Subject
Categorization[edit]
The following main subject categorization of Bahá'í content is derived from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's description of three types of education in Chapter 3 of Some Answered Questions.
This division might perhaps also be helpfully recalled as "Body-Mind-Spirit".
- Material-Physical
- Human--Intellectual-Arts-Social-Professional-Administrative
- Spiritual-Ethical-Religious
Dewey classification[edit]
Categorization based on the Dewey Decimal Classification. The system is currently only used for the top level (though see Library of Congress BWC Extended 'Abdu'l-Bahá).
- 000 – Computer science, information and general works
- 100 – Philosophy and psychology
- 200 – Religion
- 300 – Social sciences
- 400 – Language
- 500 – Pure science
- 600 – Technology
- 700 – Arts and recreation
- 800 – Literature
- 900 – History and geography
To-dos[edit]
Might also add as an alternate classification on subpages the items from https://bahai-library.com/pdf/c/collins_library_congress_classification.pdf and https://bahai-library.com/pdf/c/collins_dewey_decimal_classification.pdf
Potential uses of the subject pages[edit]
To Bahá'ís, every aspect of life falls under the domain of the spiritual--as the purpose of our lives is in many ways to prepare us for the next--and should be approached as such (using the guidance of the science human beings develop, and with the infallible wisdom conveyed by the Prophets of God--to help us make informed and decisions which are beneficial to ourselves and the world around us).
However, it could be helpful for us to divide aspects of our lives (and knowledge in general) into different domains. As a result, content at this website can overlap between (and even within sections)--and this information should ideally be represented in both places. This is both for providing greater access to the information (advice/admonition/etc.) as well as to allow a better understanding of the subject in question. For example, even while contributing to the Bahá'í Funds is considered a spiritual obligation for Bahá'ís, and will thus be helpfully considered under the "Spiritual/Ethical/Religious" category along with other primary duties of an individual Bahá'í, it may also be insightful for us to group this knowledge (or goals) about the Bahá'í Funds along with a more general discussion of finances--a topic which, as it deals with a material object--money--may also appropriately fall under the "Material/Physical" section. It may also be under the "human" section, as economics deals with general psychological principles of human beings.
These pages are offered both as a means of storing any information as well as for a possible template for considering information in one's life (such as in determining goals). The pages here are intended for offering a Bahá'í perspective on the topic in question, though the structure of the page has also been designed as a possible template for examining any information in one's life (for which there may be no explicit guidance from the Bahá'í Writings).
Further Development[edit]
The pages here might link to or possibly build upon such thematically arranged pages as https://bahai-library.com/books/rg/rg.biblio01.html , https://bahai-library.com/books/biblio/ , or http://bahaitext.info/ .
The compilation Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities from the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. holds a lot of promise as a template, even though the copy is scanned text.
We have permission to copy from bahaiquotes.com for its helpful resources.
The pages here could benefit from incorporating quotations from useful compilations like: https://bahai-library.com/pdf/y/young_teaching_christians_handbook.pdf
Another possibility is to use the Library of Congress scheme for sorting items here (perhaps by adapting with permission as needed a nice HTML copy such as at http://www.info.library.yorku.ca/yorkline/lc/lc.html ) or the expanded Baha'i version (see http://library.bahai.org/cat/fcintro.html and its sidebar links). See also https://bahai-library.com/gerard_phoenix_schedule_dewey
Another systematic strategy would be to compile digital indices of all of the Writings, integrate them together, and then sort them--in addition to an alphabetical listing--into a strictly topical listing (i.e., a hierarchy of topics such as this wiki page begins). We could also use the same for the Qur'an or Bible with a good index (e.g., http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/quranindex.html ), or refer to existing topical indices (keeping copyright issues in mind) of these Scriptures (e.g., TORREY'S TOPICAL INDEX at http://www.studylight.org/con/ttt/ , http://www.virtualchristiancenter.com/biblestudytools/bible/torrey/ , or http://www.ccel.org/t/torrey/ttt/home.html ).
We might even use Islámic and other oral traditions (noting of course their unreliability unless confirmed in our Writings) such as at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ . Please leave a note at Brett Zamir's page if you could volunteer to join us with such a systematic approach to filling out the pages at this site.
