Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2023 December 20

= December 20 =

Division of totality of human knowledge
Hi sir I am teenager I am exploring subjects I just want to ask you that We see disciplines or subjects in our school and universities Like science, commerce ,humanities etc They are divisions of human knowledge I want to know actually how many fields of study are there in total How many divisions of human knowledge we can do on very broadest level A list of all known disciplines without excluding any discipline All disciplines that are studied in all universities of world Stupidity9870 (talk) 01:49, 20 December 2023 (UTC)


 * The most famous attempt at such was the Figurative system of human knowledge from the 18th-century French Encyclopedia, but of course a lot has happened since then. AnonMoos (talk) 05:10, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * As a start (and only as a start) have a look at List of Dewey Decimal classes. Your local library probably uses this system and it's a handy backbone to hang things on.  As regards "I want to know actually how many fields of study are there in total" and "A list of all known disciplines without excluding any discipline", I suspect that the answer is effectively infinite.  As each subject is studied in greater depth it tends to fragment into specialities which form their own fields.  HTH, Martin of Sheffield (talk) 09:57, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * See also Library of Congress Classification for another breakdown. —Tamfang (talk) 19:16, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * A list of all disciplines studied at all universities in the world is certainly finite, but non-trivial to compile. This would involve navigating to each university's website and noting the academic subjects of each of their course offerings. (What is an "academic subject" and what is merely a course title poses a methodological problem.) A quicker and rougher estimate could be got by finding every published academic journal and tallying the subjects they will publish papers about.At the edges, the question is unanswerable, because the boundary between "academic discipline" and "research topic" is not well defined. Folly Mox (talk) 14:20, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * FYI: "effectively infinite" does not mean literally infinite, merely beyond reasonable counting. It's a standard English colloquialism. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 14:27, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * It is indeed. Apologies for the pedantry. I think a team of a dozen or so could get a pretty good count in under a year of research. Folly Mox (talk) 14:40, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * But can they agree within a year on a workable criterion for when a research topic should be counted, for the purpose of their mission, as a separate academic discipline instead of being subsumed within a larger area of study? --Lambiam 06:30, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Probably not if they're anything like us; good point. Maybe it should be one person counting for a decade instead. Folly Mox (talk) 13:03, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * thanks to everybody for response
 * I searched for these classification
 * Ddc and library of congress classification
 * And also encyclopedia's classification of knowledge
 * I want to ask
 * are these classifications considered
 * Legitimate and accepted in academia
 * Are these logical and scientific
 * What classification is used in academia all over the world
 * How all universities in the world
 * Classify disciplines
 * A CLASSIFICATION THAT HAS CONSENSUS IN entire ACADEMIC WORLD
 * ALL THE UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD
 * If there is not a single classification that is accepted by everyone
 * But still there should be a rough idea
 * that can be sensed by noting common disciplines in classification of every university
 * Also
 * What is the history of all the disciplines, there division
 * And addition of new disciplines Stupidity9870 (talk) 15:19, 24 December 2023 (UTC)
 * The complete genealogy of human knowledge is unknowable due to extinct taxa. Of course all universities in the world don't share the same structure of academic disciplines. See also d:Q24243801. Folly Mox (talk) 15:50, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

You can also look at legal documents. For example, an ordinance of the Polish Minister of Science gives a complete lists of sciences, which goes as follows:

— Kpalion(talk) 17:41, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) Humanities
 * 2) * Archeology
 * 3) * Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology
 * 4) * Philosophy
 * 5) * History
 * 6) * Linguistics
 * 7) * Literary Studies
 * 8) * Cultural and Religious Studies
 * 9) * Art Studies
 * 10) * Polish Studies
 * 11) Technology
 * 12) * Architecture and Urban Studies
 * 13) * Automatics, Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Space Technology
 * 14) * Information Technology and Telecommunications
 * 15) * Safety Engineering
 * 16) * Biomedical Engineering
 * 17) * Chemical Engineering
 * 18) * Civil Engineering, Geodesy and Transportation Engineering
 * 19) * Material Engineering
 * 20) * Environmental, Mining and Energy Engineering
 * 21) * Heritage Conservation
 * 22) Medical and Health Sciences
 * 23) * Medical Biology
 * 24) * Pharmaceutics
 * 25) * Medicine
 * 26) * Physical Culture Studies
 * 27) * Health Sciences
 * 28) Family Studies
 * 29) * Family Studies
 * 30) Agricultural Sciences
 * 31) * Forestry
 * 32) * Agriculture and Horticulture
 * 33) * Food and Nutrition Engineering
 * 34) * Zootechnics and Fisheries Science
 * 35) Social Sciences
 * 36) * Economics and Finance
 * 37) * Socio-Economic Geography and Land Management
 * 38) * Safety Science
 * 39) * Social Communication and Media Studies
 * 40) * Politology and Administrative Science
 * 41) * Management and Quality Science
 * 42) * Legal Studies
 * 43) * Sociology
 * 44) * Pedagogy
 * 45) * Canon Law
 * 46) * Psychology
 * 47) * International Relations
 * 48) Exact and Natural Sciences
 * 49) * Astronomy
 * 50) * Biotechnology
 * 51) * Informatics
 * 52) * Mathematics
 * 53) * Biology
 * 54) * Chemistry
 * 55) * Physics
 * 56) * Earth and Environmental Sciences
 * 57) Theological Sciences
 * 58) * Biblical Studies
 * 59) * Theology
 * 60) Veterinary Medicine
 * 61) * Veterinary Medicine
 * 62) The Arts
 * 63) * Film and Theater
 * 64) * Music
 * 65) * Visual Arts and Art Conservation


 * Automatics? I don't think he meant what you've wikilinked. -- Verbarson talkedits 20:48, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Possibly Cybernetics or something allied? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.205.111.170 (talk) 00:52, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Automation? --Lambiam 06:20, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Oops, I didn't verify that link. I piped it to Control engineering now. — Kpalion(talk) 09:56, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Taking "Polish studies" to be a legitimate academic topic, "X studies" should also be legitimate, where "X" can be replaced by any of hundreds of ethnicities. --Lambiam 06:19, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * And complete? Critical race theory is missing – and so are all interdisciplinary academic fields. --Lambiam 06:38, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * The "complete" part was tongue in cheek. The list was published by a government ministry, so it reflects a specific political agenda (conservative, in this case); that's why you'll find family studies there, but no gender studies, for example. As for Polish studies, it's really just a subset of literary studies. — Kpalion(talk) 09:56, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * And any studies of race, under this scheme, would be probably part of either biology or cultural anthropology. — Kpalion(talk) 10:02, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * thanks kpalion for your suggestion
 * That is Very helpful
 * But I want a classification or map or chart
 * That is of knowledge in general
 * I mean not only sciences
 * But every branches of knowledge
 * Everythjng that is known Stupidity9870 (talk) 15:23, 24 December 2023 (UTC)
 * My view may be a minority one, but IMO you are approaching this backwards. Take a step back for a moment and think about this from a different POV.  In reality, there are no divisions of knowledge.  That's an artificial construct we use to try to make sense of the world.  From one perspective, all "divisions" are a single, unitary whole.  The divisions only exist in our minds, and by extension, in our culture.  Thích Nhất Hạnh famously illustrates this idea by using common, everyday objects, such as teacups, sunflowers, and sheets of paper.  In other words, all forms of knowledge can be found within a single thing.  You don't need a chart or map.  While there are various views on how useful this idea is, I would like to suggest that it is the idea of a division of knowledge that is responsible for much of the confusion, misunderstanding, and ignorance in the world today. Interdisciplinarity, is, IMO, the true state of knowledge as it exists, not the separate divisions and branches that have been artificiality imposed on human understanding. Viriditas (talk) 19:49, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Queen's Service Academy, Dublin
According to our articles both Elliott O'Donnell and Thomas Westropp Bennett were educated at the Queen's Service Academy, Dublin. I would be interested to know more about the Academy, thank you. DuncanHill (talk) 03:02, 20 December 2023 (UTC)


 * QUEEN'S SERVICE ACADEMY, Ely-place, St. Stephen's-green, Dublin. - Founded 1852, for preparation of Candidates for Competitive Examinations; over 1,000 Pupils have passed direct from the Academy. The Special Classes for R.I, CONSTABULARY Cadetships have carried off 50 per cent. of the cadetships offered for competition last year... (the rest of the text is illegible)
 * The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science and Art, January - June 1881 (p. 252). Alansplodge (talk) 12:50, 20 December 2023 (UTC)


 * QUEEN'S SERVICE ACADEMY, 3. ELY-PLACE, DUBLIN. Established 1852. - 1,000 Pupils successful. A SPECIAL CLASS for the Solicitors' Preliminary Examination. During this and last year all the pupils, without exception, sent in from this class were successful. Apply to W. J. CHETWODE CRAWLEY...
 * The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal, Volume 12 January 12, 1878 (p. 29)
 * Dr William John Chetwode Crawley was apparently a panjandrum in the world of Irish Freemasonry.    Alansplodge (talk) 13:10, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I have added a brief paragraph to the Ely Place article. Alansplodge (talk) 17:43, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you. DuncanHill (talk) 13:39, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

What was the Reverend Henry O'Donnell doing in Abyssinia?
The Reverend Henry O'Donnell was the father of Elliott O'Donnell, the celebrated writer. He met, it seems, a sticky end in Abyssinia. Do we know why he went there, or anything more than the brief details in our article on his son? Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 03:07, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * "As I have already stated, my father’s vocation was that of a clergyman of the Church of England, and it was while awaiting preferment from one living to another that he decided to go for a trip with a clergyman friend to Palestine. The two travelled together as far as Alexandria, but there they parted, my father suddenly deciding to go to Abyssinia with a member of a well-known London banker's family, whom he had met on the voyage out."


 * "He left home with the intention of going on a brief visit to Palestine, but, meeting on the way an exofficer of the Anglo-Indian army, who had been engaged by the King of Abyssinia to help in the work of remodelling the Abyssinian army, he abandoned his idea of visiting the Holy Land, and decided to go to Abyssinia instead. What actually happened then will probably never be known. His death was reported to have taken place at Arkiko, a small village some two hours walking distance from Massowah, and from the letters^ subsequently received from the French Consul at Massowah and several other people, as well as from the entries in his, diary (the latter being recovered with other of his personal effects and sent home with them), there seems to have been little, if any, doubt that he was trapped and murdered, the object being robbery. The case created quite a sensation at the time, and is referred to in a work entitled " The Oriental Zig-zag," by Charles Hamilton, who, I believe, stayed some few years later at the house at Massowah, where my father lodged, and was stated to have shared his fate."


 * Here's the brief mention in Oriental Zigzag
 * Thank you, I shall probably return to this after Christmas. Who was that son of a well-known London banker's family? DuncanHill (talk) 13:41, 23 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I thought O'Donnell was referring to the same individual with: son of a well-known London banker's family, "exofficer of the Anglo-Indian army, who had been engaged by the King of Abyssinia", and "Colonel Y.", afterwords proved to be a member of the Weymouth swindling gang; but maybe his story was changing over the years? Also wondering about The Unknown Depths (1905), the work of fiction i mistakenly linked to as the death of "Poor Mr Bruno" matches that of his father. "Who was Dickson?" might have some clues to O'Donnell's thinking but don't have time to read now. fiveby(zero) 19:38, 23 December 2023 (UTC)
 * John Kirkham (adventurer) might plausibly fit "an exofficer of the Anglo-Indian army, who had been engaged by the King of Abyssinia": sergeant in the commissariat with Napier, "Colonel Kirkham" was envoy to France and England and arrived in London Nov 1872, back in Abyssinia before Oct 1873. It's hard to tell what might be faithfully reported and what might be a product of O'Donnell's imagination. fiveby(zero) 06:21, 24 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I thought O'Donnell was referring to the same individual with: son of a well-known London banker's family, "exofficer of the Anglo-Indian army, who had been engaged by the King of Abyssinia", and "Colonel Y.", afterwords proved to be a member of the Weymouth swindling gang; but maybe his story was changing over the years? Also wondering about The Unknown Depths (1905), the work of fiction i mistakenly linked to as the death of "Poor Mr Bruno" matches that of his father. "Who was Dickson?" might have some clues to O'Donnell's thinking but don't have time to read now. fiveby(zero) 19:38, 23 December 2023 (UTC)
 * John Kirkham (adventurer) might plausibly fit "an exofficer of the Anglo-Indian army, who had been engaged by the King of Abyssinia": sergeant in the commissariat with Napier, "Colonel Kirkham" was envoy to France and England and arrived in London Nov 1872, back in Abyssinia before Oct 1873. It's hard to tell what might be faithfully reported and what might be a product of O'Donnell's imagination. fiveby(zero) 06:21, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Yinhua Fund Management ( 银华基金)
Im interested in doing an article on this fund management company in China. Its quite large in terms of assets under management. However there don't seem to be any good sources I can use for details on it. I think there are better sources in Chinese so I am reaching out to any Chinese speakers who might have sources on this company that can be used. - Imcdc  Contact  13:44, 20 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Notified: WikiProject China. Folly Mox (talk) 14:12, 20 December 2023 (UTC)