Re: SUO: An article on the pitfalls of metadata
Tom,
TJ> I know John Sowa recommends an automatic ontology category generation
> mechanism as well. But I don't understand how it would work. If you can send
> me any references, I'd appreciate it.
The basic idea is as old as Leibniz, who proposed
several algorithms, which tend to generate many more
categories than one would need. Newer algorithms
have been invented, which reduce the number of
unncessary nodes in the hierarchy.
Following is my brief summary of lattice theory
with a short discussion of one of Leibniz's
methods and the FCA method:
http://www.jfsowa.com/logic/math.htm#Lattice
My basic point is as old as Socrates: the distinctions
are fundamental to determining the categories, and they
are ultimately more fundamental than the categories.
Re natural kinds: Good question: Are there any?
The original motivation was biological species, but
with all of the people playing around with DNA these
days, the notion of a species is far less clear than
it used to be.
John