Talk:Formal ontology

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Definition[edit]

Ontology is defined in Wikipedia as the "study of existence". Yet here, Formal Ontology is defined as an ontology modeled by algorithms. This is a completely different use of the word ontology. The former is a verb, the act (ie. process) of studying something. The later is a noun, which is undefined either here or in wikipedia. What is an ontology as used in the sentence "Formal Ontology is defined as an ontology modeled by algorithms"?

Ontology could be better defined in wikipedia as a discipline that studies approaches to represent items (concepts) of reality (for realists) ( or existence in a broader view) and the relations that might exist between them. An often used definition (from which you will become no wiser) is 'an explicit specification of thge conceptualisation of a domain'. But on your comment, the former is not a verb, one cannot 'ontology', (I ontology, you ontology), just as philosophy or anatomy are not verbs, they are nouns. A formal ontology is just a type of ontology which uses some very explicit (realist) guidelines to categorise & relate concepts in order to ensure/keep an independent view on reality. To elaborate a little more: ontology can both refer to the discipline that studies models of reality, as well as to the model itself. It might be that you associate the first with 'verbs' and the second with a 'noun'. Daviddecraene 17:53, 17 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]