But Azmat and others on the side of perfection - you have to start somewhere. Designing public semantic space and information exchange on the Internet is the largest most comprehensive Design-Build project in human history.
The perfect conceptualization, presentation scheme, and data processing technique may never be one sound set of construction documents or umbrella ontology - ready for release and use across all boundaries with no errors, omissions, and incomplete references.
Different objectives and beliefs need to have the opportunity to expose and combat each other as a matter of public record - which is missing - but regardless, waiting for universal truths to become self evident stands in the way of progress.
The blanks can't start to be filled in and errors corrected to create bigger, more accurate pictures without starting somewhere even if critical portions of the work are flawed. I believe John was right with his three principles, including Chris Menzel and Kathryn Laskey comments - with the exception John's three nonemotional points pertain to many forms of idea and information exchange, not just science and not just ontology design. Science and ontology design are in the awkward position of practicing due diligence and trying ones best while discordant beliefs are swirling all around, colliding head on, wrecking everything now and then.
Deborah MacPherson
Projects Director, Accuracy&Aesthetics
Specifier, WDG Architecture
On 8/8/07, Azamat Abdoullaev <
abdoul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:John,
It might be surprising for you, but your ethical speculations just confirm
my thesis below: ''you will have just defective systems with ''different
conceptualizations''. The worst evils have been caused by defective theories
(partial conceptualizations), as beliefs guiding human behavior and social
actions. Different political theories come from lacking real social
knowledge: absolutism, autocracy, despotism, communism, capitalism, fascism,
communism, collectivism, conservatism, radicalism, extremism, elitism,
democracy, etc. Different beliefs are again a result of lacking real
knowledge about the world: all sorts of doctrines (isms), religious faiths,
public opinions, superstitions, particular thoughts and values. You can
extend this line of reasoning to other issues: partial mental attitudes,
social injustices, immoralities, etc.
There is a sorrowful example of my thesis; continue you emotional
statements:
''The 20th century was filled with disasters caused by people > trying to
ram their conception of the truth down other people's > throats. And the
21st is starting off on an even worse footing.''
All these devastations and destructions arose from and will arise only from
''different conceptualizations''. Take the war in Iraq, it is a partial
truth and conceptualization, or a political stupidity, a serious want of
insight into the situation, a bad lack of intelligence and want of common
knowledge about real states of affairs in the world, what came up as a
reason of the social evil bringing harms and destructions and misfortunes to
many human lives.
To sum up:
The idea of a single theory of anything (one comprehensive true
representation of things in the world) has been always to the forefront of
best human minds and central to classic ontology, since here lies all the
best social outlooks and prospects and hopes of humanity. Partial
conceptualizations and individual truths are causes of pain, injuries and
losses, the evil dangers to intelligent humanity and machines.
Azamat
----- Original Message -----
From: "John F. Sowa" <
sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "[ontolog-forum]" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:14 PM
Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Model or Reality
> Azamat,
>
> That statement is the worst possible nonsequitur:
>
> AA> Reality is one as its true representation. Otherwise,
> > you will have just defective systems with ''different
> > conceptualizations''.
>
> I'll accept the point that reality is one, but if we have
> learned anything over the past several millennia, it is that
> no finite mind can ever have an absolutely true representation
> of everything -- or even of any significant part.
>
> Science is the search for truth, but the best it can ever do
> is to give us better and better approximations. And *every*
> other field is in much, much worse shape than science.
>
> The worst evils in all history have been committed by people
> who thought that they had the *ONE TRUE TRUTH* and that it
> was their *DUTY* to inflict their conceptualization of the
> *TRUTH* on everybody else.
>
> The 20th century was filled with disasters caused by people
> trying to ram their conception of the truth down other people's
> throats. And the 21st is starting off on an even worse footing.
>
> Whenever anybody thinks he or she has absolute truth in his
> or her hands, you have found a truly depraved being who would
> inflict untold evil upon the world -- unless stopped.
>
> I won't mention any, but I'm sure we can all find examples.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
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