Thread Links Date Links
Thread Prev Thread Next Thread Index Date Prev Date Next Date Index

Re: SUO Quo Vadis




John,

well, for the (so far) definitive discussion on being and becoming you should read sein und zeit by martin heidegger. but i think that definitely "breaks" this list.

i think the question of whether an ULO is needed is only answerable when we pose the question what is it going to be used for? probably not for communication between humans, ergo for communication between humans and machines or between machines.

the key requirement is therefore that such a ULO has to have meaning for humans: we have to be able to conceptualise and verbalise using the ULO. I think a number of the discussions on the list in the past already got this far though.

however: given the fact that all domain specific ULOs are based on one or other form of formal logic, which is, I believe, not something humans *use* to conceptualise or verbalise, then there is a mismatch. i think our discussions also probably got this far as well:

ontological gap-----------------
                               \/
domain-specific-ontologies |-------| upper level ontology
formal logical based                 natural language based
conceptual basis is                  conceptual basis is human-cognitional
computation, i.e.                    i.e. substrate is learning and
substrate is counting and            experience
logic

my *point* is that we need to be aware of this gap, and develop an approach to understand it and develop an approach to bridge it.

regards,
Mark Mattingley-Scott, Ph.D.
Principal
Wireless Broadband & Sensing Solutions EBO
Leader Asset Monitoring EMEA Central Region

Senior Member I.E.E.E., M.G.K,
Chair I.E.E.E. SMC Germany Chapter

Altrottstrasse 31, 69190 Walldorf, Germany
mailto:scott@de.ibm.com; o/m: +49-171-335-1927; f: +49-6221-1393-702



"John F. Sowa" <sowa@BESTWEB.NET>
Sent by: standard-upper-ontology@IEEE.ORG

13.12.2005 04:18

To
Azamat <abdoul@CYTANET.COM.CY>
cc
Avril Styrman <Avril.Styrman@helsinki.fi>, standard-upper-ontology@IEEE.ORG
Subject
Re: SUO Quo Vadis





Avril and Azmat,

That uses one of Aristotle's terms, but not
in the way that Aristotle used it:

> Substance: Everything that exists is a part of Substance.
> Everything except Substance itself is a proper part of Substance.

Aristotle's term for everything that exists was
_to on_ or Being.

> So, does anyone disagree with this? If many do, it is
> certainly a proof that maybe a consensus cannot be reached.

One question nobody has really answered is whether
we need an upper level.  And if so, why?

John