RE: SUO: Monolithic ontologies (was ontology as science)
Dear Adam,
Thanks. See comments below.
Matthew West
Principal Consultant
Shell Information Technology International Limited
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7934 4490 Other Tel: +44 7796 336538
Email: matthew.west@shell.com
Internet: http://www.shell.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adam Pease [mailto:adampease@earthlink.net]
> Sent: 01 July 2003 18:47
> To: West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE; Ian Niles
> Cc: standard-upper-ontology@ieee.org
> Subject: RE: SUO: Monolithic ontologies (was ontology as science)
>
>
> Matthew,
> I'll have to let Ian respond on the broader points of
> philosophy, but I
> can address a few of the points below:
>
> At 02:01 PM 7/1/2003 +0100, West, Matthew R SITI-ITPSIE wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>
> > > >
> > > > In the SUMO, change is always represented as a
> 'Process' from one
> > > > 'Attribute' or 'Relation' to another. For example, 'Melting'
> > > > (http://ontology.teknowledge.com:8080/rsigma/SKB.jsp?req=SC&na
> > > > me=Melting&skb
> > > > =SUMO) is a change of state from 'Solid' to 'Liquid', and
> > > > 'Translocation'
> > > > (http://ontology.teknowledge.com:8080/rsigma/SKB.jsp?req=SC&na
> > > > me=Translocati
> > > > on&skb=SUMO) is a change from one location to another.
> > >
> > > MW: This is only half the story. How do you deal with change
> > > with respect to the objects changed by the activities?
> > > >
>
> The objects would just have a new statement, true after a
> given time, such as
>
> (holdsDuring
> (ImmediateFutureFn
> (WhenFn Process777))
> (attribute Object333 GreenColor))
MW: The problem I have with this is that this makes (or at least seems
to make) the relation exist in time, and then it is not a universal,
so I want to know what sort of an object it is? Especially since I
don't think I can touch it. It doesn't seem very natural.
>
>
> > > > >
> > > > > But how about:
> > > > >
> > > > > - what it means to be an individual (process or physical
> > > > > object - or both?).
> > > >
> > > > In the SUMO, to be an instance of 'Process' or 'Object'
> is to have a
> > > > location in space/time.
> > >
> > > MW: This is close to a 4D statement. Now by location, do you mean
> > > something that is extended in space and time, or space
> but not time,
> > > or just a point location?
>
> Here's the relevant axiom
>
> (<=>
> (instance ?PHYS Physical)
> (exists (?LOC ?TIME)
> (and
> (located ?PHYS ?LOC)
> (time ?PHYS ?TIME))))
>
> Any Physical necessarily has both a physical and temporal
> location. The
> location can be a point or a region.
MW: Thanks. Consistent with what Ian said. You seem to have an interesting
mixture of 3D and 4D. It seems to be mostly 4D but with a present (rather
than eternal) perspective.
>
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > - What sorts of things physical quantities are (pressures,
> > > > > temperatures etc)
> > > >
> > > > I don't see that the ontology has to take a stand on
> what pressures,
> > > > temperatures, and other physical quantities *really* are.
> > > > All we need to do
> > > > is to offer a formalization which allows different people and
> > > > different
> > > > systems to say all they need to say to communicate with one
> > > > another and
> > > > perform certain standard inferences.
> > >
> > > MW: The view you take determines what aparatus you need, and the
> > > complexity involved in achieving this.
> > >
> > > MW: However, lets try a simpler question. Does the membership of
> > > classes change?
> > > >
>
> Generally, no. Now, this slight hedge may be unsatisfying to
> some, but
> personally, I think it's needed. A stronger statement gets
> one into all
> sorts of contorted boundary cases like the classic "castle
> and bricks"
> example. That entities do not change their class membership
> over time, and
> that classes themselves are reserved for those things which
> do not change,
> is an important guideline.
MW: This is not quite the same as Ian. The suggestion here is that
you only count as classes things that might be described as
"essential classes". So what about accidental properties/classes?
>
> Adam
>
>
>