Philosophical confluences for the classification of Art studies: the approaches of Bacon, Hegel, and Harris

Abstract

This article analyzes the philosophical influences that grounded the William Torrey Harris's bibliographic classification structure, recognized in the area literature as the most immediate source used by Dewey to create his system. Expanding the reflection about the theoretical bases adopted by Harris, it is proposed to question the place occupied by Francis Bacon in this scheme. The encouragement for the discussion starts from the article published in 1959 by Eugene E. Graziano, which points to hegelian’s thought as the true philosophical support of the Harris’ scheme and, consequently, for the most widely used bibliographic classification in the world, Dewey's. Drawing on the subjects class Arts, Graziano raises evidences that try to approximate the hegelian thought and to remove the one of Bacon. In this essay, it is proposed to examine the understanding of Art that formed the classifications of Bacon, Hegel, and Harris. The results presented clearly indicate Hegel’s presence not explicitly assumed by Harris and Dewey in their systems and still little discussed in information representation in Brazil. It is concluded, unlike Graziano, that it is not possible to completely remove Baconian’s thought from the structure of Harris's bibliographic classification, however, the presence of Hegel really confirms itself as the feeder source of the Arts class content. The clarity of the revelation pointed out by Graziano, through the Arts, amplifies the theoretical discussions left open by both Harris and Dewey, highlighting the importance of this debate.