Ontology and ontologies concept and development

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Ontology and ontologiesconcept and development

• Henrik Schärfe, PhD
• Department of Communication

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Ontology

• The subject of ontology is the study of the
  categories of things that exist in some domain.
  The product of this study, called an ontology, is
  a catalog of the types of things that are assumed
  to exist in a domain of interest D from the
  perspective of a person who uses a language L for
  the purpose of talking about D.
• (John Sowa 2001)

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Categories defined by

• Extension a list of members
• Intension a list of attributes
• Differences from other categories (differentia)
• Typical examples
• Statements taken for granted (axioms)

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These ambiguities, redundancies and deficiencies
recall those that Dr. Franz Kuhn attributes to a
certain Chinese dictionary entitled The Celestial
Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge. In its remote
pages it is written that animals can be divided
into
(a) those belonging to the Emperor, (b)
those that are embalmed, (c) those that are
tame, (d) pigs, (e) sirens, (f)
imaginary animals, (g) wild dogs, (h) those
included in this classification, (i) those
that are crazy-acting (j), those that are
uncountable (k) those painted with the finest
brush made of camel hair, (l) miscellaneous,
(m) those which have just broken a vase, and
(n) those which, from a distance, look like
flies.
The Analytical Language of John Wilkins Jorge
Luis Borges http//www.entish.org/essays/Wilkins.h
tml
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Type hierarchies

• Goal
• account for the semantics of concepts by
  means of relations to other concepts

• Relationer
• IsA (subtype-relation)
• part of
• member of

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Begrebshierarkier

• Goal
• account for the semantics of concepts by
  means of relations to other concepts

• Most important relation
• Subtype-relation

• Most important function
• Subsumption
• Instance-checking

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Begrebshierarkier

• Goal
• account for the semantics of concepts by
  means of relations to other concepts

• Most important relation
• Subtype-relation
• Transitive

a gt b , b gt d , d gt g gt a gt g
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Physical - Abstract
Heraclitus All (panta) is flux, nothing stays
still All things (panta) comes into being
according to its word (logos)
St. John In the beginning was the word (logos)
through logos all things are made
Plato logos form, idea the physical world
reflects this
Aristotle the world / all things are
real logos an abstraction over this
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Aristotelian categories
Alt, hvad vi siger, og som ikke er sammensat,
angiver enten

• Substans (ousia)
• Kvantitet (poion)
• Kvalitet (poson)
• Relation (pros ti)
• Aktivitet (poiein)
• Passivitet (paschein)
• Havende (echein)
• Situerethed (keisthai)
• Spatialitet (pou)
• Temporalitet (pote)

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Brentanos tree the Aristotelian categories
væren
accidens
substans
relation
egenskab
inherens
værende i
rettet mod
formidlende
bevægelse
kvalitet
kvantitet
aktivitet
passivitet
havende
situeret
spatialitet
temporalitet
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Tree of Porphyry
3rd century AD
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SUBSTANCE
Supreme genus Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Proximate genera Species
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SUBSTANCE
Supreme genus Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Proximate genera Species
2x3
material
immaterial
2x5
BODY
SPIRIT
animate
inanimate
2x3x7
2x3x11
LIVING
MINERAL
sensitive
insensitive
2x3x7x13
2x3x7x17
ANIMAL
PLANT
rational
irrational
2x3x7x13x19
2x3x7x13x23
HUMAN
BEAST
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SUBSTANCE
Supreme genus Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Proximate genera Species
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material
immaterial
10
BODY
SPIRIT
animate
inanimate
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66
LIVING
MINERAL
sensitive
insensitive
546
714
ANIMAL
PLANT
rational
irrational
10374
12558
HUMAN
BEAST
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SUBSTANCE
Supreme genus Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Subordinate
genera Differentia Proximate genera Species
6
material
immaterial
10
BODY
SPIRIT
animate
inanimate
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66
LIVING
MINERAL
sensitive
insensitive
546
714
ANIMAL
PLANT
rational
irrational
10374
12558
HUMAN
BEAST
Human lt body 10374 / 6 ( 1729)
Human lt mineral 10374 / 66 ( 157,18)
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What Has Happened to Ontology

• Peter Øhrstrøm
• Jan Andersen
• Henrik Schärfe

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First known occurrance of the word ontology
(Ontologiæ)
Jacob Lorhard (1561-1609) Ogdeas Scholastica 1606.
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• Ontological diagrams

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Jens Kraft
Introduced the term ontology in Scandinavia
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Ontology in AI research
Incentives for working with ontological
description

• Sharing and developing knowledge in digital
  environments
• Knowledge engineering
• Knowledge management
• Searching for meaning rather than information
• The Semantic Web

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Ontology in AI research
Presumably, John McCarthy introduced the term
Ontology to AI research in 1980
Question What kinds of information should be
included in representations of the world?
John McCarthy
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What is an Ontology? Short answer An ontology
is a specification of a conceptualization.
Tom Gruber
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Ontology - ontologies

• System of thought
• Singular
• Attempt to describe reality
• Deals with existence
• Domain-independent

• Information practice
• Plural
• Accounts for a conceptualization
• Deals with communication
• Domain-dependent

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Sowas top ontologi
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Representing
Aesop
Omnivore
Mammal
Bird
Fish
Herbivore
Carnivore
Insect
Reptile
Amphibia
Domisticated
Wild
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A Priorean Approach to Time Ontologies

• Peter Øhrstrøm
• Henrik Schärfe

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Representation of Time

• A-notation past, present, future
• B-notation before, after, simultaneously
• Instants or durations

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a is before b ?def ?c a c b
a meets b ?def a b
a overlaps b ?def ?c,d,e a c d ? b d e
a starts b ?def ?c b a c
a during b ?def ?c,d b c a d
a finishes b ?def ?c b c a
a is overlapped by b ?def ?c,d,e (b c d ?
a d e)
a is met by b ?def b a
a is after b ?def ?c b c a
a is finished by b ?def ?c a c b
a contains b ?def ?c,d a c b d
a is started by b ?def ?c a b c
a equals b ?def a b
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Examples of representation of time
Representing Time and Modality in Narratives
with  Conceptual Graphs  Henrik Schärfe and
Peter Øhrstrøm 
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• A possible future
• An alternative future
• - with reference to the past

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Priors 4 grades
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Priors 4 grades
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Priors 4 grades
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Priors 4 grades
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Priors 4 grades
The grades may serve a a classification of time
ontologies
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CYC time
Instance of
ObjectType
SituationTemporal
specialization of
TemporalObjectType
TemporalStuffType
Event
TemporalThing
TimeInterval
SomethingExisting
Always-TimeInterval (forever)
TimePoint
Time-Quantity
UnitOfTime
IntervalBasedQuantitySlot
academicYear
now
SecondsDuration
Duration
Measure
YearsDuration
TemporalPredicate
startingPoint
endingPoint
holdsSometimeDuring
PrimitiveTemporalPredicate
StartsAfterEndingOf
ComplexTemporalPredicate
holdsIn
startsDuring
After
endsDuring
SimultaneousWith
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Suggested Upper Merged Ontology
(SUMO) BASE-ONTOLOGY GRAPH-THEORY MEREOTOPOLOGY
NUMERIC-FUNCTIONS OBJECTS PROCESSES QUALITIES
SET/CLASS-THEORY STRUCTURAL-ONTOLOGY
TEMPORAL-CONCEPTS UNITS-OF-MEASURE SUMO /
TEMPORAL-CONCEPTS Classes april august day
december february friday hour january
july june leap year march may minute
monday month november october saturday
second september sunday thursday tuesday
wednesday week year Instances negative
infinity positive infinity Relations before
before or equal cooccur date duration
during earlier finishes frequency meets
temporally overlaps temporally starts
temporal part temporally between temporally
between or equal Functions begin fn day fn
end fn future fn hour fn immediate future
fn immediate past fn minute fn month fn
past fn recurrent time interval fn second fn
temporal composition fn time interval fn
when fn year fn
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SUMO
Abstract
Set or Class
Relation
quantity
Class
Physical quantity
Binary relation
Inheritable relation
Constant quentity
transitive relation
irreflexive relation
antisymmetric relation
temporal relation
Time meassure
Partial ordering relation
Time interval
Time point
year
hour
Before or equal
before
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WordNet time
abstraction
Psychological feature
Event
Time 5 The continuum of experience in which
events pass from the future through the present
to the past
meassure
cognition
happening
information
attribute
Fundamental quantity
Point in time
Data point
property
case
experience
reading
Time period
moment
magnitude
Sound property
Time 6 Clock time (it is 4 oclock)
dimension
rhythmecity
Time 1 (he called four times)
Time 4 A suitable moment (time to go)
Time 7 Fourth dimension
Time 9 Time, meter
Time 8 A persons experience on a particular
occation (he had a good time)
term
Time 2 An indefinite period (to wait a long time)
Time 3 A ressource, sufficient to accomplish
something (take time to smell the roses)
Time 10 The time a prisoner spents in prison (he
is doing time)
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WordNet time
abstraction
Psychological feature
Event
Time 5 The continuum of experience in which
events pass from the future through the present
to the past
meassure
cognition
happening
information
attribute
Fundamental quantity
Point in time
Duration 2 Continuance (property of enduring
time)
Data point
Instant
property
case
experience
reading
Time period
moment
magnitude
Sound property
Temporal property
Time 6 Clock time (it is 4 oclock)
dimension
rhythmecity
Time 1 (he called four times)
Duration 1 Continuance (period of time)
Duration 3 length
Time 4 A suitable moment (time to go)
Time 7 Fourth dimension
Time 9 Time, meter
Time 8 A persons experience on a particular
occation (he had a good time)
term
Time 2 An indefinite period (to wait a long time)
Time 3 A ressource, sufficient to accomplish
something (take time to smell the roses)
Instant
Time 10 The time a prisoner spents in prison (he
is doing time)
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Priors 4 grades
The 3rd grade is privileged in the sense that the
other grades can be derived from this Therefore
it may serve as a meta-ontology
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Conclusion
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Conclusion

• Ontology as a Philosophical Discipline and as an
  Information Practice may benefit from each other
• Ontological description is contingent upon
  perspective and commitment
• A growing need for classification of ontologies
  (meta ontologies)