The term canon derives from the Greek (), meaning "rule", and thence via
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
This principle of grouping has led to more specific uses of the word in different contexts, such as the Biblical canon (which a particular religious community regards as authoritative) and thence to literary canons (of a particular "body of literature in a particular language, or from a particular culture, period, genre").
W.C Sayers (1915–1916) established a system of canons of
library classification
A library classification is a system used within a library to organize materials, including books, sound and video recordings, electronic materials, etc., both on shelves and in catalogs and indexes. Each item is typically assigned a call number ...
.
S. R. Ranganathan
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan ( 09 August 1892 – 27 September 1972) was an Indian librarian and mathematician. His most notable contributions to the field were his five laws of library science and the development of the first major faceted c ...
developed a theory of facet analysis, which he presented as a detailed series of 46 canons, 13 postulates and 22 principles.
There is also the concept of the canons of
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
, including five key principles that, when grouped together, are the principles set for giving speeches.
See also
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Axiom
An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...
: a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a starting point for further reasoning and arguments.
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* , chosen by Marcel Reich-Ranicki
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Norm (philosophy)
Norms are concepts ( sentences) of practical import, oriented to affecting an action, rather than conceptual abstractions that describe, explain, and express. Normative sentences imply "ought-to" (or "may", "may not") types of statements and asse ...
: concepts (sentences) of practical import, oriented to effecting an action
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Principle
A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...
: rule that has to be followed or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature
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Rule of inference
Rules of inference are ways of deriving conclusions from premises. They are integral parts of formal logic, serving as norms of the Logical form, logical structure of Validity (logic), valid arguments. If an argument with true premises follows a ...
: in logic, a logical form consisting of a function which takes premises, analyzes their syntax, and returns a conclusion (or conclusions)
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Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
: the art of persuasion. The five canons of rhetoric or phases of developing a persuasive speech were first codified in classical Rome:
inventio
''Inventio'', one of the five canons of rhetoric, is the method used for the ''discovery of arguments'' in Western rhetoric and comes from the Latin word, meaning "invention" or "discovery". ''Inventio'' is the central, indispensable canon of rh ...
n,
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
,
style
Style, or styles may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal
* ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film
* ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film
* '' ...
,
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
, and
delivery
Delivery may refer to:
Biology and medicine
*Childbirth
*Drug delivery
*Gene delivery
Business and law
*Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.:
**Pizza delivery
** Milk delivery
** Food delivery
** Online grocer
*Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...
.
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Western canon
The Western canon is the embodiment of High culture, high-culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly cherished across the Western culture, Western world, such works having achieved the status of classics.
Recent ...
: the body of literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that is highly valued in Western culture