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Re: [ontolog-forum] Re: Semantics

To: "[ontolog-forum] " <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Chris Menzel <cmenzel@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 2 May 2005 20:21:25 -0500
Message-id: <20050503012125.GZ907@xxxxxxxx>
On Mon, May 02, 2005 at 03:56:22PM -0700, Duane Nickull wrote:
> Is it true that a formal ontology is a circular reference pattern, 
> albeit a very indirect, complicated and very large one?  Does any 
> definition assume the knowledge of other axioms in a model, that 
> themselves may be dependent upon the definition one is trying to
> clarify?     (01)

Well, if a definition of a concept *does* make use of concepts that are
axiomatized in terms of concept being defined, then it is just a bad
definition.  There is certainly nothing in the idea of a formal ontology
per se that would somehow make such definitions inevitable.    (02)

Chris Menzel    (03)

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