***Apologies for duplications*** (01)
Dear colleagues, (02)
we are happy to inform you that issue 2/2010 of Applied Ontology is now
online at www.applied-ontology.org, featuring three high-quality papers: (03)
Gary H. Merrill. Ontological realism: Methodology or misdirection?
E.H. Robinson. An ontological anaysis of states: Organizations vs. legal persons
P. Cimiano, E. Montiel-Ponsoda, P. Buitelaar, M. Espinoza, and A. Gomez-Perez.
A note on ontology localization. (04)
Given its relevance for the field of ontology engineering, the first of such
papers, an analysis of the implications of ontological realism from the applied
ontology point of view, has been made freely avalable online by our publisher,
IOS Press, at http://iospress.metapress.com/content/j3324564p5l33863/. (05)
For several years, Barry Smith and Werner Cuesters have made the strong plea
that ontologies should be developed from a realist perspective, such that the
entities in an ontology refer directly to entities in reality. Smith and
Cuesters have advocated the notion of realism quite forcefully in the
biological community, where the OBO Foundry represents a collection of
reference ontologies that adhere to a number of principles, among them the
realist perspective. Smith and Cuesters have been extremely successful in
persuading a large cadre of ontology developers to adhere to this point of view. (06)
Merrill's article makes a head-on attack on Smith and Cuesters' approach, with
strong arguments and strong wit. This paper is essential reading for anyone who
is interested in the philosophical underpinnings of ontology engineering in
general and in the OBO Foundry in particular. (07)
Meanwhile, Barry Smith and Werner Cuesters are busy preparing a response to the
paper by Merrill, which promises to make a head-on counterattack, with equally
strong arguments and strong wit. We will be publishing the Smith and Cuester's
response to the Merrill paper in the next issue of Applied Ontology. (08)
Merrill has promised to respond to the rebuttal from Smith and Cuesters. Smith
and Cuesters have already asked to refute Merrill's rebuttal. This is going to
get interesting! (09)
This debate on the essence of ontology for e-science is fundamental and
important to everyone concerned with the subject matter of our journal. We are
very excited to see this timely discussion taking place in the pages of Applied
Ontology, and wanted to be sure you, your colleagues, and your students are
aware of these events. (010)
Regards, (011)
Nicola Guarino and Mark Musen
Editors in Chief, Applied Ontology (012)
Note: Thanks to an agreement with IOS Press, IAOA members have free online
access to Applied Ontology through the IAOA Member's area, at www.iaoa.org. (013)
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