This repository provides ontologies of generic, widely applicable (often domain-neutral) relationships ('relations' for short) that can be used in other ontologies. The relational constructs (e.g., OWL Object or Data Properties) are displayed/represented by natural language terms (predicates such as 'is part of'). Example relations include: has, has a, is a, part of, has part, causes, is caused by, etc. If you find value in my work, please support/donate here.
Relationship ontologies include:
- The Generic Relatonship Ontology / The Relationship Ontology
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Neutrality - The ontology(s) aims to be neutral. It does not bias any particular universe of discourse (topic area, domain, subject matter, discipline, etc.), worldview (philosophical or otherwise).
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Minimal commitments - The ontology(s) make minimal or no commitments. It makes minimal or no ontological commitments at other degrees of abstraction; it does not force the user to make commitments. It does not require the user to use or import other ontologies, parts of ontologies, or tools.
Benefits over other similar system: using this system does not force you or otherwise commitment you to importing other taxonomies or ontologies, nor a particular philosophical worldview.
(Specific user-case) In the course of developing the Orbital Space Ontologies (https://purl.org/space-ontology), relations I need(ed) to assert were often generic and domain-neutral, i.e., they were not specific to the given domain ontology. Therefore, for widerapplicability, and given my education in ontology, it was important to modularize those broader relations in an ontology of their own that could then be imported into any ontology.
(Generic use-case) In the course of developing ontologies, one may assert various relationships to link the categories and individuals in the ontology. Those relations are sometimes highly general, abstract, and applicable to various topics. As an ontology develop you may find that they do not apply exclusively to the target domain of your ontology, or that they can be generalized to be domain-neutral. For example, one may assert a 'has computer component' relation which can apply to various computer-related ontologies. But one can generlaize it to 'has component' which would be a more generic relation applicable to almost any ontology (depending on the intended meaning of 'component' or the relation as a whole.
My university studies included a focus on highly abstract concepts, including those of relation(ship)s and how to characterize and formalize them.
No warranty. Presented "AS IS". Author and copyright holder is not liable. All content, work and products are subject to revision. No claims to completeness.
© 2018-2024, Robert John Rovetto. All right reserved. Not authorized for commercial use unless explicitly negotiated with the author. Citation/attribution required.