Re: SUO: RE: RE: RE: 2000-7-26 example - nature of organisation
Concerning organizations:
In the SUMO and also in the CYC, Organization is a
subclass of Group, which is some assemblage of
entities -- distinguished from a Set, which is
considered "timeless an abstract". This
distinction can be useful, but since groups of
physical objects can then be considered as physical
objects, it seems inappropriate to classify an
organization as a subclass of Group. The members
of an Organization form part of the Organization,
but not the whole part. The rules creating the
organization and defining the relations of members
to each other and to the group are an essential
part of an organization -- that's why it is
"organized". I would prefer to see an
Organization defined as an agent that has
a set of operating rules and a group of people
as a *Part* of the organization. A lot
of "organizations" have only one person as
a member (e.g. sole proprietarship corporations
with no employees other than the owner).
Consider a legal organization -- it is possible
for the sole member to die, but for the
organization to continue as a legal entity,
e.g. if it has property and debts
(the heirs might have to clean up the mess).
In CYC, a Group must have at least one member.
This situation would create a contradiction,
unless one were to specify that every owner is
de facto a member, and even then there could be
an ownerless corporation whose affairs are
terminated by some appointeee of the courts.
To clarify the distinction, we could consider
a mob or a crowd as consisting solely of
its members. A mob or a crowd, then, could be
an Agent that *is* a subtype of Group. The useful
(I think) distinction would be to consider an
Organization as an Agent that has a Group as a part.
The way to specify roles in an organization
is a different issue.
Pat Cassidy
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Patrick Cassidy
MICRA, Inc. || (908) 561-3416
735 Belvidere Ave. || (908) 668-5252 (if no answer)
Plainfield, NJ 07062-2054 || (908) 668-5904 (fax)
internet: cassidy@micra.com
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