Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ontology]

Ontology is the study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations.

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What are the connections between philosophy and semantic web?

I worked with semantic web technology, and got interested in philosophy out of it. In semantic web, concepts such as semantics, ontologies, and logical inferences are fundamental to understand the technical discipline and make the best out of it.…
Stefano Borini
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Does Santa Claus exist?

Consider the following reasons why the answer could be "yes": Plato-ish: The Santa Clauses in the children's minds, as well as the Santa Clauses you meet in the malls are the projections of the Santa Claus Form. We witness a wide variety of what…
Michael
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Perspectives on the nature of imaginary things?

I work in the field of information systems and cultural heritage. A significant part of my work is related to the description of things that are of interest to cultural heritage specialists such as archaeologists or anthropologists. These things…
CesarGon
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What state(s) (is/are) the next state of the universe dependant on?

Is the next state of the universe only dependent on the current state or is every state before the future have some play on the future state? (other than forming the states between them and the future state)
0xFFF1
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What are 'First Principles'?

I tend to view First Principles as 'getting to the bottom' of something; in this case the embodied self. I also understand that a first principle is one which cannot be 'built' from other concepts nor reduced to other concepts. Descartes decided the…
Gary Reist
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Why did pre-Socratic philosophers take on the concept of 'being'?

Why did philosophers (starting from pre-Socratic f.e. Tales) take on the concept of 'being'? I see a chair and ... nothing. I do understand why they started to observe nature but why did they need to find the answer for 'how exists what exists' so…
Lil'Lobster
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What precedents are there for the triple-ism of Roger Penrose?

In his The Road to Reality, Roger Penrose espouses three distinct realities - the physical, mental and mathematical. The physical and mental are basically good old dualism, although he is an atheist and the mental aspect is accordingly shorn of…
Guy Inchbald
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What should be understood by 'being' in the context of ontology?

I am trying to understand some very basic concepts in ontology and can't figure out if being is used as a noun or a verb. Sometimes it seems some authors use being to refer to (1) that which is, which exists and some others seem to allude to (2) the…
Zweifler
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What is the difference between “to exist” vs “to be real”?

What does it mean to say something exists and something is real? And what is the difference if there is any? For example, take a software program. Is it more fitting to say that it exists or that it is real?
user29084
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What is the Ontological Status of History?

Where does history exist? I think it's tempting to say it exists in the mind; however, historical events are not dependent on the mind for their existence. Surely a historical event still exists, even if the mind doesn't exist to comprehend it. How…
Nate
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Why are human beings and their creations not considered "nature" or "natural"?

I read about how the human being is nature nature (which it is), about global warming (which can be a myth), the production of certain commodities (oil, sugar, PET bottles, glass) etc. I was wondering why this acts are sometimes considered to be…
Kyslik
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Principle of universal connection

I am looking for reflections related to relationships between things, connections, interconnections, in the context of understanding/explaining the essence of things (e.g, in the field of ontology). In the Dialectical Materialism (Spirkin), there…
Seb
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Inconceivable objects. What can make them become conceivable?

Are there such objects or phenomena that we can't comprehend or imagine? Can objects like round square or the largest number be reffered as inconceivable? Can we assume that objects that are inconceivable today will be conceivable or even real…
user123
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Is it possible to maintain the truth of levels of 'being' or can't they be true at the same time next to each other?

With levels I mean different 'perspectives' on a subject/happening. For example, all things have color. When we see a green tree we say this tree is green. So from this level the tree is green. But for a physicist the tree has no color it only…
Marijn
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Is silence more ontologically fundamental than meaning?

If the structures which enable the emergence of meaning in awareness behave according to principles which do not require meaning to function, this means meaning is inextricably tied to silence or non-meaning. if meaning is the product of processes…
Dr Sister
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