Bias 14: Mechanistic Concept of Thesaurus integration

Anti-Developmental Biases in Thesaurus Design (Part #15)

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Current approaches to thesaurus integration are overly simplistic given the range of structures which man has now explored conceptually.

As argued in an earlier paper (23): there are two extremes in the conventional approach to "integration":

• "agglomerative": in this case alternative thesauri are conceived as co-existing in such a way that their incompatible features do not result in undesirable conflict between them,
• "fusion": in this case, deliberate efforts are made to reconcile the apparentl incompatible features of the thesauri, such that a new transcendent thesaurus emerges to replace them. This may be achieved by excluding some thesauri which cannot be incorporated in this way. Fusion may only be "house tidying" with compatible thesauri.

The first approach tends to be unsatisfactory in an increasingly complex society in which undesirable conflict does result from incompatibilitles between thesauri. The second tends to be unsatisfactory, either because of conflict arising from what is excluded, or because such fusion is quickly perceived as a constraint on further development if the thesaurus is successfully implemented. The more successful it is, the more its proponents will resist any further reconceptualization. They do not acknowledge their limitations, the need for their limitations, and the need for their eventual demise. They are conceived as a "final solution" detached from the processes which brought them (temporarily) into being.

Much richer approaches to thesaurus integration emerge from, and are necessitated by, such varied domains as ecosystem integration, "oscillatory" integration in multi-party political systems, education, strategy, etc. Any organic form of integration which matches the dynamism of real-world phi nomena is perhaps necessarily oscillatory. Surprisingly, perhaps, there in fact much to be learnt from the theory and philosophy of music as guide to further investigation.It is refreshing to note how this possibility emerges from reflections on the non-Western 4,000 year-old chanted hymn of the Rg Veda of the indian tradition. A careful exploration of this wor by a philosopher, Antonio de Nicolas (24), using the non-Boolean logic of quantum mechanics (25) opens up valuable approaches to integration. The unique feature of the approach is that it is grounded in tone and the shifting relationships between tones. it is through the pattern of musical tone that the significance of the Rg Veda is found.

"Therefore, from a linguistic and cultural perspective, we have to be aware that we are dealing with a language where tonal. and arithmetical relations establish the epistemological invariances ... Language grounded in music is grounded thereby on context dependency; any tone can have any possible relation to other tones, and the shift from one tone to another, which alone makes melody possible, Is a shift in perspective which the singer himself embodies. Any perspective (tone) must be "sacrificed" for a new one to come into being; the song is a radical activity which requires innovation while maintaining continuity, and the "world" is the creation of the singer, who shares Its dimensions with the song" (24, p.57)

Of the greatest interest is the link made by de Nicolas with P.A. Heelan's concern with "The logic of changing classificatory frameworks" (25) in terms of the conceptual freedom of quantum logic -- which is in complete contrast to the essentially mechanistic structure of conventional thesauri. It is difficult to imagine that significant breakthroughs would not emerge from investigation of such leads in terms of thesaurus design.

Conclusion

This paper is necessarily far from complete but hopefully will prove a stimulus for discussion.

The biases identified are an attempt to give form to the underlying concern that thesaurus design is at present largely counter-productive in terms of the development of society, especially in the manner in which it reinforces, rather than alleviates, the trend towards social fragmentation. As David Bohm indicates:

"As has been indicated, however, men who are guided by such a fragmentary self-world view cannot, in the long run, do other than to try in their actions to break themselves and the world into piecess, corresponding to their general mode of thinking. Since, in the first instance, fragmentation is an attempt to extend the analysis of the world into separate parts beyond the domain in which to do this is apprpriate, it is in effect an attempt to divide what is really indivisible. In the next step such an attempt will lead us also to try to unite what is not really unitable. This can be seen especially clearly In terms of groupings of people in society (political, economic, religious, etc). The very act of forming such a group tends to create a sense of division and separation of the members from the rest of the world but, because the members are really connected with the whole, this cannot work. Each member has in fact a somewhat different connection, and sooner or later this shows itself an a difference between him and other members of the group. Whenever men divide themselves from the whole of society and attempt to unite by identification within a group It is clear that the group must eventually develop internal strife, which leads to a breakdown of its unity. Likewise when men try to separate some aspect of nature in their practical, technical work, a at* state of contradiction and disunity will develop. The same sort of thing will happen to the individual when he tries to separate himself from society. True unity in the individual and between man and nature as wen as between man and man can arise only in a form of action that does not attempt to fragment the whole of reality" (7, pp. 15-16)

Although primarily concerned with order as opposed to classification, Bohm's work may be usefully seen as going a step beyond that of Heelan (25) and C A Hooker (26), since all three are concerned with the implications of advances in theoretical physics. Such investigations go to the root of the question of the relationship between a thesaurus as a conceptually ordered whole and the nature of the whole which is supposedly ordered by it. This relationship can be considered irreleveant except when the thesaurus is supposed to facilitate the development of the whole. as is the case in society. in such circumstances, the degree of integration or wholeness of the thesaurus is crucial to its effectiveness. Following Bohm, if perceived reality can be considered as in essence a set of forms in an underlying universal movement or process, then how can knowledge be considered in the same manner? (7, p.xii). And does not such isomorphism have implications for thesaurus design?

Only a view of knowledge as an integral part of the total flux of processes may lead to a more harmonious and orderly approach to life as a whole rather than a static and fragmentary view, which does not treat knowledge as a process, and which splits knowledge off from the rest of reality (7, p.63). The latter view brings about a thoroughgoing confusion that tends to permeate every phase of life, and ultimately makes Impossible the solution of individual and social problems (7, p.27). it may well be asked whether those involved in thesaurus design sense any responsibilitly for reflecting the dynamic wholeness of reality, as opposed to providing an efficient "warehouse parts-list'"of its currently recognized components.

Would it not be beneficial to consider the need for, and the possibility of, totally different kinds of thesaurus design philosophy which would reconcile (in a creative, dynamic manner) the relationship between structured and associative approaches to ordering knowledge? The paper is also a plea
to enrich such investigations with insights from non-Western design in the traditional libraries of China and Japan? (cf.27).

Finally an apology for a basic inconsistency In this paper: Since the list of biases constitutes a primitive thesaurus, it would have been preferable (given the argument of this paper) to structure each bias as a verb in order to shift the whole discussion into a more dynamic mode.

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