- What is an encyclopedia?
- Characteristics of an encyclopedia
- What are encyclopedias for?
- types of encyclopedia
- Origin of the encyclopedia
We explain what an encyclopedia is, what its characteristics are and what it is for. In addition, we tell you its origin and the types that exist.
What is an encyclopedia?
Encyclopedias are a type of reference work, that is, a type of book or set of books that are consulted to obtain information. information punctual, precise and autonomous on a given topic. An encyclopedia tries to summarize or collect all human knowledge, organized alphabetically and described in an objective, impartial and universal way, in such a way that it can be consulted when some specific information is needed.
Naturally, the totality of human knowledge does not fit in any book or set of them, not even in the many volumes that make up the great encyclopedic projects, such as the famous Encyclopedia Britannica. However, encyclopedias make an attempt, systematically and coherently organizing the main topics and references for consultation, whether on a specific area of knowledge or on any type of subject.
The name "encyclopedia" comes from the Greek words in kyklos (“inside the circle”) and paidea (“education”), with which they referred in Greek antiquity to the set of books and works that a child had to read during his formal instruction, to acquire the knowledge minimum necessary. In this sense, the term was created in Latin encyclopaedia, translatable as "summary of knowledge", and which was later inherited by the Romance languages.
Encyclopedias are an important part of the informative and informative resources available to any individual, that is, they are works that anyone can consult to to learn on a theme or an issue, and that, therefore, play a fundamental role in the preservation and circulation of knowledge.
With the development of computers, encyclopedias in physical format gave way to virtual encyclopedias, which were initially hosted on media such as CD rom. Currently, these encyclopedias are websites, which allows users to consult information on a wide variety of topics instantly and simply.
Characteristics of an encyclopedia
Encyclopedias may include charts, images, graphs, and other types of visual support.In general, encyclopedias are characterized by the following:
- They are books or sets of books, in which human knowledge or a portion of it is approached from an objective point of view, impartial, methodical and organized (usually) alphabetically.
- They can be general or specific (a specific area of knowledge, such as medicine).
- They do not contain argumentative information, opinions nor any other expression of subjectivity or debatable point of view. Instead, they can help themselves with charts, images, graphs, and other types of visual support.
- They are updated from time to time, either to enlarge their content, correct errors or update information.
What are encyclopedias for?
Encyclopedias have an informative purpose: they provide the reader with clear, correct, objective and specific information on what is being searched for within its pages. These are educational and quick reference books: no one reads an encyclopedia from cover to cover, but opens it and goes directly to the content that interests them. In this sense they operate in the same way as the dictionaries and the glossaries.
On the other hand, encyclopedias play an interesting historical role: they reflect the state of knowledge and culture at a given moment and time. If we consult an encyclopedia from the last century, for example, we can get an idea of the things that at that time were taken for certain, objective and demonstrable; many of them will no longer be for us.
types of encyclopedia
Encyclopedias are usually of two types: general and thematic.
- General encyclopedias address, within the limits of what is possible, the totality of human knowledge, or at least its main aspects and those most consulted by the general public. For example, school encyclopedias or encyclopedias with many volumes that were formerly bought to have at home. In Internet, initiatives such as Wikipedia are also encyclopedias of this type.
- Thematic encyclopedias address a specific area of human knowledge and are limited to it. Therefore, they are useful for studying certain specific areas of knowledge and can be more detailed and specific, since they have less information to cover. For example, medical, animal or natural science encyclopedias.
Origin of the encyclopedia
Encyclopedias have a very diverse background in ancient cultures, since the invention of the writing It allowed for the first time the human being to preserve and organize knowledge for future generations. In fact, compilations abound, indices either summaries of various topics carried out in the antiquity and in the Middle Ages, as a way of bringing together literary works or writings that have something in common.
However, the first notion of a general and didactic encyclopedia arose in the eighteenth century, as part of the educational and informative work that the Illustration French considered important to combat ignorance and superstition inherited from the Christian Middle Ages. The pioneers in these matters were the so-called "encyclopedists", such as the British Ephraim Chambers, creator of the cyclopedia either Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences of 1728, one of the first encyclopedias in history.
However, the most important encyclopedic project was the Encyclopedie by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, who brought together a select group of 140 thinkers of the time to design what they hoped would be the greatest informative project in history, the Encyclopedia, or Reasoned Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts. Writers such as Voltaire and Francis Bacon collaborated on this project, and the encyclopedia was inspired both by the tree of human knowledge proposed by Bacon and by the method discourse by Rene Descartes.
To learn more about the history of encyclopedias, see here.