The Assiniboine Park Pavilion is a landmark building at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada . It is today one of Winnipeg's most familiar landmarks.
138-482: Among other things, the building houses the Pavilion Gallery Museum , a museum and art gallery that opened in 1998. The current Pavilion is the second pavilion building built in the park. The original Assiniboine Park Pavilion was built in 1908 and opened before the park itself. Designed by John D. Atchison, that structure followed the early prairie style of architect Frank Lloyd Wright . Constructed at
276-425: A linguistic therapy. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein , for instance, philosophy aims at dispelling misunderstandings to which humans are susceptible due to the confusing structure of ordinary language . Phenomenologists , such as Edmund Husserl , characterize philosophy as a "rigorous science" investigating essences . They practice a radical suspension of theoretical assumptions about reality to get back to
414-453: A contractor when necessary. The cultural property stored in museums is threatened in many countries by natural disaster , war , terrorist attacks or other emergencies. To this end, an internationally important aspect is a strong bundling of existing resources and the networking of existing specialist competencies in order to prevent any loss or damage to cultural property or to keep damage as low as possible. International partner for museums
552-429: A cost of CA$ 19,000 and intended for summer use only, the building included a dance hall , banquet hall , and lunch and catering facilities; as well as a 90-foot (27 m) tower that held a 16,000-US-gallon (61,000 L) water tank whose water was drawn from the nearby Assiniboine River and supplied the park's water system . This original Pavilion building, having suffered from previous structural issues as well,
690-464: A culture. As historian Steven Conn writes, "To see the thing itself, with one's own eyes and in a public place, surrounded by other people having some version of the same experience, can be enchanting." Museum purposes vary from institution to institution. Some favor education over conservation, or vice versa. For example, in the 1970s, the Canada Science and Technology Museum favored education over
828-545: A doctor diagnoses a disease based on the observed symptoms. Logic also investigates incorrect forms of reasoning. They are called fallacies and are divided into formal and informal fallacies based on whether the source of the error lies only in the form of the argument or also in its content and context. Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality , such as existence, objects and their properties , wholes and their parts , space and time , events , and causation . There are disagreements about
966-685: A full-time director to whom authority is delegated for day-to-day operations; Have the financial resources sufficient to operate effectively; Demonstrate that it meets the Core Standards for Museums; Successfully complete the Core Documents Verification Program". Additionally, there is a legal definition of museum in United States legislation authorizing the establishment of the Institute of Museum and Library Services : "Museum means
1104-444: A great variety of methods to arrive at philosophical knowledge. They include conceptual analysis , reliance on common sense and intuitions , use of thought experiments , analysis of ordinary language , description of experience , and critical questioning . Philosophy is related to many other fields, including the sciences, mathematics , business , law , and journalism . It provides an interdisciplinary perspective and studies
1242-697: A metaphysical foundation of ethics. The modern period in Chinese philosophy began in the early 20th century and was shaped by the influence of and reactions to Western philosophy. The emergence of Chinese Marxism —which focused on class struggle , socialism , and communism —resulted in a significant transformation of the political landscape. Another development was the emergence of New Confucianism , which aims to modernize and rethink Confucian teachings to explore their compatibility with democratic ideals and modern science. Traditional Japanese philosophy assimilated and synthesized ideas from different traditions, including
1380-459: A museum and on display, they not only got to show their fantastic finds but also used the museum as a way to sort and "manage the empirical explosion of materials that wider dissemination of ancient texts, increased travel, voyages of discovery, and more systematic forms of communication and exchange had produced". One of these naturalists and collectors was Ulisse Aldrovandi , whose collection policy of gathering as many objects and facts about them
1518-550: A museum is successful, as happened in Bilbao, others continue especially if a museum struggles to attract visitors. The Taubman Museum of Art is an example of an expensive museum (eventually $ 66 million) that attained little success and continues to have a low endowment for its size. Some museum activists see this method of museum use as a deeply flawed model for such institutions. Steven Conn, one such museum proponent, believes that "to ask museums to solve our political and economic problems
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#17330846451421656-402: A museum's collection typically determines the museum's size, whereas its collection reflects the type of museum it is. Many museums normally display a "permanent collection" of important selected objects in its area of specialization, and may periodically display "special collections" on a temporary basis. The following is a list to give an idea of the major museum types. While comprehensive, it
1794-509: A notable person, or a given period of time. Museums also can be based on the main source of funding: central or federal government, provinces, regions, universities; towns and communities; other subsidised; nonsubsidised and private. It may sometimes be useful to distinguish between diachronic museums which interpret the way its subject matter has developed and evolved through time (e.g., Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Diachronic Museum of Larissa ), and synchronic museums which interpret
1932-463: A noticeable growth in the number of female philosophers , but they still remained underrepresented. Arabic–Persian philosophy arose in the early 9th century CE as a response to discussions in the Islamic theological tradition . Its classical period lasted until the 12th century CE and was strongly influenced by ancient Greek philosophers. It employed their ideas to elaborate and interpret the teachings of
2070-503: A palace of Henry VIII , in England opened the council room to the general public to create an interactive environment for visitors. Rather than allowing visitors to handle 500-year-old objects, however, the museum created replicas, as well as replica costumes. The daily activities, historic clothing, and even temperature changes immerse the visitor in an impression of what Tudor life may have been. Major professional organizations from around
2208-460: A part of intellectual history , but it also investigates questions not covered by intellectual history such as whether the theories of past philosophers are true and have remained philosophically relevant. The history of philosophy is primarily concerned with theories based on rational inquiry and argumentation; some historians understand it in a looser sense that includes myths , religious teachings , and proverbial lore. Influential traditions in
2346-407: A public, tribal, or private nonprofit institution which is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes and which, using a professional staff: Owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; Cares for these objects; and Exhibits them to the general public on a regular basis" (Museum Services Act 1976). One of the oldest museums known
2484-894: A series of standards and best practices that help guide the management of museums. Various positions within the museum carry out the policies established by the Board and the Director. All museum employees should work together toward the museum's institutional goal. Here is a list of positions commonly found at museums: Other positions commonly found at museums include: building operator, public programming staff, photographer , librarian , archivist , groundskeeper , volunteer coordinator, preparator, security staff, development officer, membership officer, business officer, gift shop manager, public relations staff, and graphic designer . At smaller museums, staff members often fulfill multiple roles. Some of these positions are excluded entirely or may be carried out by
2622-612: A variety of arguments. Deductive arguments are mainly studied by formal logic. An argument is deductively valid if the truth of its premises ensures the truth of its conclusion. Deductively valid arguments follow a rule of inference , like modus ponens , which has the following logical form : " p ; if p then q ; therefore q ". An example is the argument "today is Sunday; if today is Sunday then I don't have to go to work today; therefore I don't have to go to work today". The premises of non-deductive arguments also support their conclusion, although this support does not guarantee that
2760-556: Is Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum , built by Princess Ennigaldi in modern Iraq at the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire . The site dates from c. 530 BC , and contained artifacts from earlier Mesopotamian civilizations . Notably, a clay drum label—written in three languages—was found at the site, referencing the history and discovery of a museum item. Ancient Greeks and Romans collected and displayed art and objects but perceived museums differently from modern-day views. In
2898-747: Is UNESCO and Blue Shield International in accordance with the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property from 1954 and its 2nd Protocol from 1999. For legal reasons, there are many international collaborations between museums, and the local Blue Shield organizations. Blue Shield has conducted extensive missions to protect museums and cultural assets in armed conflict, such as 2011 in Egypt and Libya, 2013 in Syria and 2014 in Mali and Iraq. During these operations,
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#17330846451423036-662: Is a museum and art gallery located within the Assiniboine Park Pavilion. The gallery houses the largest collections of works by three internationally-renowned Manitoba artists— Ivan Eyre , Clarence Tillenius and Walter J. Phillips —while the second floor area is dedicated to the work of emerging Manitoba artists. The museum is affiliated with the CMA , the CHIN , and the Virtual Museum of Canada . Museum A museum
3174-489: Is a combination of different parts and attempts to identify what those parts are. An influential theory in this area claims that knowledge has three components: it is a belief that is justified and true . This theory is controversial and the difficulties associated with it are known as the Gettier problem . Alternative views state that knowledge requires additional components, like the absence of luck; different components, like
3312-510: Is a common issue in relation to the sources of knowledge and the justification they offer. It is based on the idea that beliefs require some kind of reason or evidence to be justified. The problem is that the source of justification may itself be in need of another source of justification. This leads to an infinite regress or circular reasoning . Foundationalists avoid this conclusion by arguing that some sources can provide justification without requiring justification themselves. Another solution
3450-561: Is a set of essential features shared by all parts of philosophy. Others see only weaker family resemblances or contend that it is merely an empty blanket term. Precise definitions are often only accepted by theorists belonging to a certain philosophical movement and are revisionistic according to Søren Overgaard et al. in that many presumed parts of philosophy would not deserve the title "philosophy" if they were true. Some definitions characterize philosophy in relation to its method, like pure reasoning. Others focus on its topic, for example, as
3588-467: Is also concerned with the moral evaluation of character traits and institutions. It explores what the standards of morality are and how to live a good life. Philosophical ethics addresses such basic questions as "Are moral obligations relative?"; "Which has priority: well-being or obligation?"; and "What gives life meaning?" The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics , normative ethics , and applied ethics . Meta-ethics asks abstract questions about
3726-479: Is an expression of the philosopher's love of wisdom and has the aim of improving one's well-being by leading a reflective life. For example, the Stoics saw philosophy as an exercise to train the mind and thereby achieve eudaimonia and flourish in life. As a discipline, the history of philosophy aims to provide a systematic and chronological exposition of philosophical concepts and doctrines. Some theorists see it as
3864-610: Is an institution dedicated to displaying and/or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers and specialists. Museums host a much wider range of objects than a library , and usually focus on a specific theme, such as the arts , science , natural history or local history . Public museums that host exhibitions and interactive demonstrations are often tourist attractions , and many attract large numbers of visitors from outside their host country, with
4002-549: Is believed to be one of the earliest museums in the world. While it connected to the Library of Alexandria it is not clear if the museum was in a different building from the library or was part of the library complex. While little was known about the museum it was an inspiration for museums during the early Renaissance period. The royal palaces also functioned as a kind of museum outfitted with art and objects from conquered territories and gifts from ambassadors from other kingdoms allowing
4140-451: Is closely related to the disciplines of logic and linguistics. The philosophy of language rose to particular prominence in the early 20th century in analytic philosophy due to the works of Frege and Russell. One of its central topics is to understand how sentences get their meaning. There are two broad theoretical camps: those emphasizing the formal truth conditions of sentences and those investigating circumstances that determine when it
4278-408: Is concerned with meaning , understanding , or the clarification of language. According to one view, philosophy is conceptual analysis , which involves finding the necessary and sufficient conditions for the application of concepts. Another definition characterizes philosophy as thinking about thinking to emphasize its self-critical, reflective nature. A further approach presents philosophy as
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4416-456: Is itself a borrowing from the Latin philosophia . The term philosophy acquired the meanings of "advanced study of the speculative subjects ( logic , ethics , physics , and metaphysics )", "deep wisdom consisting of love of truth and virtuous living", "profound learning as transmitted by the ancient writers", and "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge , reality , and existence , and
4554-404: Is not a definitive list. Private museums are organized by individuals and managed by a board and museum officers, but public museums are created and managed by federal, state, or local governments. A government can charter a museum through legislative action but the museum can still be private as it is not part of the government. The distinction regulates the ownership and legal accountability for
4692-438: Is not necessarily a negative development; Dorothy Canfield Fisher observed that the reduction in objects has pushed museums to grow from institutions that artlessly showcased their many artifacts (in the style of early cabinets of curiosity) to instead "thinning out" the objects presented "for a general view of any given subject or period, and to put the rest away in archive-storage-rooms, where they could be consulted by students,
4830-616: Is particularly true in the case of postindustrial cities. Examples of museums fulfilling these economic roles exist around the world. For example, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was built in Bilbao, Spain in a move by the Basque regional government to revitalize the dilapidated old port area of that city. The Basque government agreed to pay $ 100 million for the construction of the museum, a price tag that caused many Bilbaoans to protest against
4968-602: Is pluralized as museums (or rarely, musea ). It is originally from the Ancient Greek Μουσεῖον ( mouseion ), which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the muses (the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence was a building set apart for study and the arts, especially the Musaeum (institute) for philosophy and research at Alexandria , built under Ptolemy I Soter about 280 BC. The purpose of modern museums
5106-475: Is presented by coherentists , who state that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs of the person. Many discussions in epistemology touch on the topic of philosophical skepticism , which raises doubts about some or all claims to knowledge. These doubts are often based on the idea that knowledge requires absolute certainty and that humans are unable to acquire it. Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, studies what constitutes right conduct . It
5244-418: Is sometimes understood as a proper science in its own right. According to some naturalistic philosophers , such as W. V. O. Quine , philosophy is an empirical yet abstract science that is concerned with wide-ranging empirical patterns instead of particular observations. Science-based definitions usually face the problem of explaining why philosophy in its long history has not progressed to the same extent or in
5382-439: Is that actions are in tune with those duties and not what consequences they have. Virtue theorists judge actions based on how the moral character of the agent is expressed. According to this view, actions should conform to what an ideally virtuous agent would do by manifesting virtues like generosity and honesty . Logic is the study of correct reasoning . It aims to understand how to distinguish good from bad arguments . It
5520-468: Is the 1687 book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton . This book referred to natural philosophy in its title, but it is today considered a book of physics. The meaning of philosophy changed toward the end of the modern period when it acquired the more narrow meaning common today. In this new sense, the term is mainly associated with philosophical disciplines like metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Among other topics, it covers
5658-561: Is the study of correct reasoning and explores how good arguments can be distinguished from bad ones. Metaphysics examines the most general features of reality , existence, objects , and properties . Other subfields are aesthetics , philosophy of language , philosophy of mind , philosophy of religion , philosophy of science , philosophy of mathematics , philosophy of history , and political philosophy . Within each branch, there are competing schools of philosophy that promote different principles, theories, or methods. Philosophers use
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5796-409: Is to collect, preserve, interpret, and display objects of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance for the study and education of the public. To city leaders, an active museum community can be seen as a gauge of the cultural or economic health of a city, and a way to increase the sophistication of its inhabitants. To museum professionals, a museum might be seen as a way to educate the public about
5934-417: Is to set them up for inevitable failure and to set us (the visitor) up for inevitable disappointment." Museums are facing funding shortages. Funding for museums comes from four major categories, and as of 2009 the breakdown for the United States is as follows: Government support (at all levels) 24.4%, private (charitable) giving 36.5%, earned income 27.6%, and investment income 11.5%. Government funding from
6072-462: Is truth established?"; and "Can we prove causal relations?" Epistemology is primarily interested in declarative knowledge or knowledge of facts, like knowing that Princess Diana died in 1997. But it also investigates practical knowledge , such as knowing how to ride a bicycle, and knowledge by acquaintance , for example, knowing a celebrity personally. One area in epistemology is the analysis of knowledge . It assumes that declarative knowledge
6210-456: Is usually divided into formal and informal logic . Formal logic uses artificial languages with a precise symbolic representation to investigate arguments. In its search for exact criteria, it examines the structure of arguments to determine whether they are correct or incorrect. Informal logic uses non-formal criteria and standards to assess the correctness of arguments. It relies on additional factors such as content and context. Logic examines
6348-556: Is whether beauty is an objective feature of entities or a subjective aspect of experience. Aesthetic philosophers also investigate the nature of aesthetic experiences and judgments . Further topics include the essence of works of art and the processes involved in creating them. The philosophy of language studies the nature and function of language . It examines the concepts of meaning , reference , and truth. It aims to answer questions such as how words are related to things and how language affects human thought and understanding. It
6486-508: The Age of Enlightenment saw their ideas of the museum as superior and based their natural history museums on "organization and taxonomy" rather than displaying everything in any order after the style of Aldrovandi. The first "public" museums were often accessible only for the middle and upper classes. It could be difficult to gain entrance. When the British Museum opened to the public in 1759, it
6624-458: The American Alliance of Museums does not have such a definition, their list of accreditation criteria to participate in their Accreditation Program states a museum must: "Be a legally organized nonprofit institution or part of a nonprofit organization or government entity; Be essentially educational in nature; Have a formally stated and approved mission; Use and interpret objects or a site for
6762-526: The National Endowment for the Arts , the largest museum funder in the United States, decreased by 19.586 million between 2011 and 2015, adjusted for inflation. The average spent per visitor in an art museum in 2016 was $ 8 between admissions, store and restaurant, where the average expense per visitor was $ 55. Corporations , which fall into the private giving category, can be a good source of funding to make up
6900-610: The Newark Museum in a series of books in the early 20th century so that other museum founders could plan their museums. Dana suggested that potential founders of museums should form a committee first, and reach out to the community for input as to what the museum should supply or do for the community. According to Dana, museums should be planned according to community's needs: "The new museum ... does not build on an educational superstition. It examines its community's life first, and then straightway bends its energies to supplying some
7038-523: The Quran . Al-Kindi (801–873 CE) is usually regarded as the first philosopher of this tradition. He translated and interpreted many works of Aristotle and Neoplatonists in his attempt to show that there is a harmony between reason and faith . Avicenna (980–1037 CE) also followed this goal and developed a comprehensive philosophical system to provide a rational understanding of reality encompassing science, religion, and mysticism. Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE)
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#17330846451427176-607: The Titanic Belfast , built on disused shipyards in Belfast , Northern Ireland , incidentally for the same price as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and by the same architect, Frank Gehry , in time for the 100th anniversary of Titanic 's maiden voyage in 2012. Initially expecting modest visitor numbers of 425,000 annually, first year visitor numbers reached over 800,000, with almost 60% coming from outside Northern Ireland. In
7314-654: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. uses many artifacts in their memorable exhibitions. Museums are laid out in a specific way for a specific reason and each person who enters the doors of a museum will see its collection completely differently to the person behind them- this is what makes museums fascinating because they are represented differently to each individual. In recent years, some cities have turned to museums as an avenue for economic development or rejuvenation. This
7452-834: The interpretive plan for an exhibit, determining the most effective, engaging and appropriate methods of communicating a message or telling a story. The process will often mirror the architectural process or schedule, moving from conceptual plan, through schematic design, design development, contract document, fabrication, and installation. Museums of all sizes may also contract the outside services of exhibit fabrication businesses. Some museum scholars have even begun to question whether museums truly need artifacts at all. Historian Steven Conn provocatively asks this question, suggesting that there are fewer objects in all museums now, as they have been progressively replaced by interactive technology. As educational programming has grown in museums, mass collections of objects have receded in importance. This
7590-432: The most visited museums in the world attracting millions of visitors annually. Since the establishment of the earliest known museum in ancient times , museums have been associated with academia and the preservation of rare items. Museums originated as private collections of interesting items, and not until much later did the emphasis on educating the public take root. The English word museum comes from Latin , and
7728-420: The "things themselves", that is, as originally given in experience. They contend that this base-level of experience provides the foundation for higher-order theoretical knowledge, and that one needs to understand the former to understand the latter. An early approach found in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy is that philosophy is the spiritual practice of developing one's rational capacities. This practice
7866-495: The 1860s. The British Museum was described by one of their delegates as a 'hakubutsukan', a 'house of extensive things' – this would eventually become accepted as the equivalent word for 'museum' in Japan and China. American museums eventually joined European museums as the world's leading centers for the production of new knowledge in their fields of interest. A period of intense museum building, in both an intellectual and physical sense
8004-412: The 5th century CE. Its focus was on religious topics and many thinkers used ancient philosophy to explain and further elaborate Christian doctrines . The Renaissance period started in the 14th century and saw a renewed interest in schools of ancient philosophy, in particular Platonism . Humanism also emerged in this period. The modern period started in the 17th century. One of its central concerns
8142-652: The British Museum for its possession of rare antiquities from Egypt, Greece, and the Middle East. The roles associated with the management of a museum largely depend on the size of the institution. Together, the Board and the Director establish a system of governance that is guided by policies that set standards for the institution. Documents that set these standards include an institutional or strategic plan, institutional code of ethics, bylaws, and collections policy. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has also formulated
8280-593: The Smithsonian Institution, are still respected as research centers, research is no longer a main purpose of most museums. While there is an ongoing debate about the purposes of interpretation of a museum's collection, there has been a consistent mission to protect and preserve cultural artifacts for future generations. Much care, expertise, and expense is invested in preservation efforts to retard decomposition in ageing documents, artifacts, artworks, and buildings. All museums display objects that are important to
8418-684: The United States, several Native American tribes and advocacy groups have lobbied extensively for the repatriation of sacred objects and the reburial of human remains. In 1990, Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which required federal agencies and federally funded institutions to repatriate Native American "cultural items" to culturally affiliate tribes and groups. Similarly, many European museum collections often contain objects and cultural artifacts acquired through imperialism and colonization . Some historians and scholars have criticized
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#17330846451428556-532: The United States, similar projects include the 81,000 square foot Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia and The Broad in Los Angeles . Museums being used as a cultural economic driver by city and local governments has proven to be controversial among museum activists and local populations alike. Public protests have occurred in numerous cities which have tried to employ museums in this way. While most subside if
8694-442: The basic limits of human understanding". Before the modern age, the term philosophy was used in a wide sense. It included most forms of rational inquiry, such as the individual sciences , as its subdisciplines. For instance, natural philosophy was a major branch of philosophy. This branch of philosophy encompassed a wide range of fields, including disciplines like physics, chemistry , and biology . An example of this usage
8832-436: The beginning of the 20th century. It discusses topics such as ethnophilosophy , négritude , pan-Africanism , Marxism, postcolonialism , the role of cultural identity, relativism , African epistemology , and the critique of Eurocentrism . Philosophical questions can be grouped into several branches. These groupings allow philosophers to focus on a set of similar topics and interact with other thinkers who are interested in
8970-521: The care of the collections. Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek ) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence , reason , knowledge , value , mind , and language . It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its own methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences , such as physics and psychology , formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in
9108-431: The chosen artifacts. These elements of planning have their roots with John Cotton Dana, who was perturbed at the historical placement of museums outside of cities, and in areas that were not easily accessed by the public, in gloomy European style buildings. Questions of accessibility continue to the present day. Many museums strive to make their buildings, programming, ideas, and collections more publicly accessible than in
9246-404: The classical period, the museums were the temples and their precincts which housed collections of votive offerings. Paintings and sculptures were displayed in gardens, forums, theaters, and bathhouses. In the ancient past there was little differentiation between libraries and museums with both occupying the building and were frequently connected to a temple or royal palace. The Museum of Alexandria
9384-560: The color red, can exist at different locations at the same time. This is not the case for particulars including individual persons or specific objects. Other metaphysical questions are whether the past fully determines the present and what implications this would have for the existence of free will . There are many other subfields of philosophy besides its core branches. Some of the most prominent are aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and political philosophy. Aesthetics in
9522-461: The conclusion is true. One form is inductive reasoning . It starts from a set of individual cases and uses generalization to arrive at a universal law governing all cases. An example is the inference that "all ravens are black" based on observations of many individual black ravens. Another form is abductive reasoning . It starts from an observation and concludes that the best explanation of this observation must be true. This happens, for example, when
9660-614: The consequences of the general theories developed by normative ethics in specific situations, for example, in the workplace or for medical treatments. Within contemporary normative ethics, consequentialism, deontology , and virtue ethics are influential schools of thought. Consequentialists judge actions based on their consequences. One such view is utilitarianism , which argues that actions should increase overall happiness while minimizing suffering. Deontologists judge actions based on whether they follow moral duties, such as abstaining from lying or killing. According to them, what matters
9798-539: The development of more modern 19th-century museums was part of new strategies by Western governments to produce a citizenry that, rather than be directed by coercive or external forces, monitored and regulated its own conduct. To incorporate the masses in this strategy, the private space of museums that previously had been restricted and socially exclusive were made public. As such, objects and artifacts, particularly those related to high culture, became instruments for these "new tasks of social management". Universities became
9936-400: The emergence and application of formal logic , the focus on the role of language as well as pragmatism , and movements in continental philosophy like phenomenology, existentialism , and post-structuralism . The 20th century saw a rapid expansion of academic philosophy in terms of the number of philosophical publications and philosophers working at academic institutions . There was also
10074-478: The emergence of non-Vedic teachings, like Buddhism and Jainism . Buddhism was founded by Gautama Siddhartha (563–483 BCE), who challenged the Vedic idea of a permanent self and proposed a path to liberate oneself from suffering . Jainism was founded by Mahavira (599–527 BCE), who emphasized non-violence as well as respect toward all forms of life. The subsequent classical period started roughly 200 BCE and
10212-441: The exploration of the nature of reality and the ways of arriving at knowledge. Chinese philosophy focuses principally on practical issues in relation to right social conduct, government, and self-cultivation . Major branches of philosophy are epistemology , ethics , logic , and metaphysics . Epistemology studies what knowledge is and how to acquire it. Ethics investigates moral principles and what constitutes right conduct. Logic
10350-407: The features that all entities have in common. Specific metaphysics is interested in different kinds of being, the features they have, and how they differ from one another. An important area in metaphysics is ontology . Some theorists identify it with general metaphysics. Ontology investigates concepts like being , becoming , and reality. It studies the categories of being and asks what exists on
10488-409: The former use and status of an object. Religious or holy objects, for instance, are handled according to cultural rules. Jewish objects that contain the name of God may not be discarded, but need to be buried. Although most museums do not allow physical contact with the associated artifacts, there are some that are interactive and encourage a more hands-on approach. In 2009, Hampton Court Palace ,
10626-697: The funding gap. The amount corporations currently give to museums accounts for just 5% of total funding. Corporate giving to the arts, however, was set to increase by 3.3% in 2017. Most mid-size and large museums employ exhibit design staff for graphic and environmental design projects, including exhibitions. In addition to traditional 2-D and 3-D designers and architects, these staff departments may include audio-visual specialists, software designers, audience research, evaluation specialists, writers, editors, and preparators or art handlers. These staff specialists may also be charged with supervising contract design or production services. The exhibit design process builds on
10764-527: The history of philosophy include Western , Arabic–Persian , Indian , and Chinese philosophy . Other philosophical traditions are Japanese philosophy , Latin American philosophy , and African philosophy . Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE with the pre-Socratics . They attempted to provide rational explanations of the cosmos as a whole. The philosophy following them
10902-420: The importance of a strong state and strict laws. Buddhism was introduced to China in the 1st century CE and diversified into new forms of Buddhism . Starting in the 3rd century CE, the school of Xuanxue emerged. It interpreted earlier Daoist works with a specific emphasis on metaphysical explanations. Neo-Confucianism developed in the 11th century CE. It systematized previous Confucian teachings and sought
11040-419: The indigenous Shinto religion and Chinese and Indian thought in the forms of Confucianism and Buddhism, both of which entered Japan in the 6th and 7th centuries. Its practice is characterized by active interaction with reality rather than disengaged examination. Neo-Confucianism became an influential school of thought in the 16th century and the following Edo period and prompted a greater focus on language and
11178-599: The interconnectedness of all things. Latin American philosophy during the colonial period , starting around 1550, was dominated by religious philosophy in the form of scholasticism . Influential topics in the post-colonial period were positivism , the philosophy of liberation , and the exploration of identity and culture. Early African philosophy was primarily conducted and transmitted orally. It focused on community, morality, and ancestral ideas, encompassing folklore, wise sayings, religious ideas, and philosophical concepts like Ubuntu . Systematic African philosophy emerged at
11316-422: The looting of the collection is to be prevented in particular. The design of museums has evolved throughout history. However, museum planning involves planning the actual mission of the museum along with planning the space that the collection of the museum will be housed in. Intentional museum planning has its beginnings with the museum founder and librarian John Cotton Dana . Dana detailed the process of founding
11454-551: The manifestation of cognitive virtues instead of justification; or they deny that knowledge can be analyzed in terms of other phenomena. Another area in epistemology asks how people acquire knowledge. Often-discussed sources of knowledge are perception , introspection , memory , inference , and testimony . According to empiricists , all knowledge is based on some form of experience. Rationalists reject this view and hold that some forms of knowledge, like innate knowledge , are not acquired through experience. The regress problem
11592-407: The material which that community needs, and to making that material's presence widely known, and to presenting it in such a way as to secure it for the maximum of use and the maximum efficiency of that use." The way that museums are planned and designed vary according to what collections they house, but overall, they adhere to planning a space that is easily accessed by the public and easily displays
11730-496: The modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western , Arabic–Persian , Indian , and Chinese philosophy . Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation . Indian philosophy combines the spiritual problem of how to reach enlightenment with
11868-596: The most fundamental level. Another subfield of metaphysics is philosophical cosmology . It is interested in the essence of the world as a whole. It asks questions including whether the universe has a beginning and an end and whether it was created by something else. A key topic in metaphysics concerns the question of whether reality only consists of physical things like matter and energy. Alternative suggestions are that mental entities (such as souls and experiences ) and abstract entities (such as numbers) exist apart from physical things. Another topic in metaphysics concerns
12006-404: The most influential philosophers of the subsequent period. The increasing influence of Western thought and institutions in the 19th and 20th centuries gave rise to the intellectual movement of Islamic modernism , which aims to understand the relation between traditional Islamic beliefs and modernity. One of the distinguishing features of Indian philosophy is that it integrates the exploration of
12144-409: The museum landscape has become so varied, that it may not be sufficient to use traditional categories to comprehend fully the vast variety existing throughout the world. However, it may be useful to categorize museums in different ways under multiple perspectives. Museums can vary based on size, from large institutions, to very small institutions focusing on specific subjects, such as a specific location,
12282-590: The museum planning process. Some museum experiences have very few or no artifacts and do not necessarily call themselves museums, and their mission reflects this; the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia , being notable examples where there are few artifacts, but strong, memorable stories are told or information is interpreted. In contrast,
12420-480: The museum's mission, such as civil rights or environmentalism . Museums are, above all, storehouses of knowledge. In 1829, James Smithson's bequest funding the Smithsonian Institution stated that he wanted to establish an institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". In the late 19th century, museums of natural history exemplified the scientific drive for classifying life and interpreting
12558-472: The natural and social sciences, religion, and mathematics. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies knowledge. It is also known as theory of knowledge and aims to understand what knowledge is, how it arises, what its limits are, and what value it has. It further examines the nature of truth , belief , justification , and rationality . Some of the questions addressed by epistemologists include "By what method(s) can one acquire knowledge?"; "How
12696-504: The natural world. The Kyoto School emerged in the 20th century and integrated Eastern spirituality with Western philosophy in its exploration of concepts like absolute nothingness ( zettai-mu ), place ( basho ), and the self . Latin American philosophy in the pre-colonial period was practiced by indigenous civilizations and explored questions concerning the nature of reality and the role of humans. It has similarities to indigenous North American philosophy , which covered themes such as
12834-455: The nature and sources of morality. It analyzes the meaning of ethical concepts, like right action and obligation . It also investigates whether ethical theories can be true in an absolute sense and how to acquire knowledge of them. Normative ethics encompasses general theories of how to distinguish between right and wrong conduct. It helps guide moral decisions by examining what moral obligations and rights people have. Applied ethics studies
12972-467: The nature of reality, the ways of arriving at knowledge, and the spiritual question of how to reach enlightenment . It started around 900 BCE when the Vedas were written. They are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism and contemplate issues concerning the relation between the self and ultimate reality as well as the question of how souls are reborn based on their past actions . This period also saw
13110-516: The only people who really needed to see them". This phenomenon of disappearing objects is especially present in science museums like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago , which have a high visitorship of school-aged children who may benefit more from hands-on interactive technology than reading a label beside an artifact. There is no definitive standard as to the set types of museums. Additionally,
13248-415: The past. Not every museum is participating in this trend, but that seems to be the trajectory of museums in the twenty-first century with its emphasis on inclusiveness. One pioneering way museums are attempting to make their collections more accessible is with open storage. Most of a museum's collection is typically locked away in a secure location to be preserved, but the result is most people never get to see
13386-564: The personal collection of Elias Ashmole , was set up in the University of Oxford to be open to the public and is considered by some to be the first modern public museum. The collection included that of Elias Ashmole which he had collected himself, including objects he had acquired from the gardeners, travellers and collectors John Tradescant the elder and his son of the same name . The collection included antique coins, books, engravings, geological specimens, and zoological specimens—one of which
13524-436: The philosophical sense is the field that studies the nature and appreciation of beauty and other aesthetic properties, like the sublime . Although it is often treated together with the philosophy of art , aesthetics is a broader category that encompasses other aspects of experience, such as natural beauty. In a more general sense, aesthetics is "critical reflection on art, culture, and nature ". A key question in aesthetics
13662-417: The precise definition of the term and its meaning has changed throughout the ages. Metaphysicians attempt to answer basic questions including " Why is there something rather than nothing? "; "Of what does reality ultimately consist?"; and "Are humans free?" Metaphysics is sometimes divided into general metaphysics and specific or special metaphysics. General metaphysics investigates being as such. It examines
13800-674: The preservation of their objects. They displayed objects as well as their functions. One exhibit featured a historical printing press that a staff member used for visitors to create museum memorabilia. Some museums seek to reach a wide audience, such as a national or state museum, while others have specific audiences, like the LDS Church History Museum or local history organizations. Generally speaking, museums collect objects of significance that comply with their mission statement for conservation and display. Apart from questions of provenance and conservation, museums take into consideration
13938-422: The primary centers for innovative research in the United States well before the start of World War II . Nevertheless, museums to this day contribute new knowledge to their fields and continue to build collections that are useful for both research and display. The late twentieth century witnessed intense debate concerning the repatriation of religious, ethnic, and cultural artifacts housed in museum collections. In
14076-442: The private collections of wealthy individuals, families or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and artifacts . These were often displayed in so-called "wonder rooms" or cabinets of curiosities . These contemporary museums first emerged in western Europe, then spread into other parts of the world. Public access to these museums was often possible for the "respectable", especially to private art collections, but at
14214-400: The problem of identity . One question is how much an entity can change while still remaining the same entity. According to one view, entities have essential and accidental features . They can change their accidental features but they cease to be the same entity if they lose an essential feature. A central distinction in metaphysics is between particulars and universals . Universals, like
14352-400: The project. Nonetheless, over 1.1 million people visited the museum in 2015, indicating it appeared to have paid off for the local government despite local backlash; key to this is the large demographic of foreign visitors to the museum, with 63% of the visitors residing outside of Spain and thus feeding foreign investment straight into Bilbao. A similar project to that undertaken in Bilbao was
14490-428: The provocative, vexing, and enduring problems central to the human condition. The philosophical pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It often does not result in straightforward answers but may help a person to better understand the topic, examine their life, dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self-deceptive ideas associated with common sense. For example, Socrates stated that "
14628-484: The public presentation of regularly scheduled programs and exhibits; Have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of collections or objects; Carry out the above functions primarily at a physical facility or site; Have been open to the public for at least two years; Be open to the public at least 1,000 hours a year; Have accessioned 80 percent of its permanent collection; Have at least one paid professional staff with museum knowledge and experience; Have
14766-407: The public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing." The Canadian Museums Association 's definition: "A museum is a non-profit, permanent establishment, that does not exist primarily for
14904-708: The purpose of conducting temporary exhibitions and that is open to the public during regular hours and administered in the public interest for the purpose of conserving, preserving, studying, interpreting, assembling and exhibiting to the public for the instruction and enjoyment of the public, objects and specimens or educational and cultural value including artistic, scientific, historical and technological material." The United Kingdom's Museums Association 's definition: "Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artifacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society." While
15042-436: The rational study of reality, knowledge, and values. It is distinguished from other disciplines of rational inquiry such as the empirical sciences and mathematics . The practice of philosophy is characterized by several general features: it is a form of rational inquiry, it aims to be systematic, and it tends to critically reflect on its own methods and presuppositions. It requires attentively thinking long and carefully about
15180-586: The refreshment facilities on the main floor were renovated, with space added to house a souvenir shop and a park museum. After a large-scale renovation in 1998, the Pavilion Gallery Museum was opened in the building alongside a restaurant called Tavern in the Park . Tavern in the Park closed in 2008 and was replaced by Terrace Fifty-Five in December of that year. The Pavilion Gallery Museum , opened in 1998,
15318-572: The ruler to display the amassed collections to guests and to visiting dignitaries. Also in Alexandria from the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 285–246 BCE), was the first zoological park. At first used by Philadelphus in an attempt to domesticate African elephants for use in war, the elephants were also used for show along with a menagerie of other animals specimens including hartebeests , ostriches , zebras , leopards , giraffes , rhinoceros , and pythons . Early museums began as
15456-488: The same questions. Epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics are sometimes listed as the main branches. There are many other subfields besides them and the different divisions are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. For example, political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics are sometimes linked under the general heading of value theory as they investigate normative or evaluative aspects. Furthermore, philosophical inquiry sometimes overlaps with other disciplines in
15594-410: The same way as the sciences. This problem is avoided by seeing philosophy as an immature or provisional science whose subdisciplines cease to be philosophy once they have fully developed. In this sense, philosophy is sometimes described as "the midwife of the sciences". Other definitions focus on the contrast between science and philosophy. A common theme among many such conceptions is that philosophy
15732-558: The scope and fundamental concepts of these fields. It also investigates their methods and ethical implications. The word philosophy comes from the Ancient Greek words φίλος ( philos ) ' love ' and σοφία ( sophia ) ' wisdom ' . Some sources say that the term was coined by the pre-Socratic philosopher Pythagoras , but this is not certain. The word entered the English language primarily from Old French and Anglo-Norman starting around 1175 CE. The French philosophie
15870-598: The study of the biggest patterns of the world as a whole or as the attempt to answer the big questions. Such an approach is pursued by Immanuel Kant , who holds that the task of philosophy is united by four questions: "What can I know?"; "What should I do?"; "What may I hope?"; and "What is the human being?" Both approaches have the problem that they are usually either too wide, by including non-philosophical disciplines, or too narrow, by excluding some philosophical sub-disciplines. Many definitions of philosophy emphasize its intimate relation to science. In this sense, philosophy
16008-451: The subject matter which now include content in the form of images, audio and visual effects, and interactive exhibits. Museum creation begins with a museum plan, created through a museum planning process. The process involves identifying the museum's vision and the resources, organization and experiences needed to realize this vision. A feasibility study, analysis of comparable facilities, and an interpretive plan are all developed as part of
16146-469: The teachings of Advaita Vedanta to argue that all the different religions are valid paths toward the one divine. Chinese philosophy is particularly interested in practical questions associated with right social conduct, government, and self-cultivation . Many schools of thought emerged in the 6th century BCE in competing attempts to resolve the political turbulence of that period. The most prominent among them were Confucianism and Daoism . Confucianism
16284-494: The type of collections they display, to include: fine arts , applied arts , craft , archaeology , anthropology and ethnology , biography , history , cultural history , science , technology , children's museums , natural history , botanical and zoological gardens . Within these categories, many museums specialize further, e.g., museums of modern art , folk art , local history , military history , aviation history , philately , agriculture , or geology . The size of
16422-601: The unexamined life is not worth living " to highlight the role of philosophical inquiry in understanding one's own existence. And according to Bertrand Russell , "the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason." Attempts to provide more precise definitions of philosophy are controversial and are studied in metaphilosophy . Some approaches argue that there
16560-471: The vast majority of collections. The Brooklyn Museum's Luce Center for American Art practices this open storage where the public can view items not on display, albeit with minimal interpretation. The practice of open storage is all part of an ongoing debate in the museum field of the role objects play and how accessible they should be. In terms of modern museums, interpretive museums, as opposed to art museums, have missions reflecting curatorial guidance through
16698-754: The way its subject matter existed at a certain point in time (e.g., the Anne Frank House and Colonial Williamsburg ). According to University of Florida Professor Eric Kilgerman, "While a museum in which a particular narrative unfolds within its halls is diachronic, those museums that limit their space to a single experience are called synchronic." In her book Civilizing the Museum , author Elaine Heumann Gurian proposes that there are five categories of museums based on intention and not content: object centered, narrative, client centered, community centered, and national. Museums can also be categorized into major groups by
16836-428: The whim of the owner and his staff. One way that elite men during this time period gained a higher social status in the world of elites was by becoming a collector of these curious objects and displaying them. Many of the items in these collections were new discoveries and these collectors or naturalists, since many of these people held interest in natural sciences, were eager to obtain them. By putting their collections in
16974-475: The world offer some definitions as to what constitutes a museum, and their purpose. Common themes in all the definitions are public good and the care, preservation, and interpretation of collections. The International Council of Museums ' current definition of a museum (adopted in 2022): "A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to
17112-519: The world. Their purpose was to gather examples from each field of knowledge for research and display. Concurrently, as American colleges expanded during the 19th century, they also developed their own natural history collections to support the education of their students. By the last quarter of the 19th century, scientific research in universities was shifting toward biological research on a cellular level, and cutting-edge research moved from museums to university laboratories. While many large museums, such as
17250-536: Was "encyclopedic" in nature, reminiscent of that of Pliny, the Roman philosopher and naturalist. The idea was to consume and collect as much knowledge as possible, to put everything they collected and everything they knew in these displays. In time, however, museum philosophy would change and the encyclopedic nature of information that was so enjoyed by Aldrovandi and his cohorts would be dismissed as well as "the museums that contained this knowledge". The 18th-century scholars of
17388-435: Was a concern that large crowds could damage the artifacts. Prospective visitors to the British Museum had to apply in writing for admission, and small groups were allowed into the galleries each day. The British Museum became increasingly popular during the 19th century, amongst all age groups and social classes who visited the British Museum, especially on public holidays. The Ashmolean Museum , however, founded in 1677 from
17526-468: Was a strong critic of the idea that reason can arrive at a true understanding of reality and God. He formulated a detailed critique of philosophy and tried to assign philosophy a more limited place besides the teachings of the Quran and mystical insight. Following Al-Ghazali and the end of the classical period, the influence of philosophical inquiry waned. Mulla Sadra (1571–1636 CE) is often regarded as one of
17664-437: Was characterized by the emergence of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism : Nyāyá , Vaiśeṣika , Sāṃkhya , Yoga , Mīmāṃsā , and Vedanta . The school of Advaita Vedanta developed later in this period. It was systematized by Adi Shankara ( c. 700 –750 CE), who held that everything is one and that the impression of a universe consisting of many distinct entities is an illusion . A slightly different perspective
17802-492: Was charged with organizing the Louvre as a national public museum and the centerpiece of a planned national museum system. As Napoléon I conquered the great cities of Europe, confiscating art objects as he went, the collections grew and the organizational task became more and more complicated. After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, many of the treasures he had amassed were gradually returned to their owners (and many were not). His plan
17940-656: Was defended by Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE), who founded the school of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta and argued that individual entities are real as aspects or parts of the underlying unity. He also helped to popularize the Bhakti movement , which taught devotion toward the divine as a spiritual path and lasted until the 17th to 18th centuries CE. The modern period began roughly 1800 CE and was shaped by encounters with Western thought. Philosophers tried to formulate comprehensive systems to harmonize diverse philosophical and religious teachings. For example, Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902 CE) used
18078-508: Was founded by Confucius (551–479 BCE). It focused on different forms of moral virtues and explored how they lead to harmony in society. Daoism was founded by Laozi (6th century BCE) and examined how humans can live in harmony with nature by following the Dao or the natural order of the universe. Other influential early schools of thought were Mohism , which developed an early form of altruistic consequentialism , and Legalism , which emphasized
18216-505: Was how philosophical and scientific knowledge are created. Specific importance was given to the role of reason and sensory experience . Many of these innovations were used in the Enlightenment movement to challenge traditional authorities. Several attempts to develop comprehensive systems of philosophy were made in the 19th century, for instance, by German idealism and Marxism . Influential developments in 20th-century philosophy were
18354-760: Was never fully realized, but his concept of a museum as an agent of nationalistic fervor had a profound influence throughout Europe. Chinese and Japanese visitors to Europe were fascinated by the museums they saw there, but had cultural difficulties in grasping their purpose and finding an equivalent Chinese or Japanese term for them. Chinese visitors in the early 19th century named these museums based on what they contained, so defined them as "bone amassing buildings" or "courtyards of treasures" or "painting pavilions" or "curio stores" or "halls of military feats" or "gardens of everything". Japan first encountered Western museum institutions when it participated in Europe's World's Fairs in
18492-642: Was realized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (this is often called "The Museum Period" or "The Museum Age"). While many American museums, both natural history museums and art museums alike, were founded with the intention of focusing on the scientific discoveries and artistic developments in North America, many moved to emulate their European counterparts in certain ways (including the development of Classical collections from ancient Egypt , Greece , Mesopotamia , and Rome ). Drawing on Michel Foucault 's concept of liberal government, Tony Bennett has suggested
18630-449: Was shaped by Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427–347 BCE), and Aristotle (384–322 BCE). They expanded the range of topics to questions like how people should act , how to arrive at knowledge , and what the nature of reality and mind is. The later part of the ancient period was marked by the emergence of philosophical movements, for example, Epicureanism , Stoicism , Skepticism , and Neoplatonism . The medieval period started in
18768-776: Was the Louvre in Paris , opened in 1793 during the French Revolution , which enabled for the first time free access to the former French royal collections for people of all stations and status. The fabulous art treasures collected by the French monarchy over centuries were accessible to the public three days each " décade " (the 10-day unit which had replaced the week in the French Republican Calendar ). The Conservatoire du muséum national des Arts (National Museum of Arts's Conservatory)
18906-473: Was the stuffed body of the last dodo ever seen in Europe; but by 1755 the stuffed dodo was so moth-eaten that it was destroyed, except for its head and one claw. The museum opened on 24 May 1683, with naturalist Robert Plot as the first keeper. The first building, which became known as the Old Ashmolean , is sometimes attributed to Sir Christopher Wren or Thomas Wood. In France, the first public museum
19044-518: Was ultimately destroyed by a fire in May 1929. The current, larger pavilion, designed by architectural firm Northwood & Chivers, was opened on 24 May 1930. Following the 1930 reconstruction, the Pavilion's main floor held a canteen and kitchens, while the second floor held a restaurant, dining room, and a 500-person dance hall. Eventually, the restaurant was closed and the Pavilion fell into disuse. In 1969,
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