Bacon, Warrant, and Classification

Abstract

Warrant, in classification, is encompassed in the Oxford English DictionaryiÌ s definition: "justifying reason or ground for an action, belief, or feeling." Classifications may be deemed good or bad on the basis of any number of characteristics, but the justification for their choice and order of classes or concepts is one of the most fundamental. This paper will introduce the notion of warrant used by Francis Bacon in his classification of knowledge, discuss its uniqueness within the panoply of classificatory history, and suggest that Bacon still has a radical idea to suggest to todayiÌ s classificationists.