This is a case of "systematic polysemy", widespread in natural languages: two or more related conceptualizations, often interdependent, expressed by the same word. The state-event polysemy is a very frequent one.
Whether we want to model a Marriage concept as a state or an event however depends on what we want to do with it. E.g. if you're counting the marriages in a city for a time interval, you should model it as an event. If you want to be able to talk about the average length of marriages in a city for a time interval, you're going to model it as a state. If you want to do both, you need to design axioms to relate the two models. That's it.
The main reason for so many discussions on Ontolog (and its predecessor mailing lists) is that formal ontology often prefers a "unique" use case over the ones that are relevant for the "real world". That unique use case could be phrased as: "how many types of things are there, in principle?"
While this use case is important as an intellectual motivation, it tends to "change the game" we want to play by making ontologies. Instead of focusing on *why* someone asks to model marriages, one starts thinking about all possible senses, so being often lost in an unsustainable endeavor of making people agree on something that people hardly have to agree upon in everyday life. In other terms, we create a problem that did not exist before.
The problem of course is the need to choose, not the fact that there is a difference between states and events.
--Aldo
On 1 May 2012, at 15:57, Paul Brown wrote: A likely scenario drawn from this discussion is one in which one party views the marriage as the event while another party views the marriage as the state. They are never going to agree on a common definition, because each has its own concept. Yet these two concepts are definitely related: One marks the point of state transition that is part of the other's model. I think this is illustrative of situations (pardon the double entendre) we are going to encounter in the real world! -- PCB ****************************************************************************************** Paul C. Brown Principal Software Architect TIBCO Software Inc. Email: pbrown@xxxxxxxxx Mobile: 518-424-5360 "Total architecture is not a choice - it is a concession to reality." Visit www.total-architecture.comArchitecture Books: -- Succeeding With SOA: Realizing Business Value Through Total Architecture -- Implementing SOA: Total Architecture In Practice -- TIBCO Architecture Fundamentals The SOA Manifesto: soa-manifesto.orgRead the TIBCO blog: www.thetibcoblog.com****************************************************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: Cory Casanave [mailto:cory-c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 12:17 AM To: Ontology Summit 2012 discussion Cc: simfteam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; simf-rfp@xxxxxxxSubject: RE: [ontology-summit] First Model Bench Challenge I would agree - there are 2 concepts under the label "Marriage", a situation and an event. The intent of the example in the web page is the situation but you may well also represent the event for extra credit! -Cory -----Original Message-----
From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ontology-summit-
bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Hans Polzer
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 9:55 PM
To: 'Ontology Summit 2012 discussion'
Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] First Model Bench Challenge
Isn't it both? Marriage is both a state transition (the rite that signals the
transition to a married state from an unmarried state), and a steady state
condition after the state transition occurs (as in "their marriage has lasted for
50 years"). The word "wedding" is often used to distinguish between the state
transition and the steady state condition, denoting the former but not the
latter (although common usage isn't always precise on this point, as in
"wedded bliss").
Hans
Hans
-----Original Message-----
From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jack Ring
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 8:44 PM
To: doug@xxxxxxxxxx; Ontology Summit 2012 discussion
Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] First Model Bench Challenge
??
Marriage is a situation in which a couple BECOMES married.") On Apr 30,
2012, at 1:39 PM, doug foxvog wrote:
Marriage is a situation in which a couple is married.")
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Aldo Gangemi Senior Researcher Semantic Technology Lab (STLab) Institute for Cognitive Science and Technology, National Research Council (ISTC-CNR) Via Nomentana 56, 00161, Roma, Italy Tel: +390644161535 Fax: +390644161513 skype aldogangemi
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