On Sunday, December 16, 2012, John F Sowa wrote:
As I said in my previous note, a formal ontology is stated in logic.
That logic embodies the total meaning of that ontology.
1. The metalanguage that people use to talk about about the ontology
or the logic will not have any effect on what the computer does.
2. If you replace every buzzword in the metalanguage with 'buzz1',
'buzz2', ..., 'buzzN', nothing will change what the computer does.
3. If any metalevel word, such as 'individual', is causing confusion,
then delete it. Just talk about how the logic is related to the
data and how it determines what the computer does with the data.
Pat H
> "individual" is often used simply to mean "playing the role of
> an instance", so it is unwise to rely on this verbal distinction...
Yes. The only thing that matters is how the logic is used.
It's irrelevant what words are used to talk about the logic.
Hans P
> I believe our discussion really centered around the observation that
> what constitutes an individual is a function of context, and whether
> that context requires individuation of entities described within it.
My suggestion is to delete the words 'individual', 'individuation'.
and 'context'. Instead, just talk about the conventions for using
names or variables in the logic.
Richard D
> many works choose the framework of set theory and use mereological definitions
What are they choosing or using? The formal logic that determines what
the computer does? Or the metalanguage that people use when they talk
about the logic? If there is any conflict, the only thing that is
relevant is how the computer uses the logic to process the data.
John
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