I recently read a friend’s post on mining the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. I wanted to refresh my knowledge of KNN-Models and I spent some free time writing a Python script for scraping and analyzing random entries from the SEP. The image below shows the connections between the subset of the SEP that I mined. You can find the code for producing the image below, along with a table of the metrics.

I will summarize what I’ve learned some time else. But, in general, this looks like a promising method to uncover similarity within linguistic corpuses.

Note: if you decide to run this code, the function preprocess() is still incredibly time consuming because I suck at sanitizing text.


Figure 1. Directed Graph of the nearest neighbors for 35 articles. Scroll down to see another DA with 100 articles.


Figure 2. Directed Graph of the nearest neighbors for 100 articles.

Table 1. A Subset of articles in the SEP along with their nearest neighbors.

query_label reference_label distance
Social Minimum Social Minimum 0
Social Minimum Xunzi 0.886066449
Social Minimum Political Obligation 0.893912798
Social Minimum Natural Law Theories 0.8961885
Social Minimum Transitional Justice 0.905404421
Ernst Cassirer Ernst Cassirer -2.22E-16
Ernst Cassirer Early Philosophical Interp… 0.889126825
Ernst Cassirer 18th Century German Philos… 0.89923616
Ernst Cassirer The Distinction Between In… 0.910329509
Ernst Cassirer Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.917730917
The Ethics and Rationality… The Ethics and Rationality… 2.22E-16
The Ethics and Rationality… Political Obligation 0.907945565
The Ethics and Rationality… Social Minimum 0.933382
The Ethics and Rationality… Transitional Justice 0.956323289
The Ethics and Rationality… Informed Consent 0.968030454
Turing Machines Turing Machines 0
Turing Machines Social Minimum 0.979068005
Turing Machines Dualism 0.985629512
Turing Machines Quantum Theory: von Neuman… 0.986195312
Turing Machines Dialetheism 0.987783281
Value Pluralism Value Pluralism -2.22E-16
Value Pluralism Charles Leslie Stevenson 0.948372664
Value Pluralism Social Minimum 0.949139019
Value Pluralism Xunzi 0.951399153
Value Pluralism The Cambridge Platonists 0.955464692
The Distinction Between In… The Distinction Between In… -2.22E-16
The Distinction Between In… Behaviorism 0.894853202
The Distinction Between In… Ernst Cassirer 0.910329509
The Distinction Between In… Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.932283262
The Distinction Between In… Dualism 0.948019733
Sovereignty Sovereignty 0
Sovereignty Transitional Justice 0.870650203
Sovereignty Political Obligation 0.886332241
Sovereignty Natural Law Theories 0.905935222
Sovereignty The Cambridge Platonists 0.948555235
Elias Elias 1.11E-16
Elias 18th Century German Philos… 0.953050014
Elias Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.959690798
Elias Albert the Great 0.968017414
Elias Gersonides 0.96944534
Gersonides Gersonides 2.22E-16
Gersonides Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.885827927
Gersonides Albert the Great 0.890411638
Gersonides The Cambridge Platonists 0.935804286
Gersonides Dualism 0.944821267
Quantum Theory: von Neuman… Quantum Theory: von Neuman… 0
Quantum Theory: von Neuman… Singularities and Black Holes 0.846729482
Quantum Theory: von Neuman… Early Philosophical Interp… 0.891706686
Quantum Theory: von Neuman… Ernst Cassirer 0.950745344
Quantum Theory: von Neuman… Benjamin Peirce 0.956408695
Singularities and Black Holes Singularities and Black Holes 0
Singularities and Black Holes Early Philosophical Interp… 0.762704457
Singularities and Black Holes Quantum Theory: von Neuman… 0.846729482
Singularities and Black Holes Dualism 0.931282974
Singularities and Black Holes Gersonides 0.969017047
Transitional Justice Transitional Justice 0
Transitional Justice Natural Law Theories 0.866667716
Transitional Justice Sovereignty 0.870650203
Transitional Justice Political Obligation 0.887859582
Transitional Justice Social Minimum 0.905404421
Dualism Dualism 0
Dualism Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.882338477
Dualism Early Philosophical Interp… 0.886307301
Dualism Categories 0.896618063
Dualism The Problem of Perception 0.903920633
Fideism Fideism 0
Fideism Pierre Bayle 0.815617917
Fideism The Cambridge Platonists 0.918675784
Fideism Xunzi 0.934754893
Fideism Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.935299253
Ancient and Medieval Empir… Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0
Ancient and Medieval Empir… Albert the Great 0.881518682
Ancient and Medieval Empir… Dualism 0.882338477
Ancient and Medieval Empir… Gersonides 0.885827927
Ancient and Medieval Empir… Medieval Mereology 0.909565352
Categories Categories -2.22E-16
Categories Dualism 0.896618063
Categories Xunzi 0.928751967
Categories Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.939257328
Categories Episteme and Techne 0.939883182
Philosophy of Film Philosophy of Film -2.22E-16
Philosophy of Film Social Minimum 0.967254136
Philosophy of Film 18th Century German Philos… 0.97486587
Philosophy of Film Xunzi 0.975322957
Philosophy of Film Ernst Cassirer 0.978168325
Charles Hartshorne Charles Hartshorne 0
Charles Hartshorne Fideism 0.945839597
Charles Hartshorne Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.949117033
Charles Hartshorne The Cambridge Platonists 0.955241106
Charles Hartshorne Gersonides 0.959512044
Albert the Great Albert the Great 1.11E-16
Albert the Great Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.881518682
Albert the Great Gersonides 0.890411638
Albert the Great Dualism 0.935281893
Albert the Great The Cambridge Platonists 0.935845122
The Problem of Perception The Problem of Perception 0
The Problem of Perception Dualism 0.903920633
The Problem of Perception Behaviorism 0.951424804
The Problem of Perception Ernst Cassirer 0.957079125
The Problem of Perception Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.96042406
Natural Law Theories Natural Law Theories 0
Natural Law Theories Political Obligation 0.854791875
Natural Law Theories Transitional Justice 0.866667716
Natural Law Theories Social Minimum 0.8961885
Natural Law Theories Sovereignty 0.905935222
Xunzi Xunzi 1.11E-16
Xunzi Social Minimum 0.886066449
Xunzi Natural Law Theories 0.917299131
Xunzi Episteme and Techne 0.923708702
Xunzi 18th Century German Philos… 0.924618655
Episteme and Techne Episteme and Techne 2.22E-16
Episteme and Techne Medieval Mereology 0.878755061
Episteme and Techne Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.911243664
Episteme and Techne Xunzi 0.923708702
Episteme and Techne Ernst Cassirer 0.928558842
Informed Consent Informed Consent 0
Informed Consent Decision-Making Capacity 0.835186086
Informed Consent Social Minimum 0.943259231
Informed Consent Political Obligation 0.949249943
Informed Consent Transitional Justice 0.950165726
Charles Leslie Stevenson Charles Leslie Stevenson -2.22E-16
Charles Leslie Stevenson Xunzi 0.933961739
Charles Leslie Stevenson Dualism 0.936582461
Charles Leslie Stevenson Social Minimum 0.942144503
Charles Leslie Stevenson Value Pluralism 0.948372664
Benjamin Peirce Benjamin Peirce 0
Benjamin Peirce 18th Century German Philos… 0.929544331
Benjamin Peirce Ernst Cassirer 0.946998499
Benjamin Peirce Quantum Theory: von Neuman… 0.956408695
Benjamin Peirce Early Philosophical Interp… 0.965199743
Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle 0
Pierre Bayle Fideism 0.815617917
Pierre Bayle 18th Century German Philos… 0.924485785
Pierre Bayle The Cambridge Platonists 0.933286716
Pierre Bayle Dualism 0.93427225
Medieval Mereology Medieval Mereology 0
Medieval Mereology Episteme and Techne 0.878755061
Medieval Mereology Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.909565352
Medieval Mereology Albert the Great 0.936429009
Medieval Mereology Categories 0.958510668
Decision-Making Capacity Decision-Making Capacity 2.22E-16
Decision-Making Capacity Informed Consent 0.835186086
Decision-Making Capacity Natural Law Theories 0.921007459
Decision-Making Capacity Xunzi 0.948070092
Decision-Making Capacity Political Obligation 0.957150923
Political Obligation Political Obligation 0
Political Obligation Natural Law Theories 0.854791875
Political Obligation Sovereignty 0.886332241
Political Obligation Transitional Justice 0.887859582
Political Obligation Social Minimum 0.893912798
The Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists 0
The Cambridge Platonists Fideism 0.918675784
The Cambridge Platonists Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.926492079
The Cambridge Platonists Pierre Bayle 0.933286716
The Cambridge Platonists Gersonides 0.935804286
Behaviorism Behaviorism 1.11E-16
Behaviorism The Distinction Between In… 0.894853202
Behaviorism Dualism 0.939802485
Behaviorism Xunzi 0.946861839
Behaviorism The Problem of Perception 0.951424804
Early Philosophical Interp… Early Philosophical Interp… 0
Early Philosophical Interp… Singularities and Black Holes 0.762704457
Early Philosophical Interp… Dualism 0.886307301
Early Philosophical Interp… Ernst Cassirer 0.889126825
Early Philosophical Interp… Quantum Theory: von Neuman… 0.891706686
18th Century German Philos… 18th Century German Philos… 1.11E-16
18th Century German Philos… Ernst Cassirer 0.89923616
18th Century German Philos… Pierre Bayle 0.924485785
18th Century German Philos… Xunzi 0.924618655
18th Century German Philos… Benjamin Peirce 0.929544331
Logical Consequence Logical Consequence 1.11E-16
Logical Consequence Dialetheism 0.893238821
Logical Consequence Ancient and Medieval Empir… 0.954412798
Logical Consequence Ernst Cassirer 0.96222519
Logical Consequence Categories 0.962310752
Dialetheism Dialetheism 0
Dialetheism Logical Consequence 0.893238821
Dialetheism Episteme and Techne 0.930745099
Dialetheism Ernst Cassirer 0.936979938
Dialetheism Dualism 0.938811062