From Encyclopedia To Ontology: Toward Dynamic Representation Of The Discipline Of Philosophy / quote 22 of 30
Ideas for a visualization system; open challenges for digital philosophy
Such a system would facilitate interaction with the encyclopedia for expert and novice users alike. Experts could see the “big picture” of an idea or philosopher in a glance, capturing a large amount of information in an efficient manner, and novices could surf through the encyclopedia’s content by following paths hewn by an expert- level understanding of the domain. Students engaged in research could instantly see which other topics are importantly related to their current search item, and the seman- tic labels of those links would tell them not only which other items are related to their current search but also how. [...] What can be visualized, and what visual metaphors guide our comprehension of philosophy? These are questions whose answers affect the development of philosophy as a discipline in the digital age.