Categorisation is the human-made practice of sorting items into groups (categories) according to shared properties or criteria. Parameters: (1) there exists a set of items to be sorted; (2) there exists a schema of categories with defining features; (3) an agent applies matching rules to assign each item to exactly one category or to none. The practice persists through language (category names), teaching (criteria transmission), and institutional systems (taxonomies, databases). [formal: categorisatio | substrate: mind | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
categorisation
Categorisation is the human-made practice of sorting items into groups (categories) according to shared properties or criteria. Parameters: (1) there exists a set of items to be sorted; (2) there exists a schema of categories with defining…
Definition
Why it is in scope
Categorisation is a human-made cognitive practice: the deliberate act of sorting, grouping, and assigning items into categories based on shared properties or criteria. It is produced and sustained through language, teaching, and institutional classification systems — a map-building activity that orders experience for practical use.
Names and aliases
- categorisationen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrmefzfr00eudveaiyr1pcc2DEPENDS_ON →
Remove schema — the practice of assigning items to groups by shared features — and categorisation stops operating. Categorisation requires a pre-existing schema of categories with defining criteria to function; the schema is the operational substrate, not a historical precursor. Removal test (Law 8): without schemas, there is no basis for sorting.
- cmrmi0v8g00bwd1nlrx23qz6gINSTANCE_OF →
categorisation IS a specific kind of classification. A categorisation is the act of arranging items into categories (classes), which is exactly what classification does — it is a domain-specific or method-specific form of the general classification practice.
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Record identity
- Created
- Aug 7, 2026, 3:47 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 4221e7e75a6e3a9bde42e831da19f2db1b8fe23cb41741b1550210e522db86d3