Propædia

The Propædia is the first of three parts of the Encyclopædia Britannica, the other two being the 12-volume Micropædia and the 17-volume Macropædia. The Propædia is supposed to be a book that organizes the things in the Britannica, and a guideline to the index of the other two parts. It was introduced in 1974 with the 15th edition of the encyclopaedia to replace the index, but when many people complained, Britannica put the index back in two books in 1985. The core of the Propædia is its Outline of Knowledge, which is supposed to give people a classification of what we know, but the Propædia also has some parts listing the staff members, advisors and contributors to all three parts of the Britannica.

The Propædia can be used by a student who wants to know what there is to know, before even finding out about it. Once the student finds out what he needs to know, he will then find out about the thing itself.

The Outline has ten Parts, each with an essay to introduce the part. Below is the table of the ten parts.

Table 1: The Ten Parts of the Outline of Knowledge in the Propædia
PartTitleMajor subjects# of Divisions# of SectionsTotal #Lead author
01Part One Matter and EnergyPhysics, Chemistry, Astronomy32,8,313Nigel Calder
02Part Two The EarthGeology, Geography, Oceanography44, 3, 2, 312Peter John Wyllie
03Part Three Life on EarthTaxonomy, Molecular and cell biology, Physiology, Neuroscience, Ecology53, 3, 9, 2, 522René Dubos
04Part Four Human LifeHuman evolution, Medicine, Psychology32, 4, 612Loren Eiseley
05Part Five Human SocietySociology, Economics, Politics, Law, Education64, 4, 6, 4, 3, 223Harold D. Lasswell
06Part Six ArtClassification; criticism; various arts23, 912Mark Van Doren
07Part Seven TechnologyHistory and elements of technology; various technologies32, 5, 815Lord Peter Ritchie Calder
08Part Eight ReligionGeneral observations; various religions22, 911Wilfred Cantwell Smith
09Part Nine The History of mankindHistory organized by continent and epoch72, 4, 7, 5, 2, 11, 839Jacques Barzun
10Part Ten The Branches of KnowledgeLogic, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Philosophy, Library science62, 3, 7, 2, 3, 118Mortimer J. Adler

Contributors to Propædia

Table 2: Contributors to the Outline of Knowledge in the [1]
NameDate of birthDate of deathPart of OutlineDescriptionIndex
Mortimer J. Adler 19022001All PartsEditor1
Charles Van Doren 1926All PartsAssociate editor; Editorial Vice President of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. (1973-1982)2
William J. Gorman 1982All PartsAssociate editor; Senior Fellow of the Institute for Philosophical Research3
A. G. W. Cameron Matter and EnergyProfessor of Astronomy, Harvard University4
Farrington Daniels 18891972Matter and EnergyProfessor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison5
Morton Hamermesh Matter and EnergyProfessor of Physics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1975-1986)6
Vincent E. Parker Matter and EnergyEmeritus Professor of Physics, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Dean, School of Science (1967-1977)7
Richard J. Chorley 19272002The EarthProfessor of Geography, University of Cambridge; Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge8
William Stelling von Arx The EarthSenior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1968-1978)9
Peter John Wyllie The EarthProfessor of Geology and Chairman, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology10
N. J. Berrill Life on EarthStrathcone Professor of Zoology, McGill University (1946-1965)11
V. G. Dethier 1993Life on EarthGilbert L. Woodside Professor of Zoology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1975-1993)12
Louis S. Goodman Life on EarthDistinguished Professor of Pharmacology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City13
Garrett Hardin 19152003Life on EarthEmeritus Professor of Human Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara14
Ernst Walter Mayr 19042005Life on EarthAlexander Agassiz Professor Emeritus of Zoology, Harvard University15
John Alexander Moore Life on EarthEmeritus Professor of Biology, University of California, Riverside16
Theodore T. Puck Life on EarthProfessor of Biology, Biophysics and Genetics; Distinguished Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center; Director, Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research17
Birgit Vennesland Life on EarthHead, Vennesland Research Laboratory, Max Planck Society (1970-1981); Director, Max Planck Institute for Cell Physiology, Berlin (1968-1970)18
Paul B. Weisz Life on EarthProfessor of Biology, Brown University19
Ralph H. Wetmore Life on EarthEmeritus Professor of Botany, Harvard University20
Emil H. White Life on EarthD. Mead Johnson Professor of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University21
Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark 18951971Human LifeProfessor of Anatomy, University of Oxford22
Russell S. Fisher 1985Human LifeChief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland; Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore23
F. Clark Howell Human LifeProfessor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley24
Gregory A. Kimble Human LifeEmeritus Professor of Psychology, Duke University25
Erich Klinghammer Human LifeAssociate Professor of Psychology, Purdue University26
Warren Sturgis McCulloch 18991969Human LifeStaff member, Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT (1952-1969)27
William J. McGuire Human LifeProfessor of Psychology, Yale University28
Peter Medawar 19151987Human LifeNobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1960; Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, University College London (1951-1962); Director, National Institute, Mill Hill, London (1962-1971); Scientific staff member, Medical Research Council, England (1971-1984)29
William J. Baumol 1922Human SocietyProfessor of Economics, New York University; Emeritus Professor of Economics, Princeton University30
Daniel Bell 1919Human SocietyHenry Ford II Professor Emeritus of Social Science, Harvard University31
Guiliano H. Bonfante Human SocietyFormer Professor of Linguistics, University of Turin32
Kenneth E. Boulding 19101993Human SocietyDistinguished Professor of Economics, University of Colorado, Boulder33
Lewis A. Coser 19132003Human SocietyDistinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, SUNY, Stony Brook34
Sigmund Diamond Human SocietyGiddings Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Columbia University35
Carl J. Friedrich 19011984Human SocietyEaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University (1955-1971)36
Paul Mundy Human SocietyProfessor of Sociology and Chairman, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago37
Kenyon E. Poole 1988Human SocietyProfessor of Economics, Northwestern University38
C. Herman Pritchett Human SocietyEmeritus Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara and University of Chicago39
Sol Tax 19071995Human SocietyProfessor of Anthropology, University of Chicago (1948-1976); Director, Center for the Study of Man, Smithsonian Institution40
Charles Raymond Whittlesey Human SocietyEmeritus Professor of Finance and Economics, University of Pennsylvania41
Rudolf Arnheim 1904ArtEmeritus professor of Psychology of Art, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University42
Robert Jesse Charleston 1994ArtKeeper, Department of Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum (1963-1976)43
Clifton Fadiman 19041999ArtMember, Board of Editors, Encyclopædia Britannica44
Francis Fergusson 19041986ArtProfessor of Comparative Literature, Rutgers University (1953-1969); Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University (1973-1981)45
John Gloag 1981ArtNovelist and writer on architecture and industrial design46
Richard Griffith 1969ArtCurator, Museum of Modern Art Film Library (1951-1965); Lecturer on Motion Pictures, Wesleyan University (1967-1969)47
Richard Hoggart 1918ArtProfessor of English, University of Birmingham (1962-1973); Warden, Goldsmiths' College, University of London (1976-1984)48
Edward Lockspeiser 1973ArtOfficier d'Académie, Paris; Writer and broadcaster on music.49
Roy McMullen 1984ArtAuthor, critic, and art historian50
Leonard B. Meyer 1918ArtBenjamin Franklin Professor of Music and Humanities, University of Pennsylvania51
Michael Morrow 1994ArtMusic editor, Encyclopædia Britannica; Director, Musica Reservata, London52
Beaumont Newhall 19081993ArtDirector, Eastman Kodak House (1958-1971); Visiting Professor of Art, University of New Mexico (1971-1984)53
Herbert Read 18931968ArtWatson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh (1931-1933); editor, The Burlington Magazine (1933-1939); Charles Eliot Norton professor of Poetry, Harvard University (1953-1954)54
Richard Roud 1989ArtProgram Director, London (1959-1963) and New York (1963-1987) Film Festivals; Movie critic, The Guardian (1963-1969)55
George Savage 1982ArtArt consultant; author of Porcelain Through the Ages, Pottery Through the Ages, and other works56
Wolfgang Stechow 1974ArtProfessor of Fine Arts, Oberlin College (1940-1963)57
Joshua C. Taylor 1981ArtWilliam Rainey Harper Professor of Humanities and Professor of Art, University of Chicago (1963-1974); Director, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution58
Everard M. Upjohn 1978ArtProfessor of Fine Arts, Columbia University (1951-1970)59
Pierre Verlet ArtChief Curator, Cluny Museum (1945-1965); Chief Curator, National Museum of Sèvres Porcelain (1945-1965); Chief Curator of Art Objects from the Middle Ages to the Modern Period, Louvre Museum (1945-1965)60
René Wellek 19031995ArtSterling Professor of Comparative Literature, Yale University (1952-1972)61
Glynne William Gladstone Wickham ArtEmeritus Professor of Drama, University of Bristol; Dean, Faculty of Arts (1970-1972)62
Raymond (Henry) Williams 1988ArtProfessor of Drama, University of Cambridge (1974-1983); Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge (1961-1988)63
Paul S. Wingert 1974ArtProfessor of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University64
Bruno Zevi 19182000ArtProfessor of Architectural History, University of Rome (1963-1979)65
Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis 1975TechnologyChairman, Doxiadis Associates International; Chairman, Board of Directors, Doxiadis Associates, Inc.; Washington D.C. Chairman, Board of Directors, Athens Technological Organization; President, Athens Center of Ekistics66
Eugene S. Ferguson 19162004TechnologyEmeritus Professor of History, University of Delaware; Curator of Technology, Hagley Museum, Greenville Delaware67
Melvin Kranzberg 19171995TechnologyCallaway Professor of the History of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology (1972-1988)68
Harvey G. Mehlhouse TechnologyVice President, Western Electric Company, New York City (1965-1969); President (1969-1971); Chairman of the Board (1971-1972)69
Robert Smith Woodbury 1983TechnologyProfessor of the History of Technology, MIT70
Arthur Llewellyn Basham 19141986ReligionProfessor of Asian Civilizations, Australian National University71
James T. Burtchaell ReligionProfessor of Theology, University of Notre Dame; Provost (1970-1977)72
J. V. Langmead Casserley 1978ReligionProfessor of Apologetics, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary73
Ichiro Hori 1974ReligionProfessor of the History of Religions, Seijo University and Kokugakuin University74
Jaroslav Jan Pelikan ReligionSterling Professor of History, Yale University; President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences75
Jakob Josef Petuchowski 1991ReligionSol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati (1981-1991)76
Jacques Barzun 1907The History of MankindUniversity Professor Emeritus, Columbia University; Dean of Faculties and Provost (1958-1967)77
Otto Allen Bird The Branches of KnowledgeEmeritus Professor of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame78
Wing-Tsit Chan 19011994The Branches of KnowledgeProfessor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, Dartmouth College (1942-1966); Anna R. D. Gillespie Professor of Philosophy, Chatham College (1966-1982)79
William H. Dray The Branches of KnowledgeEmeritus Professor of Philosophy and of History, University of Ottawa80
Norwood Hanson 1967The Branches of KnowledgeProfessor of Philosophy, Yale University (1963-1967)81
J. H. Hexter 19101996The Branches of KnowledgeCharles L. Stillé Professor of History, Yale University (1967-1978); Distinguished Historian in residence, Washington University (1978-1986)82
Ernan V. McMullin The Branches of KnowledgeProfessor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame83
Karl Menger 19021985The Branches of KnowledgeProfessor of Mathematics, Illinois Institute of Technology (1946-1971)84
Arthur Norman Prior 1969The Branches of KnowledgeFellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford; Professor of Philosophy, Manchester University (1959-1966)85
Nicholas Rescher 1928The Branches of KnowledgeUniversity Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh; editor, American Philosophical Quarterly86
Seymour Schuster The Branches of KnowledgeProfessor of Mathematics, Carleton College87

References

  1. The dates of death in Table 2 were taken from the 2007 version of the Propædia, except recent (post-1999) deaths which were not noted.


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