An Analysis of Commitments in Ontology Language Design

FILLOTTRANI, PABLO R.; C. MARIA KEET

Bozen/Bolzano

Congreso; Formal Ontology in Information Systems - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference, {FOIS} 2020; 2020

Free University of Bozen/Bolzano

Abstract. Multiple ontology languages have been developed over the years, whichbrings afore two key components: how to select the appropriate language for thetask at hand and language design itself. This engineering step entails examining theontological ?commitments? embedded into the language, which, in turn, demandsfor an insight into what the effects of philosophical viewpoints may be on the designof a representation language. But what are the sort of commitments one shouldbe able to choose from that have an underlying philosophical point of view, andwhich philosophical stances have a knock-on effect on the specification or selectionof an ontology language? In this paper, we provide a first step towards answeringthese questions. We identify and analyse ontological commitments embedded inlogics, or that could be, and show that they have been taken in well-known ontologylanguages. This contributes to reflecting on the language as enabler or inhibitor toformally characterising an ontology or an ontological investigation, as well as thedesign of new ontology languages following the proposed design process.