Chapter 2: Advanced Topics

This chapter covers topics that could not be fully addressed in the Fundamentals chapter. Please start with the Fundamentals chapter first.

(All content is under preparation. Notes below)

Classification of Disciplines

Using the “classification of human activities,” we classify “disciplines” in a MECE manner to make it easier to start studying.

This section describes how to further subdivide each activity internally in a MECE manner. Here, we perform classification from the perspective of Homo sapiens. For other agents like AI, robots, or aliens, the classification may differ.

This classification is somewhat peculiar. We claim that by classifying disciplines based on their second model of input/output objects, we can classify all remaining human activities. This is because throughout history, the refined human curiosity cultivated by geniuses over vast populations and extended time periods has naturally classified human activities.

First, we list the terms necessary for internal classification below. Note that they form a MECE structure.

“Specific theory” examines concrete and diverse things, while “general theory” explores a single abstract thing common to the objects of specific theory.
“Large-scale” refers to things difficult to work with by human hands, while “small-scale” refers to things easy to work with by human hands. If humans were ultramen or supermen, meteorology might be chemistry.
“Living things” are entities that feel close to humans, while “inanimate objects” are entities that feel distant from humans. If Woody from Toy Story were real, there might be a discipline of toy science.
Whether something is “on Earth” or “off Earth” depends on whether it is physically close to humans. If we had Kaguya-hime, we might make the moon its own discipline.
“Synchronic” refers to things at the same time, while “diachronic” refers to things with a flow of time. In other words, MECE divisions based on whether time is present-only or not.
“Language” is specially treated as an excellent tool for asynchronous processing, reflecting human practice. We care about “closeness to humans”: whether it is “language” or “non-language.”
“Known” refers to things humans know, while “unknown” refers to things humans do not know. This also relates to “closeness to humans.”
Whether to focus on “input/output” or “processing.” This is one of the two subjects that appeared in our earlier discussion of “human activity classification methods” and is MECE.

As seen in the terms, internal classification is performed using “closeness to humans and ease of handling,” “general versus specific theory,” and “flow of time,” in addition to the “human activity classification methods” discussed in this essay. In any case, if the classification becomes finer than described in the “human activity classification table,” it depends on the individual characteristics of the agent. Therefore, please read this section while appreciating that you are an idiosyncratic Homo sapiens, a type of agent.

Let us first classify disciplines internally.

Discipline
  |- Unknown things
  |    `- Research
  `- Known things
       |- Teacher's perspective
       |    `- Education
       `- Student's perspective
            `- Liberal arts

Research is the pursuit of unknown knowledge, discoveries, and inventions. In contrast, education and liberal arts involve teaching or acquiring known knowledge, discoveries, and inventions. The above division method is not the only way; we can divide further based on specific input/output objects. We call this “discipline concerning X,” where X is the model of individual input/output.

More fundamentally, “discipline concerning X” refers to the strict sense of discipline of humans who are agents performing or intending to perform X.

The following describes this in more detail. We start with a rough classification.

Discipline
  |- Natural science: discipline concerning science (objective input/output)
  |- Formal science: discipline concerning mathematics (objective processing). Note that this is not science.
  |- Applied science: discipline concerning technology. Note that this is not science in classification.
  |- Humanities: discipline concerning things other than mathematics, science, and technology where processing involves individuals
  `- Social science: discipline concerning things other than mathematics and science where processing involves society

Next, we examine each area in detail.

Natural science is a discipline concerning science (objective input/output).

Natural science
 |- General theory
 |    `- Physics
 `- Specific theory
      |- Living things
      |    `- Biology (including psychology)
      `- Inanimate objects
          |- Large-scale
          |    |- On Earth
          |    |    `- Earth science (including geology, mineralogy, meteorology, physical geography, etc.)
          |    `- Off Earth
          |         `- Astronomy (including space science)
          `- Small-scale
                `- Chemistry

Formal science is a discipline concerning mathematics (objective processing). Note that this is not science.

Formal science
 |- Emphasizing objective processing
 |    `- Pure mathematics (including logic)
 `- Emphasizing individual and social input/output
      `- Applied mathematics
           |- General theory
           |    `- Computer science (including data science and statistics)
           `- Specific theory
                `- Mathematical science (including theoretical physics, financial engineering, theoretical biology, etc.)

Applied science is a discipline concerning technology. Note that this is not science in classification.

Applied science
 |- Living things
 |   |- Within humans
 |   |    `- Medical fields (including medicine, pharmacology, dentistry, nursing, health science, clinical psychology, etc.)
 |   `- Outside humans
 |        `- Agriculture
 `- Inanimate objects
     |- Large-scale
     |    `- Environmental science
     `- Small-scale
          `- Engineering (including architecture, information engineering, financial engineering, design science, etc. Bioengineering treats the parts of organisms that can be regarded as inanimate.)

Humanities is a discipline concerning human behavior where processing involves individuals, excluding mathematics, science, and technology.

Humanities
 |- General theory
 |   |- Synchronic approach
 |   |    `- Geography
 |   `- Diachronic approach
 |        `- History (including folklore, archaeology, etc.)
 `- Specific theory
     |- Concerning thought
     |    `- Philosophy (including ethics, classical psychology, psychoanalysis, phenomenology, metaphysics, aesthetics, and parts of social science)
     |- Concerning art
     |   |- Language
     |   |    `- Literature
     |   `- Non-language
     |        `- Art studies (including aesthetics)
     `- Concerning culture
          `- Anthropology (including cultural anthropology, linguistics, folklore, religious studies, theology)

Social science is a discipline concerning human behavior where processing involves society, excluding mathematics and science.

Social science
 |- General theory
 |    `- Sociology
 `- Specific theory
     |- Concerning law
     |    `- Law
     |- Concerning economics
     |    |- Focusing on individual input/output
     |    |    `- Business administration
     |    `- Focusing on social processing
     |         `- Economics
     |- Concerning politics
     |    `- Political science (including policy science, military studies, defense studies)
     `- Concerning discipline
         |- Known
         |    `- Education
         `- Unknown
              `- Interdisciplinary fields (including liberal arts, library science, museology, natural history, etc.)

What is worth noting is the main classification and the contents of social science and humanities. Remarkably, the ten-fold classification of human activity naturally appears! In other words, the classification of “discipline concerning X” corresponds to the classification of “X itself.” This classification of disciplines becomes a natural internal classification of the target X. This is because the refined classification frameworks developed by historical geniuses can be applied to human activities. For example, through the refined classification of “natural science” that emerged from natural philosophy, “science” naturally divides into physics, biology, chemistry, and so on. Similarly, technology would divide into “medicine,” “agriculture,” “engineering,” and “environment.”

Therefore, we can consider the internal classification of other human activities to be complete with the above. Assuming that the second semantic model of discipline input/output does not greatly differ from the classification of human activities other than discipline, we confine our discussion to the classification of discipline alone.

Another point of interest is what happens when humans other than Homo sapiens engage in disciplines. The above classification method is fundamentally dependent on Homo sapiens. However, note that the classification of natural science, formal science, applied science, humanities, and social science is not dependent on Homo sapiens. Even if AI, aliens, or subterranean beings engage in disciplines, similar classifications are possible.

This classification will facilitate new considerations. For example, the difference between natural science and social science becomes clear. Both are plagued by the problem of universality (difficulty of modification), but natural science has universality because it is independent of us humans, while social science has universality because it is difficult to reach agreement among many stakeholders. Therefore, unlike natural science, social science connects with social movements, and self-fulfilling and self-defeating prophecies occur through social science theories. The difference between social science and humanities is also clear. In human activities, the processing object is the main activity. Processing is the effort involved in changing input/output, adapting to it, and the labor it requires. Whether this processing is an issue for only an individual or for society greatly changes the approach. If for an individual, their individuality and individual way of being is questioned, whereas if for society, emphasis is placed on not conflicting with others, solving troubles, and pushing through demands. Humanities focuses on the former, while social science focuses on the latter, so it is natural to feel the difference. Furthermore, one can notice the humanistic nature of applied science. Advanced technology requires knowledge from natural science and formal science, so applied science tends to fall under the label of “science and engineering.” However, what is being answered is not how the objective should be, but how we should respond to social demands and what we should do. This is closer to the thinking of thought, art, and culture than natural science or social science. The difference between natural science and formal science is already self-evident. There is a major difference in whether the objective is an input/output object or a processing object. While various examples have been presented, classifying in a MECE manner allows us to deeply understand the ways we usually learn.

However, in the above classification, names of fields commonly seen may not appear. But that can be supplemented with small additions to the above classification. Or it depends on the history of experts and academic societies for each field. Let us look at real examples next.

Multiple names can be given to the same thing. Here are some examples:

Formal science is sometimes called “mathematics.”
Humanities are sometimes called “humanistic science.”
Humanities are sometimes called “literature.” It is not uncommon for faculties of letters to encompass all humanities rather than just literature in the narrow sense.

While institutional subjects may not match the above classification, they can be accommodated by combining or dividing the above classifications. Here are some examples:

Elementary school
- Elementary mathematical science and its surroundings combined are called “arithmetic.” Learning units, measuring in practice, converting story problems into equations, and finding patterns from sequences are not pure mathematics but the sense of mathematical science like theoretical physics and theoretical economics. In living, the correspondence between mathematical concepts and real things is important, and elementary education would benefit from mathematical science more than pure mathematics as subject matter.
- Elementary interdisciplinary fields are called “integrated studies.”
Junior and senior high school
- Engineering is called “technology.”
- Anthropology is called “family studies.”
- Medical fields are called “health and physical education.”
- Art studies is divided into “music” for the auditory sense and “visual arts” for the visual sense. This is probably because humans primarily use the senses of hearing and vision.
- Aspects of humanities related to Japanese and English are called “Japanese language” and “English.” This reflects “closeness to humans” in domestic and international contexts.
  - Instead of “English,” “foreign language” allows studying other languages.
- History is divided into “Japanese history” and “world history.” This reflects “closeness to humans” in domestic and international contexts.
- Law is called “civics.”
- Philosophy is called “ethics.”
- Political science and economics are combined and called “political economy.” They are similar in that social processing is the criterion for validity.
- Earth science and astronomy are combined and called “earth science.” They share the common feature of being large-scale inanimate objects.
University
- Natural science and formal science combined are called “science”
- Business administration and economics are sometimes combined and called “economics”
- Law and political science are sometimes combined and called “law”

Even finer internal classifications are possible, but we leave that to experts in each field. However, it is common that they are divided through history accumulated by “closeness to humans” from each era. Conversely, if humans and history of each era differ, the classification would be different. Below are examples:

Mathematics includes geometry, analysis, algebra, etc. Physics includes mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, etc. Classification requires understanding history.
Art’s main categories are “music” and “visual arts.” This is probably because humans are creatures superior in hearing and vision. This is “closeness to humans.” If a civilization of organisms superior in touch, smell, or taste emerged, those would likely be more prominent than “music” and “visual arts” (cooking might be especially prominent since taste is highly developed).

What is Existence?

What is existence? It is what mediates between “agents” and “input/output,” or between “agents” and “processing.”
- Chocolate on a desk doesn’t change unless physically moved, but my chocolate changes just through agreement!
- The difference between virtual and real. Virtual servers and physical servers, etc.
- The difference between virtual and symbolic. Virtual addresses and currency, etc.
- And so on

Types of Existence and Reductive Analysis

Classification of language, rules, numbers, and reasons
- Rhetoric includes two types: literature and argumentation, but logic is only mathematical proof. Don’t confuse modern essay analysis with mathematical proof!
- When existence is reductively analyzed, six types emerge: law, idea, norm, logic, technique, and manner.
- Numeracy has six types. Reasons also have six types.
- And so on
Objects are
Existence mediates between “agents” and “input/output,” or between “agents” and “processing.”
Rules are what existence is reduced to
Language and numbers are a type of existence.
Reason is a related rule that comes before something else

Type	Input/Output/Processing Name	Existence Name	Rule	Refined Language (Original Language)	Number	Reason
Individual input/output	Idea	Concept	Idea	Story (note)	Target value	Motivation
Social input/output	Consensus	Symbol	Norm	Document (discussion)	Standard value	Requirement
Objective input/output	Nature	Phenomenon	Law	Explanation (record)	Measured value	Cause
Individual processing	Expression	Creation	Technique	Literature (rhetoric)	Achievement value	Function
Social processing	Communication	Medium	Manner	Argumentation (rhetoric)	Score	Rationale
Objective processing	Calculation	Virtual	Logic	Proof (formal system)	Theoretical value	Premise

The Eleventh and Twelfth Classifications: Zhuangzi’s Free Wandering and the Uniformity of All Things

Can we consider the lack of “developability” as a kind of “developability,” thereby actually granting “developability” to “objects”?
- By constantly maintaining or ignoring, granting “developability” to “objects”
- The hint lies in Zhuangzi; perhaps we should call granting “developability” to “objects’” “input/output” “uniformity of all things,” and granting “developability” to “objects’” “processing” “free wandering”

How Human Activities Combine

Social science and religion can also be explained through combinations of human activities
- Is social science between “law” and “science”?
Nested structures, reassignment of roles, proportions of validity and development, vertical and horizontal connections, etc.
Are there types like programming languages?

Formalization

Aiming for something like analytical philosophy or formal specification description, not mathematical development.

How to formalize this discussion?
- What is the relationship between things like “technology” and “discipline” where “input/output” and “processing” are swapped?
- What is the relationship between things like “technology” and “culture” where “validity” and “developability” are swapped?

Misunderstandings about the Uncertainty Principle and Incompleteness Theorem

There are two types of uncertainty principle. The variance issue and the measurement problem.
The measurement problem is an issue of measurement, not of phenomena. In “science,” this is a grave matter of confusing “society,” which has “developability,” with “processing” and “objective input/output,” which has “validity.”
The incompleteness theorem is a more detailed version of what was written in the Fundamentals chapter.

Arithmetic also teaches measurement and units, which are “science” rather than “mathematics.” It’s purely about mathematical models. It’s not good to conflate the order with the units of physics. The criticism of the commutative law is off-base; one should insist that units should be attached.

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