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Re: [ontolog-forum] Ontologies and individuals

To: "[ontolog-forum] " <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:28:30 -0800
Message-id: <FF8F7C10-B894-4470-B150-D60B70E5EC2C@xxxxxxx>
For another example, a chemist could plausibly treat each element as an 
individual. In geospatial ontologies, a point location is often regarded as an 
individual.    (01)

Pat    (02)

On Dec 10, 2012, at 12:25 PM, John F Sowa wrote:    (03)

> Sandro and Alex,
> 
> To be general, an ontology would emphasize types rather than
> specific individuals.  But there are many categories that
> contain unique individuals that must be considered.
> 
> SRF
>> 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?
> 
> AS
>> But even [in general theories], there are a lot of individuals
>> for ex. in arithmetic (0, 1...).
> 
> Yes  But there are other reasons for distinguishing special cases.
> Astronomy, for example, makes a special case for one star:  our sun.
> 
> Geographical information systems make a special case for one particular
> planet:  earth, its continents and coordinates.  The earth's moon is
> also treated as a special individual.
> 
> Legal systems are always specific to one particular country, and they
> also have to distinguish changes over time.  The subdivisions of each
> country may also have legal systems that have quite a bit of divergence.
> 
> As another example, the kilogram is defined in terms of one specific
> individual:  a cylinder of platinum-iridium stored in a vault in France.
> There are recommendations to redefine the kg in terms of Planck's
> constant, but no official decision has been made.
> 
> John
> 
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>     (04)

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