Note: This blog post has been retracted, since I no longer think of it as a good representation of how I think about its topic. I may, or may not, have written a better post about the same topic since; check the full list of posts.
I divide all forms of writing according to what they communicate.
The first division is between philosophy and poetry.
Philosophy shall be the form which, through strict adherence to the rules of philosophy, successfully endeavors to commit no unexamined appearances to writing. Poetry shall be the form which, by failing to follow those rules, communicates unexamined appearances.
Philosophy is divided between physics, ethics, and logic, as has been variously shown.
Poetry is divided, first, into fiction and non-fiction. Fiction shall be the form which imagines new combinations of appearances. Non-fiction shall be the form which attempts to faithfully communicate appearances which were seen and recorded in memory.
Fiction has been variously divided, and I will not attempt such a division here.
Non-fiction divides further into history and the natural sciences. History shall be the form which communicates appearances according to their chronological order. The natural sciences shall constitute the form which communicates appearances according to a logical division.
The natural sciences, obviously, further divide into physics*, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and the like. I will not attempt a complete division of those either.
The final division runs thus:
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Ethics
- Logic
- Poetry
- Fiction
- [Horror, fantasy, romance...]
- Non-fiction
- History
- Natural sciences
- [Physics*, chemistry, biology...]
Some popular forms of writing may not fit wholly into any category here; I admit that there may be mixed forms.
* Obviously, physics is not taken in the same sense here as in the division of philosophy.
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