Re: [ontolog-forum] Ontologies and individuals

[Alex Shkotin <alex.shkotin@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sandro, 

ontologies IS about individuals and real one. Otherwise we just have more or less specific axiomatic theories. But even there there are a lot of individuals for ex. in arithmetic (0, 1...).

In ontologies we define concept to describe individuals of real world.
:-)

Alex

2012/12/10 Sandro Rama Fiorini <srfiorini@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hello all!

There is a question we have been discussing in our group for a long time, and we would be glad to have your opinions on it: Can ontologies really contain individuals?

We know that many of the ontology representation languages provide constructs to represent individuals. However, an ontology is a theory about a conceptualization, which in turn could be loosely seen as a structure of generalizations about a given domain. Generalizations usually refer to concepts; not to individuals. Thus, one might ask how a conceptualization can have individuals that could be specified.   On the other hand, we also acknowledge the fact that including individuals in ontologies might be necessary in some cases, such as when a concept is defined in relation to specific particular (e.g. "Former US President", "Red Car").  Furthermore, there are some authors actually questioning this sharp distinction between universals and particulars (there some papers about this in FOIS 2010, I guess).

Any thoughts on that?

Regards,
Sandro Rama Fiorini
inf.ufrgs.br/bdi

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