Hi Duane --
Yes, dictionary definitions look circular. But, as argued in
yesterday's post, there is a small semantic- value-add that resides in
the relations between words that the dictionary
sets up. This gets a bit stronger in Wordnet.
IMHO, there's even more semantic-value-add in relations between
English sentences, as in syllogisms, and in the lightweight
English sentences in the rules in our system [1].
For example, this approach allows a system to reason in lightweight
English over the Federal Enterprise Ontology [2].
What do folks think of this?
Cheers, -- Adrian
[1] Internet Business Logic, online at www.reengineeringllc.com
[2]
http://www.reengineeringllc.com/demo_agents/FeaReferenceModelOntology1.agent
Duane Nickull wrote:
Chris Menzel wrote:
O
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.
Chris:
This is what I wanted to explore. Look at the english dictionary - it
uses all the words that are defined in the dictionary to define the
words in the dictionary. A great deal of care is taken to avoid direct
inclusion of terms in circular references however most of the words
defined by the dictionary are probably used in definitions of other
words.
Is that really an ontology? Are there formulas that state the number
of levels a word must be reasonably not used in a set of definitions
until it is used again?
Example:
1. A Company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200
soldiers
2. A Battalion is an army unit usually consisting of a headquarters and
three or more companies
3. A Division is an military unit large enough to sustain combat
4. A Regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller
than a division
In the definition of Regiment #4, we have used words to explain it that
were just defined themselves #1,3. #2 is superfluous yet aids in
providing semantics to some degree (or does it?).
Sorry to once again be the loose cannon ;-)
Duane
***********
Senior Standards Strategist - Adobe Systems, Inc. -
http://www.adobe.com
Vice Chair - UN/CEFACT Bureau Plenary - http://www.unece.org/cefact/
Adobe Enterprise Developer Resources -
http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/developer/main.html
***********
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Internet Business Logic -- online at www.reengineeringllc.com
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