Physicist, the Chemist, and the Astronomer".

  • 1.1 Atoms
    • 1.1.1 Structure and Properties of Atoms
    • 1.1.2 Atomic Nuclei and Elementary Particles
  • 1.2 Energy, Radiation, and States of Matter
    • 1.2.1 Chemical Elements: Periodic Variation in Their Properties
    • 1.2.2 Chemical Compounds: Molecular Structure and Chemical Bonding
    • 1.2.3 Chemical Reactions
    • 1.2.4 Heat, Thermodynamics, Liquids, Gases, Plasmas
    • 1.2.5 The Solid State of Matter
    • 1.2.6 Mechanics of Particles, Rigid and Deformable Bodies: Elasticity, Vibration, and Flow
    • 1.2.7 Electricity and Magnetism
    • 1.2.8 Waves and Wave Motion
  • 1.3 The Universe
    • 1.3.1 The Cosmos
    • 1.3.2 Galaxies and Stars
    • 1.3.3 The Solar System

2. The Earth[edit]

The lead author was Peter John Wyllie, who wrote the introduction "The Great Globe Itself".

3. Life[edit]

The lead author was René Dubos, who wrote the introduction "The Mysteries of Life".

4. Human Life[edit]

The lead author was Loren Eiseley, who wrote the introduction "The Cosmic Orphan".

  • 4.1 The Development of Human Life
  • 4.2 The Human Body: Health and Disease
    • 4.2.1 The Structures and Functions of the Human Body
    • 4.2.2 Human Health
    • 4.2.3 Human Diseases
    • 4.2.4 The Practice of Medicine and Care of Health
  • 4.3 Human Behavior and Experience
    • 4.3.1 General theories of human nature and behavior
    • 4.3.2 Antecedent conditions and developmental processes affecting a person's behavior and conscious experience
    • 4.3.3 Influence of the current environment on a person's behavior and conscious experience: attention, sensation, and perception
    • 4.3.4 Current Internal states affecting a person' behavior and conscious experience
    • 4.3.5 Development of Learning and Thinking
    • 4.3.6 Personality and the Self: Integration and Disintegration

5. Society[edit]

The lead author was Harold D. Lasswell, who wrote the introduction "Man the Social Animal".

  • 5.1 Social Groups: Ethnic groups and Cultures
    • 5.1.1 Peoples and Cultures of the World
    • 5.1.2 The Development of Human Culture
    • 5.1.3 Major Cultural Components and Institutions of Societies
    • 5.1.4 Language and Communication
  • 5.2 Social Organization and Social Change
    • 5.2.1 Social Structure and Change
    • 5.2.2 The Group Structure of Society
    • 5.2.3 Social Status
    • 5.2.4 Human Populations: Urban and Rural Communities
  • 5.3 The Production, Distribution, and Utilization of Wealth
    • 5.3.1 Economic Concepts, Issues, and Systems
    • 5.3.2 Consumer and Market: Pricing and Mechanisms for Distributing Goods
    • 5.3.3 The Organization of Production and Distribution
    • 5.3.4 The Distribution of Income and Wealth
    • 5.3.5 Macroeconomics
    • 5.3.6 Economic Growth and Planning
  • 5.4 Politics and Government
    • 5.4.1 Political Theory
    • 5.4.2 Political Institutions: the Structure, Branches, & Offices of Government
    • 5.4.3 Functioning of Government: the Dynamics of the Political Process
    • 5.4.4 International Relations: Peace and War
  • 5.5 Law
    • 5.5.1 Philosophies and Systems of Law; the Practice of Law
    • 5.5.2 Branches of Public Law, Substantive and Procedural
    • 5.5.3 Branches of Private Law, Substantive and Procedural
  • 5.6 Education
    • 5.6.1 Aims and Organization of Education
    • 5.6.2 Education Around the World

6. Art[edit]

The lead author was Mark Van Doren, who wrote the introduction "The World of Art".

  • 6.1 Art in General
    • 6.1.1 Theory and Classification of the Arts
    • 6.1.2 Experience and Criticism of Art; the Nonaesthetic Context of Art
    • 6.1.3 Characteristics of the Arts in Particular Cultures
  • 6.2 Particular Arts

7. Technology[edit]

The lead author was Lord Peter Ritchie-Calder, who wrote the introduction "Knowing How and Knowing Why".

  • 7.1 Nature & Development of Technology
    • 7.1.1 Technology: Its Scope and History
    • 7.1.2 The Organization of Human Work
  • 7.2 Elements of Technology
    • 7.2.1 Technology of Energy Conversion and Utilization
    • 7.2.2 Technology of Tools and Machines
    • 7.2.3 Technology of Measurement, Observation, and Control
    • 7.2.4 Extraction and Conversion of Industrial Raw Materials
    • 7.2.5 Technology of Industrial Production Processes
  • 7.3 Fields of Technology

8. Religion[edit]

The lead author was Wilfred Cantwell Smith, who wrote the introduction "Religion as Symbolism".

9. History[edit]

The lead author was Jacques Barzun, who wrote the introduction "The Point and Pleasure of Reading History".

  • 9.1 Ancient Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Europe
    • 9.1.1 Ancient Southwest Asia and Egypt, the Aegean, and North Africa
    • 9.1.2 Ancient Europe and Classical Civilizations of the Mediterranean to AD 395
  • 9.2 Medieval Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Europe
    • 9.2.1 The Byzantine Empire and Europe from AD 395–1050
    • 9.2.2 The Formative Period in Islamic History, AD 622–1055
    • 9.2.3 Western Christendom in the High and Later Middle Ages 1050–1500
    • 9.2.4 The Crusades, the Islamic States, and Eastern Christendom 1050–1480
  • 9.3 East, Central, South, and Southeast Asia
    • 9.3.1 China to the Beginning of the Late T'ang AD 755
    • 9.3.2 China from the Late T'ang to the Late Ch'ing AD 755–1839
    • 9.3.3 Central and Northeast Asia to 1750
    • 9.3.4 Japan to the Meiji Restoration 1868, Korea to 1910
    • 9.3.5 The Indian Subcontinent and Ceylon to AD 1200
    • 9.3.6 The Indian Subcontinent 1200–1761, Ceylon 1200–1505
    • 9.3.7 Southeast Asia to 1600
  • 9.4 Sub-Saharan Africa to 1885
    • 9.4.1 West Africa to 1885
    • 9.4.2 The Nilotic Sudan and Ethiopia AD 550–1885
    • 9.4.3 East Africa and Madagascar to 1885
    • 9.4.4 Central Africa to 1885
    • 9.4.5 Southern Africa to 1885
  • 9.5 Pre-Columbian America
    • 9.5.1 Andean Civilization to AD 1540
    • 9.5.2 Meso-American Civilization to AD 1540
  • 9.6 The Modern World to 1920
    • 9.6.1 Western Europe 1500–1789
    • 9.6.2 Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa 1480–1800
    • 9.6.3 Europe 1789–1920
    • 9.6.4 European Colonies in the Americas 1492–1790
    • 9.6.5 United States and Canada 1763–1920
    • 9.6.6 Latin-America and Caribbean to 1920
    • 9.6.7 Australia and Oceania to 1920
    • 9.6.8 South Asia Under European Imperialism 1500–1920
    • 9.6.9 Southeast Asia Under European Imperialism 1600–1920
    • 9.6.10 China until Revolution 1839–1911, Japan from Meiji Restoration to 1910
    • 9.6.11 Southwest Asia, North Africa 1800–1920, Sub-Saharan Africa 1885–1920: Under European Imperialism
  • 9.7 The World Since 1920
    • 9.7.1 International Movements, Diplomacy and War Since 1920
    • 9.7.2 Europe Since 1920
    • 9.7.3 The United States and Canada Since 1920
    • 9.7.4 Latin American and Caribbean Nations Since 1920
    • 9.7.5 China in Revolution, Japanese Hegemony
    • 9.7.6 South and Southeast Asia: the Late Colonial Period and Nations Since 1920
    • 9.7.7 Australia and Oceania Since 1920
    • 9.7.8 Southwest Asia and Africa: the Late Colonial Period and Nations since 1920

10. Branches of Knowledge[edit]

The lead author was Mortimer J. Adler, who wrote the introduction "Knowledge Become Self-conscious".

Contributors to the Outline of Knowledge[edit]

Table 2: Contributors to the Outline of Knowledge in the Propædia[4]
Name Date of birth Date of death Part of Outline Description Index
Mortimer J. Adler 1902 2001 All Parts Editor 1
Charles Van Doren 1926 2019 All Parts Associate editor; Editorial Vice President of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. (1973–1982) 2
William J. Gorman 1982 All Parts Associate editor; Senior Fellow of the Institute for Philosophical Research 3
A. G. W. Cameron 1925 2005 Matter and Energy Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University 4
Farrington Daniels 1889 1972 Matter and Energy Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison 5
Morton Hamermesh 1915 2003 Matter and Energy Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1975–1986) 6
Vincent E. Parker Matter and Energy Emeritus Professor of Physics, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Dean, School of Science (1967–1977) 7
Richard J. Chorley 1927 2002 The Earth Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge; Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 8
William Stelling von Arx The Earth Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1968–1978) 9
Peter John Wyllie 1930 The Earth Professor of Geology and Chairman, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology 10
N. J. Berrill 1903 1996 Life on Earth Strathcone Professor of Zoology, McGill University (1946–1965) 11
Vincent Dethier 1915 1993 Life on Earth Gilbert L. Woodside Professor of Zoology, University of Massachusetts Amherst (1975–1993) 12
Louis S. Goodman 1906 2000 Life on Earth Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 13
Garrett Hardin 1915 2003 Life on Earth Emeritus Professor of Human Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara 14
Ernst Walter Mayr 1904 2005 Life on Earth Alexander Agassiz Professor Emeritus of Zoology, Harvard University 15
John Alexander Moore 1915 2002 Life on Earth Emeritus Professor of Biology, University of California, Riverside 16
Theodore T. Puck 1916 2005 Life on Earth Professor of Biology, Biophysics and Genetics; Distinguished Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center; Director, Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research 17
Birgit Vennesland 1913 2001 Life on Earth Head, Vennesland Research Laboratory, Max Planck Society (1970–1981); Director, Max Planck Institute for Cell Physiology, Berlin (1968–1970) 18
Paul B. Weisz 1919 2012 Life on Earth Professor of Biology, Brown University 19
Ralph H. Wetmore 1892 1989 Life on Earth Emeritus Professor of Botany, Harvard University 20
Emil H. White Life on Earth D. Mead Johnson Professor of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University 21
Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark 1895 1971 Human Life Professor of Anatomy, University of Oxford 22
Russell S. Fisher 1985 Human Life Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland; Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore 23
F. Clark Howell 1925 2007 Human Life Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley 24
Gregory A. Kimble 1917 2006 Human Life Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Duke University 25
Erich Klinghammer 1930 2011 Human Life Associate Professor of Psychology, Purdue University 26
Warren Sturgis McCulloch 1899 1969 Human Life Staff member, Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT (1952–1969) 27
William J. McGuire 1925 2012 Human Life Professor of Psychology, Yale University 28
Peter Medawar 1915 1987 Human Life Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1960; Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, University College London (1951–1962); Director, National Institute, Mill Hill, London (1962–1971); Scientific staff member, Medical Research Council, England (1971–1984) 29
William J. Baumol 1922 2017 Human Society Professor of Economics, New York University; Emeritus Professor of Economics, Princeton University 30
Daniel Bell 1919 2011 Human Society Henry Ford II Professor Emeritus of Social Science, Harvard University 31
Guiliano H. Bonfante Human Society Former Professor of Linguistics, University of Turin 32
Kenneth E. Boulding 1910 1993 Human Society Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Colorado, Boulder 33
Lewis A. Coser 1913 2003 Human Society Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, SUNY, Stony Brook 34
Sigmund Diamond 1920 1999 Human Society Giddings Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Columbia University 35
Carl J. Friedrich 1901 1984 Human Society Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University (1955–1971) 36
Paul Mundy Human Society Professor of Sociology and Chairman, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago 37
Kenyon E. Poole 1909 1988 Human Society Professor of Economics, Northwestern University 38
C. Herman Pritchett Human Society Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara and University of Chicago 39
Sol Tax 1907 1995 Human Society Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago (1948–1976); Director, Center for the Study of Man, Smithsonian Institution 40
Charles Raymond Whittlesey 1900 1979 Human Society Emeritus Professor of Finance and Economics, University of Pennsylvania 41
Rudolf Arnheim 1904 2007 Art Emeritus professor of Psychology of Art, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University 42
Robert Jesse Charleston 1916 1994 Art Keeper, Department of Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum (1963–1976) 43
Clifton Fadiman 1904 1999 Art Member, Board of Editors, Encyclopædia Britannica 44
Francis Fergusson 1904 1986 Art Professor of Comparative Literature, Rutgers University (1953–1969); Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University (1973–1981) 45
John Gloag 1896 1981 Art Novelist and writer on architecture and industrial design 46
Richard Griffith 1912 1969 Art Curator, Museum of Modern Art Film Library (1951–1965); Lecturer on Motion Pictures, Wesleyan University (1967–1969) 47
Richard Hoggart 1918 2014 Art Professor of English, University of Birmingham (1962–1973); Warden, Goldsmiths' College, University of London (1976–1984) 48
Edward Lockspeiser 1905 1973 Art Officier d'Académie, Paris; Writer and broadcaster on music. 49
Roy McMullen 1984 Art Author, critic, and art historian 50
Leonard B. Meyer 1918 2007 Art Benjamin Franklin Professor of Music and Humanities, University of Pennsylvania 51
Michael Morrow 1929 1994 Art Music editor, Encyclopædia Britannica; Director, Musica Reservata, London 52
Beaumont Newhall 1908 1993 Art Director, Eastman Kodak House (1958–1971); Visiting Professor of Art, University of New Mexico (1971–1984) 53
Herbert Read 1893 1968 Art Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh (1931–1933); editor, The Burlington Magazine (1933–1939); Charles Eliot Norton professor of Poetry, Harvard University (1953–1954) 54
Richard Roud 1929 1989 Art Program Director, London (1959–1963) and New York (1963–1987) Film Festivals; Film critic, The Guardian (1963–1969) 55
George Savage 1982 Art Art consultant; author of Porcelain Through the Ages, Pottery Through the Ages, and other works 56
Wolfgang Stechow 1896 1974 Art Professor of Fine Arts, Oberlin College (1940–1963) 57
Joshua C. Taylor 1981 Art William Rainey Harper Professor of Humanities and Professor of Art, University of Chicago (1963–1974); Director, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution 58
Everard M. Upjohn 1903 1978 Art Professor of Fine Arts, Columbia University (1951–1970) 59
Pierre Verlet 1908 1987 Art Chief Curator, Cluny Museum (1945–1965); Chief Curator, National Museum of Sèvres Porcelain (1945–1965); Chief Curator of Art Objects from the Middle Ages to the Modern Period, Louvre Museum (1945–1965) 60
René Wellek 1903 1995 Art Sterling Professor of Comparative Literature, Yale University (1952–1972) 61
Glynne William Gladstone Wickham 1922 2004 Art Emeritus Professor of Drama, University of Bristol; Dean, Faculty of Arts (1970–1972) 62
Raymond (Henry) Williams 1921 1988 Art Professor of Drama, University of Cambridge (1974–1983); Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge (1961–1988) 63
Paul S. Wingert 1900 1974 Art Professor of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University 64
Bruno Zevi 1918 2000 Art Professor of Architectural History, University of Rome (1963–1979) 65
Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis 1914 1975 Technology Chairman, Doxiadis Associates International; Chairman, Board of Directors, Doxiadis Associates, Inc.; Washington D.C. Chairman, Board of Directors, Athens Technological Organization; President, Athens Center of Ekistics 66
Eugene S. Ferguson 1916 2004 Technology Emeritus Professor of History, University of Delaware; Curator of Technology, Hagley Museum, Greenville Delaware 67
Melvin Kranzberg 1917 1995 Technology Callaway Professor of the History of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology (1972–1988) 68
Harvey G. Mehlhouse Technology Vice President, Western Electric Company, New York City (1965–1969); President (1969–1971); Chairman of the Board (1971–1972) 69
Robert Smith Woodbury 1983 Technology Professor of the History of Technology, MIT 70
Arthur Llewellyn Basham 1914 1986 Religion Professor of Asian Civilizations, Australian National University 71
James T. Burtchaell 1934 2015 Religion Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame; Provost (1970–1977) 72
J. V. Langmead Casserley 1909 1978 Religion Professor of Apologetics, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary 73
Ichiro Hori 1974 Religion Professor of the History of Religions, Seijo University and Kokugakuin University 74
Jaroslav Jan Pelikan 1923 2006 Religion Sterling Professor of History, Yale University; President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 75
Jakob Josef Petuchowski 1925 1991 Religion Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati (1981–1991) 76
Jacques Barzun 1907 2012 The History of Mankind University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University; Dean of Faculties and Provost (1958–1967) 77
Otto Allen Bird 1914 2009 The Branches of Knowledge Emeritus Professor of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame 78
Wing-Tsit Chan 1901 1994 The Branches of Knowledge Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, Dartmouth College (1942–1966); Anna R. D. Gillespie Professor of Philosophy, Chatham University (1966–1982) 79
William Herbert Dray 1921 2009 The Branches of Knowledge Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and of History, University of Ottawa 80
Norwood Hanson 1924 1967 The Branches of Knowledge Professor of Philosophy, Yale University (1963–1967) 81
J. H. Hexter 1910 1996 The Branches of Knowledge Charles L. Stillé Professor of History, Yale University, (1967–1978); Distinguished Historian in residence, Washington University in St. Louis (1978–1986) 82
Ernan V. McMullin 1924 2011 The Branches of Knowledge Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame 83
Karl Menger 1902 1985 The Branches of Knowledge Professor of Mathematics, Illinois Institute of Technology (1946–1971) 84
Arthur Norman Prior 1914 1969 The Branches of Knowledge Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford; Professor of Philosophy, Manchester University (1959–1966) 85
Nicholas Rescher 1928 2024 The Branches of Knowledge University Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh; editor, American Philosophical Quarterly 86
Seymour Schuster 1926 2020 The Branches of Knowledge Professor of Mathematics, Carleton College 87

Section 4.2.1 uses transparencies of organ systems originally commissioned by Parke-Davis. Similar in design to the three-dimensional Visible Man and Visible Woman dolls designed by sculptor Marcel Jovine, successive plastic sheets reveal different layers of human anatomy.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica's President on Killing Off a 244-Year-Old Product(archived in 2014), Jorge Cruz, Harvard Business Review March 2013
  2. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica's Transformation,[dead link](archived in 2014) (transcript of a podcast) Bloomberg, cited 6 February 2014
  3. ^ a b Adler, Mortimer J. (2007). "Circle of Learning". The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition. Vol. Propædia. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. p. 5-8.
  4. ^ The dates of death in Table 2 were taken from the 2007 version of the Propædia, except recent (post-1999) deaths which were not noted.
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