Dear Matthew, (01)
I completely agree with that point: (02)
> So let's not rehearse the arguments again. (03)
But note that we also agree that logic is necessary to define
and use our our ontologies. (04)
The exercise of analyzing how English sentences that involve
roles are translated to logic illustrates the issues without
getting bogged down in debates about religious dogma. (05)
At the end of this note is a copy of the examples I gave
in my earlier note on this topic with any comments about
controversial issues deleted. (06)
In terms of logic, some adjectives, such as 'brown' or 'elderly',
apply to the individual instance, independent of what role that
individual happens to play. For those adjectives, we can represent
the Adj-Noun combination with a simple conjunction in logic: (07)
Brown(x) & Bear(x), Elderly(x) & Physicist(x). (08)
But other adjectives, such as 'stuffed' or 'nuclear', modify the
definition of the noun. For those, we need to define a new
predicate, such as StuffedBear(x) or NuclearPhysicst(x), that
combines the information in the definition of the noun with
the information in the definition of the adjective: (09)
StuffedBear -- an object in the shape of a bear that is made
of a fuzzy covering and stuffed with some soft material. (010)
NuclearPhysicist -- a physicist who specializes in research
on the physics of atomic nuclei and elementary particles. (011)
Note that combined predicate can require extensive, context-
dependent modifications of the definitions of Adj and/or Noun. (012)
By the way, I'd like to point out a horrible example of a system
that did not make this distinction. It used a uniform method
of representing any Adj-Noun combination by a simple conjunction.
In operation, it accepted English sentences, translated them to
its version of logic, and answered questions about them. (013)
As an example, the user could type in the following assertions: (014)
Bob is a good musician.
Bob is a bad cook. (015)
Then the system would answer yes to all the following questions: (016)
Is Bob a good musician?
Is Bob a good cook?
Is Bob a bad musician?
Is Bob a bad cook?
Is Bob a good bad musician cook? (017)
This system was not ready for prime time. (018)
John
___________________________________________________________________ (019)
From a note of 6 Feb 2012 on the same subject: (020)
Consider a bear vs. a Teddy bear. Adjectives in English qualify the
noun. But the question is whether they qualify the individual instances
or whether they qualify the definition of the noun itself. (021)
Some adjectives are called "privative" because they deprive the noun
of critical qualities -- for example, fake bear or counterfeit money.
A good test of how an adjective is related to the noun is to paraphrase
the combination "Adj N" as "N that is Adj". For example, (022)
brown bear -> a bear that is brown (023)
Teddy bear -> a bear that is Teddy (024)
fake bear -> a bear that is fake (025)
elderly physicist -> a physicist that is elderly (026)
nuclear physicist -> a physicist that is nuclear (027)
reckless driver -> a driver that is reckless (028)
licensed driver -> a driver that is licensed (029)
For some examples, it makes no sense at all to move the
adjective after the verb 'is', as in 'Teddy' or 'nuclear'. (030)
For some, such as 'brown' or 'elderly', that is possible
and the combination can be translated by a simple conjunction.
Examples include 'brown' and 'elderly'. (031)
For 'Teddy' and 'fake', the sentence is false because no
actual bear can be Teddy or fake. (032)
For others, such as 'reckless' or 'licensed', the meaning
is not necessarily false, but the connection between the
role and the adjective is broken. For example, somebody
might be safe as a driver and licensed as a veterinarian,
but reckless and unlicensed in other aspects of life. (033)
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