COSMO ontology, Version 0.49-641. Last edit 20080512 by Patrick Cassidy Has 21 top-level classes under 'Thing' Uses elements of the OpenCyc, SUMO, BFO and DOLCE ontologies, as well as elements created specifically for COSMO. Globally unique identifier, fromOpenCyc 0.78. NOTE that this is a formatted string having 32 alphanumberic characters with embedded hyphesns, though it is represented (temporarily) as a simple string here. Another form of 'unique identifier' has 16 characters, and is represented in COSMO as an AbstractString which is a subtype of Identifier. See 'UniqueIdentifier16' Globally Unique ID Points to a string with axioms that include reference to the domain entity. (UAX: SUMAX-25) (<=> (disjoint ?CLASS1 ?CLASS2) (and (instance ?CLASS1 NonNullSet) (instance ?CLASS2 NonNullSet) (forall (?INST) (not (and (instance ?INST ?CLASS1) (instance ?INST ?CLASS2)))))) Classes are disjoint only if they share no instances, i.e. just in case the result of applying IntersectionFn to them is empty. SUMO - 155 The class of Synonyms has two uses: (1) When a synonymous term is included as a subtype of Synonym, it allows searching for a Type by more than one term, in the case where the alternative term(s) are also unique in the ontology. For example, where Cyc class names (but not meanings) have been changed, the Cyc term may also be included as a Synonym. We use the isaSynonymOf relation to relate Synonym classes to the class with the base name. (2) when used with the 'hasSynonym' relation, instances of Synonym can specify the context (such as namespace) in which the second term is a synonym of the first, and can indicate the overall frequency with which the term in that context actually has the same meaning as the base term. Since there can be multiple instances of the same synonymous term, it is represented as a datatype String entity. NOTE that instances of Synonym need to have unique id's as their identifiers in the ontology, so it is recommended that the unique ID's be generated by prefixing a namespace to the synonymous term that is pointed to by the 'hasSynonymousTerm' property of the Synonym instance. Thus if some term has the synonym 'process' in the PSL context, the instance of Synonym that specifies that relation can be named, e.g. 'PSL$process'. The general English contexts, where words may be ambiguous, is indicated by the namespace prefix 'engen'. points from an instance of Synonym to a string that is the term which is synonymous to the base concept. The term should represent the synonym in its natural form, whether capitalized, with spaces, apostrophes, etc. A pointer from a concept to another concept of which it is a synonym. This is a crude method to permit search in Protege for synonyms of terms in the class search window. In v0.3 these synonyms were confined to classes. For other synoyms, use 'hasSynonym'. hasSynonym is used to point to AbstractStrings that can serve as a synonym for the base entity (type or instance), in some context. This relation points to an instance of Synonym, and that instance can specify the context in which it is a synonym for that word. Because a single word can be a synonym of multiple terms, the structure of the 'Synonym' entity includes not only the String expression of the synonymous term, but also the context in which it is a synonym. Among the contexts, databases and other knowledge models are included. A superfluous relation for testing. Objects can be Physical or Abstract or Mental only PhysicalObjects have mass, and that is the defining characteristic of a PhysicalObject in COSMO. All Objects have at least one relation other than the type (isa) relation to some other entity that is not an Object. Almost all objects have an Attribute or AttributeValue. But the relation may be some other relation (e.g. to have a location, a composition, or to have proper parts). Thus a point can have Dimensionality (zero-dimensional), and will have a location, though the location may be in a poorly defined abstract space. For example, a character in an alphabet is an abstract object, which has at least one representation as a shaped physical object, and is an element of an Alphabet. This requirement for an Object to have some relation is not presently (v0.48) formalized in COSMO, as it is not needed for performance, only to clarify the meaning for the human users. 'Object' is a very primitive concept that cannot be defined, but can be comprehended only by the way this concept interacts with other concepts, and by its subclasses and instances. This Type is useful as an umbrella Type for various purposes,including relations on Events. NOTE that in COSMO an 'Object' is not necessarily 3D (as in an endurantist perspective) nor 4D (as in a perdurantist perspective. It can be use in syntactic constructions that appear to be 3D (such as when they are explicitly time-indexed), but when an object is also an instance of TimeSlice,it can be used in syntactic constructions that are typical of the 4D perspective, in which the time of a relation is not explicitly indexed. A Sign is something that refers to something other than itself; it may be a single entity or a group of entities. It can be an Object, an Event, a Process, or an Attribute. This is a very general category. A Sign may be Physical or Abstract or Mental. 'Sign' is a very general concept, and is used primarily through its specialized subtypes. A physical phenomenon (smoke) can be a sign (of a smoke-producing process), and an AbstractSymbolicObject such as the abstract string 'cat' can be a sign that refers to some animals in the real world. isaSignOf relates a specific Sign or SignType to something to which it refers in some way - perhaps by providing evidence os something, or merely isaSymptomOf relates a Symptom (a Sign of some abnormality) to the AbnormalCondition of which it is a sign. A SignObject is a PhysicalObject that is a Sign of something other than itself. It is not necessarily an Artifact.. A Trace is one or more Signs that relate to ordered states of some Event or FunctionalProcess. A sequence of footprints in the mud can be a Trace of the event of some animal walking on that ground; a sequence of abstract symbols, stored in one of more computers, can provide a Trace of some computational or reasoning process such as one carried out in the computer. A Symptom is a Sign that is also a SituationProcessEventOrState, and which provides evidence of an abnormal condition.. A Record is an abstract sequence of symbols (usually linguistic) representing a sequence of events that occurred. For example, a sequence of abstract symbols, stored in one of more computers, can provide a Trace of some computational or reasoning process such as one carried out in the computer. As an Artifact, it has to have an IntelligentAgent as creator - for traces generated by a computer, that Agent will be the programmer or, if sufficiently autonomous, the computer itself - or both. A ReasoningRecord is a Record of some process of Reasoning. It will usually be a process of Reasoning used in a Computer, but could be a record of a person's reasoning.. The most general Type for Objects whose subtypes are abstract - intangible - things that do not have mass. Note that AbstractEntity is not a subtype of AbstractObject - the name 'Abstract' is retained for alignment with other ontologies. NOTE in particular that AbstractEntity is not disjoint from MentalObject, which may be created by people in space and time, and hae a location in space and time. The kind of abstract things that do not have a locaiton in space and time are under 'AbstrctObject' in COSMO. COSMO Note: the notion of 'Abstract' has historically been somewhat vague. It is often defined by saying that it represents things 'not located in space or time' - but then subclasses are defined which are clearly mental constructs with a defined creation time (e.g. musical compositions) - which means that they must indeed be located in time and space. In this ontology we distinguish 'Abstract' things from 'MentalObjects' - the latter are things created by IntelligentAgents (people) that have no mass, and therefore would traditionally be categorized as 'Abstract'. 'AbstractObject' here is used mostly to categorize mathematical things such as numbers, which arguably do not depend on intelligent entities for their existence. But 'AbstractEntities" and 'MentalObjects' are not considered disjoint here, so there is room for people to argue whether mathematical concepts are created or merely discovered by mathematicians - we take no position on that issue. An AbstractObject is an entity which does not exist in space or time. This is more stringnent than merely not having mass, the criterion for belinging to 'AbstractEntity. This category is mostly for mathematical concepts. Under 'AbstractEntity' we also have 'MentalObjects', which do exist in space and time. COSMO Note: the notion of 'Abstract' has historically been somewhat vague. It is often defined by saying that it represents things 'not located in space or time' - but then subclasses are defined which are clearly mental constructs with a defined creation time (e.g. musical compositions) - which means that they must indeed be located in time and space. In this ontology we distinguish generically 'Abstract' things from 'MentalObjects' - the latter are things created by IntelligentAgents (people) that have no mass, and therefore would traditionally be categorized as 'Abstract'. 'AbstractObject' here is used mostly to categorize mathematical things such as numbers, which arguably do not depend on intelligent entities for their existence. But 'AbstractEntities" and 'MentalObjects' are not considered disjoint here, so there is room for people to argue whether mathematical concepts are created or merely discovered by mathematicians - we take no position on that issue. See the note under 'AbstractEntity' to see how 'Abstract' is used in this ontology. The current (20061027) arrangement here is provisional, keeping some of the terminology from Cyc and SUMO for alignment - but it may be changed slightly in the future in a way that will not affect inferencing. Intangible_Cyc__Abstract_SUMO__abstract_object_ISO15926 ISO15926 An Abstract-object is a thing that does not exist in space-time. (COSMO note - this is not the interpretation in COSMO - MentalObjects are abstract, but they do 'exist' in our ordinary space and time.) SUMO: Abstract : Properties or qualities as distinguished from any particular embodiment of the properties/qualities in a physical medium. Instances of Abstract can be said to exist in the same sense as mathematical objects such as sets and relations, but they cannot exist at a particular place and time without some physical encoding or embodiment. #$Intangible: OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of things that are not physical - are not made of, or encoded in, matter. Every #$Collection is an #$Intangible (even if its instances are tangible), and so are some #$Individuals. Caution: do not confuse 'tangibility' with 'perceivability' - humans can perceive light even though it's intangible--at least in a sense. For more on this issue, see the relevant #$cyclistNotes. Intangible[Cyc]%Abstract[SUMO]%abstract_object[ISO15926] COSMO: Context is a very general class of entities that can affect the truth of a logical sentence; within any given Context, the factual assertions should all be logically consistent. A Context may be relevant to the internal states and processes of a computational system, or may more generally describe the broad situation in which an Agent finds itself when processing information for the purpose of making a decision. For the latter agent context, the subtype 'SituationalContextComponent' is relevant. A Context can be a time interval, location, belief system, fictional world, theory, hypothetical world, counterfactual situation, segment of text, DatabaseGroup, or the state of our own real world, among other things. Contexts can be nested, combined, or intersected. For example, a Context consisting of a TimeInterval can be intersected with a Context consisting of a GeographicalArea to make a Context within with assertions are explicitly true only in that time and place. That does not mean, of course that the assertion cannot be true elsewhere; it just doesn't guranteee truth elsewhere. Every assertion in the COSMO ontology is implicitly true only in the context of the COSMO ontology, which is itself a theory. But that implicit qualification does not appear directly in any asertion - it can be explicitly mentioned if and when COSMO assertions are referenced in other ontologies. The nesting of Contexts provides a mechanism to create a 'lattice' of theories. In a subcontext for any given Context, all the assertions of the parent Context will be true in the subcontext, and additional assertions may also be true. In this respect, a Context is similar to the 'Microtheories' of the Cyc ontology system; it also has some resemblance to the 'Environments' discussed by Ballim and Wilks ('Artifical Believers', Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991). One specialized example of Context is a 'DatabaseGroup'. In a particular Organization, its set of Databases, if intended to represent some consistent group of facts, can be viewed and represented as a Context within which reasoning may be performed. holdsInContext relates a reified Proposition to a Context in which it is asserted to be true. The Context may be as simple as a TimeInteral or a Database, or it may be a complex context which is a conjunction of a time interval, a location, a belief system, and any other thing tha might affect the truth of an assertion. Context in COSMO is used solely as a syntactic device to provide an umbrella category that can serve as the argument restriction on the 'holdsInContext' statement. There is no general 'theory' of context implied in this usage. Other than its syntactical usage, the only thing that can be asserted about 'contexts' generally is that the principle of non-contradiction holds only in a single context, and for assertions defined in different contexts, it cannot be expected that they will be necessarily true in any other context. Any set of assertions (including this ontology) will have an implied enveloping context. If the assertions are to be reused, it is necessary to be sure that the context of reuse is the same as that of the original set of assertions. Each SituationalContextComponent is one of the components of the situation in which an IntelligentEntity finds itself, of which it must be aware in order to act or respond appropriately so as to fulfill its goals. Each SituationalContextComponent is defined relative to a particular CognitiveAgent whose actions are being represented in the ontology. The PhysicalContext in a Situational is the set of physical objects and attributes that exist at a particular time an in a particular place that affect the way an Agent will make a decision, and may affect the outcome of that decision. A simple PhysicalContext is, for example, who is present and interacting with the Agent. What is the location, time, temperature? Is the agent indoors or outdoors? On land or sea, or underwater? Is anything happening that can physcally affect the Agent? The SocialContext in a Situational is the set of people that an Agent is in contact with, or is acting on behalf of, directly or indirectly, at a particular time. It also includes prior interactions and goals that affector are affected by agents other than the one . A SystemContext is a SituationalContextComponent that is specific for computational agents, whether physical (a computer system including hardware) or merely software. A computational system can be viewed as one agent, though it may include within it multiple software agents. The SystemContext will include anything affecting the ability of the agent to act, including, among other things, the hardware resources available for use - power sources (line or batteries) CPU, disks, RAM, terminals, network connections, anything else connected to a system port, etc. The NetworkContext of a computational system consists of the number, type, and status of network connections connected to system ports, as well as any the type and status of software components that have the capbility of interacting with networks. A 'netowrk' includes only those communications links that are connected to other computers; links to other devices such as measuring devices or non-network output devices, are not condered as part of the 'network'. GenericLocation is the Type representing the most general notion of location, which can be abstract or concrete, a region of space (including an abstract space, such as the Internet considered as a set of nodes and links, where the nodes can represent computers whose physical location may vary), a point in space, or a physical object (e.g. building, ship, room). NOTE that an Address is not a location, but a label for a location. See 'Address'. NOTE: although *almost* all GenericLocations are exclusively spatial in some way, there is one 'TimeAndPlace' that is spatiotemporal, being a region of space-time that specifies some region of space over some interval of time. Use of an instance of 'TimeAndPlace' as an argument of a location relation allows one to include the important time interval qualifier in location relations, even though one is using only binary relations. this would not be necessary in a representation with higher-arity relations. This is somewhat similar to the Cyc 'Location-Underspecified' Cyc comment: The collection of locations, tangible or otherwise, which are typically conceptualized by human beings for purposes of common-sense reasoning as 'locations'. This collection thus includes tangible Places such as #$Ireland-TheIsland, as well as metaphoric locations. For instance, many states-of-being are conceptualized as abstract locations, such as Trouble ('he saw trouble ahead'), Depression ('she fell into a ...'), #$Happiness ('they found bliss together'). be14f511-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Synonym of GenericLocation, included here as a pointer to the Cyc element. A RelativeLocation is a location that is explicitly relative to something else, which may be a region or an object. All locations are ultimately 'relative' in the sense that they can only be understood by reference to a distance and/or oritentation with respect to some object. However, this Type 'RelativeLocation' is intended to represent those locations that are explicitly relative to something else, in particular objects or regions that are part of some other object or region. isAheadOf relates one location to another location that is behind the first by some spatial interval. 'behind' and 'ahead' imply some direction, but the direction is not specified here. Often the implied direction is a direction of movement for the thing that is 'behind', i.e. a person in a car travelling on a highway may say that a city is 'fifty miles ahead', or another car on the highway is 'fifty feet ahead'. The relations specified by 'ahead' are inherently multiple arity - including two locations (or objects) and some reference to the direction. In an OWL binary formalism, it would be necessary to use {?Obj2 isAheadOf ?Obj1} with {{?Obj2 and ?Obj1} isLocatedAt ?Path} Where {?Obj2 and ?Obj1} is a pair of objects (or locations). But even here, it is not necessarily clear that the 'ahead' refers to that particular ?Path. The full description of 'ahead' should use multiple arity relations. This is a placeholder, for the OWL version of COSMO. This is the most generic generic 'location' relation, and differs from its subProperty 'isLocatedAt' only in that to be 'located at or on' includes the possibility that some pile of objects may be located in some open container and extend beyond the top of the container, but will move when that container moves because it is held to the container by the force of gravity or by some topological constraint. The subproperty 'isLocatedAt' means that the thing located is wholly locaed within the spatial region coextensie with the convex hull of the thing or place where it is located. Thus a pile of coal in an open railway coal car can be said to be 'contained' in the coal car even though it may extend above the top of the coal car; it will go wherever the coal car goes, as long as it satisfies this relation. Likewise, flowers in a vase are located 'at or on' the vase, though they typically extend beyond the top of the vase, and the top of the flowers may even be above the vase by more than the height of the vase. The 'isContainedIn' relation is a subproperty of this relation; therefore if {?x isContainedIn ?Obj} then {?x isLocatedAtOrOn ?Obj}. NOTE, however that 'isSupportedBy' is not a subtype of 'isLocatedAtOrOn' because the supporting object may be flat and extensive, and the supported object may extend well above the surface of the supporting object.. A general 'location' relation for objects and regions (but not for Events - use 'occurredAt'). The location can be a region of space (connected or disconnected) or an object (physical or abstract). Being 'located' at an Object means being located within the convex hull of the Object, But recall that a GeographicalRegion includes some space above the surface of that region, so it is possible that ?obj isLocateAt a GeographicalRegion even if it is in the air not far above the surface of that region. If a pile of objects or a large object is 'contained' in an open-top container, and extends above the top of that container, it cannot be said to be 'located at' thet container, in this sense. For that case, use 'isContainedIn' or its parent 'isLocatedAtOrOn'. The value (object) of this relation answers the question 'where is it?' (for the subject) in some sense. Somewhat non-intuitively, this relation can be used to specify that some set of beliefs (a BeliefSystem) is held by on or more people, since the BeliefSystem is considered an InformationStore that can have a physical location; that is, beliefs are located in the heads of people, or of Groups of people. However, NOTE that specific diseases cannot be located in people by this relation, because a Disease is considered as an Event. Use 'occurredAt' for relating specific instances of Disease to particular people or groups of people. NOTE that this is an instance-level relation and describes where an object is actually located at some particular time. For describing where objects typically are located (e.g. parts of the body), use 'isNormallyLocatedAt', a relation that can take a individual Object or an ObjectType as the subject NOTE: 'isLocatedAt' may be used with an instance of 'TimeAndPlace' (a four-dimensional portion of aspace-time) in the object position of the relation, to specify the location of some thing (but not Events) over some interval of time, using a binary relation. Although this relation is transitive, there are permitted range instances that cannot bw located at some permitted domain instances: for example, a 'TimeAndPlace' will never be locatedAt an Object or region that is not itself Four-dimensional, unless the domain instance is nominally a TimeAndPlace, but with the Time dimension of zero length, in which case the domain instance is effectively three-dimensional. But in general, if the subject is a TimeAndPlace, the Object should also be a TimeAndPlace, not a Region or Object. To avoid unintended errors, this restriction should be encoded as a constraint. NOTE: this relation is close in meaning to that of the OBO_REL relation 'located_in' (http://www.obofoundry.org/ro/#OBO_REL:located_in). In OBO some relations may also be used on Types to create an implicit restriction, but such usage is not part of COSMO, and that usage would need to be represented as a rule. OBO_REL: located_in (see http://www.obofoundry.org/ro/) OBO comments for located_in: Location as a relation between instances: The primitive instance-level relation c located_in r at t reflects the fact that each continuant is at any given time associated with exactly one spatial region, namely its exact location. Following we can use this relation to define a further instance-level location relation - not between a continuant and the region which it exactly occupies, but rather between one continuant and another. c is located in c1, in this sense, whenever the spatial region occupied by c is part_of the spatial region occupied by c1. Note that this relation comprehends both the relation of exact location between one continuant and another which obtains when r and r1 are identical (for example, when a portion of fluid exactly fills a cavity), as well as those sorts of inexact location relations which obtain, for example, between brain and head or between ovum and uterus A 'location' relation for Events. For object or region locations, see 'isLocatedAt'. The location is a GenericLocation: region of space (connected or disconnected) or an object (physical or abstract) . The value of this relation answers the question 'where did it happen?'. NOTE that the use of the past tense in this relation does not necessarily mean that the Event argument occurred in the past before the assertion time; if the relation relates a possible future Event, this relation can also be used. The past tense merely emphasizes that we are discussing Events that, in the given context, are viewed as completed and not ongoing. This can also be used for types of Events, to specify a particular location where they always occur. But to specify types of locations where types of Events usually occur, use 'typicallyOccursAt'. A Type-level 'location' relation for Events, to specify that a certain type of Event usually occurs at a certain type of location. For the instance-level location relation for Events, use 'occurredAt'. For object or region locations, see 'isLocatedAt'. The location specified is a GenericLocation: region of space (connected or disconnected) or an object (physical or abstract) . The value of this relation answers the question 'where does it usually happen?'. . A Type-level 'location' relation for Events, to specify that a certain type of Event usually occurs *inside* a certain type of object. BFO Definition: An occurrent at or in which processual entities can be located. COSMO note: this concept in COSMO is very generic,a nd can be used to specify a spatiotemporal region of any shape. To specify a spatiotemporal region of a more defined shape, use 'TimeAndPlace', for which the spatial shape of the region will depend on the 'location' component of the instance defined. BFO Examples: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a human life, the spatiotemporal region occupied by the development of a cancer tumor, the spatiotemporal context occupied by a process of cellular meiosis spatiotemporal_region A TimeAndPlace is a GenericLocation during some interval of time. It is a four-dimensional spatial region in the way that a time-slice of a PhysicalObject is a four-dimensional Object. These concepts are related inheriting the character of the TimeSlice Type. this is a SpatiotemporalRegion that has an explicit location and an explicit time interval specified. The location is generic, therefore it can be defined relative to some object; i.e. one can specify the location of the heart of an individual person over some period of time as an instance of this Type. NOTE: That 'TimeAndPlace' is a subtype of GenericLocation, as well as of SpatiotemporalRegion. Although *almost* all GenericLocations are exclusively spatial, 'TimeAndPlace' is spatiotemporal, being a region of space-time that specifies some region of space over some interval of time. Use of an instance of 'TimeAndPlace' as an argument of a location relation allows one to include the important time interval qualifier in location relations, even though one is using only binary relations. this would not be necessary in a representation with higher-arity relations. hasSpatialRegion specifies the spatial component of a TimeAndPlace (of zero to three dimensions) which is extended in time to generate a TimeAndPlace. hasTimeInterval specifies the time component which extends the spatial component of a TimeAndPlace into the time dimension, to generate the TimeAndPlace which is the subject of this relation. The intent of this relation can be alternatively specified by filling in the values for the beginning and starting times inherited from 'TimeSlice'. Any measure of length of time, with or without respect to the universal timeline. Time unit. 1 day = 24 hours. The Class of all calendar Days. NOTE: subtypes of this type may represent individual calendar days, or recurring days such as days of the year or days of the week. #$Street-Generic is a specialization of both #$Roadway and #$UrbanArea. Each instance of #$Street-Generic is a #$Roadway located inside a city or town. NOTE: a modern street is typically paved, but that is not a necessary attribute of a Street. bd58f514-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A typical busy street in an urban area. This is the physical object that is the street, not a region of space. It would extend down to the underlying soil, and include all materials added (such as crushed gravel) to prepare the roadbed. COSMO note: This 'street; Type is interpreted as the full public right-of-way, including the sidewalks, up to the private property line of the property bordering on the street. A RealEstate bounded by a street will therefore be related to the street by 'isAdjacentTo'. bd58b4f8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A #$Place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population, including cities, settlements, towns, and villages. It does not include #$Locales. This is a synonym for 'Settlement': 'Settlement' is a very general concept of some area that has people residing in it, the people in it recognizing the area as having an identity distinct from that of other areas. It can be very small or very large. This is similar to the notion of "Populated Place" used in geographical Databases. OCM thesaurus: the topic of 'Settlements' is described: General statements covering several specific aspects of the physical configuration and material facilities of settlements ranging in size and complexity from a temporary camp to a great metropolis. To distinguish early-stage settlements from more established ones, the term 'Settlement' is reserved for this general concept, and 'EarlySettlement' for an early-stage settlement. acf243a4-24df-41d7-92f0-8a8fd5ad2507 A synonym for 'Settlement' used in Geographical Information systems. Any region on the surface of the Earth, within the Earth's atmosphere, or on some object itself located on the surface of the Earth (including on ships at sea), which is not inside of an enclosed structure. See 'OutdoorsObject' for further elaboration. The Cyc 'OutdoorLocation' is very similar - not yet (V0.2) clear if it is different. A specialization of #$GeographicalRegion. Each instance of #$OutdoorLocation is a region of outdoor space; i.e. a region that is directly subject to atmospheric weather. Thus, the collection #$OutdoorLocation does _not_ include as instances any instances of #$UnderwaterLocation (q.v.) or any places that are underground (see #$Underground). Specializations of #$OutdoorLocation include #$MountainRange, #$Stream, and #$Highway. bd58b186-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$GeographicalRegion. Each instance of #$HumanResidenceArea is a region in which a number of people live semi-permanently (that is, for a duration of at least a year or more). Examples include #$SanFranciscoBayArea, #$ResearchTrianglePark, research stations at the #$SouthPole, and radar posts in the Aleutians. bd58caab-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A subcollection of #$HumanResidenceArea. Each instance of #$UrbanArea is a geographical region the whole of which (more or less) is characterized by typically urban features (such as streets, buildings, businesses, houses, schools, sidewalks, sewer systems, power lines, automobiles, pedestrians, and so on). An urban area might be as small as an inner-city street corner or as large as the New York City Metropolitan Area. By default, urbanness is a stuff-like property of human residence areas: (nearly) every subregion of an #$UrbanArea is itself an #$UrbanArea. Examples include #$UTAustinCampus, #$ResearchTrianglePark, and the territorial extent of various cities (#$CityOfAustinTX, #$CityOfToulouseFrance, etc.). bd58caec-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A collection of urban regions. Instances of #$CityBlock are usually roughly rectangular regions within cities or towns that are bounded by four streets running approximately at right angles to each other, and such that they do not spatially subsume any other such regions. City blocks are often divided into one or more instances of #$LotOfLand, on which typically stand houses or other buildings. NOTE: a Region, not a PhysicalObject. A block can be empty of structures, so there is no necessary connection. A CityBlock may have some thoroughfares in it - access roads, driveways, so it is not necessarily devoid of roadways. The usage will be conventional, that is, anything usually thought of or referred to in the same sense as a well-demarcated city block can be represented as an instance of CityBlock, even if it is not neatly adjoined by urban streets on every side. SUMO: A square-shaped area surrounded by Roadways which is part of a City and typically contains Buildings. bdf4b730-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO Note: a GeopoliticalArea is the spatial region containing the physical portion of earth controlled by a Geopolitical agent (the government of a country or subdivision). It is not a physical object, but contains all objects on or near the earth's surface, so that an object 'locatedAt' any region will also be 'locatedAt' any larger region containing] the first region. SUMO: Any GeographicArea which is associated with some sort of political structure. This class includes Lands, Cities, districts of cities, counties, etc. Note that the identity of a GeopoliticalArea may remain constant after a change in borders. COSMO Note: in SUMO named 'Nation'. Here we make it unambigous that it is the spatial region containing the physical part of the Earth that is represented, not the objects in that region nor the governmental organization controlling that region. A CountryArea is controlled by a Country (a GeopoliticalEntity) SUMO: Nation: The physical area, not the organization The broadest GeopoliticalArea, i.e. Nations are GeopoliticalAreas that are not part of any other overarching and comprehensive governance structure (excepting commonwealths and other sorts of loose international organizations). The spatial region of the Earth's surface encompassed by the borderlines of a City. COSMO Note: in SUMO named 'City'. Here we make it unambigous that it is the spatial region containing the physical part of the Earth that is represented, not the physical objects in the region, nor the governmental organization that controls the region.. The physical objects in that region are represented separately, and are located at the geopolitical area SUMO: A LandArea of relatively small size, inhabited by a community of people, and having some sort of political structure. Note that this class includes both large cities and small settlements like towns, villages, hamlets, etc. An area that is part of a City, not necessarily corresponding to official political district lines. The physical area of The city of London, the capital of the United Kingdom. This object includes the space containing everything in the city (at any given time), including the people. The physical area of the United Kingdom, including everything in it. The physical area of The city of New York. This object includes the space containing everything in the city (at any given time), including the people. The physical area of the United States of America, including the regions containing everything in it. The squarish region in New York City on which the two World Trade center towers were located on Sept. 10, 2001. -1 The city block on which the two World Trade Center towers were located, during the calendar day Sept. 11, 2001, EST (Z-5). The calendar day from 12:00 AM to the instant before 12 midnight on Sept. 11, 2001, EST (Z-5) New York City time. 9-11. isSomethingElseThan is a relation that specifies that the subject entity of the relation is **not** the object entity of the relation. This is a crude way of saying that one knows what something **is not**, even when one cannot be more specific about what something **is**. The subject and object should have a common Type, but that Type can be any Type. An unspecified location that is somewhere other than some reference location, for some interval of time. This 'location' category serves as the base element for the pointer to the location where something (person, vehicle) is known **not to be** (at some particular time). Being able to assert absence in a particular location does not necessarily mean that the true location of the individual thing is actually known - one may simply look around a room and say 'he's not here'. Usage: {?X isLocatedAt ?ALIBI} means that ?X was someplace other than the TimeAndPlace pointed to by the isSomethingOtherThan relation on the instance of TimeAndPlace that is the ?ALIBI. This Type allows one to express notions such as 'NN wasn't at the (meeting/party/scene of the crime/etc)' Every Alibi must specify exactly where and when an entity was absent, using the relation 'isSomethingOtherThan' and pointing to a TimeAndPlace. A synonym for 'Alibi'.. A synonym for 'Alibi'.. A TimeAndPlace that is disjoint from a particular country at a particular time. This is one sense of the English word 'abroad'. A TimeAndPlace that an object is not at, and is disjoint from some other TimeAndPlace. Very similar to 'Alibi', but can be used for convenience with the linguistic 'absent'. Can be used for inanimate objects, not just people. See also 'Absence' for the Event. Usage: {?X isLocatedAt ?ABSENT} means that ?X was someplace other than the TimeAndPlace pointed to by the isSomethingOtherThan relation on the instance of TimeAndPlace that is the ?ABSENT. Absence is an Event that consists of some object being absent, and takes place in an Absent (a TimeAndPlace where something is not present.). For each instance, the Object absent and place of absence must be specified. Linguistically the phrase 'J wasn't at work on Monday' can be expressed as an Absence Event. An Event when some specified thing didn't happen. Similar to a PersistentState, but used differently. Someplace other than the US territory during the 24 hours of 7/15/2007, New York Time. points from one entity in the COSMO ontology to another entity in some named Context within which the entity in the Context has a direct equivalance to the ontology entity is the subject of the triple. This permits the ad hoc definition of a Context within which reasoning can occur. This relation is inherently ternary, and should be elaborated when Ternary relations are represented. See also the relations on Databases - such as 'correspondsToTable' Together with the relation 'isDefinedInContext' it is possible to create ad hoc (or map) a set of terms that are synonymous with entities in the COSMO (or an extension) and perform reasoning only on terms within that Context. This contemplates at least two scenarios: (1) some previous conceptual classification is imported, and because of name clashes, is given its own namespace, which is defined as a Context. For those names that clash, the entity in the imported Context is given a namespace prefix to keep it unique within the overall ontology. The reasoning engine should then reason only within a given Context. (2) To make a subset of the overall ontology for efficiency purposes, a Context can be defined and each entity in the overall ontology that is needed in the new dcontext will be related to that Context by this relation ('correspondsToEntityInContext'). The reasoning engine will then be able to recognize a Context within which reasoning and inference can be confined. isNearTo specifies that some GenericLocation (an Object or a Region) is 'near' to another, but (usually) not touching the other. 'near' is relative to the size of the things being related. To be 'near' another region or object, the distance from one Object or Region to the other must be within two diameters of the larger object or region. NOTE that 'isSupportedBy' is a subproperty of 'isNearTo'. If two objects are touching, that can be represented as a 'TouchingState'. In SUMO treated as an attribute: SUMO: (Near) The relation of common sense adjacency. Note that, if an object is Near another object, then the objects are not connected.. isAdjacentTo specifies that some GenericLocation (an Object or a Region) is 'adjacent' to another. This means that it might be touching, with nothing in between, or might be separated by some thin space, which might have a name, as in a 'crack' or a sulcus in the brain. If there is a solid object separating them, two GenericLocations can be 'near' but not 'adjacent'. NOTE that this relation makes intuitive sense only when the adjacent objects are of comparable size. We do not usually say that a bacterium on the skin is 'adjacent to' the skin. A different (perhaps more general) relation should be defined for such cases, because the gap that exists in non-touching cases can be large relative to one object and small relative to the other. NOTE: this is similar to the instance-level OBO_REL relation 'adjacent_to', except that this COSMO relation is solely an instance relation and is not used at the Type level. For specifying the typical relations of Types (as in the OBO definition below), a separate class-level relation and inference axioms will be required. OBO_REL: relation adjacent_to: (only the instance-level relation is similar to COSMO 'isAdjacentTo'. Definition: C adjacent to C' if and only if: given any instance c that instantiates C at a time t, there is some c' such that: c' instantiates C' at time t and c and c' are in spatial proximity. OBO Comments: Note that adjacent_to as thus defined is not a symmetric relation, in contrast to its instance-level counterpart. For it can be the case that Cs are in general such as to be adjacent to instances of C1 while no analogous statement holds for C1s in general in relation to instances of C. Examples are: nuclear membrane adjacent_to cytoplasm; seminal vesicle adjacent_to urinary bladder; ovary adjacent_to parietal pelvic peritoneum Specifies the context in which the synonymous term is synonymous with the base domain argument term. Specifies the frequency with which the synonymous term, when encountered in the specified context, actually labels the meaning represented by the base entity which is synonymous. Each Attribute is an entity that has an AttributeType and some form of AttributeValue; it can serve as the value of a 'hasAttribute' relation. There are three subtypes of Attribute: QuantitativeAttribute, QualitativeAttribute, and IntensiveAttribute. In COSMO, the representation of 'attributes' (properties in informal terms) includes two or three aspects, depending on whether the Attribute is qualitative or quantitative, respectiely: (1) the AttributeType (Color, Length, Flexibility). The AttributeType specifies the kind of attribute that is being represented (2) the AttributeValue (Color -Red; Length - 10 feet; Flexibility - high) for quantitative attributes (10 feet, 30 pounds) the AttributeValue is composed of both a number and a UnitOfMeasure. The UnitOfMeasure values include 'Dimensionless', a pure number (e.g. as an attribute of 'Cardinality' for a Group) In the case of quantitative attributes, rather than pointing from an instance of Attribute to a QuantitativeAttributeValue, the relations 'hasUnit' and 'hasQuantifier'can point directly to the UnitOfMeasure and the Quantifier. An instance of QuantitativeAttributeValue can be represented as the UnitOfMeasure and the quantifier, separately, specified by relations 'hasUnit' and 'hasQuantifier'. If the implementation allows use of functions, a QuantitativeAttributeValue can be represented as a functin term such as {25.6 feet}. For QualitativeAttributes the AttributeValue may be directly represented. For IntensiveAttributes, the AttributeValue can have interal-type intensity values such as 'Low', 'Medium', 'High'. The type of an Attribute is specified as the value of the 'hasType' relation. AttributeTypeType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for AttributeTypes (length, mass), and an argument restriction for various relations on AttributeType types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. takesValue relates an AttributeType to the AttributeValues that instantiate the AttributeType. For example, the AttribugeType Length will be instantiated by an the type 'LengthMeasure'. This relation is similar to the 'instance' relation, but is specific to the relationship between AttributeTypes and AttributeValues, used to implement the specfici method of representing attributes that is adopted for COSMO.. The inverse of 'takesValue'. QuantitativeAttributeType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for QuantitativeAttributes (length, mass), and an argument restriction for various relations on AttributeType types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. An IntensiveAttribute is an Attribute that consists of an AttributeType and an Intensity. The values of an IntensiveAttribute will cover broad ranges and will not in general be mutually exclusive, as the ranges may overlap, and may depend on subjective judgments. A FunctionalAttribute is an Attribute that can serve as a function when modifying a type of thing, selecting from that type those instances that have a particular property. They are functional because the property selected may vary somewhat with the type that is modified. At some ppint, subtypes of this type may be defined to aggregate FunctionalAttributes that have some common features. The functionality is not expressible in OWL and will be used when Natural Language interpretation applications are built using the COSMO ontology. Until then, the instance of FunctionalAttribute sere to contain notes regarding the intended meaning of these terms, which will only be executable using a more expressive rerpresentation formalism. For example: Adjectives like 'large', 'small', 'good', bad' can depend for their interpretation in complex ways on the nature of the word they are modifying. They also select subtypes from a type that is named by the word being modified by the adjective, but the subtypes are not simply the intersection of the type being modified and some other type. The adjective selects members of the type based on criteria peculiar to the adjective and the type. For example, a 'red car' is a car whose sheet metal appears red (usually being painted by paint of that color). A 'pink grapefruit' is pink only on the inside, and may not have an external appearance different from a yellow grapefruit. A 'red brick' is red at all points on the surface, and if broken, is the same color red on the newly exposed surfaces. A 'red liquid' will have a different intensity of color depending on the concentration of pigment in the liquid and on the length of the path through which the light one sees has traversed. These differences of meaning must be encoded in the logical representation of the function. An AttributeValue can be a FunctionalAttribute also, but is not necessarily so. If used in the predicative position {Car23 is Red} , it takes the usual interpretation that it is specifying an attribute of a specific object. The FunctionalAttribute 'Typical', when modifying some type, is a function that creates a subtype of the type modified, and all instances of that subtype have one or more properties that are held by most of the members of that type. Deciding what properties to select to interpret something as 'typical' of its type can vary from one person to another. The properties that make a thing typical will be specified within the meaning of this fuction, and will vary with the type being modified. Thus this function may be very complex in its implementation. One possible means of simplifying this function is to keep the list of properties that are considered in deciding 'typicality' as part of the description of the type itself. Typicality will be a function of the type, and will not constrain the typicality of subtypes. Thus the type (Typical Person) will contain many instances that are not present in the type (Typical Infant), and (Typcial Infant) will contain instances not present in (Typical PrematureBaby). In practice, the values of the attributes that are decisive in determnining typicality may be ranges of values rather than individual values, such as the height of a typical person. This method of interpreting the meaning of modification of nouns by adjectives has not yet (v0.48) been implemented in a Language Understanding program. The FunctionalAttribute 'Active', when modifying some type, is a function that creates a subtype of the type modified. It may also be an attribute of individuals, indicating that a particular individual is in some way acting when it might not be acting in the same way. This FunctionalAttribute will be quite complex, since there are multiple senses. The selection of the sense may be contained within pprocedures attached to either this attribute, or the type of thing that it might modify. The Random House Webster has 19 senses for the adjective 'active': 1. engaged in action; characterized by energetic work, participation, etc.; busy: an active life. 2. being in a state of existence, progress, or motion: active hostilities. WN(8) alive -- (in operation; "keep hope alive"; "the tradition was still alive"; "an active tradition") 3. involving physical effort and action: active sports. 4. having the power of quick motion; nimble: active as a gazelle. WN (5) characterized by energetic activity; "an active toddler"; "active as a gazelle"; "an active man is a man of action" 5. (frequency of activity characteristic of the type) characterized by action, motion, volume, use, participation, etc.: an active market in wheat; an active list of subscribers. WN(7) full of activity or engaged in continuous activity; "an active seaport"; "an active bond market"; "an active account") 6. causing activity or change; capable of exerting influence (opposed to passive): active treason. 7. effective (opposed to inert): active ingredients. WN: exerting influence or producing a change or effect 8. Gram. noting or pertaining to a voice of verbal inflection in which typically the subject of the sentence is represented as performing the action expressed by the verb (opposed to passive): Writes in He writes a letter every day is an active verb form. 9. requiring or giving rise to action; practical: an active course. 10. (of a volcano) in eruption. 11. Accounting. profitable; busy: active accounts. 12. requiring personal effort or attention; not automatic: an active alarm system. 13. interest-bearing: active paper. 14. Med. acting quickly; producing immediate effects: active remedies. 15. Sociol. (of a crowd) engaging in purposeful activity, often of a militant nature. Cf. expressive (def. 4). 16. Aerospace. able to transmit signals: an active communications satellite. 17. Electronics. (of a device or system) acting as a source of electrical energy, as a generator, or capable of amplifying or converting voltages or currents, as a transistor or diode. 18. (of a solar heating system) accumulating and distributing solar heat by mechanical means. 19. Mil. serving on active duty. The FunctionalAttribute 'Actual', when modifying some type, is a function that creates a subtype of the type modified. 'Actual' specifies something existing in the given situation, as opposed to something that might have been predicted or could have been otherwise: e.g. 'He should have been in Reno, but his actual location is Las Vegas.' The interpretaion of 'Actual' in a text will likely depend on previous portions of th text or context to determine what might otherwise have been true, as opposed to the actual thing which is true. The meaning overlaps with 'true' and 'real'. Each instance of Intensity is a value (high, low, medium, VeryHigh, etc.) which specifies the value of an IntensiveAttribute. The values of an IntensiveAttribute will cover broad ranges and will not in general be mutually exclusive, as the ranges may overlap, and may depend on subjective judgments. As with a QualitativeAttributeValue, an Intensity does not contain a Quantifier. But its verbally expressed vallues do contain some aspects of quantity, but not expressed in numbers. hasIntensity relates an IntensiveAttribute to the Value of the attribute (high, medium, low). This is a subproperty of hasAttributeValue. hasAttributeValue relates an Object or Substance to some AttributeValue which the Object may have. Each AttributeValue will be a value for at least one AttributeType, but this relation does not specify the AttributeType. For cases where an AttributeValue may measure more than one AttributeType, using this relation may leave ambiguity as to its precise meaning. COSMO Note: AttributeValues may be either classes (instances of AttributeValueType), or instances of AttributeValue. This allows one to express an attribute as a region (e.g. colors will bw classes, not instances, to permit subclassing), or for quantitative measures as instances (e.g. '25 feet'). For quantitative measures, the representation of measurements as classes would be conceptually permissible (the class representing the set of possible values, determined by the measured value and possible error), or as instances of measure to which an uncertainty value has been attached. The specific subrelations (subproperties, in OWL) of 'hasAttributeValue' will in some cases have their range restricted to AttributeValueType of AttributeValue. isAnAttributeValueOf is the inverse of 'hasAttributeValue'. This relation will be used explicitly only in special cases where particular AttributeValues are appropriately applied only to specific types of things. hasAttribute relates an Object or Substance to some Attribute which the Object may have. Each Attribute will explictly include an AttributeType and an AttributeValue. For cases where an AttributeValue may measure more than one AttributeType, using this relation may leave ambiguity as to its precise meaning. This may be used where it is desirable or necessary to explicitly specify the AttributeType as well as the value. Thus a Length will have 'Length' as its AttributeType and some length measure as the value. In COSMO the formalism is adopted that an instance of Attribute can also be an instance of TimeSlice. If hasAttribute points to an instance of Attribute that is an instance of TimeSLice, that is equivalent to specifying that the Attribute applies at all points in the duration of the TimeSlice, i.e. remains constant during that time interval. NOTE That if an Object is specified as having some Attribute during some interval of time, that is equivalent to specifying the existence of a PersistentState for that Object during that interval. hasQualitativeAttribute relates individual Objects or substances to some qualitative attribute (a subclass of QualitativeAttributeValue) that the object has. The accurate use of this property for substances is difficult to express in OWL. Since Substances are classes, to describe a qualitative attribute of a substance, in OWL one would need a metatype specifically for each substance, which multiplies reified entities unnecessarily. A FOL rule would be easy to construct to correctly relate the substances to their properties, but for COSMO version 0.2 a work-around for such a rule is not yet on hand. The restrictions on substances should be interpreted as meaning necessary conditions on all subclasses of the substances. An AttributeValue is the actual value of some AttributeType possessed by some object, such as six feet for a length, or red for a color. Individual AttributeValues are represented as Types (classes) in COSMO, not as instances. IMPORTANT NOTE: the values represented by each of these AttributeValue Types are here viewed as a region ('Quality Space') in which the actual particular value (see Type 'Quality') is located. Thus one may say an object has a 'Red' color, but later refine the description to say it has a 'Fire Red' color. The 'Fire Red' is also a color region, contained within the 'Red' color region. For quantitative measures, representing attributes as classes allows approximate measures to be built in to the ontology itself. One may specify a range for a measure, and any other measure within or overlapping that range can be considered as 'indistinguishable from' (not 'equal to') the other measure. NOTE: under consideration - the possibility of expressing the possession of an attribute for some interval of time by creating instances of AttributeValue or of Attribute that are also TimeSlices, with the time interval of the TimeSlice representing the time interval during which the Attribute was had. This has an advantage over using timeSlice to creat 4D TimeSllices of an object, and then attributing an Attribute to it - in that one need not create new instances of an Object, which may not be easily associated with the 3D object. A QualitativeAttributeValue is the value of some AttributeType which is not expressed in quantitative measures. It can be an attribute of an abstract thing or of a concrete physical object. NOTE that adjectives expressing qualities in English often have a nominalized form: 'Red-Redness' or 'Beautiful-Beauty'. A QuantitativeAttributeValue is a value for some AttributeType which is expressed in quantitative measures. Examples are {10 feet} and {32 degreesF}. An instance of QuantitativeAttributeValue can be represented by creating a reified instance, and then using the relations 'hasUnit' and 'hasQuantifier' to specify the UnitOfMeasure and the quantifier, respectively. . If the implementation allows use of functions, a QuantitativeAttributeValue can be represented, without reification in the ontology, as a function term such as {25.6 feet}. An EvaluativeAttribute is a QualitativeAttributeValue for some entity, concrete or abstract, that reflects the judgment of an IntelligentAgent regarding that entity. the judgment may be objective or subjective, but will be relative to some purpose. An AttractivenessValue is an EvaluativeAttribute that reflects a judgment regarding the ability of an object or event to cause pleasure (or displeasure) when observing the object or event. Subtypes of this AttributeValue have the AtributeType 'Attractiveness'. 'Attractive' is an AttributeValue of an object or event that causes pleasure when observing the object or event. A more intense value of this AttributeValue are the subtype 'Beautiful'. An attribute of a Person who is Attractive. NOTE in Cyc this is a type of object, which is a different way of expressing attributes than in COSMO. bd58f9b5-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 'Beautiful' is a subtype of 'Attractive' expressing the ability to cause a high level of pleasure when viewing an object or event. NOTE that to 'have beauty' is the same as to 'be beautiful', so this sense is systematically related to the sense of the word 'beauty'. This is similar to sense 1 of the RandomHouse Webster: 1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). A high intensity of 'Beautiful', specifically applied to women.. NOTE in Cyc this is a type of object, which is a different way of expressing attributes than in COSMO. bd58f973-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 'Unattractive' is an AttributeValue of an object or event that causes mild displeasure when observing the object or event. A more intense value of this AttributeValue is the subtype 'Ugly'. 'Ugly' is an AttributeValue of an object or event that causes strong displeasure when observing the object or event. An Attribute having some percent intensity, such as percent unemployed (same as UnemploymentRate). It is a type of Attribute in which the quantitative element is a PercentageAttributeValue (represented in COSMO by a number, followed by 'percent', as in {25 percent}. A PercentageAttribute should have an AttributeType that specifies what the percentage is about. The AttributeValue will be an instance of PercentageAttributeValue'. Thus the instance of PercentageAttribute named 'Unemployment5.9pct' might have relations (hasAttributeType Unemployment5.9pct UnemploymentRate) (hasValue Unemployment5.9pct {5.9 percent}). AssertionConfidence is an AttributeType that applies to assertions, and expresses a quantitative measuer of belief by the person making the assertion that the assertion is true. A ConfidenceLevel is an Attribute of an assertion that quantitatively expresses the belief of the person making the assertion that the assertion is true. The value of the confidence level is a percentage, expressed as real number from 0 to 1 with the units 'percent'. A QuantitativeAttributeValue consisting of having percentage of some attribute. Each PercentageAttributeValue points to a Percentage, and may have other characteristics, such as specifying how the Percentage was measured. 'hasConfidenceLevel' relates an assertion (which can be a data record in a database) to the numerical confidence (expressed as a percent) that the assertion is true. In COSMO 'TruthValue' is considered an Attribute of either an Abstract Proposition or a linguistic Assertion. See also the subtype 'YesOrNo'. Cyc: #$TruthValue is a collection of mathematical objects; it contains the abstract, logical objects #$True and #$False. SUMO: The Class of truth values, e.g. True and False. These are Attributes of Sentences and Propositions. bd58e3ba-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The prefix used in front of truth codes that are expressed as 'true' 'false' or 'yes' or 'no' or some abbreviation or variant spelling of those. Y YES y Yes yes True true N T F NO n no No False false f Each instance of YesOrNo is a TruthValue that represents either a 'yes' or a 'no' answer to a question. Single chars ('Y') or full words ('YES') are included as instances. Together with the question, it represents a truth value for an assertion which is the answer to the question. NOTE;the word 'no' can serve as a determiner or quantifier: 'Yes, we have no bananas'. But the word 'no' would be represented by an entity labeled with the CodeListPrefix 'WORD_'. So this instance is not the word 'no' and is not a Determiner. NOTE;the word 'no' can serve as a determiner or quantifier: 'Yes, we have no bananas'. But the word 'no' would be represented by an entity labeled with the CodeListPrefix 'WORD_'. So this instance is not the word 'no' and is not a Determiner. NOTE;the word 'no' can serve as a determiner or quantifier: 'Yes, we have no bananas'. But the word 'no' would be represented by an entity labeled with the CodeListPrefix 'WORD_'. So this instance is not the word 'no' and is not a Determiner. An AssertionalAttribute is an AttributeType That points to an Assertion or a Question. The value of Attributes of this type will be in the form 'true' or 'false' for assertions, and 'yes' or 'no' for questions. Age is an Attribute that specifies the magnitude of the time interval between 'now' and when an entity first started to exist. IT can be applied to Objects and People. Age is the quantitative measure of an Age. Its units will be units of time. In COSMO units such as 'yearsOld', 'monthsOld' and 'daysOld' are use as the units for Age. A CaptivityAttribute is the AttributeType That points to the question of whether a person or animal is or is not in captivity. All domestic animals would have the status of being in captivity (even if they prefer to stay at home) (@ToDO should be differentiated. At r603 just starting). Values should include 'hostage'. An alternative way of expressing the relation 'hasCaptivityStatus' - here as a pointer to the method used in COSMO to express the notion of being 'captured'. A TruthAttribute is an expression equivalent to the answer 'yes' or 'no' to some question, or to the values 'true' or 'false' to some assertion. For 'ye' or 'no' answers to questions, the question will be represented by the AttributeType. The value is qualitative. CaptivityStatus is an Attribute of a person (not an animal) indicating whether that person is in captivity, i.e. is in the custody of someone else. The values 'yes' or 'no' are the answer to the question: is this person in captivity? This is a general captivity status, not discriminating between captivity by police, armed forces, rogue militias, or other individuals. Subtypes can be more specific. (@ToDo: or a relation 'isHeldBy' on this Attribute could be used. Not done r603) hasCaptivityStatus relates a Person to that's person's status of either being in captivity or not. At this point (r603) no distinctions are made as to type or location of captivity, or duration. A Measurement is an OrderedPair representing the result of a MeasurementEvent. It is an abstract representation of a MeasurableQuantity. Each instance of Measurement is an OrderedPair in which the first element is a UnitOfMeasure or other Quantifiable AttributeValue, and the second element is a quantity expressing some kind of magnitude associated with that UnitOfMeasure. The magnitude will typically be a number indicating, for example, how many individuals have that attribute, or a percentage indicating what fraction of a group have that Attribute. A Prevalence will typically be one element of a Distribution. NOTE that a Measurement does not have to use actual numbers in the 'Quantifier' field - a Measurement may be approximate, using quantities like 'High', 'Low', etc. qualifying an AttributValue, but it does hae to modify a unit of measure. A Prevalence is a Measurement expressing the intensity of some one AttributeValue out of set of attribute values that are related in some way. This is a general type of Measurement that might be included in a Distribution. A Distribution is a Group of quantitative measures of the prevalence (often a percentage) of some AttributeValue. It may be relevant to an Individual, but is usually of relevance to a Group of entities. For distributions of characteristics among a GroupOfPeople, use 'PopulationCharacteristicDistribution'. A group of numbers expressing the fraction of some population that has a particular value for some category of population attribute. This is not a simple number, but a group of numbers. hasDefaultVariance is used to specify a default variance for a given type of measure, and can can be set differently by each application; but for most precise interoperability, it should be the same for all applications. The default variance for a measure can be absolute or relative. One might specify that all temperature measures are accurate to plus or minus one degree Fahrenheit - which might make sense in some applications. A relative value can be of several types: one might say that any measure is accurate only to within 1% of the nominal value, or might say that every measure is accurate to within plus or minus one digit in the last significant digit of the measure. The 'plus or minus' range by default is the conventional variance, within which any measure has a 67% likelihood of being found. The default variance will be used only if an explicit variance is not specified. If the value of a the varance (expected error) of a measurement is known, each such measurement value can have its individual variance set using the relation 'hasVariance'. hasVariance can be used to specify the variance (confidence interval, error range) for each individual measurement of a QuantitativeAttributeValue, when the variance is known or can be approximated. To specify a default variance for a type of measurement, the relation 'hasDefaultVariance' should be used. This value can be set differently for each type of quantitative measure and each application.. A salient and distinguishing AttributeValue. An AttributeType is a general category of attribute, i.e. some property that adheres in an object, such as length or mass or color or shape for physical objects. More abstract objects such as sets or groups may have more abstract attributes such as cardinality. The distinction between attributes and relations between entities is not absolute. COSMO note: The use of two distinct trees of attribute-related types (AttributeType and AttributeValue) is intended to enable assertions with a linguistic form such as: {Jack has Height {6 feet}) where the second argument 'Height' specifies the general type of attribute, and the value '{6 feet}' specifies the specific attribute value, where 'feet' is a function returning a distance measure. This generic attribute assertion can then be used with other types of attributes, such as: {Jack has Weight {60 kilograms}) and {Car037 has Color RedColor). hasAttributeType relates an Attribute to the Type of the attribute. hasValue relates an Attribute to the Value of the attribute. The value may be qualitative (Flexible) or quantitative {10 feet}. NOTE that AttributeValues can take the form of either instances of AttributeValue or *subtypes* of AttributeValue, which are instances of AttributevalueType. The latter are used to allow for subclassing of AttributeValues, to allow inferring that having one value also implies having its parent AttributeValues (up to the least specific value). hasUnit relates an Attribute or QuantitativeAttributeValue to the UnitOfMeasure in which the value is expressed. For a length, for example, this might be meters, feet, miles, etc.. This relation may be used to relate quantitativeAttributes directly to their UnitOfMeasure (if they are quantiative attributes), or to relate the QuantitativeAttributeValue to its UnitOfMeasure. The direct relations allows one to specify QuantitativeAttributeValues without reifying the AttributeValue in addition to the Attribute. hasQuantifier relates a QuantitativeAttributeValue to the quantifier that indicates how many units large the value is. hasMeasure relates a QuantitativeAttributeValue to the AttributeType that the QuantitativeAttributeValue is a measure of. A LengthMeasure, for example, could be a measure of a distance, a diameter, a girth, oany other property or relation expressed in units of distance. The AttributeType that takes VitalityAttributeValue as its value. This AttributeType includes values such as dead, alive, conscious, awake, sleeping - all of which are subtypes of 'VitalityAttributeValue'.. An ExistenceAttribute is used to specify whether something exists in a particular context. The most important AttributeValue would be 'Extant' meaning that the object with that value exists in the real world at the time the assertion is made.. Each subtype of 'ExistenceValue' an ExistenceAttribute that is used to specify whether something exists in a particular context. The most important AttributeValue would be 'Extant' meaning that the object with that value exists in the real world at the time the assertion is made.. Having a value of 'Extant' at some particular time means that the object with that attribute existed in the real world at that time. 'Attractiveness' is an AttributeType that includes visual and other types of attractiveness, such as personality. Attractiveness is an attribute that causes pleasant feelings in people who observe the attractive thing, and is therefore highly subjective. HearingAttribute is an AttributeType of animals specifying the ability to hear sounds, relative to the abilities of the average animal of that species. Its values are intensive values, which are instances of 'HearingAcuity' such as 'excellent' 'very good', 'average' 'poor' and 'deaf'. A HearingAcuity is an AttributeValue of animals, of the type 'HearingAttribute' specifying the ability to hear sounds, relative to the abilities of the average animal of that species. Its values are intensive values, which are instances of 'HearingAcuity' such as 'excellent' 'very good', 'average' 'poor' and 'deaf'. hasHearingAcuity relates an Animal to some qualitative or semi-quantitative brief characterization of its level of hearing ability. As of r603, the actual values of the 'HearingAcuity' attribute have not been A PopulationAttribute is any type of attribute that can be asserted about a group of people. It also is used to characterize geographical regions, in which case it in fact characterizes the group of people who live in that region. It will be time-sensitive, potentially varying rapidly. NOTE that this is a subclass of AttributeType, which categorizes general types of population attributes, and each PopulationAttribute The values for each PopulationAttribute will be a subtype of PopulationCharacteristic. This AttributeType is mostly of interest for aggregate characteristics, such as 'RacialComposition'. The individual elements making up that composition would be instances of 'PopulationCharacteristic' such as 'PercentageAsianAncestry'. An attribute of a 'Population' that is of interest to some group for some purpose. Examples are: unemployment rate, dostribution of religious affiliations, racial distribution. The Population is usually human, but may be animal. Plant groups are not included. It may be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative characteristics will be instances of subtypes of 'PopulationAttributeValue'. A PopulationCharacteristic may also be used to characterize geographical regions, in which case it is interpreted as characterizing the group of people who live in that region. It will be time-sensitive, potentially varying rapidly. The characteristic is often some percentage of the given population having a particular attribute, or some distribution of attribute values for one type of attribute. Thus an unemployment rate is a simple percentage under 100; a racial distribution is a group of fractions that add up to no more than 100% (if incomplete, it may add up to less than 100%). For qualitative attributes, one might characterize a population without reference to the fractions that actually have that attribute, for example 'an Asian group'. A PopulationAttribute is a quantitative measure describing some characteristic of some population, which is a type of attribute that can be asserted about a group of people. Examples of PopulationAttributes are: infant mortality rate, AverageIncome, UnemploymentRate, high school graduation rate, etc.. The percentage of members of a population capable of working who are not employed. The method for calculating this number varies by country. Each differently calculated rate can be represented as a subtype of this Type. An attribute of a 'Population' that consists of the performance of certain characteristic behaviors. The characteristic behaviors may be routine (going to Mass on Sunday for observant Catholics) or sporadic, possible triggered by eents (characreistic reactions to Events). To fit into this category the evidence of such characteristic behavior should be more than anecdotal. An attribute of a 'Population' that consists of the performance of certain characteristic routine behaviors. The RoutineBehavior itself should be represented as an instance of 'RoutineAction'. Intances of 'RoutineActivityCharacteistic' should specify the type of routine activity and the typical frequency. ###ToDo: relations have not yet been defined to relate this Type to 'RoutineAction'. A type of PopulationAttribute that describes some attribute of a population related to a traditional measure of economic activity: unemployment rate, GNP per capita, exports, imports, average work week, etc. Each of those specific measures will be a subclass of 'PopulationCharacteristic'.. Nature is the sum of all essential attribute values of an individual, forming a recognizable pattern. This can be used generally for any kind of entity, though linguistically it often refers to behavioral patterns. NatureAttribute is a QualitativeAttribute expressing the nature of something. Personality is the sum of all PersonalityTraits of an individual. This AttributeType can be used for animals as well as people, for example a particular animal may be characterized as 'aggressive'. The distinction between a 'Personality' and a 'PersonalityTrait' is that the former is the sum of all of the latter, and the latter type may be used to indicate individual Personality traits, or some combination of traits, but not necessarily characterizing a person's whole 'Personality'. Trait is some characteristic, usually of an animal's personality that is considered as a part of its total character or nature. Examples are kindness, ambitiousness, aggressiveness, friendliness. PersonalityTrait is any of a broad range of values for the general attribute type of 'PersonalityTrait'. Each value is some trait of personality that is considered as a part of a total personality. Examples such as kindness, ambitiousness, aggressiveness may be be inherent. Other PersonalityTraits may be assigned to a Person as a result of the attitudes of others, such as being 'untouchable' or having a particular social status The individeual values of these traits will be classified under 'PersonalityTraitValue' The sum of all of a person's PersonalityTraits may be included in an instance of 'Personality'. Each subtype of 'PersonalityTraitValue' is a PersonalityTrait that may be assigned to some individual animal, usually used for people. Examples are kindness, thriftiness, gregariousness. The Types are categorized by nouns, but the equivalent assignments of such traits to people in linguistic statements will typically use adjectives such as 'a kind person'. These are the values for the AttributeType 'PersonalityTrait'. SocialStatus is an Attribute that a person has as a result of other people having an opinion of that person. It is not an inherent trait, though it may be strongly influenced by a person's inherent traits. Instances may also apply to groups of people, such as women or young people in a particular culture. There are aspects of status, such as within-group and out-of-group attitudes that are not represented by a simple attribute. This needs to be elaborated considerably. The collection of attributes that describe a person's social power, 'clout,' the ability to influence people and achieve one's social goals through some combination of privilege, position, personal contacts, skill, hard work, and intelligence. Money (income, wealth) and esteem/prestige may both contribute to attaining social power and may be necessary to hold on to it, but they cannot be equated with it. This is basically Max Weber's schema. bd58a99f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Each AttributeValue of the Stability Type is a Tendency (which see) to participate in some Event or FunctionalProcess, under certain conditions. The Stability of some Objects, such as organic tissues from organisms, can depend in a sensitive manner on temperature (frozen? boiled?), on the presence of potentially degrading microorganisms (irradiated? pasteurized?) and on the method of preparation (germ-free to start with?). Other things, like mountains, may be assumed to be stable in the sense of staying put for very long periods of time, regardless of the activities of animals, wind, and weather. Large building are of intermediate stability, tending to be in the same place from year to year but occasionally being torn down by people, tornadoes, or earthquakes. This AttributeType will be important for resolving issues related to the Frame Problem, i.e. if a condition exists now, is it likely to exist ten minutes, one day, or one month from now? In practical reasoning this issue is critically important, but becasue of its complexity has been often ignored in small reasoning systems. This generic AttributeType and its associated AttribugteValues can be used to address the problem of predicting the relations of situations across time interval. . Each StabilityValue desribes a different expectation for how long an entity may be expected to last as an identifiable instance of its type. wasRealizedByAction relates a CapabilityType, who instances are attributes of Objects that can enable or perform funcitons, to the ActionType(s) that they can anable or perform. This relation answers the questions 'what was it designed for?'. The 'dsign' can be either artificial, as the design of an artifact, or natural, as the design of an evolved System or System component. *Note* that the CapabilityType that is the subject of this relation in turn can be pointed to by the relation 'hasDesignFunction'. This creates a triangle of Object-Capability-Action. 'Individual' is a Cyc concept used to distinguish abstract sets and collections (classes) from things that are individuals. Interestingly, groups of things can be individuals - if they are defined as distinct from sets (see 'Group'). This class may be superfluous, but in COSMO is a convenient catch-all for some aggregate Types that would merely serve to clutter the top level and obscure the structure of the ontology if exposed at the top level directly under 'Thing'. Conversely, Some of the subtypes of the Cyc 'individual' have also been subclassed directly to 'owl:Thing' to expose those common concepts at the highest level, to make the structure of the ontology easier to see. NOTE that some of the concepts mentioned in the Cyc documnentation differ significantly in COSMO from related concepts in Cyc. But the Cyc documentation is given here to describe how the similar Cyc notion of Group is described in that ontology. From OpenCyc: OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 #$Individual is the collection of all individuals: things that are _not_ sets or collections. Individuals might be concrete or abstract, and include (among other things) physical objects, events, numbers, relations, and groups. An instance of #$Individual might have parts or structure (including discontinuous parts); but _no_ individual has elements or subsets (see #$elementOf and #$subsetOf). Thus, an individual that has parts (e.g. #$physicalParts or #$groupMembers) is _not_ the same thing as either the set or the collection containing those same parts. For example, your car is an individual, but the collection of all the parts of your car is not an individual but an instance of #$Collection. This collection (unlike the car itself) is abstract: it doesn't have a location, mass, or a top speed; but it does have instances, subcollections, and supercollections. In partial contrast, the #$Group (q.v.) of parts of your car (while also not the same thing as the car itself) _is_ an individual that has location and mass. Another example: A given company, the group consisting of all the company's employees, the collection of those employees, and the set of those employees are four distinct things, and only the first two are individuals. Any Attribute of an Entity that is an internal property of the Entity, e.g. its shape, its color, its fragility, etc. The values that InternalAttributes take: e.g. shape, its color, its fragility, etc. Attributes that apply specifically to instances of Organism. Attribute values that apply specifically to instances of Organism. Attributes that indicate the sex of an Organism. NOTE that 'SexAttribute' is the AttributeType, and the values of that AttributeType are instances or subtypes of 'Gender'. Attribute Values that indicate the sex of an Organism. As of rev 599, only MaleSex and FemaleSex The gender AttributeValue of biologically male organisms (plants or animals). This is a genetic trait, phenotypic or social maleness is a different attribute. The gender AttributeValue of biologically female organisms (plants or animals). This is a genetic trait, phenotypic or social femaleness is a different attribute. HeterogeneousCategory is a catch-all of classes that subsume other classes of varied basic types. Among other things, it is a mechanism for assigning qualitative adjectives that may apply to more than one basic type (like 'dangerous'), and to provide a parent aggregate Type for some relations. Thes subtypes may also be defined functionally,and may include entities of different innate character. An attribute of events that signify that the person experiencing the Event was highly stimulated, not necessarily pleasantly (at the time). An attribute of events that cause 'Amusement-Feeling' to at least one IntelligentAgent. An attribute of events that signify that the person experiencing the Event was not stimulated, possibly even bored. An attribute of events that signify that the person experiencing the Event was not only not stimulated, but bored (an unpleasant feeling). An attribute of objetcs and events that signify that that type of thing is common and unremarkable. Routine, everyday. An attribute of things - events, properties, or objects - that are worthy of paying attention to because they are often (but not always) important to intelligent agents. This is an attribute that can be used to mark things that an agent should keep in mind. An attribute of things - usually events or situations - that are too common to be considered notable; synonyms everyday, common, ordinary. An attribute of things - events, processes, or objects - that in normal circumstances can be expected to give pleasure to people who experience it (Events) or possess it (things). This provides one method to mark those Assets that are especially worthy of attention. A very broad EvaluativeAttribute that expresses a judgment that the thing evaluated is beneficial for the purposes against which it is judged. The purposes may be those of the person doing the judging, or those of someone else or of some group. Each attribution of 'good' must have some purpose as the criterion of 'goodness' NOTE that the adjective 'good' is represented by the instance of Adjective 'ENG_good' There are many degrees of goodness, and the lesser degrees are not necessarily salient, so this is not a subtype of 'Salient' A very broad EvaluativeAttribute that expresses a judgment that the thing evaluated is deleterious for the purposes against which it is judged. The purposes may be those of the person doing the judging, or those of someone else or of some group. Each attribution of 'bad' must have some purpose as the criterion of 'goodness'. It is approximately equivalent to 'undesirable'. There are many degrees of badness, and the lesser degrees are not necessarily salient, so this is not a subtype of 'Salient' The most generic type for AttributeValues that express the notion that something lacks a function. Some subtypes such as 'blind' apply only to functions that the object's type would normally have, but other subtypes can merely specify that an object lacks a function, even if such objects normally lack that function. Thus one might refer to 'blind' people, but 'sightless' worms. The Attribute of an object of not being able to see through an eye or some analogous sensor. For inability to see when the ability to see would be the normal condition, use the more specific 'Blind'. The Attribute of an animal of not having the ability to see; this applies only to animals of a type that normally can see through eyes. Photodetection other than through eyes is not the kind of function whose lack would make an animal 'Blind'. Compare the more general 'Sightless'. An attribute of things - events, processes, or objects - that in normal circumstances can be expected to produce a reaction of dislike in most people who experience it (Events) or possess it (things). This provides one method to mark those Assets that are especially worthy of attention. A common term for 'Salient'. An Event or object which is unusual enough to warrant attention when it is noticed. This is very broad: examples are Landmarks. An Event or object which is common enough that it does not attract special attention when it is noticed. UndesirableThing is a generic class that can be used to label certain types of objects or situations as undesirable, and therefore something to avoid, and therefore something that is salient. NOTE that being undesirable is not necessarily to be unpleasant. A GoodThing is a generic class that can be used to label certain types of objects or situations as desirable, and therefore something to pay attention to, and perhaps to try to otain or try to do or get done. A PleasantThing is an Event, Process, Substance, or Object that will typically (or is intended to) give pleasure to a person who experences it (an Event) or who has possession of it (an object). This is a very broad category, necessarily vague because many things can give pleasure in many ways and in many degrees, yet it is usefult to be able to predict whether a person can be expected to be pleased by something. To be more precise insuch prediction will require a great deal of information about the circumstances and inclinations of individual people. NOTE that OpenCyc spatialThing does not necessarily have to be in our Space-Time; it can be in an abstract space. So this is not identical to DOLCE 'spatio-temporal-particular', which is a subclass. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of all things that have a spatial extent or location relative to some other #$SpatialThing or in some embedding space. Note that to say that an entity is a member of this collection is to remain agnostic about two issues. First, a #$SpatialThing may be #$PartiallyTangible (e.g. #$Texas-State) or wholly #$Intangible (e.g. #$ArcticCircle or a line mentioned in a geometric theorem). Second, although we do insist on location relative to another spatial thing or in some embedding space, a #$SpatialThing might or might not be located in the actual physical universe. It is far from clear that all #$SpatialThings are so located: an ideal platonic circle or a trajectory through the phase space of some physical system (e.g.) might not be. If the intent is to imply location in the empirically observable cosmos, the user should employ this collection's specialization, #$SpatialThing-Localized. A subcollection of #$SpatialThing. Each instance of #$GeometricallyDescribableThing is a spatially-connected spatial thing (of 0, 1, 2, or 3 dimensions) that either (i) has or approximates a simple geometric shape (e.g. it is a #$Line or a #$Hemisphere) or (ii) consists of a number of (connected) parts in a relatively stable geometric configuration, where each such part has or approximates a simple geometric shape (e.g. a table consisting of a 3-D-disc-shaped top and four cylindrical legs). A #$GeometricallyDescribableThing might be tangible (see #$PhysicalObject) or intangible (see #$GeometricallyDescribableThing-Intangible). Note that what counts as approximating a given simple geometric shape -- and thus what spatial things count as #$GeometricallyDescribableThings - varies with context. In a context that was so fine-grained shape-wise that even the shapes of the individual molecules on the surface of an object were considered relevant to the object's shape, perhaps nearly every (connected, solid) tangible object would be geometrically-describable. In more everyday contexts, on the other hand, an unopened can of soup would be geometrically-describable (as a cylinder), while a telephone or an animal's body would probably not. bd58c42e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 isSpatiallyDisjointWith relates one.SpatialThing (a region, object, or event) with another SpatialThing that has no regions in common with the first. This relation can be used to express the fact that anything wholly located in one SpatialThing cannot have any part located in another SpatialThing that is disjoint with the first in this sense. NOTE that when first-order rules are associated with this ontology, it will be possible to infer that any part of a region1 that isSpatiallyDisjointWith a region2 is also disjoint with any part of that region2. liesAcross relates one physicalObject to another PhysicalObject over which the first spans. This is one sense of 'across' and this specific sense requires that the object crossing over (above in the gravitational field) the second object is in touch with the second object at some points. This does not include the 'spanning' sense of a bridge (use 'crossesAbove'), nor the action sense of an object moving over another (e.g. crossing a road). crossesAbove relates one physicalObject to another PhysicalObject over which the first spans. This is one sense of 'across' and this specific sense requires that the object crossing over (above in the gravitational field) the second object is *not* in touch with the second object at most points. This is the 'spanning' sense of a bridge over a river. For the sense of something crossing over and touching another object,use 'liesAcross'. This does **not** include the motion sense of something moving over a thing, like an airplane over a region.. areSeparatedBy relates two Objects to another Object which is between and touching the other two objects. This is one specialized meaning of 'between';it is used only for those cases where it is also appropriate to say 'X and Y are separated by Z'. This means that X and Y do not touch each other, but each touches Z, and there is a direct line from some part of X to some part of Y that passes through Z. For two buildings that are directly across a street from one another such that one could say 'A is across Main Street from B', this relation can be used, with A and B being the elements of the Pair, thus: {AandB areSeparatedBy MainStreet}, equivalent to: {MainStreet isBetween AandB}. The notion of being between two things on a path is ternary or quaternary, and more complicated to represent in OWL. COSMO Note: note that Cyc SpatialThing does not have to be in our space-time, whereas DOLCE spatio-temporal-particular is. So the DOLCE class is a subclass of the Cyc class. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of all things that have a spatial extent or location relative to some other #$SpatialThing or in some embedding space. Note that to say that an entity is a member of this collection is to remain agnostic about two issues. First, a #$SpatialThing may be #$PartiallyTangible (e.g. #$Texas-State) or wholly #$Intangible (e.g. #$ArcticCircle or a line mentioned in a geometric theorem). Second, although we do insist on location relative to another spatial thing or in some embedding space, a #$SpatialThing might or might not be located in the actual physical universe. It is far from clear that all #$SpatialThings are so located: an ideal platonic circle or a trajectory through the phase space of some physical system (e.g.) might not be. If the intent is to imply location in the empirically observable cosmos, the user should employ this collection's specialization, #$SpatialThing-Localized. Note that most of the Cyc 'SpatialThings' are in our universe (though not necessarily), so most are also under DOLCE 'spatio-temporal-particular'. DOLCE: Dummy class for optimizing some property universes. It includes all entities that are not reifications of universals ('abstracts'), i.e. those entities that are in space-time. spatio-temporal-particular[DOLCE]%SpatialThing COSMO note: all PhysicalObjects are non-trivially continuous only with respect to some level of granularity. Cyc: A specialization of #$SpatialThing. For every instance REGION of #$SpatiallyContinuousThing, any two points it subsumes are connected by some path it also subsumes. Positive exemplars include a drinking glass, a haystack, a spiderweb, or a region of space in the shape of any of these things. If the glass is broken and its pieces no longer touch each other, it is not a #$SpatiallyContinuousThing. Some borderline exemplars depend on granularity. At a macroscopic level of granularity, a dense cloud of smoke is effectively continuous. On the microscopic level, it is composed of independent particles that do not touch each other. 9ae4ab12-8221-41d7-9022-96b38c86ffc1 OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of all spatial things, tangible or intangible, that can be meaningfully said to have location or position in the empirically observable universe of the context in question. This includes all #$PartiallyTangible things, such as pyramids and ships, as well as certain #$Intangible spatial things, like the #$Equator. Also included are all #$Events that can be pinned down to specific places (see #$Event-Localized), and thus all #$PhysicalEvents. But note that many events are non-examples, such as the event of a certain law coming into effect and (presumably) purely mental events as well, at least in most contexts. Also excluded are #$SpatialThings that are _not_ localized, such as purely abstract geometrical figures (e.g. a Platonic sphere). All instances of #$SpatialThing-Localized are temporal things, and thus have finite lifespans (the upper bound of which is the lifespan of the universe itself). Finally, note that imaginary entities like Frodo, Captain Queeg, and #$HAL9000-TheComputer may be localized within the (imaginary) universes attaching to the fictitious contexts in which they are defined, and so would be instances of #$SpatialThing-Localized within those microtheoretic contexts. NOTE: because Cyc 'SpatialThing-Localized' includes intangible spatial things, this is not identical to the purely physical objects such as 'Oject' in SUMO. In COSMO,purely physical objects are categorized in the Type 'PhysicalObject', which is a subtype of this 'SpatialThing-Localized' category. An Artifact-Generic was anything created by an Agent. More useful categories will be the more specific Types. Original COSMO Indented List name: Artifact-Generic_includes_conceptual_works__laws__information_objects_ OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 A collection of things created by #$Agents. These creations may be either tangible (like a hammer, a bowl, or a bridge) or intangible (like a set of laws, a #$KnowledgeBase, or Beethoven's Ninth Symphony). Thus, the collection of #$Artifact-Generics is partitioned into #$Artifact and #$Artifact-Intangible (q.v.). wasCreatedBy relates an Artifact (concrete or abstract) to the Agent who created it. Agents are construed very broadly for this relation, and a river could be the Agent that created a canyon. NOTE that the range includes an AbstractString, which is semantically nonsense, but is included as a pragmatic tactic to allow subrelations of this relation to be used in mapping database records to their creators. The creators will sometimes be represented in the database only as a string, and in such cases an implementing system, at its option, can avoid creating a new Person object (instead creating an AbstractString object), when the system cannot identify the 'creator' of the record. This tactic may change as the ontology is further developed, and experience with mapping databases increases.. wasAuthoredBy relates a textual object (concrete or abstract) to the IntelligentAgent who is credited with creating it. The Agent can be a person, organization, group of people or a machine (see 'AuthorOfRecord'). This special relation, together with the companion Type of 'AuthorOfRecord' (a subtype of 'IntelligentAgent') serves the purpose of preserving the option to list known people (instances of 'Person') or unknown individuals ('Anonymous'), pen names ('MarkTwain'), or pseudonyms whose real identity is unknown. The unknowns and pen names can be instances of 'AuthorOfRecord'. When identities of unknown authors are discovered, they can be equated with the previous AuthorOfRecord, or that instance can be replaced in the knowledge base, if it is unimportant to have a record of the author being initially unknown. The same as 'ArtifactObject', but the shorter term was considered potentially misleading as the main label for this concept, as it has been used to refer to abstract artifacts as well as physical objects. Artifact* COSMO note: this class was merged with the Cyc 'Artifact-HumanCreated' because little differnce could be discerned. All instances of Artifact will be created by humans - people, groups, organizations, or their automaton servants. Artifactual objecgts created by non-humans (e.g. animals) will be instgances of ArtifactObject. Artifact( Cyc and SUMO); material-artifact(DOLCE) SUMO: A CorpuscularObject that is the product of a Making. Cyc comment for ;Artifact-HumanCreated': A collection of individual #$Artifacts. Each instance of #$Artifact-HumanCreated is a tangible thing made by an instance of #$HomoSapiens, or by a (#$GroupFn #$HomoSapiens). Examples include instances of #$Clothing-Generic, #$Automobile, #$DrainageCanal, and #$HydroelectricDam. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 A specialization of #$InanimateThing. Each instance of #$Artifact is an at least partially tangible thing which was intentionally created by an #$Agent (or a group of #$Agents working together) to serve some purpose or perform some function. In order to create an instance of #$Artifact, it is not necessary that an #$Agent create the matter out of which the #$Artifact is composed; rather, an #$Agent can create an instance of #$Artifact by assembling or modifying existing matter. Examples of #$Artifacts include a wooden flute that's been whittled from a tree branch, a sawhorse that's been put together out of boards and nails, and a coin that's been minted by embossing or by melting liquid silver into a mold. In addition to the obvious human artifacts (buildings, tools, textiles, power lines), the collection #$Artifact also includes certain sorts of things made by #$Animals, such as bird nests, termite mounds, and beaver dams. Artifacts without any tangible parts are excluded from the collection #$Artifact; they are included in the collection #$Artifact-Intangible. DOLCE: material-artifact: No easy definition of artifactual properties is possible, hence it is better to rely on alternative descriptions and roles: a physical object that shows or is known to have an artifactual origin that counts in the tasks an ontology is supposed to support, will be a material artifact. On the other hand, physical objects that do not show that origin, or that origin is unimportant for the task of the ontology, will be physical bodies. Formally, a restriction is provided here that requires that the collection whose members are (at least some of the) proper parts of a material artifact is *unified* by a plan or project. wasCreatedAtTheRequestOf relates an ArtifactObject to the IntelligentAgent (usually a Person) who ordered it to be created. This should be used for objects of special interest whose creators will also be of interest. This differs from 'wasCreatedBy' in that most of the work of creation must be done by someone other than the agent (person, organization, group) who ordered it to be created. It is therefore mostly used for large objects like buildings and special-order objects of any kind. An instance of #$ObjectType, and a specialization of #$Artifact-Generic. #$Artifact-NonAgentive is the collection of all artifacts that are _not_ agents (i.e., that are _not_ instances of #$Agent-Generic). Specializations of #$Artifact-NonAgentive include #$Bicycle, #$Pants, #$Canal, and #$FoodUtensil. COSMO note: Artifacts are not Agentive in the sense that they are not CognitiveAgents. However, in COSMO an Instrument is an instance of GenericAgent, so the name must not be interpreted as meaning that an Artifact-NonAgentive is not a GenericArtifact. #$Bicycle is a specialization of #$WheeledTransportationDevice, #$MountableTransporter, #$Device-UserPowered, and #$Device-UserControlled. Each instance of #$Bicycle is a personal wheeled transport device powered by human peddling. Most bicycles have two main wheels arranged in-line, but some tandem bicycles have more than two wheels. bd58e8d0-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: NOTE that there is a concept of 'scale' of the manufacturing process that distinguishes 'manufactured' from handcrafted goods. This is a continuous measure, therefore there will be a fuzzy borderline between 'Product' and handcraft. Where doubt exists, things manufactured in numbers more than a few and offered for public sale and distribution using any form of advertising will be considered as members of this class. Cyc: The collection of all #$Artifacts that are made or processed in large-scale industrial operations for distribution (normally sale) to agents outside the manufacturing organization. This includes manufactured stuff, e.g. Finlandia vodka; refined ore, e.g. iron; otherwise procesed natural material, e.g. cut diamonds, as well as manufactured objects. This collection excludes handicrafts; privately made stuff, e.g. moonshine; and other artifacts produced by one or a few people on a small scale. The property of substances or objects that are considered (by their possesor or potential possessor) to have some positive value. The property of being satisfactory to an Agent for a purpose, reflecting the Agent's judgment that it will serve some purpose. This is an Evaluative (judgmental) attribute. The property of not being Acceptable. The property of substances or objects that are considered (by their possesor) to have no positive value. Anything that has value to a cognitive agent. The value does not have to be monetary, it can be sentimental. The thing can be an object, a right, a substance, or something intangible such as friendship or knowledge. Anything that would cause distress to an agent if it were lost is a valuable thing. Anything that can be used to help an agent achieve desired goals (e.g. food) is also a valuable thing - see the subtype 'Resource'. Anything that an intelligent agent would pay money to obtain is a valuable thing; in this case, the 'value' is at least approximately quantifiable. Anything that has no net value to the cognitive agent that currently possesses it. The thing (object, substance, right) may have some value to someone else, but if the possessing agent considers it too much of a nuisance to try to gain paymenty for it, it is effectively worthless. This is the quality of trash, garbage, refuse, etc.. Every Group consists of one or more entities considered as one unit, and is related to the component entities by the relation 'hasComponentElement'. A Group is not an abstract or mathematical concept - every group derives its properties solely from the entities that are its component elements. Thus a group of solid objects would be a solid object, and the mass of that object would be equal to the sum of the masses of the component objects. It has *some* similarity to the 'mereological sum' of mereologists. However, a Group may have component elements of very diverse kinds - there is no restriction on the membership of a Group, though one element can only count once in the cardinality of the group. A Group is somewhat similar to a Cyc 'Group', but is not restricted to physical things, and has relations to its members named differently than in Cyc. NOTE: A Group that has one component element is identical to that single element; in this respect it is similar to the mereological notion of a 'mereological sum'. The only group that can have itself as a component element is the group of one element. This latter property is the peculiar characteristic of this concept of 'Group', in contrast to other aggregates except, as noted, for 'mereological sum'. This concept of 'Group' makes certain representations covenient. In some cases, we want to define a function that may return one or more elements, but if there is one element, we also want that single element to be identical to the single element, and not encapsulated in an enveloping element. Returning a Group will allow that behavior. Note that a relation on a Group that can be applied to individuals (i.e. is not specifically defined on the type 'Group' or a subtype thereof) will be interpreted as meaning that the relation applies to each member of the Group individually. Therefore to say {(Every Dog) has (four Legs)} is to specify that each instance of Dog has four legs. The same effect can often be accomplished by an OWL restriction on the type. Cyc Documentation for 'Group' (NOTE some differences from COSMO 'Group'. In Cyc a Group must consist of Temporal Objects, but in COSMO it is more general. The Group membership relation also differs.) OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 A collection of temporal objects. Each instance of #$Group is a composite object made up of one or more individual objects or events. A group is related to each of its members by the predicate #$groupMembers (q.v.) [COSMO: 'hasComponentElement'] Note that instances of #$Group are _not_ collections. A group has temporal extent [COSMO: a Group may be abstract] and might have spatial location, while a collection is timeless and nonspatial. It is of course possible to define a collection parallel to any given group, so that the instances of the collection are exactly the group-members of that group; e.g. each toe on my left foot (and nothing else) is both an instance of the collection of my left toes and a member of the group of toes on my left foot. But that group (of my left toes) is a spatiotemporal thing while the correlated collection (of my left toes) is not. Similarly, if a certain flock of pigeons is considered as having a location, a spatial extent, and a time of existence, then the flock is being considered a _group_ and not a collection. Finally, unlike a collection, a group cannot be empty, but must have _at_least_one_ group-member. As a default, a group whose group-members all are instances of #$SomethingExisting is itself an instance of #$SomethingExisting, and a group whose group-members all are #$Events is itself an #$Event. Instances of #$Group include #$QueensGuard, #$ThreeWiseMen, #$SantasReindeer, and #$InternationalCommunity. A 'GroupAttribute' is an AttributeType that can qualify a Group, Set, or other aggregation. One example (a subtype) is Cardinality. A property type of a Set, Group, or List specifying the number of elements contained in that aggregate. Note that this is the attribute type, and the attribute values are represented as instances of CardinalityValue. 'Orderliness' is an AttributeType pertaining to groups of things. The values of this AttributeType specify the kind of ordering, if any, that a Group has. 'Ordered' is an AttributeValue of Groups that have some kind of ordering. More specific orderings will be subtypes of this Attributealue, such as 'LinearlyOrdered' 'Ordered' is an AttributeValue of Groups that have some kind of ordering. More specific orderings will be subtypes of this Attributealue, such as 'LinearlyOrdered' A property of a Group or Set: A nonnegative whole number, together with the UnitOfMeasure 'elements'. NOTE that 'Cardinality' and 'Dimensionality' are often expressed as pure numbers, but in COSMO as AttributeValues actually have a 'UnitOfMeasure' associated with the number. For convenience, the datatype properties 'hasCardinalityNumber' and 'hasDimensionalityNumber' are defined with datatype integers as the value. A property type of an Object, Region, or Space. NOTE: some objects such as abstract or mental objects may not have a meaningful dimensionality. Note that this is the attribute type, and the attribute values are represented as instances of DimensionalityValue. A property of an Object, Region, or Space. As with Cardinalities, it is often represented as a simple nonnegative integer, but in COSMO, being an AttributeValue, it is represented as an integer together with the 'UnitOfMeasure' 'dimensional'. Hence: (Every Point hasAttributeValue {0 dimensional}) hasDimensionalityNumber relates an Object or region to the number of othogonal dimensions that it occupies, expressed as a DimensionalityValue. This relation is complementary to 'hasDimensionalityNumber', which allows one to use a simple datatype integer as the value of the relation. CardinalityValues Are QuantitativeAttributeValues having the dimension 'dimensional'. A PhysicalObject would have its dimenionality specified (in ESKIF), using this relation, thus: (Every PhysicalObject hasDimensionality {3 dimensional}). For objects whose specification has dimensions that are non-orthogonal, the Dimensionality should be the number of orthogonal dimensions to which the non-orthogonal dimensions can be reduced. PhysicalObjects will always be 3-dimensional. they may have surfaces that are 2-Dimensional, edges that are 1-Dimensional, and representations that are 2D and also '2-1/2 dimensional'. hasCardinalityNumber relates a Set, Group, or List to the number of othogonal dimensions that it occupies, expressed as a DimensionalityValue. This relation is complementary to 'hasCardinalityNumber', which allows one to use a simple datatype integer as the value of the relation. CardinalityValues Are QuantitativeAttributeValues having the dimension 'elements'. A Pair would have its Cardinality specified using this relation thus: (Every Pair hasCardinality {2 elements}). hasDimensionalityNumber relates an Object or region to the number of othogonal dimensions that it occupies. For objects whose specification has dimensions that are non-orthogonal, the Dimensionality should be the number of orthogonal dimensions to which the non-orthogonal dimensions can be reduced. PhysicalObjects will always be 3-dimensional. they may have surfaces that are 2-Dimensional, edges that are 1-Dimensional, and representations that are 2D and also '2-1/2 dimensional'. hasCardinalty relates a Group to an integer enumerating the number of direct component elements of which the group consists. Because an element of a Group may itself be a Group, the Cardinality does not indicate the number of things that ultimately are not Groups, only the number of things that are related by the 'hasComponentElement' relation. NOTE that AbstractString is icluded explicityl, not only as a subtype of Group, because zero-lenght (zero-cardinality, considered as though it were an ordered group) strings may exist but zero-cardinality Groups are not permitted. A Pair is a Group containing exactly two elements. 2 A Trio is a Group containing exactly three elements. 3 The collection of all groups of animals of the same type living in the same location. For any instance of this Type, it is necessary to specify the location to satisfy the restriction. NOTE that a population is only those animals (or people) located in a particualr location at a particular time. it is therefore time-sensitive. The location is generic; therfore, one can use this to describe the people who are on the liner Queen Mary, wherever it happens to be at that time. bde046c0-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The collection of all people living in the same location. This corresponds to the 'population' of some geographical area. Inclusion in the population is determined by location, not by citizenship. A population may be said to have certain characteristics, provided that those characteristics are stable for some period of time in a given area. hasComponentElement relates a Group to the individual elements of which the group consists. Any entity can be aggregated with another entity to form a conceptual Group. NOTE: this 'element' is not the chemical 'element'! See also the specializations of this relation, for OrderedGroups, indicating the location in the OrderedGroup of a particular element. See 'hasFirstElement' and 'hasSecondElement'. isaComponentElementOf relates some entity to a Group of which it is a member. It is the inverse of 'hasComponentElement'. Since Groups are not defined arbitrarily, and seldom defined automatically, this relation will typically be used only when it makes sense to do so. For example, one may define a Group of 'attendees' of some particular meeting. Then to say that a Person is a member of that Group would allow inference that that Person was in a particular place at a particular time.. hasSubgroup relates a Group to some other definable Group, all of whose component elements are also component elements of the larger Group.. Every PluralThing is a Group consisting of at least two or more entities, considered as one entity, and is related to the component entities by the relation 'hasComponentElement' The name of subtypes of 'PluralThing' in COSMO may take the form of a plural of a count noun. But plurals of count nouns are also used to name 'CommodityProducts', so that usage is not a reliable indicator that a term represents a PluralThing. A 'PluralThing' is an Object, and a 'CommodityProduct' is a substance, so the two are disjoint concepts, in spite of the close relation. The 'CommodityProduct should only be used in the substance sense, and PluralThing for those things who individual members are the focus of representation. NOTE: in COSMO, Group is restricted to groupings of at least one entity, as in OpenCyc. In this manner PluralThing stays closer to the linguistic intuition of a plural. A more generic Group that is not a TemporalThing could be defined, but is left out at this point. NOTE: BFO has the notion of an 'ObjectAggregate' which is similar to a 'PluralThing'; but in BFO the requirements are more stringent than for COSMO 'Group', since a COSMO 'Group' can be composed of arbitarily defined components, whereas in BFO each 'Object' of the aggregate must be an object with perceptible boundaries. Since BFO 'Object' is disjoint from 'fiat object part' and from ObjectAggregate, we need to make 'ObjectAggregate' a subtype of 'PluralThing', and to specify that each component of an 'ObjectAggregate' is a 'WholeObject'. An OrderedGroup is a Group that has some ordering relation between component elements. It must have more than one component element, Therefore it is a PluralThing and can never be a singleton. The ordering may be of any kind: a simple linear order, or a complex multi-dimensional pattern. The most common kind of OrderedGroup is one that is linearly ordered, and each such Group is an instance of the subtype 'LinearlyOrderedGroup'. An OrderedGroup may be physical, whereas a List is an AbstractInformationStore. Therefore not all OrderedGroups are Lists. One may define an OrderedGroup that is a List, if one is careful that the OrderedGroup is also an AbstractInformationStore. To define a type of OrderedGroup that may have as few as one element, define a type that is a subtype of both Group and List. A LinearlyOrderedGroup is a Group that has a linear ordering, which is a mapping from the natural numbers to elements of the Group. A Queue is a group of people lined up to do something in sequence - a waiting list. This is a PhysicalObject - the Group of People, not something abstract. An 'Arrangement' is an OrderedGroup of of PhysicalObjects. This is only one of several senses of 'arrangement' in English, and corresponds to sense 5 in the Random House Webster: '5. something arranged in a particular way: a floral arrangement; the arrangement of chairs for the seminar.' An Arrangement of cut flowers, maintained in its proper order by some method such as fastening the stems to a rigid object, or placing them in a container in which they cannot move freely. This type includes the container maintaining the arrangement as well as the flowers. The 'container' may be something as simple as a rubber band binding the stems together. Called 'FlowerArrangement' in Cyc. bd58a449-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A FloralArrangement that has CytFlowers tied together and is intended to be carried, rather than one contained in a vase or fixed to an object or stand. The Bouquet can be inserted in a vase, but must originate as a group of flowers held together and carried without a container. One can say that one put a bouquet into a vase. A small bouquet. hasFirstElement is a specialization of the relation 'hasComponentElement' applying to OrderedGroups or Lists, specifying the first component element of the OrderedGroup or List. hasSecondElement is a specialization of the relation 'hasComponentElement' applying to OrderedGroups, specifying the Second component element of an OrderedGroup. hasThirdElement is a specialization of the relation 'hasComponentElement' applying to OrderedGroups, specifying the Second component element of an OrderedGroup. A OrderedPair is a Tuple containing two elements. A OrderedTrio is a Tuple containing three elements. 3 COSMO note: we make a series a subtype of OrderedGroup: specifically, the ordering relation is that the component elements are arranged in a linear fashion. It can be concrete or abstract. A series must have at least two component elements. Cyc: A specialization of #$Group (q.v.). Each instance of #$Series is a complex temporal thing in which two or more other things are ordered in a linear fashion. Examples include a line of people at a ticket booth (an instance of the specialization #$PhysicalSeries) and a series of pitches in a baseball game (an instance of the specialization #$EventSeries). In each instance of #$Series, there is some relation by which its members are ordered (see the related predicate #$seriesOrderedBy); this relation often varies from series to series. be8e694c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A #$SeriesWithoutRepetition is a #$Series in which each member occurs only once. bf7c353a-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A CompositeConcept is a Group that consists of component elements of different basic types, such as a System (which see). The notion of a CompositeConcept provides a way to represent things like situations that have essential elements of different type (such as States and FunctionalProcesses). An Entity that has a beginning point in time and an ending point in time. The usage of this term in COSMO differs from the usage in OpenCyc, in that it does **not** include PhysicalObject as a subtype, though the two categories are not disjoint. The purpose of the cyc concept appears to be to permit relating both PhysicalObjects and Events to their time location. In COSMO, that purpose is served by the relation 'hasTemporalLocation' (which see) which has as its domain the union of Events and PhysicalObjects.and 'wasCreatedDuring' and 'wasDestroyedDuring', There is, however, a subtle issue in that the beginning and ending time of a 'TemporalThing' may be the same time, i.e. the instance may be an instantaneous time slice of a time-extended entity. Since in COSMO zero-interval extended entities are indistinguishable from point entities, this means that a '3-D' endurantist object can be an instance of 'TemporalThing' just as a HumanRole, a '4-D' perdurantist object can be an instance of the typically '3-D' Person. In Opencyc a 'TemporalThing' is very generic, it is anything that has a beginning point in time (and presumably an ending point, though it may not be known for existing things). Thus physical objects, which must come into existence at some time (perhaps the beginning of time), as well as events, are 'TemporalThings'. In COSMO, TemporalThing is reserved for TimeIntervals and Events, and PhysicalObjects are not classified as subtypes of TemporalThing. The creation and destruction time of PhysicalObjects will use different relations. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of all things that have temporal extent or location, i.e. things about which one might sensibly ask When? . #$TemporalThing thus contains many kinds of things, including events, physical objects, agreements, and abstract pieces of time. Note that #$TimePoint is a specialization of #$TemporalThing, since time points have temporal location, although they arguably lack temporal extent. Abstract things that are timeless - such as mathematical sets, attributes, and numbers - are of course _not_ instances of #$TemporalThing. NOTE that although every TemporalThing must have a starting and ending TimePont, that notion is not represented as an existential restriction so that it will not be necessary to explicitly represent the starting and ending times of intervals whose starting and ending times can be calculated from the name. This is a pragmatic and implementational, not a theoretical consideration. wasPriorToNowByInterval relates a TemporalThing (Event, TimeInterval, TimeSlice, etc.) to some TimeMeasure that expresses how long before Now the TemporalThing occurred. Linguistically this is expressed, e.g. as '?Event happened 10 years ago'. A TimeSlice is a temporal part of some entity - a PhysicalObject Role, or GenericLocation. In a four-dimensional (perdurantism) treatment of objects, this would be a part of a four-dimensional object. Every TimeSlice has a time at which it begins and a time at which it ends, specified by 'hasStartingTimePoint' and 'hasEndingTimePoint'. Because a TimeSlice is not disjoint with anything else, this allows one to create four-dimensional time slices of physical objects (or phycial locations) by creating an instance of an object that is also an instance of a TimeSlice, and spcifying the beginning and ending time points. Such an object could be used as an argument in a binary relation, thereby including the intended time interval in the relation. This usage creates an interpretation of entities in this ontology that may seem at variance with both the traditional 'endurantist' and 'perdurantist' interpretations. It is closer to the 'perdurantist' in that the object without specification of its time slice may be interpreted as the whole-life object, but there is a major difference: the COSMO leaves open the possibility of specifying that a relation on an object holds during some interval of time - and that is not consistent with traditional four-dimensionalist usage. The COSMO usage permits more flexibility in the way relations can be specified within temporal boundaries. COSMO use of TimeSlice can also be applied to Attributes, as an alternative means of specifying the time interval during which an Attribute applies to an Object. Specifying the TimeSlice on the Attribute is equivalent specifying the TimeSlice on the Object. So: (hasAttribute FireEngine21 RedColor_DTI_20080101_20080130) . . . means that FireEngine21 was red from Jan_01_2008 to Jan_30_2008, This is equivalent to: (hasAttribute FireEngine21_DTI_20080101_20080130 RedColor) . . . and also to (in ESKIF): {FireEngine21 was Red, from Jan_01_2008 to Jan_30_2008}. The latter usage raises an important point. Since, in COSMO, a PersistentState represents an Attribute or set of Attributes that remains constant over some interval of Time. To represent an Object as having some Attribute remain constant over some interval of Time (either explicitly, or as a TimeSlice) is logically equivalent to specifying the existence of a PersistentState for that Object over that time interval. The different ways of representing that situation are different views, and could be translated if there was a reason to do so. isaTimeSliceOf relates an instance of TimeSlice to the PhysicalObject (or other entity) of which it is a TimeSlice. In COSMO PhysicalObjects may be 3 or 4 dimensional, and this relation allows one to create a TimeSlice of an object, so as to specify properties in a particular time interval, and relate that time slice to the dimension-neutral object of which it is a TimeSlice. COSMO: SituationProcessEventOrState is a broad category that includes Events, FunctionalProcesses, and PersistentStates,all of which are different aspects of the same fundamental conceptual entity, commonly called an 'Event'. Each Event is a Group containing the component elements: (1) InstantaneousState at the starting time (2) InstantaneousState at the Ending time (3) The FunctionalProcess that describes the intermediate states between the starting and ending times. **Informally**, a state,process, or event is interpreted as the set of *values* of some 'fluents' (attributes or relations that may change over time), but the actual *formal* representation is a Group in which the group elements are the *LinguisticAssertions* specifying the values of the fluents pertaining to some Group of Objects. Each LinguisticAssertion specifies the value at some time point (or time interval). The differences in State, Process,and Event are: State: The Group of Assertions that hold at one time point (InstantaneousState), or persist without change of value over some contiguous interval of time (PersistentState). No value can chage within a State. FunctionalProcess: The full set of LinguisticAssertions specifying the values of fluents at each time point or smaller TimeInterval within a TimeInterval in which the Process is defined. The set of LinguisticAssertions relate times to values,and in that respect is analogous to a mathematical function. In analogy to a mathematical function, one can derive a 'rate' for a Process (in cases where the values are quantified) by taking the ratio of (difference in value) to (difference in time) for any TimeInterval in which a change of value is specified. This rate may change from time to time during a FunctionalProcess. Event: focuses on the values of the fluents at the beginning and ending of some TimeInterval, but also includes the FunctionalProcess that specifies the fluent values at times between the beginning and ending. Since the focus of an Event is on the change from one time point to the next, one cannot specify a 'rate' in the same sense as for a FunctionalProcess, where the rate may change many times during the FunctionalProcess. For an Event, one can derive a single 'rate' value that specifies the overall ratio of change of fluent value to time, between the beginning and ending points, and for an Event, only one such 'rate' can be defined. NOTE: In COSMO a Situation is classified as a CompositeConcept because it is considered as a composite of the InstantaneousStates at the beginning and ending times of the Situation (which can be the same time), plus the FunctionalProcess that describes the states intermediate between the beginning and ending times. Called: Situation-Temporal(Cyc) perdurant(DOLCE) ***** Special COSMO NOTE on BFO 'ProcessualEntity' ***************************** In BFO the Type 'ProcessualEntity' appears to be most closely similar to COSMO 'SituationProcessEventOrState'. However, the division of the BFO Type into 'FiatProcessPart' and 'Process' has no corresponding division in Cyc or SUMO. In COSMO we include a FiatProcessPart for compatibility, but do not use it (no subtypes), and do not use the BFO partition of 'ProcessualEntity'. BFO Definition: An occurrent that exists in time by occurring or happening, has temporal parts and always involves and depends on some SNAP entity. Examples: the life of an organism, the process of meiosis, the course of a disease, the flight of a bird ***** End Special NOTE on BFO 'ProcessualEntity' ***************************** Cyc 'Situation' is indistinguishable from 'Situation-Temporal' except for the possible inclusion in 'Situation' of abstract situations not enclosed in a time interval. The term 'Situation' has been interpreted in COSMO as strictly temporal, and the more abstract things that resenble situations have been aggregated under 'AbstractEvent'. Cyc ('Situtation') A subcollection of both #$IntangibleIndividual and #$TemporalThing. #$Situation subsumes #$Event and #$StaticSituation. Each instance of #$Situation is a state or event consisting of one or more objects having certain properties, or bearing certain relations to each other. OPENCYC 1: (Situation-Temporal) MAY 23, 2002 A subcollection of both #$Situation and #$TemporalThing. #$Situation-Temporal is the collection of all instances of #$Situation that have duration or other temporal properties . Thus, #$Situation-Temporal subsumes #$Event and #$StaticSituation, as well as some other specializations of #$Situation. It does _not_ subsume any specializations of #$Situation that have atemporal instances. DOLCE: Perdurants (AKA occurrences) comprise what are variously called events, processes, phenomena, activities and states. They can have temporal parts or spatial parts. For instance, the first movement of (an execution of) a symphony is a temporal part of the symphony. On the other hand, the play performed by the left side of the orchestra is a spatial part. In both cases, these parts are occurrences themselves. We assume that objects cannot be parts of occurrences, but rather they participate in them. Perdurants extend in time by accumulating different temporal parts, so that, at any time they are present, they are only partially present, in the sense that some of their proper temporal parts (e.g., their previous or future phases) may be not present. E.g., the piece of paper you are reading now is wholly present, while some temporal parts of your reading are not present yet, or any more. Philosophers say that endurants are entities that are in time, while lacking temporal parts (so to speak, all their parts flow with them in time). Perdurants, on the contrary, are entities that happen in time, and can have temporal parts (all their parts are fixed in time). A synonym of 'SituationProcessEventOrState'. COSMO Note: Situation is included for compatibility with OpenCyc. It is indistinguishable from 'SituationProcessEventOrState', i.e. it subsumes all things that happen, or states that exist, whether completed or ongoing. Situation is deprecated in COSMO because of a history of use in different senses. See the different categories under 'SituationProcessEventOrState'. bd88c84b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A 'Scene' is the visual aspect of a state or an Event. This notion often refers to an InstantaneousState, as viewed from one person's perspective, or in a snapshot. But this type represents all those elements of the whole state that are perceivable visually, so this is a subgroup of the group of attributes and relations that constitute the state of a Group of entities. NOTE that in WordNet a 'scene' is a visual perception, whereas in in COSMO it is a situation which is the visual part of the physical situation. These are different concepts. In COSMO, a 'view' is the visual perception (and in WordNet 'view' is a synonym of 'scene'). For the perception, see 'Viewing'. WordNet: Scene (13), panorama (no sense from tagged texts): view, aspect, prospect, scene, vista, panorama -- (the visual percept of a region; 'the most desirable feature of the park are the beautiful views') A 'View' is a 'Scene' observed from one vantage point. Since the view is considered from one vantage point, the visual properties selected by this type are the ones that can be seen from that vantage point. NOTE the restriction that requires that instantiation of a 'View' requires specifying some Person or Agent who was able to see it - possibly the one who describes it as a 'View' or the one who originally described it. It is not a View unless someone can see it. NOTE that in WordNet a 'view' is a visual perception, whereas in in COSMO it is a situation which is the visual part of the physical situation. These are different concepts. Scene (13), panorama (no sense from tagged texts): view, aspect, prospect, scene, vista, panorama -- (the visual percept of a region; 'the most desirable feature of the park are the beautiful views') Each instance of 'Background' is a 'View' that is part of a larger 'View' and is generated by objects at a farther distance from the viewer than are the objects in the Foreground. Instantiating a 'Background' requires soecifying the whole 'View' of which is is a part (which in turn requires specifying some Person to whom it was visible). Each instance of 'Foreground' is a 'View' that is part of a larger 'View' and is generated by objects at a closer distance to the viewer than are the objects in the Background. Instantiating a 'Foreground' requires soecifying the whole 'View' of which is is a part (which in turn requires specifying some Person to whom it was visible). A 'Panorama' is a 'View' observed from one vantage point, in which objects at long distances (more than a mile) can be seen, over a wide angle of view - greater than 75 angular degrees. It is a 'View' of a more specific type. Since the panorama is considered from one vantage point, the visual properties selected by this type are the ones that can be seen from that vantage point. NOTE that in WordNet a 'panorama' is a visual perception, whereas in in COSMO it is a situation which is the visual part of the physical situation. These are different concepts. WordNet: Scene (13), panorama (no sense from tagged texts): view, aspect, prospect, scene, vista, panorama -- (the visual percept of a region; 'the most desirable feature of the park are the beautiful views') Each Event in COSMO is a Group representing the changes to the properties (attributes and relations) of one or more objects over some interval of time, and containing the component elements: (1) InstantaneousState at the starting time (2) InstantaneousState at the Ending time (3) The FunctionalProcess that describes the intermediate states between the starting and ending times. **Informally**, a state,process, or event in COSMO is interpreted as the set of *values* of some 'fluents' (attributes or relations that may change over time), but the actual *formal* representation is a Group in which the group elements are the *LinguisticAssertions* specifying the values of the fluents pertaining to some Group of Objects. Each LinguisticAssertion specifies the value at some time point (or time interval). The differences in State, Process,and Event are: State: The Group of Assertions that hold at one time point (InstantaneousState), or persist without change of value over some contiguous interval of time (PersistentState). No value can chage within a State. FunctionalProcess: The full set of LinguisticAssertions specifying the values of fluents at each time point or smaller TimeInterval within a TimeInterval in which the Process is defined. The set of LinguisticAssertions relate times to values,and in that respect is analogous to a mathematical function. In analogy to a mathematical function, one can derive a 'rate' for a Process (in cases where the values are quantified) by taking the ratio of (difference in value) to (difference in time) for any TimeInterval in which a change of value is specified. This rate may change from time to time during a FunctionalProcess. Event: focuses on the values of the fluents at the beginning and ending of some TimeInterval, but also includes the FunctionalProcess that specifies the fluent values at times between the beginning and ending. Since the focus of an Event is on the change from one time point to the next, one cannot specify a 'rate' in the same sense as for a FunctionalProcess, where the rate may change many times during the FunctionalProcess. For an Event, one can derive a single 'rate' value that specifies the overall ratio of change of fluent value to time, between the beginning and ending points, and for an Event, only one such 'rate' can be defined. Although logically included in each Event are the starting and ending times, (see relations hasStartingTimePoint and hasEndingTimePoint), these may not be known, and creating an instance of Event does not require specifying those times if not known. NOTE that the FunctionalProcess which is a component of the Event *contains* all of the elements contained in the Event, in that it contains itself, and also contains the states at the beginning and end. While *containing* all of those elements, however, it is nevertheless a distinctly different concept, since the 'Event' specifically selects out of the FunctionalProcess the beginning and ending states as characteristic of the Event. The Event is not a FunctionalProcess, but *contains* a FunctionalProcess as a component element. A FunctionalProcess can be derived from an Event, and an Event can be derived from a FunctionalProcess that is defined over some interval of time. A 'FunctionalProcess' that has only one time point in it also represents a special kind of Event, the limiting case of an InstantaneousState. NOTE also that an instance of FunctionalProcess that is defined by a mathematical function relating properties to time must have associated with it some time interval during which it is asserted to be valid, in order to be an instance. NOTE also that this representation of Event does not resemble a perdurantist 'history' which focuses on some region of space-time. Regions of space-time are represented as 'SpatiotemporalRegion' in COSMO, but the only spatial regions of relevance to an Event are those that can be derived from the locations of the Objects that participate in an Event. The significant conceptual components of an Event are the properties ('fluents') of the Objects that participate in the Event, and insofar as the locations of the Objects may be, but are not necessarily, represented in the Event, those locations may be significant, but except in Events solely depicting motion, the locations are incidental rather than central to the changes represented by the Event. Each Event represents one or more changes that occur to the attributes or relations ('fluents') of one or more objects during some defined interval of time (or for abstract Events, within some interval on the dimension of causality); the net changes are represented by the state at the beginning of the event and the state at the end of the Event. In the physical world, real Events typically have multiple intermediate stages, and nothing occurs instantaneously, but some non-physical Events such as a change of title for a Person may occur at a precise moment by prior arrangement. The representation of intermediate stages of an Event can be explicit, with the included events related to the whole event by the 'hasSubEvent' relation or 'hasTemporalPart' relation. The first can be more specific about one of serveral fluents that vary during an event. The temporal part relation between Events must relate a subevent that includes alll of the fluents represented in the whole Event. Each Event includes implicitly a Process that specifies the course of each fluent between the start and end times. At this point (v0.39) there is no explicit representation of the included Process, but each FunctionalProcess will, if represented explicitly, have an associate time granularity indicating the minimal intervals over which the change in the fluents are represented. The ize of the granularity intervals during which FunctionalProcess states are represented will depends on the discretion of the ontologist for the pruposes of the representation. COSMO note: note that in some ontologies (and situation logics) , 'Event' is used to refer to a change in state that is considered instantaneous. In COSMO, suchan 'Event' is a subtype of the more general event, which is a change in state that occurs over some interval of time (which, for instantaneous changes would be a zero-length time interval). NOTE also that for some Events, such as cyclic Events, merely representing the starting and ending states - which may be identical - loses the whole meaning of the Event; so intermediate states must also be represented in some manner to provide meaning to the Event. Called: Event(Cyc); Process(SUMO); event(DOLCE); Processual(SPAN-BFO) ************ NOTE on BFO 'Process' ****************************** COSMO: BFO the Type most closely representing COSMO 'Event' is 'Process', so that BFO type is made synonymous with ''Event'. BFO makes teh distinction between 'Fiat' events (FiatProcessPart = parts of events) and complete events. This Type represents the complete Event with well-defined beginnings and ends. The FiatProcessPart event is included for compatibility, though not yet used. BFO ('Process') Definition: A processual entity that is a maximally connected spatio-temporal whole and has bona fide beginnings and endings corresponding to real discontinuities. BFO Examples: the life of an organism, the process of sleeping, the process of cell-division ************ NOTE on BFO 'Process' ****************************** Cyc comment: An important specialization of #$Situation and thus also of #$IntangibleIndividual and #$TemporallyExistingThing (qq.v). Each instance of #$Event is a dynamic situation in which the state of the world changes; each instance is something one would say happens . Events are intangible because they are changes per se, not tangible objects that effect and undergo changes. Notable specializations of #$Event include #$Event-Localized, #$PhysicalEvent, #$Action, and #$GeneralizedTransfer. #$Events should not be confused with #$TimeIntervals (q.v.). The temporal bounds of events are delineated by time intervals, but in contrast to many events time intervals have no spatial location or extent. COSMO note: 'Event' was merged with Cyc 'PhysicalEvent' and Cyc 'Event-Localized' The Cyc 'StrictlyMentalEvent' is classified as a PhysicalEvent in COSMO. Cyc: (PhysicalEvent') A specialization of #$Event-Localized. Each instance of #$PhysicalEvent is a spatially localized event involving one or more physical objects or stuffs. #$PhysicalEvents typically involve interaction among #$PartiallyTangibles. But note that a physical event might consist in the creation, destruction, movement, or a change in some physical feature of a single salient physical object. (See #$PhysicalCreationEvent, #$PhysicalDestructionEvent, #$MovementEvent, and #$IntrinsicStateChangeEvent.) For a contrasting (though not necessarily disjoint) collection, see #$StrictlyMentalEvent. For events that have both physical and mental components, see the collection #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvent. Cyc ('Event-Localized'): A specialization of #$Event. #$Event-Localized is the collection of all events that occur at a specific location in space. Notable specializations of #$Event-Localized include #$PhysicalEvent and #$AnimalActivity. bd58800d-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A DesignFunction is the ability to do something or to enable doing something by acting as an instrument. This notion encompasses two different roles in an Event, and is therefore an aggregate concept that is high-level in COSMO. Its subtypes will be Events which may be Actions (doing something) or merely non-active participations (being an instrument). This is the function that an artifact is designed to perform, when it is designed to perform a function, or the function that an evolved part of an organism is designed to perform, by evolution. EnablingTelecommunication is the function of communication devices that allow communicaton over significant distances - not just amplifying voice like a loudspeaker, but converting signals into electrical pulses that can be transmitted remotely over wire or optical fiber. AbilityToCool is the DesignFunction performed by CoolingDevices such as refrigerators and AirConditioners. hadParticipant relates an Event to the things (Objects, Substances) that participate in the Event in some role, as causative agents, or as instruments, or as products or in other roles (e.g. as witnesses). This is the most general 'case' relation that is conceptual rather than strictly grammatical. It is in the past tense to emphasize that it is a relation on instances, rather than on types; it will usually be used to refer to past Events, but may refer to future or hypthetical Events.. Participants include the inputs and outputs of Events that are creation or destruction events. See, for example, 'produced'. COSMO note: Objects may 'participate' in an Event without being a 'patient', for example in a BeliefState the Belief involved is a participant in the Event, but the properties of the belief involved are not among the fluents that are affected by the Event. Rather, in that case, the relationship between the Agent and the belief is the fluent. the inverse of 'hadParticipant'. This relation points from an instance of Object (physical or abstract) to an Event in which the Object participated (in any role). hadMainParticipant relates an Event to the Object whose properties and relations ('fluents') are the primary things begin represented by the specific type of Event. This relatikon is used for Events for which a single participant is the dominant theme. isUsedAsInstrumentInEvent relates a type of instrument to the type of Event in which that instrument is typically or commonly used. For the assertions relating specific instances of objects to the particular Events in which they were used, use 'wasUsedAsInstrumentInEvent' wasUsedAsInstrumentInEvent specifies that a particular physical object was used as an instrument in some particular event. For the generic assertion of what kinds of objects are used in what kinds of events, use 'isUsedAsInstrumentInEvent'. An Event may have more than one instrument used during its occurrence. The instrument will in general not be consumed by its use, but this is a very broad relation and the instrument may be changed by its use. For example, a bucket of water used to douse a fire will be an instrument in the event of dousing the fire - the water will be changed, though it will not be chemically transformed. Subrelations may describe more specific instrument usages. It is in the past tense, as Events in COSMO are considered as bounded in time, and must be in the past after the end point. SUMO has a relation called simply 'instrument' which would be the inverse of this relation: SUMO (instrument ?EVENT ?TOOL) means that ?TOOL is used by an agent in bringing about ?EVENT and that ?TOOL is not changed by ?EVENT. For example, the key is an instrument in the following proposition: The key opened the door. Note that instrument and resource cannot be satisfied by the same ordered pair. 'wasFacilitatedByInstrument' relates an instrument used in an Event to the Event in which is was used. It is the inverse of 'wasUsedAsInstrumentInEvent'. There may be more than one instrument used in an Event. To say that an Event was 'facilitated' does not require that the Event would not have been possible without the instrument. In SUMO a similar relation is called 'instrument' SUMO: (instrument ?EVENT ?TOOL) means that ?TOOL is used by an agent in bringing about ?EVENT and that ?TOOL is not changed by ?EVENT. For example, the key is an instrument in the following proposition: The key opened the door. Note that instrument and resource cannot be satisfied by the same ordered pair. In Cyc a similar relation is called 'deviceUsed' Cyc: The predicate #$deviceUsed relates an event to a device used in that event. (#$deviceUsed EVENT OBJECT) means that the #$PhysicalDevice OBJECT plays an instrumental role in the #$Event EVENT (see the more generalized predicate #$instrument-Generic), OBJECT is intentionally used in EVENT, and standardly (for example, in the #$HumanActivitiesMt) OBJECT's role in EVENT is consistent with the object's #$primaryFunction. 'affectedObject' points from an Event to one of the objects that participated in the Event, and (may have) had one of its properties changed. The Object pointed to must be one whose Proerty(ies) are one of the 'fluents' that is a value of the FuntionalProcess that results in the Event. This relation captures the notion of a 'patient' in the usual Event representations, being the notion of something that was 'acted on' in an Event. In COSMO it is not necessary that the object of this relation actually have some property changed - something may be 'touched' in an event and fulfill the role of the thing 'acted on' without any of its perceptible properties actually being changed. For static events, representing a state continuing unchanged over some period of time, the Object(s) that is 'affected' by the Event is the Object(s) whose properties ('fluents') are unchanged in that interval, which will be the Objects whose state the ontologist intends to describe with that Event representation. wasPerformedByAgent points from an Action to the Agent that performed that Action. It is in the past tense, as Events in COSMO are considered as bounded in time, and must be in the past after the end point. This 'perform' relation includes the 'experiencer' case role for mental events. 'wasExperiencedBy' points from a MentalEvent to the CognitiveAgent that performed (experienced) that Event. It is in the past tense, as Events in COSMO are considered as bounded in time, and must be in the past after the end point. isTypicallyPerformedAt relates an Action type to the location type where it commonly occurs, or with which it is commonly associated, as in Baseball being played on a baseballField. But this does not require even that a majority of such events occur there, just that there is a salient association of the event with the place.. A 'PersistingEvent' is an Event in which some Object persists in some sense over some period of time. This is not a subtype of 'PersistentState' because in some PersistingEvents the Object may be changed, but the changes will not change the identity or basic functionality of the object. The basic sense of a 'PersistingEvent' is that the main functionality of the Object remains at the end of the Event, i.e. that the Object survies intact. Instances of this type will carry the implied notion that under similar circumstances, similar object have a non-trivial probability of not persisting. However, the persisting may be over the course of ordinary wear situations, and the 'survival' of a Person for some interal of years would be an instance of this type, even if nothing especially hazardous happened in that interval. For interals in which something withstood unusual stresses that pose a significant likelihood of damage, use 'WithstandingEvent'. A 'BecomingEvent' is an Event in which some Object changes its type or changes some attribute that is of moticeable significance. This is intentionally vague so as to encompass any Event that could be referred to by a statement such as 'the object became . . .". A change of color could suffice: 'the apple became red after three days'; 'the bananas turned yellow overnight'. Longer time intervals would also qualify: 'This little baby became a fearsome warrior'. Subtypes such as 'ChangeOfStatusEvent' and 'CreationOrDestructionEvent' are included. The number of subtypes is likely to expand as more and more specific events are found to be referred to by a phrase meaining 'become', such as 'turned' or 'turned into' or 'was transformed'. It may be hard to exclude any Event other than a PersistentState, but the usage will have to be determined by its applicability in language processing, and kept as narrow as possible while accommodating common usage. A common term for 'PersistingEvent' A WithstandingEvent is a 'PersistingEvent' in which some Object retains it identity and basic functionality after enduring some unusual stresses. Being shot and continuing to live is one example of a WithstandingEvent for a Person, and staying basically intact and usable throughout a hurricane, though possibly with minor damage, is a WithstandingEvent for a building. A common term for 'WithstandingEvent'. A ForceTransmissionEvent is an Event in which one object causes a force which is felt by a second object. The force may be at a distance, such as by gravity or electrical or magnetic forces, or directly, but pushing or pulling or by restkng on another object in a gravitational field. A ForceTransmissionEvent may be a PersistentState if the force transmitted is balanced by another force and the object feeling the force remains stationary. An AttractingEvent is a ForceTransmissionEvent in which one object causes a force to be felt by another object, when the two objects are not touching. THe attracting force may or may not cause the other object to move, depending on its situation. The holding of each heavier-than-air object to the Earth by gravity is an AttractingEvent. Other examples are the magnetic attraction that causes magnets to stick to refrigerators and the rotor of an electric motor to move, and the electrical attraction that propels beams of electrons in a TV tube. A PushingEvent is a ForceTransmissionEvent in which one object is touching another, and by causing itself to move toward the other object, causes the other object to move. A push may be brief or continuous. A PullingEvent is a ForceTransmissionEvent in which one object is connected to another (as by a tow rope), and by causing itself to move away from the other object, causes the other object to move.. A specialization of #$PhysicalEvent. Each instance of #$Accident is an event in which something unplanned and unintended happens. Example instances of this collection are #$ChernobylAccident and #$ColumbiaAccident. bd58a26f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$Situation. Each instance of #$MentalSituation is a mental situation such as a person seeing the color red, or believing that his enemies control the CIA, or desiring that Fidel Castro shave his beard. An important subcollection of this collection is #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent whice is the collection of mental situations that are events, such as thinking about something or tasting something. Other instances of #$MentalSituation are more long-standing and stable, and hence also instances of #$StaticSituation, e.g., believing something, or having some goal. Cf. #$MentalSituationFn. bee2989e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 NOTE: name changed in COSMO. In Cyc this is 'AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent'. Cyc: A collection of events. Each instance of #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent is an event involving the mental functions of a participant or group of participants (see #$actors) in that event. The collection includes such things as dreaming, perceiving, sensing, theorizing about something, having a realization, making a decision, building something, designing something, and consciously carrying out a task. Note that the above list includes both purposeful events and non-purposeful events that involve mental functions. Note also that any event that has a mental component is also an instance of this collection, so that events like preparing lunch would be classified as instances of #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent. In entering knowledge, it is almost always possible and preferable to use one of the specializations of #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent. If an event seems mostly mental in nature, modulo neurons firing and related brain activity, use #$StrictlyMentalEvent or one of its specializations. If it essentially involves both mental and physical activity, see #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvent or #$PurposefulPhysicalAction. For mental events that are intentionally and purposefully performed, see the specialization #$PurposefulMentalActivity. COSMO note: this appears to be similar to SUMO 'PsychologicalProcess', which is a subtype of Event. SUMO: A BiologicalProcess which takes place in the mind or brain of an Organism and which may be manifested in the behavior of the Organism. bd588615-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 hasSubEvent relates one Event to another, smaller Event included in the first. This is a 'part' relation specific for Events. The included Event may only represent some of the fluents represented in the whole event, or may represent all of the fluents in some time interval shorter than the time interfval of the whole event. In the latter case, the relation 'hasTemporalPart' could also be used. This relation can be used to relate individual Events, or can be used to specify that some Type of Event must have another Type of Event as a component. 'isaSubEventOf' is the inverse of 'hasSubEvent', and relates one Event to another, larger Event in which the smaller Event is included. The subevent may be a temporal part of the larger Event, or it may represent only some of the fluents that are represented in the larger Event. COSMO note: DOLCE distinguishes Events that have temporal parts with similar character, i.e. the same sort of thing occurs throughout the tie interval of the Event. In OpenCyc, such 'homogeneous' events are represented using 'StuffType' metaclasses. A special subclass is the 'State' where nothing happens over some time interval. 'State' is an important concept in PSL and situation calculus. DOLCE: An occurrence-type is stative or eventive according to whether it holds of the mereological sum of two of its instances, i.e. if it is cumulative or not. A sitting occurrence is stative since the sum of two sittings is still a sitting occurrence. A PersistentState is an Event in which all relevant attributes or relations (any one or more 'fluents' in PSL) remains constant over some time interval. A special limiting subtype would be an InstantaneousState, for which the time interval is of zero duration. NOTE That if an Object is specified as having some Attribute during some interval of time, that is equivalent to specifying the existence of a PersistentState for that Object during that interval. COSMO note: DOLCE has a convoluted description of what a 'State' is. For COSMO, a PersistentState (what appears to be a 'State' in DOLCE) it is very simply an Event in which nothing changes over some interval of time - - i.e. nothing changes that the knowledge enterer considers significant for her/his purposes. This can be viewed as the limiting case of an Event, in which so little of significance happens that it is not worth mentioning. DOLCE: Within stative occurrences, we distinguish between states and processes according to homeomericity: sitting is classified as a state but running is classified as a process, since there are (very short) temporal parts of a running that are not themselves runnings.In general, states differ from situations because they are not assumed to have a description from which they depend. They can be sequenced by some course, but they do not require a description as a unifying criterion.On the other hand, at any time, one can conceive a description that asserts the constraints by which a state of a certian type is such, and in this case, it becomes a situation.Since the decision of designing an explicit description that unifies a perdurant depends on context, task, interest, application, etc., when aligning an ontology to DLP, there can be indecision on where to align a state-oriented class. For example, in the WordNet alignment, we have decided to put only some physical states under 'state', e.g. 'turgor', in order to stress the social orientedness of DLP. But whereas we need to talk explicitly of the criteria by which we conceive turgor states, these will be put under 'situation'.Similar considerations are made for the other types of perdurants in DOLCE.A different notion of event (dealing with change) is currently investigated for further developments: being 'achievement', 'accomplishment', 'state', 'event', etc. can be also considered 'aspects' of processes or of parts of them. For example, the same process 'rock erosion in the Sinni valley' can be conceptualized as an accomplishment (what has brought the current state that e.g. we are trying to explain), as an achievement (the erosion process as the result of a previous accomplishment), as a state (if we collapse the time interval of the erosion into a time point), or as an event (what has changed our focus from a state to another).In the erosion case, we could have good motivations to shift from one aspect to another: a) causation focus, b) effectual focus, c) condensation d) transition (causality). If we want to consider all the aspects of a process together, we need to postulate a unifying descriptive set of criteria (i.e. a 'description'), according to which that process is circumstantiated in a 'situation'. The different aspects will arise as a parts of a same situation. 'State' is an ambiguous term with at least two frequently used but different meanings; it is synonymous with two terms: (1) PersistentState: A state of affairs that persists over some period of time is what is most commonly referred to as a 'state', if one includes the special case where the interval is zero, i.e. the 'state' is the state at a particular moment. (2) A Nation, or the first administrative subdivision of a Nation.. Therefore 'State' is a potentially onfusing and deprecated term in COSMO and appears only in the list of Synonyms. COSMO note: This concept is similar to DOLCE 'Stative' but we make it temporarily (v0.2) a parent class of the DOLCE concept. Cyc: A specialization of #$Situation. Each instance of #$StaticSituation is a state of affairs between two or more things, persisting statically over some time interval. Instances of #$StaticSituation always have a temporal extent, and they usually have a tangible and spatial extent. As an example, consider the situation of Bill Clinton sitting in his easy chair on the evening of 7/4/96. There are participant objects such as Bill and the chair, there are relationships such as the seat of the chair supporting his bottom and his weight being off his feet, etc. In any #$StaticSituation, for the participants in that situation, there is some significant or focal relationship between them which does not change. In the most typical cases, there is no important change whatsoever, e.g. someone sitting would be such a #$StaticSituation. But some things represented as #$StaticSituations can alternatively be represented as #$Events. For example, a situation in which geese were flying in a flock would be static (the flock-like spatial relationship between the geese would be retained) but it would also be dynamic in that the geese were moving, so either representation could be chosen depending on the context. be1e537c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The class of reified relationships between two agents. Such relationships exist in time and change over time, so #$SomethingExisting is an allgenls. bd66e328-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Called 'DualObjectProcess' in SUMO. SUMO: Any Process that requires two, nonidentical patients. A very general concept, aggregating all the FunctionalProcesses that can be described as 'Development'. This is the actual process of something developing, not a procedure or plan or protocol for development of something. Development can be natural, as in development of an embryo, or a human actiity, such as development of a language or culture. A FunctionalProcess corresponds to the linguistic intuition of something happening at some point in time, rather than something that has happened in some interval of time, which is an Event. Intuitively, it may be considered as the time derivative of an Event: a Process occurring over some interval of time gives rise to an Event, which is a change (or series of changes) in the properties of some Objects during some interval of Time. Every FunctionalProcess is intimately associated with some Event as one of the comonents of that Event (see 'Event'). Formally, a FunctionalProcess is a Group consisting of ordered pairs, each ordered pair having one element which is an InstantaneousState at some time point and the second element being the TimePoint at which that state holds. Each InstantaneousState contains the Group of values of the Fluents that hold at that TimePoint. Thus if, at some point in time, someone is Running, one can say that a Running process exists at that point, and that person is a participant in the process. The 'existence' of an instance of Process at some time point implies that some Event has taken place (or is taking place) in the time interval including that time point, and vice-versa, each Event implies existence of some corresponding FunctionalProcess at every time point during the interval between the beginning and end of the Event (**but see next paragraph**). But for linguistic purposes, it may be more convenient to represent just the Event or just the FunctionalProcess, and not explicitly represent the corresponding entity, which is nevertheless implied. The list of States over time has some similarity to a ValueTimeEntry, though the former relates the state assertions themselves, rather than the values. **It is possible for a FunctionalProcess to be discontinuous, such as an 'eating' process during which one is not actually ingesting anything - perhaps reading a paper in the intervals between taking bites of a meal; or a 'going to school' process during which one sleeps, watches television, etc., other than actually being in the school or studying. One may formally say that the process continues int the intervals when the relevant fluents are not changing, but that the intervals between actual progression of the process each consists of a null process which is part of the whole process, and give rise to null events which are parts of the whole event.** The term 'process' has been often used to refer to Procedures, (see 'Procedure') which are specifications for some sequence of actions that accomplish a goal. That is a distinct, though somewhat related concept. In some ontologies, (such as Cyc) a 'process' is a type of Event which has some uniform character throughout the Event. Because of the variant usage, the bare term 'process' is not used in this ontology to avoid confusion. Thus this base Type is called 'FunctionalProcess' to specifically refer to its similarity to a mathematical function. It resembles a mathematical function in certain respects: a FunctionalProcess can be said to describe the state of some system as a function of time. Like a function, a FunctionalProcess can have properties, and one important property will be the Rate at which the represented change is occurring. Most ontologies deal with Events, and ignore Processes of this type. For representing certain linguistic phrases, however, this type is better suited than the Event type. Most FunctionalProcesses are not represented explicitly in COSMO at version 0.3, but when needed may be generated by a function (not yet defined) that takes an Event and returns the Process that is operating to generate that Event. One issue not yet dealt with in COSMO v0.3 is whether a function that can generate a Process from the corresponding Event can handle Events whose definition specifies more than one Fluent as changing during the Event. In such cases, to have a clear relation, the multiple fluents must be ordered similarly in the representation of the Event and its corresponding FunctionalProcess. hasCorrespondingProcess relates an Event (or eventType) to the FunctionalProcess (or ProcessType) which gives rise to the Event over some interval of time (or more abstractly, some interval on the dimension of causality). NOTE that this relation can be used at either the instance or Type level, and can be used in a mixed mode, to specify that a particular Event was produced by a particular Type of Process. This relation is not yet elaborated in COSMO v0.3, and serves mostly as a placeholder to clarify (somewhat) the relation between Event and FunctionalProcess.. OccupationType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that pertain to Occupations, such as 'isTheOccupationOfa' and 'practicesOccupation'. NOTE that this must not be used as the Type of people who have ocupations. For that, use 'OccupationalRoleType'. OccupationalRoleType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that pertain to Types describing people in occupational roles, such as 'Nurse', 'Firefighter'.. An Occupation is a type of activity that a person does, typically to earn money or something of equivalent value. People who don't need the money and do the activity for the satisfaction still are practicing an occupation. This is the Type whose subtpes will correspond to the various occupations that people do, such as 'Nursing' or 'Accounting'. Because some occupations are in common speech named in the same manner as the term describing the person who has that occupation (Electrician), the names used here may seem unusual, so as to avoid confusion with the person having the occupation. An Occupation is related to the PersonWithOccupation practicesOccupation relates a Person with an Occupation - or an occpation Type - to an occupation, which is a Type. An Event in which someone provides Nursing care to another person. The provider is not necessarily a licensed RN, but this represents someone working in a professional capacity, for some compensation. cyc: The field and occupation of #$Nursing, encompassing all the skills and tasks that #$Nurses do at work. bd58cb6b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The field and occupation of #$Nursing, encompassing all the skills and tasks that #$Nurses do at work. bd58cb6b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 EconomicDevelopment is the process that gives rise to an EconomicImprovementEvent. A PhysicalProcess is a FunctionalProcess (not an Event) in which at least one PhysicalObject is a participant. A DiseaseProcess is a PhysicalProcess (not an Event) which, over some period of time, results in an AilmentCondition (i.e. illness, sickness, disease), which is a PersistentState that has a starting and ending point in time. An Event in which some Agent plays a causative role. NOTE that an Agent may cause an action indirectly and with a time delay, via some device - and that action, controlled largely by the device, is still considered as an Action of that Agent in COSMO. This means that the 'action' set in motion by an Agent may continue even after the death of the Agent. Thus, the fire in an oil burner, being controlled by the Agent that controls the oil burner, is considered as an Action here, even though the burner continues for a long time automatically. The Action in such cases of indirect and delayed effects extends from the time at which the Agent started the action until the end of the time when the predictable immediate consequences occur. At some point it will probably be worthwhile distinguishing the Action of setting a Device from the Events controlled by the device, but as of v0.43 that distinction is not encoded. For Actions directly including only the immediate motion of an animal and its direct, almost simultaneous consequences, use 'AnimalActivity'. NOTE that a MentalEvent such as a feeling or Emotion is also considered an Action,as it is performed by a CognitiveAgent. In different ontologies, the same notion has different names: Action(Cyc) IntentionalProcess (SUMO) action(DOLCE) Activity(ISO15926). NOTE: in COSMO we classify an 'Experience' as a subtype of 'Action' to indicate that the focus of the subject is an Agent, even though no Events external to the Agent may be caused by the Experience. Cyc comment: The collection of #$Events (q.v.) that are carried out by some doer (see #$doneBy). Instances of #$Action include any event in which one or more actors effect some change in the (tangible or intangible) state of the world, typically by an expenditure of effort or energy. Note that it is not required that any tangible object be moved, changed, produced, or destroyed for an action to occur; the effects of an action might be intangible (such as a change in a bank balance or the intimidation of a subordinate). Note also that the doer of an action, though typically an #$Agent (q.v.), need not be (e.g. a falling rock that dents a car's roof). Depending upon the context, doers of actions might be animate or inanimate, conscious or nonconscious. For actions that are intentional, see #$PurposefulAction and #$performedBy. SUMO: A 'Process' that has a specific purpose for the 'CognitiveAgent' who performs it. DOLCE: A Perdurant that exemplifies the intentionality of an agent. Could it be aborted, incomplete, mislead, while remaining a (potential) accomplishment ... The point here is that having a result depends on a method, then an action remains an action under incomplete results. As a matter of fact, if we neutralize intentionality, a purely topological, post-hoc view is at odds with the notion of incomplete accomplishments. bd58a841-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A common term, also used in ISO15926, for 'Action'. A GivingEvent is any of a variety of Actions in which an IntelligentAgent gives (physically or in an abstract sense) something to something else. This is not necessarily a transfer of possession, but can be a metaphorical type of 'giving' such as giving a name to a person, assigning a value to a variable (but only when done directly by a person), assigning a person to a task or a position, giving a right to someone or giving information to someone. This is not a 'transfer' because the thing 'given' (such as a name) may not actuall y exist until it is given, and may not in any sense 'move' from one place to another. An AssigningEventis an Action in which some name, value, or abstract property (such asa a title or position) is assigned to a thing, which may be abstract or concrete, animate or inanimate. A specialization of Ordering-CommunicationAct. Instances of this collectin are events in which a particular task (#$AssignedTaskType) are assigned to a particular agent. ead11506-4618-11d8-9da6-0007e9162f49 COSMO note: in Cyc this was a subtype of 'Ordering', but a role assignment may in fact be the result of a request by the person performing the role, and have no flavor of compulsion. Cyc: Every instance of #$AssigningAgentToRole involves the placement of an #$Agent in a particular #$Situation, #$Role or #$Place, or some combination of the three. Some examples include placing someone in a drug rehab program, placing a child in a particular class, and placing an employee in a new location. be6bdcdc-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An AppointingEvent is a type of AssigningAgentToRole in which the Role is some office or position that has official status within an Organization. Not any old Role will be the object of an AssigningEvent. This is the collection of all activities which are performed in a state of consciousness, that is, the animal performing the action is not sleeping, in a coma, or otherwise unconscious. a8eb2b06-d712-41d6-8443-9a24c2022ade A specialization of both #$Action and #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent. Each instance of #$PurposefulAction is an action consciously, volitionally, and purposefully done by (see #$performedBy) at least one actor. In SUMO, equivalent to 'IntentionalProcess'. SUMO: A Process (Event) that has a specific purpose for the CognitiveAgent who performs it. bd589e3f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: this type is used for the actionof an Agent (individual or group) that prevails over some opponent in a contest of any kkind, and is not restricted to military actions as it is in Cyc, Every instance of DefeatingAnOpponent is the result of some Commnpetition; however, some Competitions result in a tie or a cancellation, so the inverse is not necessarily true. Cyc: Instances of this collection are events in which an agent effectively nullifies an adversary's ability to persue opposing goals in a conflict. In general, this means that the adversary has either become unwilling or unable to further pursue his intended course of action. See also #$ConflictEvent. c0dcee38-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Another way of saying 'DefeatingAnOpponent'. A specialization of #$PurposefulAction. Each instance of #$AttemptingActivity is an event in which an agent attempts (whether successfully or not) to perform some type of action: attempts to use a telephone, attempts to solve a math problem, attempts to go to the store. Specializations of this collection can be created on the fly via #$AttemptingFn (q.v.). c051fbe3-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An AvoidanceAction is any action in which a CognitiveAgent intentionally avoids something. This is very genereal: the avoiding could be avoiding contact with a specific person or class of persons, avoiding eating certain types of food, avoiding thinking about something. Each AvoidanceAction is directed as some FutureSituation which is being avoided. An action in a cognitive agent is a participant in some Event. This sense overlaps with the relation 'hasParticipant' but is more specific in representing the action itself of a CognitiveAgent who is a participant in an Event. The action of an IntellignetAgent who is present at a SocialGathering or FormalMeeting. Seeing is a perception of the visual aspect of a situation, i.e. perception of the light waves coming from object(s) in a particular State. SUMO: Processes which involve altering an internal property of an Object, e.g. the shape of the Object, its coloring, its structure, etc. Processes that are not instances of this class include changes that only affect the relationship to other objects, e.g. changes in spatial or temporal location. hadTransferredItem relates a GeneralizedTransfer event to the thing transferred during the Event. Note that more than one thing may be transferred in an Event, and in particular each Transaction has at least two things transferred. This is a Case role for the GeneralizedTransfer event, which includes specializations such as Communication or property transfer. A specialization of #$Event. Each instance of #$GeneralizedTransfer is an event in which something (tangible or intangible) is transferred from one 'place' to another. #$GeneralizedTransfer includes changes in physical location, in ownership or possession, transfer of information, and propagation of wave phenomena through space. See also the related predicate #$transferredThing, and the specializations of this collection. bd588eb6-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$GeneralizedTransfer. Each instance of #$InformationTransferEvent is an event in which information is transferred from a source (#$informationOrigin) to one or more destinations (#$informationDestination), where the source and the various destinations are either intelligent agents or #$InformationBearingThings (IBTs). Examples include reading a book (transfer of information from the book to the reader), saying something to someone (transfer of information from the speaker to the listener), machine translation (transfer of information from an encoded IBT in the source language to an encoded IBT in the target language), OCR scanning (transfer of information from a visual information source to another IBT in a different format), carving initials in a tree (transfer of information from an agent to an IBT), and making a speech (transfer of information from an agent to other agents). See also the specialization #$InformationTransferPhysicalEvent. NOTE that information can be transferred from a person's mind to a piece of paper, so the destination of the transfer does not have to be an IntelligentAgent, and an InformationTransfer does not have to be a 'Communication'. COSMO note; why is information transfer not always a PhysicalEvent in Cyc see 'InformationTransferPhysicalEvent'? Perhaps so that spirit communication can be included? In SUMO the appproximate equivalent of 'ContentBearingProcess'. SUMO: ('ContentBearingProcess') Any Process, for example ManualHumanLanguage, which may contain a Proposition. bd589f07-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An ImageCaptureEvent.is an InformationTransferEvent in which shape information about some physical object(s) is transferred from the object(s) to a recording medium, under the control of a CognitiveAgent. The result of an ImageCaptureEvent is to create both a CapturedImage (an abstract image) and also its physical representation. Although the abstract CapturedImage may be the created object of greatest interest (reproduced many times), its representation must exist on some physical recording medium. An Action in which one IntelligentAgent accepts an offer made by another IntelligentAgent. The acceptance creates an Agrement, which is not necessarily formal and not necessarily a legal contract. Linguistically this Action may be realized by phrases like: 'X agreed to do A' 'X accepted Tom's offer' 'X told Tom he would do what he suggested'. In Cyc named 'Accept'. Cyc: This is the illocutionary force associated with communication acts of acceptance. bdf5bf03-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of both #$AtLeastPartiallyMentalEvent and #$IntentionalMentalSituation (qq.v.). This is the collection of (at least partially) mental events whose instances are characterized by intentionality: they are of or about some thing external to themselves. Thoughts and acts of perception are two common types of intentional mental events. Thus, a particular act of thinking about the Eiffel Tower and a particular act of seeing the Eiffel Tower are both intentional mental events, each having (at least) the Eiffel Tower as their object. Any thing whatsoever can in principle be the object of an intentional mental event: I can think about a certain physical object, an #$Event, a #$Relation, an attribute, a #$Proposition, a mental state (my own or another's), a set, a #$Collection, or anything else. Mental events that are _not_ intentional, and thus not in this collection, include non-localized pain experiences, and at least some instances of #$ExperiencingEmotion (q.v.). Note that, although they are indirectly related (see e.g. #$PurposefulMentalActivity), the sense of intentional described above is not to be confused with its other sense as an antonym of accidental . Nor is it to be confused with the logico-semantic concept of _intensional_ meaning. See also #$IntentionalMentalState, #$objectOfMentalSituation, and #$thinksAbout. bfde8dd4-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The intersection of #$StrictlyMentalEvent and #$PurposefulAction, and also a specialization of #$IntentionalMentalEvent. Each instance of this collection is an event involving intentional mental activity on the part of at least one performer (see #$performedBy). Solving a math problem (cf. #$DoingMath), planning an attack and performing a thought experiment (cf. #$ThoughtExperimenting) are all examples of #$PurposefulMentalActivity. However, daydreaming or having undesired obsessive thoughts are not examples. A borderline example might be arriving at the solution to a math problem in one's sleep after intentionally working on the problem during the previous day. c14de554-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The action consisting of composing (creating) an AbstractText, which may or may not consist of creating a symbolic text on some medium; the composition may be purely mental. For the physcal text creation, see 'Writing'. See also Thinking.. A specialization of both #$SingleDoerAction and #$InformationTransferPhysicalEvent. Each instance of #$Perceiving is an event in which an agent (an instance of #$PerceptualAgent) acquires information through the exercise of its senses. In SUMO called 'Perception' SUMO Sensing some aspect of the material world. Note that the agent of this sensing is assumed to be an Animal. bd58c31c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 'isaPerceptionOf' relates a Perceiving event to the specific Event or type of Event that is or was perceived. The SUMO term for the Cyc 'Perceiving'. The collection of #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvents that are performed purposively (see #$performedBy). This collection is the collection-intersection of #$PurposefulAction and #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvent. Since each instance of #$PurposefulPhysicalAction is also an instance of #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvent, each instance has both a mental and a physical component. Driving a car would be an instance of #$PurposefulPhysicalAction since it involves mental and physical functioning on the part of the performing agent and is done purposively. Crashing a car, conversely, would not normally be an instance (unless the driver purposefully caused the crash). beb39562-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The Action in which some CognitiveAgent aims some PropellingDevice at a PhysicalObject. A PropellingDevice is a PhysicalObject (not necessarily and Artifact, in spite of the name) which is designed by agents or by evolution to propel something (see 'Propelling'). This includes not only human artifacts like guns, bow and arrow, slingshot, trebuchet, etc., but the natural body parts of certain animals that evolved to propel things like liquids at prey or at predators. A specialization of both #$Action (q.v.) and #$Event-Localized. Every instance of #$AnimateActivity is a spatially-localized action, each of whose doers (see #$doneBy and #$animateDoers) is either a #$BiologicalLivingObject or a group of BLOs (i.e. a #$Group all of whose members are BLOs). Specializations of this collection include #$AnimalActivity, #$BiologicalEvent, and #$PhysiologicalProcess. SUMO A normal process of an Organism or part of an Organism. 31d87aae-5580-41d7-8025-c8e9f7c3ffca A specialization of #$Action. Each instance of #$AnimalActivity is a spatially-localized action, each of whose doers (see #$doneBy) is either an #$Animal or a group of animals (i.e. a #$Group all of whose members are #$Animals). bd588daa-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The act of gaining knowledge or awareness of a particular action. bd5ba30b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A collection of instances of #$LawEnforcementEvent: specifically, the collection of all formal criminal investigations carried out by a law enforcement agency of some type. All include as a #$subEvents some instance of #$CrimeDetectionActivity. The scope of an instance of #$CriminalInvestigation is broader than just the activities carried out to detect the crime, however: it also includes the effort to identify and prosecute the perpetrator, the bureacratic procedures that accompany the investigation, and the actual arrest of the perpetrator, in cases where the investigation culminates in such. bde712c9-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Enforcing or monitoring a proposition to be true. If it is violated, the performer should perform some action. This task is performed by #$FlightAttendant, LifeGuard, and #$SecurityGuard. This unit may have a slot to specify what proposition is enforced. But we are not creating it at this stage. bd58c508-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The collection of all events performed with the purpose of enforcing laws, that are performed by people officially charged with this this duty. Includes most activities of law enforcement officials (such as police) including detection of crime, identification of offenders, and arrests. bd5dfdf4-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The collection of all instances of #$TakingAPersonPrisoner which constitute legally sanctioned arrests by law enforcement officers. 6d7f1286-20cd-11d6-8000-0090279a5907 An instance of #$PersonTypeByOccupation, and a specialization of #$PersonWithOccupation. Each instance of #$LawEnforcementOfficer is a person whose job is to detect, stop, and/or punish people engaged in illegal activities. The collection #$LawEnforcementOfficer includes members of local, state, and special police (e.g., transit police) forces, as well as federal agents (e.g., members of border patrols, national security agents). Consequently, a given instance of #$LawEnforcementOfficer typically also belongs to one of the following collections: #$StateEmployee, #$LocalGovernmentEmployee, or #$NationalGovernmentEmployee (see #$PublicSectorEmployee). bd58e004-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A Behavior is a type of AnimalActivity that may be repeated at more or less frequent intervals, and has a pattern sufficiently characteristic of the animal to be called a 'behavior' in normal speech. A single isolated action would not be a 'Behavior', but a Behavior does not hae to be performed frequently. A Practice is a Behavior that occurs with sufficient frequency to constitute a distinguishing characteristic for a person or group of people. It should be more frequent than other actions considered as 'Behavior', but the frequency criterion is vague. 'Pactice' differs from 'GroupPractice' in that a 'Practice' can be performed by an individual, even though it is not a 'Habit'. A Habit is a Behavior of an individual person that is an acquired pattern of actions, and is repeated often enough to distinguish that behavior from the more common forms of behavior in that culture at that time. A repeated action that is common among a community (even if not common worldwide) due to social norms, rather than for individual preference, would be a 'Custom', not a 'Habit'. A GroupPractice is a type of Practice practiced commonly by or within a Group. It may be a behavior of an individual, distinctive to a particular group, or it may be a social behavior involving more than one person in a group. If it is frequent and distinctive of a particular Group, it would be a 'Custom', a subtype of this Type. A Custom is a GroupPractice that is practiced frequently or at certain intervals within a GroupOfPeople. It may be performed by an Individual person or by more than one person. A Custom does not have to be practiced frequently by an individual - for example, the Custom of having a big celebration at one's 60th birthday will only be observed once for an individual, though it may occur frequently within a GroupOfPeople. The Custom of bedtime prayers may be preacticed alone by an individual within certain religious groups. A CulturalPractice is a Custom that involves more than one person in the activity, and is therefore a 'SocialOccurrence', and is to some extent distinctive for a Culture. COSMO note: Culture is an aggregate of beliefs and practices. This concept represents the 'practices' part of a culture. Each CulturalPractice should be an Action representative of the behaviors distinctive to some Culture. CulturalPractices can be complex and include attitudes. But this Type will represent the practice, assuming that it reflects an attitude characteristic of the Culture. In Cyc called 'Culture-Practice': Cyc: A specialization of #$Action and #$SocialOccurrence each instance of which is a very extended, multi-doer event involving material and/or social modifications by #$IntelligentAgents to their environment, as well as a set of learned shared practices which are transmitted amongst all members of any given culture. A notable specialization of this collection is #$HumanCulture, but it also includes any nonhuman animal (e.g. chimpanzee) cultures, cultures created by #$Extraterrestrials and/or AIs. See also #$CulturalEvent. be16623e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Any sexual behavior by animals. Copulation (the specific intercourse act) is a spec. c10c1d39-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of both #$PurposefulAction and #$CompositePhysicalAndMentalEvent. Each instance of #$SocialOccurrence is an action in which two or more agents take part. In many cases, #$SocialOccurrences involve communication among the participating agents. Some instances of #$SocialOccurrence have very elaborate role structures (e.g. a typical lawsuit), while others have fairly simple role structures (e.g. greeting a colleague at work). COSMO note: Note that InformationTransferPhysicalEvent, which may be carried out by machines at both ends, is also classified as a SocialOccurrence, since such communication is at this time (2007) always performed at the direction of a Person. NOTE also that the 'Agents' directly performing this action do not have to be people or organizations, they can be machines or software agents. bd588f3b-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 One meaning of 'Affair' is covered by 'SocialOccurrence', which includes social events like parties and balls. In the #$BaseKB, this refers to the act of two animals engaged in sexual copulation. See #$HumanActivitiesMt (and related Mts) for assertions about this activity by #$Persons. bd58cbf2-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$AnimalActivity. Each instance of #$HumanActivity is a spatially-localized action each of whose doers (see #$doneBy) is either a #$HomoSapiens or a group of humans (i.e. a #$Group all of whose members are #$HomoSapiens or groups of humans). bd588deb-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The Action of enrolling of a student in an educational institution. COSMO note: This Action includes actions on both sides - that of the student and that of the school representative doing the enrolling. bd58d598-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$HumanActivity. Each instance of #$TakingCareOfSomething is a purposeful action in which an agent acts to maintain, preserve, or promote the health or good condition of someone or something (the thing taken care of is related to the action via the predicate #$objectTakenCareOf (q.v.)). Notable specializations of #$TakingCareOfSomething include #$Exercising, #$MedicalTreatmentEvent, and #$TeethCleaning. bd58d0f8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: the process corresponding to a TakingCareOfSomethingEvent. In Cyc no distinction is made in the hierarchy between Event and Process. Cyc: A specialization of #$HumanActivity. Each instance of #$TakingCareOfSomething is a purposeful action in which an agent acts to maintain, preserve, or promote the health or good condition of someone or something (the thing taken care of is related to the action via the predicate #$objectTakenCareOf (q.v.)). Notable specializations of #$TakingCareOfSomething include #$Exercising, #$MedicalTreatmentEvent, and #$TeethCleaning. bd58d0f8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: an ImprovementEvent is clasified as such from the point of view of anyone who considers his/her situation to have improved. This differes form the Cyc defnition. Improvements can occur without the participation of the beneficiary, such as EconomicImprovement Cyc: The collection of actions in which something is improved by being changed. The improvement is from the point of view of the performer. bfeea174-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An ImprovementEvent in which some aspect of the economic situation of a population has improved. Each EconomicImprovementEvent is the result of some EconomicDevelopment process, however, CoSMO does not require that the EconomicDevelopment process be reified in order to reference an EconomicImprovementEvent. An ImprovementEvent in which some aspect a situation improves in the direction of some definable goal state. This is a very broad concept, and is a metaphoric 'AdvancingEvent'. It could apply to economic progress, personal development, progress in creation of some artifact, progress toward some goal of a group, or many other things considered as 'progress'. It also includes symbolic Events that signify completion of Progress, such as Graduation. An Event in which some Person achieves a certification that s/he has successfully completed some course of study. It does not have to be a ceremony, but should include some formal recognition by the teaching agent.. The collection of all events, brief or extended, in which an agent is acquiring information or know-how. This applies to all reading events, with the interpretation that reading means to learn (to some extent) what was written in the written material, even if that material is fictional or useless information, or the information content was already known. NOTE: intentional attempts at learning,such as searching and investigation, even if unsuccessful, are categorized as 'Learning' in COSMO because information is obtained, even in unsuccessful search, where the searcher learns that what is sought is not present where it was sought. SUMO: The Class of Processes which relate to the acquisition of information. bd58ef72-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: Cyc considers all experience to be learning, which may be problematic for bad experiences. We leave it as Cyc has it, but need to remove' TakingCareOfSomething' from the parents, to allow non-deliberate learning. Cyc: An Event in which a CognitiveAgent participates in some PhysicalEvent, and through sense impressions learns something. The Learning in an Experience is a result not merely of interpreting the content of a Communication, but from sense impressions or invoked responses other than the sense impressions required to interpret a communication. As a borderline included case, it is possible to say that a person has an 'Experience' in reading a book, because the book evoked emotions; in this case the 'Experience' includes the evoking of the emotions, not merely the interpretation of the content. A person may also have an 'Experience' in a conversation by observig how the others in the conversation react to events in the conversation. An Experience will include a Perceiving event and a Reaction event. From Random House Webster: 'the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: [e.g.] business experience.' NOTE: in COSMO we classify an 'Experience' as a subtype of 'Action' to indicate that the focus of the subject is an Agent, even though no Events external to the Agent may be caused by the Experience. An Experience that is unusual and exciting. A specialization of #$Action. Each instance of #$SingleDoerAction is an action which can have only one doer (see the predicate #$doneBy). Such actions may be intentional, but they need not be. Most bodily functions (e.g., the instances of #$Heartbeating or #$Bleeding-TheAction) belong to specializations of #$SingleDoerAction, because the only doer of a normal bodily function is the body of a single agent. In order for a type of action (i.e., a specialization of #$Action) to be a specialization of #$SingleDoerAction, it must be inconsistent to assert, for any instance ACT; of that type of action, both (#$doneBy ACT; X;) and (#$doneBy ACT; Y;), where X; and Y; are different. Notable specializations of #$SingleDoerAction include #$Sleeping, #$Dying, #$AnimalWalkingProcess, and #$WritingByHand. c0fd4844-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 phenomenon[DOLCE?no_actor_involved] A phenomenon is basically an Event that does not include any intentional active participation. Therefore it is disjoint with 'Action'. Natural events that are not caused by the action of an animal will be subtypes of this category. DOLCE (phenomenon) Therefore, it cannot be sequenced by a task. It can be seen as an accomplishment when some intentionality puts boundaries on it (although it is not claimed to be inherently intentional). On the other hand, a purely physical phenomenon does not seem to have inherent boundaries either ... and also for biological processes as well as economic processes this seems to be disputable. If the boundary hypothesis is discarded, phenomenon should migrate under process. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 The collection of wholly intangible individuals, a specialization of both #$Intangible and #$Individual. Instances of #$IntangibleIndividual are immaterial, and thus do not have mass, color, or other tangible qualities. Examples include mathematical objects (such as numbers, functions, and relations), attributes, time intervals, space regions, and events. Excluded are sets and collections because, although intangible, they are not individuals. IntangibleIndividual* A MentalObject is an Object that does not have mass and was created by an IntelligentAgent (usually a Person.or Organization). This is a very broad and primitive category comprehensible mostly by inspection of a list of subtypes. Since this is not physical, instances of this Type are not observable, but physical representations of instances of this Type (such as a specific copy of 'Gone With the Wind') can be weighed and felt. Abstract texts, musical compositions, propositions, theories, plays, poems, speeches, rights - all are MentalObjects. They will invariably have a physical representation in some PhysicalObject (including brains, light waves and sound waves). But the MentalObject itself has no physical (material) component. This corresponds closely to what in some systems (e.g. the Ontology Works top ontology) is called an 'AbstractArtifact' - something created by a Person that is not a PhysicalObject. We adopt the convention that an individual MentalObject exists only so long as there is some PhysicalObject that represents it. That PhysicalObject could be the brain of a Person, some sound or electromagnetic waves encoding that MentalObject, or some piece of paper with markings on it. When the last physical object representing that MentalObject ceases to exist, that MentalObject also ceases to exist. A new MentalObject indistinguishable from a previously existing one can always be created (even by the original creator), but it would be a different individual with a different identity. NOTE that a MentalObject is a subtype of 'AbstractEntity', but we adopt the convention that it can hava a location in space-time, being the collection of locations where its physical representations are located. Thus a Belief or a Proposition may be located in the brain of one or more IntelligentAgents, or in physical documents describing the belief symbolically. This 'location' differs from the location of any individual physical object, because the location is the collection of all physical objects containing representations of the Mental Object. This notion of 'abstract' is not the same as the traditional 'abstract' which cannot be located in space-time. Other subtypes of 'AbstractEntity' such as MathemaitcalObjects will be more traditionally abstract in that way. An idiosyncratic 'location' for a MentalObject is the location of a GeopoliticalEntity, which is located in the region controlled by the GeopoliticalEntity. Equivalent to the Cyc #$Artifact-Intangible OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002: A specialization of both #$IntangibleIndividual and #$Artifact-Generic. Each instance of #$Artifact-Intangible is an intangible thing intentionally created by an agent or agents. Important specializations of #$Artifact-Intangible include #$ComputerLanguage, #$ConceptualWork, and #$Agreement. Cyc: The collection of all instances of matters of discussion, debate, or public concern. Synonyms: consideration, factor (for planning purposes) Similar to sense 2 of 'consideration' in WOrdNet WordNet 2.1 circumstance, condition, consideration -- (information that should be kept in mind when making a decision; 'another consideration is the time it would take') WordNet Sense 4 is closer to COSMO 'Topic', the parent of COSMO 'Issue':. Wordnet 4. topic, subject, issue, matter -- (some situation or event that is thought about; 'he kept drifting off the topic'; 'he had been thinking about the subject for several years'; 'it is a matter for the police') Sense 1 of 'issue' in WordNet (a matter in dispute) is treated in COSMO as the more specific subtype of 'PublicIssue' Wordnet sense 1. issue -- (an important question that is in dispute and must be settled; 'the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone'; 'politicians never discuss the real issues' COSMO note: this is a very broad category, which can include any topic that may need discussion for cooperative decision-making. Thus something labeled as an 'issue' may be a state, attribute, object, action - any category of thing that can affect a person. bf7ab027-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An Issue that forms a topic of discussion that is widely believed to need resolution as a matterfor pubic (usually government) action. Sinilar to Sense 1 of 'issue' in WordNet (a matter in dispute): Wordnet sense 1. issue -- (an important question that is in dispute and must be settled; 'the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone'; 'politicians never discuss the real issues' COSMO note: this is a very broad category, which can include any topic that may need discussion for cooperative decision-making. Thus something labeled as an 'issue' may be a state, attribute, object, action - any category of thing that can affect a person. bf7ab027-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: called 'AwardPractice' in Cyc. Each instance of this type is an abstract object conveyed from some Authority (some person or organization who created the type of award conferred) to an individual, organization, animal (first prize at a competition) or to some object (building, art work) The abstract award is often symbolized by presentation of a plaque, medal, trophy, or document. An academic degree is an HonorAward. An HonorAward is often, but does not have to be, in recognition of some distinguished action. Military medals (abstract version) are HonorAwards. Each HonorAward is considered in COSMO by convention as being created on the day it is formally presented. Cyc: A collection of intangibles. Each instance of #$AwardPractice is a distinction bestowed upon someone or something by an appropriately authorized agent, generally in recognition of some accomplishment and often as a result of a competitive process. Awards may be given to people, books, buildings, cities, etc. Note that this collection represents the awards themselves rather than tangible symbols of awards, such as medals or Oscar statuettes. Nor do its instances represent any money that might accompany an award. See also #$SymbolicObject, #$Token-Physical. bd58dc36-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A MilitaryAward is an HonorAward (abstract) assigned by some authority for actions performed while in a MilitaryOrganization. The award may be assigned by a MilitaryOrganization or a Government (e.g. the Congressional Medal of Honor). An Appearance is a VisualPattern created by the light given off or reflected from points on the surface of a PhysicalObject. The pattern that can be simple (such as a silhouette), or can include complex relationships that are noticeable and are significant in the classification of the Appearance.. An AppearingEvent is an Event in which some PhysicalObject which was not previously visible to an observer becomes visible to that observer. The AppearingEvent can be caused by motion of the object which appears, or by motion of the observer who gains a perspective that allows viewing the object. It can also occur by some other change in the object, as by increase in size, or increase in luminosity, or increase in ambient light. It can also occur by the observer using some device that allows an otherwise imperceptible thing to become visible - e.g. a microscope, a telescope, or night-vision goggles.. An AppearanceAttribute is an attribute of a Person that can be observed by looking at the person. Marks on the skin, even though they may be hidden when normal clothing is worn, are appearance attributes (e.g. tatoos on the buttocks). hasFeature relates an Object (abstract or physical) to some Feature possessed by the Object. A Feature is an Object, but not necessarily a PhysicalObject, and not necessrily a part. hasPhysiologicalFeature relates an Organism to some observalbe external Feature possessed by the Organism. A Feature is an Object, but not necessarily a PhysicalObject, it cold be a dimple or wrinkle on the face. A PhysicalObject that symbolizes that some person, organization, or thing has been awarded an HonorAward by some Authority. Trophies awarded for sports competitions, Military medals and the Oscar (Academy Award) are examples. A MilitaryDecoration is an AwardSymbol (e.g. medal, ribbon, or both) that symbolizes that some person, has been awarded a MilitaryAward by some MilitaryOrganization or Government. hasMilitaryDecoration relates a Person to some MilitaryAward that was conferred on that Person. The award is the abstract honor, not the physical symobl, which may have been lost or given away. Once the award is conferred, the Person always 'has' it, even if the person rejects or refuses to accept it. This relation indicates the act of conferring the award. Creates and awards AcademyAwards (the Oscar). A specialization of #$AwardPractice. Each instance of #$AcademyAward is given by the #$AcademyOfMotionPictureArtsAndSciences. Note that the award is an intangible. Multiple Oscar statuettes may be given for one award, when there are collaborators, or on the rare occasions of a tie. c0c96891-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A MentalObject that relates two or more IntelligentAgents in such a way that the Agent that has the Right may do something that affects the other Agent, without creating a right for the other Agent. This is a primitive concept. The Right refers to some future Situation (action, event, state) that the Agent having the Right may cause to occur. The Agents are relatged to their rights by the relation 'hasRight'. NOTE that each Right is an instance of TimeSlice because rights are often granted only for some limited interval of time. If in perpetuity, they do have a starting time, and devolve to heirs rather than continue to be vested in a dead person. The Random House Webster describes this sense of 'right' as: 'that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.' A Right is in some sense an inverse of Obligation, in that failure to perform an Obligation can incur negative consequences for an Agent with an Obligation, whereas in theory having a Right should allow an Agent to perform an act without direct negative social consequences from the Agent against whom a Right is held. For certain types of Right, not having a Right implies an Obligation not to do the action that is the subject of the Right. Whereas an Obligation is created by an Authority, a Right can be created by simple unilateral permission, negotiation, payment, or by dint of a situation such as being born in a particular place. Nevertheless, a Right always involves some other Agent (which can be as abstract as God or one's own conscience), otherwise the alternative of not having a Right would incur no negative consequence on performing the action. hasRight relates an Agent to some Right that the Agent has (for some interval of time).. The Right to ownership of private property. This 'Right' is not universally acknowledged (as in Communist countries), and is restricted by other rights like eminent domain. 'Property' in Yale OCM (420) appears to be similar in meaning:: OCM: General statements dealing with several of the specific aspects of the property system. Material concerning the property system as a whole will be filed in Category 421. The term 'property' is to be distinguished from wealth, material possessions, or any object of ownership. It is to be understood only in the strict technical sense of the jural relations of people with regard to some subject matter and governing the use and enjoyment of the latter. In precise usage, a 'right' is correlated with a 'duty' (if A has a right against B, B is under a corresponding duty toward A); a 'privilege' is correlated with 'no right' (if A has a privilege as against B, B has no right against A, instead of a duty); a 'power' is correlated with 'liability' (if A has a power as against B, B is under a liability that his jural relations may be changed by a voluntary act on the past of A). A 'title' is a distinct constellation of rights, privileges, and powers with respect to some subject matter. A 'type of ownership' refers to the social composition of the holders of a title, e.g., an individual, a partnership, a clan, a corporation, a state. A 'property transaction' is an act which transfers a title to a new owner. A 'property system' consists of every type of title, ownership, and property transaction recognized by a society with respect to all culturally defined classes of subject matter, and is not dependent upon the statistical frequency with which its constituent elements manifest themselves.. The Right to purchase or sell a specific quantity of a financial security .at a fixed price within some period of time. This Right relates to some specific Agent with whom the transaction will be made. Options almost always have an expiration date, but do not have to expire. A Permission is any Right to do something granted by an Authority that could refuse to grant that Right. The Right is granted in a 'GrantingPermission' Event. An Admittance is a Permission to enter some location. The location can be large (a country) or small (a room). An AdmissionToMembership is a Permission to participate as a member of some Organization. GrantingPermission is the Action (Event) in which an Authority grants a right (specifically, a Permission) to some Agent to do something. Cyc: A specialization of #$MakingAnAgreement. Each instance of #$GrantingPermission is an event in which one #$SocialBeing grants some #$Permission to another. bd5901e7-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Allowing is a common term that is a synonym of the Cyc and COSMO term 'GrantingPermission.. The collection of all events in which one or more people or organizations are granted permission [#$GrantingPermission] to become members of some #$Organization. A person may be admitted to membership in some organization but not join (e.g. a #$HighSchoolStudent may be admitted to several colleges but will generally become a student of at most one of them). bdc05bc6-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 GenericSubstance[COSMO-added:_not_an_object,_includes_chemicals] List name: GenericSubstance_COSMO-added__not_an_object__includes_chemicals_ COSMO: GenericSubstance is an abstract notion of Substance as the stuff of which objects are composed. It is not an object, even though 'Substance' in OpenCyc and SUMO are actually objects of some particular (homogeneous) composition. In COSMO, we make this provision, among other reasons, to allow abstract 'substances' to compose abstract objects. In COSMO 'Subtance' is a concept that is analogous to the derivative of an object with respect to volume, i.e. it acts like an abstract density (of some substance type). For COSMO version 0.01 (COSMOtopOWL03: 2006-01-01) the required axioms for a proper definition have not been added. For more discussion see: http://colab.cim3.net/file/work/SICoP/ontac/reference/DimensionsOfProcessAndEvent.doc A PhysicalSubstance includes any of the common 'substances' we encounter every day: water, air, sugar, salt, coffee (ground or as a drink), beer, meat, steel, plastic, etc. This concept must not be construed as a physical object made of some substance. PhysicalObjects which are relatively homogeneous (the atmosphere, the ocean) can be construed as consisting of one or more PhysicalSubstances. IMPORTANT NOTE: PhysicalSubstances are categorized by the main consitutent. Therefore 'SeaWater' is considered as a subtype of 'Water'. The pure chemical substances can be represented when desirable by creating a 'Pure' category under the general heading. Thus we have a Type called 'PureWater'. Steel might be considered as a subtype of 'Iron', except that some steels do not have iron as the main consitutent. COSMO note: Because substances are represented in COSMO as Types (classes) rather than instances, the specification of properties of substances gets involved, and the intended meanings cannot be specified fully without the use of FOL. As placeholders, some relations between substances are specified, and in OWL these will be interprted as applying only to those specific Substances (Type that are instances of SubstanceType), while the intended meaning is that the relation applies not only to the particular Type but to all subtypes as well. THe translation of the OWL ontology to FOL should carefully handle these placeholder relations to be sure hey are translated properly. . The restriction on hasGrainDiameter for SubstanceTypes (which see) should require subclasses rather than instances of LengthMeasure - instances may have to be created as a workaround. (still not decided, v0.43). NOTE that a substance at some particular concentration is a subtype of that substance. To expresss that an object contains a particular concentration of a substance, one can create a subclass of that substance having the appropriate concentration attribute, and relate the object to that concentration of substance by the relation 'hasConstituentSubstance'. This representation solves some logical problems, but creates implementation problems in restricted logics such as OWL. We are using a relation: 'hasQualitativeAttribute', with specific substances as the domain 'instance', with a restriction on the range value, to indicate that substances necessarily have some particular property. However, OWL will interpret the restriction as applying to the instances of the substance Type (of which there are none) rather than on the substance Type itself, or its subtype. This restriction will have to be interpreted by applications as meaning that the substance represented by the class has those properties. the easy way to solve the problem is to create a metatype for each substance Type (i.e. for each of millions of substances), and have the restriction apply to the metatype - but this duplicates Types as metatypes. Leave the proper implementation to the application COSMO note: This Cyc catagory is reinterpreted in COSMO to include certain subtypes of 'PhysicalSubstance', that are not subcategorixed solely on the basis of composition, but of other attributes, such as state of matter (e.g. SolidSubstance). One such category is 'CommodityProduct' which treats commercial products sold in quantities 9such as potatoes, onions) as 'substances'. Cyc: A collection of collections, and a specialization of #$TemporalStuffType. Each instance of #$ExistingStuffType is a collection of things (including portions of things) which are both temporally and spatially stufflike. Division in time or space does not destroy the stufflike quality of the object (down to a certain granularity). (#$isa STUFFTYPE #$ExistingStuffType) implies both (i) for most instances STUFF of STUFFTYPE, for any proper physical part (see #$physicalParts) PART of STUFF, PART is also an instance of STUFFTYPE and (ii) for all instances STUFF of STUFFTYPE, for most proper physical parts PART of STUFF, PART is also an instance of STUFFTYPE. For example, every piece of wood is temporally stufflike: if W-168 is a piece of wood during 1996, then it's also a piece of wood for the one-minute time-slice 9:05am 7/7/96. It's also spatially stufflike: if we take that piece of wood W-168 and cut it in half, we have two things which are both pieces of wood. Since every piece of wood is both temporally and spatially stufflike, #$Wood is an instance of #$ExistingStuffType. Other instances of #$ExistingStuffType include the collections #$AppleJuice, #$IceCream, #$Diamond, #$WaxedPaper, and #$StriatedMuscle. See the comment for #$StuffType to learn more about the distinctions between, and the need for, these four collections: #$StuffType, #$ObjectType, #$ExistingStuffType, and #$ExistingObjectType. bd59f2ea-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A #$SecondOrderCollection and a specialization of #$ExistingStuffType (q.v.). Each instance of #$TangibleStuffStateType is a collection of pieces of tangible stuff that are all in the same distinct physical state, where the notion of physical state is a naive (as in #$NaivePhysicsMt) concept of a distinctive physical structure and/or texture. Some instances of #$TangibleStuffStateType have distinctive chemical compositions, such as #$Diamond; but for collections that are distinguished _solely_ on the basis of chemical composition, see #$TangibleStuffCompositionType. #$TangibleStuffStateType includes both (i) collections of substances that can exist only in one distinct physical state (e.g. #$Diamond again) and (ii) collections of pieces of stuff that by definition are in a certain distinct state (e.g. ice). Instances of #$TangibleStuffStateType include #$Foam, #$Rubble, and (#$LiquidFn #$Water). Note that #$Water per se is _not_ an instance of #$TangibleStuffStateType, since some water is in a gaseous state or a solid state. See also (the somewhat orthogonal) #$PhysicalStructuralAttribute. be00c400-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 isTheProductOf relates an Object (abstract or physical) to the PhysicalEvent in which it was created. produced relates an Event to something that is produced in the Event. It is the inverse of 'isTheProductOf'. NOTE that 'produced' does not necessarily mean 'created' in the sense that the thing produced did not exist before the Eent: Bleeding is an Action that 'produced' Blood, and the Blood existed before the Bleeding, but it was part of an animal before the bleeding and became independent of the animal as a result of the Bleeding process (which is a subtype of EmittingStuff). Creating in the sense of something going from nonexisting to existing is represented by the subproperty 'causedCreationOf'. In Cyc, a similar but not identical relation is called 'outputs'. Cyc ('outputs'): This predicate relates a particular creation or destruction event to any of its outputs . (#$outputs EVENT OBJECT) means that OBJECT is an output of EVENT. That is, OBJECT is either created/produced as a result of EVENT (see the specializations #$outputsCreated, #$products, #$byProducts) or something left after another thing was destroyed in EVENT (see the specialization #$outputsRemaining). For example, silicon chips are both #$outputsCreated in and #$products of a chip manufacturing process, while a hunk of scrap metal is an #$outputsRemaining after a car is put through a crusher. When appropriate, instead of using #$outputs, use one of its specializations (of which those mentioned above are the nearest). A FractionalComponentSubstance is a PhysicalSubstance that is a component part of some other PhysicalSubstance, and has an attribute value that indicates what percentage of the whole substance consists of this FractionalComponentSubstance. The percentage composition (which can be mass percent or volume percent) is a necessary part of the definition of each instance of this Type. Every subtype of this type must be an instance of SubstanceType. This odd Type is included as a way to represent fractional substance composition, which more naturally would be representdd by a ternary relation [e.g., (hasFractionalComponent Air Oxygen 20%). But to accommodate the OWL binary relation restrictions, this Type is added. Oxygen at 20% weight fraction. 0.20 isWeightFraction is a very specialized relation for the Type 'FractionalComponentSubstance', which specifies the farction of the domain argument that is represented by the specific instance of 'FractionalComponentSubstance'. In English, this might be expressed as (20% Oxygen) for a substance whose parent is Oxygen, and whose percentage (by weight) is 20. For the rationale requiring this relation, see 'FractionalComponentSubstance'. hasParentSubstance is a specialized relation for use in specifying the meaning of an instance of 'FractionalComponentSubstance'. For the rationale behind the use of this relation, see 'FractionalComponentSubstance' The collection of all #$Resources consists in things that are useful, i.e. things that are either needed or helpful for carrying out a task or running a system. Resources include financial resources, energy resources, raw materials, information, infra-structure, the ability to perform actions (an AttributeValue) and so on. Certain types of people may qualify as 'Resource' - employees, slaves, contractors, etc. But 'Resource' is a Role, and not all people are Resources - it depends on the situation. The inclusion of 'Capability' as a specialization of 'Resource' conforms to sense 6 of 'resource' in the Random House Webster: '6. capability in dealing with a situation or in meeting difficulties: a woman of resource.' Important NOTE: A Resource does not necessarily have to have a net positive value, it merely needs to be useful in some situation. Some things that may count as resources may be, depending on the situation, a 'white elephant', i.e. the cost of ownership may exceed the monetary value of its practical utility. For resources that have a net positive value, the subtype 'Asset' is used. c0c575fd-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Any instance of something whose type is an instance of NaturalResourceType (which see). Natural resources can be viewed as Types (ore, petroleum) or as instances (a quantity of oil in some location. In COSMO, both the class 'NaturalResource' and the metaclass 'NaturalResourceType' are available to use as required. An instance of NaturalResource is anything (object, energy source) that can be exploited for economic benefit (including scenery as a lure for tourists). The collection of collections of things that are useful in nature. c0c73787-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 COSMO note: This Cyc category has been redefined to represent those substances found in nature (or easily recoverable from substances found in nature) that are useful to people. enablesOrAssists relates a Resource (something useful) to the action(s) that it can help perform. This relation answers the questions 'what is it good for?'. Note that this is close to but not identical to the relation 'hasDesignFunction' for artifacts. The distinction is threefold: (1) resources do not have to be artifacts; (2) each artifact is classified by its design (intended) function, but it may actually not be useful for that purpose; (3) an Artifact may enable or assist actions that it was not designed to be used for. See also intendedPrimaryFunction - merge?? This specifies the Action part of SituationRole, where the Situation is an Action. An axiom should relate them. hasDesignFunction relates an Artifact or a System (i.e. something created for a purpose, which may be a natural biological System) to the action(s) that it is intended to perform, or can help perform. This relation answers the questions 'what is it good for?' or 'What does it do?'. Note that this is close to but not identical to the relation 'enablesOrAssists' for resources. The distinction is threefold: (1) resources do not have to be artifacts; (2) each artifact is classified by its design (intended) function, but it may actually not be useful for that purpose; (3) an Artifact may enable or assist actions that it was not designed to be used for. ***************** CAUTION ********************************* **NOTE** This relation points to an ActionType or EventType. There are instances of ActionType that are subtypes of Action, but also there are Types that are subtypes of 'DesignFunction' which are also instances of ActionType, but these latter types are **note** subtypes of Event, rather subtypes of 'AttributeType'. This is a very unusual use of a relation to point to arguments of very different inherent type. The 'Functions' that are pointed to by this relation may in turn be related to actual instances of Event by the relation 'wasRealizedByAction' (which see), There is thus a triangular relation between Functional objects, the Functional capabilities (attributes) they have, and the actual Actions that may be carried out or assisted by those Objects. These relations Permitting the ontologist to point either directly to Actions, or to Attributes that point to actions, provides some flexibility. it should be underestood and used with care. ***************** CAUTION ********************************* Many artifacts will be related to actions by both relations. If not for caveat (2), 'hasDesignFunction' would be a subrelation of 'enablesOrAssists'. Another difference is that the design function of artifacts will in general be more specific than the actions enabled by resources. Similar to Cyc, 'ArtificialMaterial'. But in Cyc a Substance is an object of homogeneous composition, while in COSMO it is not an Object, but a distinctive Type of its own. An ArtificialSubstance is one that does not exist in nature in the form it was created. Thus a pure version of something that exists in nature only in low concentration in mixtures would be an ArtificialSubstance. See also ProcessedNaturalSubstance, a related concept. Cyc: A collection of substances; a subcollection of #$Artifact. An instance of #$ArtificialMaterial is a portion of artificial stuff that was intentionally made by some agent(s), such as #$Plastic or #$SweetNLow. Since #$ArtificialMaterials are intentionally produced, this class does not normally include materials which are merely #$byProducts or #$wasteProducts of an intentional process. However, what is a by-product at one time or in one context may be a useful material that would count as an instance of #$ArtificialMaterial in another. COSMO note: ArtificialSubstances are resources, since they would not be artifacts unless they were considered useful for some purpose. bd590222-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 InheritableType is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class which is used to identify those metatypes which, when specified as the parent Type for some class (Type) in the ontology, will also by implication be the parent Type for all subtypes of any Type explicitly designated as an instance of any subtype of 'InheritableType'. This is a primitive mechanism to permit translation of this ontology among various formats, while permitting the use of reasoning engines which require that arguments to relations, if restricted as to Type, be instances of some specified Type. There are some ontologies, such as SUMO, using first-order logic, which permit one to specify that an argument to a relation must be a *subtype* of some Type in the ontology, rather than an *instance* of some Type. OWL and some other reasoning engines do not permit that kind of restriction. For convenience, to allow this ontology to be used in multiple reasoning engines and to be automatically translated into multiple formats, this metatype is provided and so that one can avoid having to specify the metatype instance of every Type that is to be used as an argument to a relation. When using this ontology in an inference engine that requires explicit types, it will be necessary to add the InheritableType as a Type of each subtype of any Type that is specified to be an instance of such an inheritable type. That addition will have to be one in a preprocessing stage before using that inference engine. An axiom may be added to an ontology using FOL to specify that all subtypes of a Type ?T that is an instance of an InheritableType ?MT will also be instances of that InheritableType: (=> (and (isanInstanceOf ?T ?MT) (isaSubclassOf ?MT InheritableType)) (forall (?ST) (=> (isaSubclassOf ?ST ?T) (isanInstanceOf ?ST ?MT)))) This axiom will permit the ontologist to avoid specifying the metatype for every subtype of the root type of that Type tree, in those ontology implementations that can use FOL. A collection of collections and a specialization of #$OrganismClassificationType (q.v.). Instances of #$BiologicalTaxon correspond to ranked categories accepted by biologists for the classification of organisms according to their suspected evolutionary relationships. Such categories change as biologists learn more about the organisms involved and determine that existing classifications are more or less useful. They include all levels of taxons. Specializations of #$BiologicalTaxon include #$BiologicalOrder and #$BiologicalSpecies; instances include #$Marsupial and #$Ape. See also #$BiologicalTaxonType. bd58e2e8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 The collection of biological taxonomic subdivisions below #$BiologicalOrder (or #$BiologicalSuborder) and above #$BiologicalGenus. Especially important in Botanical classification. bd58cb2c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Event as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Context as one of their arguments. IT can also be used for types for which namespace prefixes would be convenient to label the instances, such as 'AtomicSymbol'.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Agent as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Feeling as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Sign as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of SystemCondition as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of PhysiologicalCondition as one of their arguments. NOTE that illness (sickness, disease, ailment) is a subtype of PhysiologicalCondition, and this metatype can be used for relations on types of illness. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of a transitive Event (an Event that has a 'patient' role, something acted on) as one of their arguments.. TendencyType is a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of Tendency as one of their arguments. This metaclass is of importance in predicting behaviors over time, and may require probability assignments; therefore is is considered distinct and not a subtype of 'QualitativeAttributeType'.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of FunctionalProcess as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take a subtype of ValuableThing as one of their arguments.. A specialization of #$FirstOrderCollection (q.v.) whose instances are collections of #$Events. Each instance of #$RepeatedEventType is a collection of events whose instances tend to come in series or to occur at more or less regular intervals. These series or recurrences might be the result of natural phenomena (e.g. the spoutings of Old Faithful), human convention (e.g. the occurrence of #$BaseballInnings within a given game), or a combination of both (e.g. the annual celebration of Oktoberfest). An important specialization of this collection is #$RegularlyRepeatedEventType. See also #$IterativeEvent and #$IterativeEventType. bd5900b9-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$RepeatedEventType (q.v.). Each instance of #$RegularlyRepeatedEventType is a collection of events whose instances typically occur along with other instances of the same event-type at more or less regular intervals. These regular occurrences might be the result of natural phenomena (e.g. the sunrise), human convention (e.g. the execution of a dance step within a given dancing event), or a combination of both (e.g. the annual celebration of Oktoberfest). Other examples of #$RegularlyRepeatedEventType are #$OlympicGames, #$AcademicTerm, and #$TakingABreath. See also #$IterativeEvent and #$IterativeEventType. bd590072-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 GroupType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for physical objects and an argument restriction for various relations on types of Groups (not just People, but any type of Group). This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. OrganismObjectType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for physical substances and an argument restriction for various relations on specific types of organisms. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. PlantPartType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for plant parts and an argument restriction for various relations on parts of plants. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. PersonType is a metatype which is a specialization of OrganismType that can serve as type for a Person in its aspect as an animal, rather than a Role, and an argument restriction for various relations on people. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. RoleType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of Role as their argument. BFO: Definition: A dependent continuant that becomes actualized as a particular transformation, function, process or role under certain circumstances. Realizable entities are properties of objects that need not be exhibited in full at every time in which they are possessed by an object (a non-categorical properties). Examples: the role of being a doctor, the function of the reproductive organs, the disposition of blood to coagulate, the conductivity of metal. COSMO note: Conductivity is considered an AttributeValue, so in BFO representation used identically to its use in COSMO. COSMO: a Capability is an attribute of some physical object or PhysicalSubstance that specifies some role that that object or substance may play in events or processes. This is a very broad concept, including participation in actions and passive processes. In general, it is not necessary or desirable to list all the roles that an object may play, as in many cases those roles may be very numerous. This 'attribute' would be used rather to indicate the more salient roles that an object can play. For example, a Person who has a particular talent or skill could have that skill specified (e.g. 'AbilityToDanceTheTango'); a company that can make a particular product would have that capability specified (e.g. 'AbilityToManufactureWidgets'). For people, Capabilities to do specific actions often come in a wide range of degrees of expertise. Another important 'Capability' is categorized under the subtype 'Tendency', which specifies the way that an object is likely to behave; the tendency of non-living organic material to decompose when not frozen is an example of such a tendency. See 'Tendency' for additional discussion of that subtype. NOTE that to have a Capability does not mean that it is possible for the agent to perform that action at any time, or even that the agent has performed that action. There may be motivational inhibitions or blocking conditions that prevent an agent from exercising a Capability at any given time and place. Each CapabilityType represents the ability to serve in some Role in some type of Action or Event. The RoleType and ActionType are specified by the relations 'isAbilityToServeInRole' and 'isAbilityToServeInActionType', repsectively. For any given Capability Type, the Roles and ActionTypes specified are interpreted to mean that the entity having that capability can serve in any of those Roles, in any of those Actions. **But** is is understood that for any given situation, there may be circumstances that prevent the Agent or Object from serving in that Role. The Roles may be as Agent, to initiate evens, or as Instrument, to facilitate the actions of an Agent. @ToDO: do **computer programs** have Capabilities or only the computer that runs the program? If the program itself has capability, then this attribute would not be a property only of PhysicalObjects. How to specify that a ComputerProgram enables a computer to do things? Not resolved as of v0.48. Similar to a learned capability? Is a ComputerProgram a form of learning - at least when installed? To dissect individual capabilities, it is useful to create instances of the subtypes of this Type (InstrumentCapability or AgentCapability), and each of those instances should specify exactly what type of Action the role (Agent or Instrument) is effective in. A Capability will usually be labeled with an infinitive verbal form, with or without an object, such as 'ToDance' or 'ToEnableTelecommunication'. Each subtype of Capability is a role in some type of action that some Object can perform or assist in performing. One subtype of this is 'Function', specifically a type of action for which an object has been designed, either by some IntelligentAgent or by Evolution. Capabilities generally have more than one degree - as in 'Intelligence'. In CYC, classes representing types of capability are signaled by making them instances of a metaclass of 'capabilities'. COSMO avoids metaclasses except where necessary to serve as the type restriction on a relation's argument. Thus 'CapabilityType' is defined for that purpose. Instead of asserting a Capability on an Object, where the Role and ActionType are referenced by the CapabilityType, it is also possible oin COSMO to directly specify that an Object can serve as an Agent or Instrument by use of relations on instances or Types of Objects: canServeAsAgentInActionType canServeAsInstrumentInActionType . . . but the rules relating the logical implications of these assertions and those of asserting a CapabilityType are not representable in a simple OWL format. Extensions may use SWRL for this. The relation between a 'Capability' and the actual instance of physical action is 'wasRealizedByAction'. @ToDo: more elaboration needed (v0.45). Higher-arity relations would be useful here: {{?x hasCapability ?y} impliesThat {?x canPerformRole ?ROLE inEventType ?EVENTTYPE}} NOTE the triangular relation: an Artifact hasDesignFunction which is a CapabilityType, A Capability or Function wasRealizedByAction which is an *instance* of an Event or Action Type. see also 'ableToAffect' Cyc NOTE: Cyc has several higher-arity relations that relate an object or person to their ability or intended function. Similar relations may be defined when COSMO is convertable to FOL ******** QuaternaryPredicate rdf:ID='actsInCapacity'> rdfs:comment The predicate #$actsInCapacity indicates the capacity in which an agent participates in certain kinds of actions. (#$actsInCapacity AGENT ROLE SCRIPT-TYPE CAP) means that the agent AGENT plays the role ROLE in instances of SCRIPT-TYPE, and s/he does that role in the capacity CAP. CAP is a #$CapacityAttribute (q.v.) which describes the AGENT's mode of participation-e.g., as a job, hobby, main function, support function, etc. Contrast three cases of acts of #$GreetingSomeone, when #$performedBy: (1) instances of #$Receptionist, in their #$JobCapacity and as their #$MainFunction; (2) instances of #$FlightAttendant, in their #$JobCapacity but as a #$SupportFunction; and (3) instances of #$TrainEngineer, in a #$HobbyCapacity (though they do it while working, it's not part of their job) /QuaternaryPredicate TernaryPredicate rdf:ID='actsInCapacity-IntendedFunction' rdfs:comment: An instance of #$CapacityPredicate (#$actsInCapacity-IntendedFunction AGENT ROLE EVENT-TYPE) holds just in case when AGENT is performing ROLE in events of type EVENT-TYPE the agent is performing the event as one of its intended functions. For instance, if a stock broker is the buyer of stocks in some #$StockTrading, then (#$actsInCapacity-IntendedFunction Bob-TheStockBroker #$buyer #$StockTrading) holds. /TernaryPredicate TernaryPredicate rdf:ID='actsInCapacity-JobCapacity' rdfs:comment(#$actsInCapacity-JobCapacity AGT ROLE EVT-TYPE) holds just in case AGT's ROLE in acts of EVT-TYPE is in the capacity of a job. /TernaryPredicate ****************** For Attributes that are abilities, the representation in COSMO uses the term 'Ability' to refer to the AttributeType, and 'Capability' to refer to the AttributeValue. This is somewhat arbitrary, as these distinctions are not clearly reflected in linguistic usage. hasCapability relates an Agent or Object to some type of Action that the Agent or Object has the ability to perform or serve as instrument in. The Capability to act as an Agent in some Action. NOTE that an AgentCapability is a subtype of 'Resource', because the term 'resource' is sometimes used to refer to a person's abilities. 'She has resources she has not yet shown.' This conforms to sense 6 of 'resource' in Random House Webster: '6. capability in dealing with a situation or in meeting difficulties: a woman of resource.' isAbilityToPerformActionType specifies the actionType that an Agent can perform when that Agent has a specific AgentCapability. This relation entails that the Agent that has this capability is also the subject of the relation 'canServeAsAgentInActionType', with the same ActionType as the Object. The combination of 'hasCapability' and 'isAbilityToPerformActionType' imply the relation 'canServeAsAgentInActionType'.. The Capability to act as an Agent in some Action, by virtue of having sufficient financial resources (money on hand, assets, credit) to perform a certain function. Often the function that requires a FinancialCapability will be to purchase something. Having this 'capability' merely implies that a Person can make a purchase - it does not mean that that Person can do so without serious financial difficulty. For the latter, use 'FinancialMeans'. FinancialMeans is the Capability to expend money on something without going in to debt. This is the capability that would be implied by saying that someone 'can afford to' make an expenditure. This is purely financial, and does not include other metaphorical uses of 'can afford to'.. The Capability to learn, understand, and think. This category includes the low levels of intelligence found in some of the more intelligent animals such as apes and dolphins. The ability to cause damage to some object, not specific as to the level of damage. This is a very broad attribute of dangerous things. The ability to perform a DancingEvent. This Capbility has many variations and degrees of expertise.. The ability to perform a DancingEvent in the manner of a Waltz. There are variations fo the Waltz and different degrees of expertise.. The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide numbers. This covers the full range of arithmetic ability from simple addition to root extraction. See AddingEvent, DoingAddition. A low level of intelligence - inadequate to support use of a human language, but enabling some manipulation of symbols. It is found in some primates and dolphins, and perhaps other animals. The Capability to act as an Instrument in some Action. isAbilityToServeInActionType relates a generic CapabilityType or an instance of AgentCapability or an InstrumentCapability to a type of action that the Agent can perform or the Instrument can facilitate. To determine the type of capability, it will benecessary to determine the Type of the subject of this relation. isAbilityToServeInRole a type of Capability to a Role in some Action that the thing having a Capability can function as. canServeAsAgentInActionType relates an Agent to a type of action that the Agent can perform. canServeAsInstrumentInActionType relates an Object to a type of Action that the Object can facilitate when wielded by an Agent. ActionType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of Action as their argument. Each instance of 'ServiceType' is a type that represents a service that some perosn performs for another, often for pay. A Service does not have to be performed for pay every time, but must be performed for pay in some cases. TopicType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on fields of knowledge, whether formal or informal. This type allows assertions about a whole field, as in the relation 'isKnowledgeableAbout'. CapabilityType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of Capability as their argument. OrganizationType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of Organization as their argument. VolumeType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for volume attributes. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations. VitalityAttributeType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for attributes specifyuing vitality (alive, dead) and an argument restriction for some relations on QualitativeAttributes. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations. An attribute that specifies whether an animal is alive, dead, conscious, or unconscious - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. The SUMO 'AnimacyAttribute' is restricted to being alive or dead: SUMO: Attributes that indicate whether an Organism is alive or not. The SUMO term approximately equivalent to 'VitalityAttribute'. An attribute that specifies that an animal is alive, - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that either it is unknown whether an animal is dead or alive, or it doesn't matter for the context whether the animal is dead or alive. An attribute that specifies that an animal is dead, - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. Disjoint with 'alive'. Note that a person can be dead and still be a person. NOTE that an animal that is dead in this sense can never again be alive. For the situation where an animal has no vital signs, but then revives, see the attribute 'ClinicallyDead'. The attribute of being healthy, which means not having any identifiable illnesses that would cause one to say taht a person is ill or sick. Cyc: The state of being healthy, i.e., not suffering from any type of #$AilmentCondition. 19b8d7d4-74bc-11d6-8000-00a0c99cc5ae An attribute that specifies that an animal (usually applied to people) is 'clinically dead', i.e. has no vital signs. This is not the same as being truly dead, as people who are clinically dead may come back to life. This category is ambiguous, implying neither that a person is dead nor that the person is alive. It is likely to be used in situations where a person who was clinically dead revived, and should only be used to indicate that a person was recently alive but now appears dead. An attribute that specifies that an animal has been conceived, but is not yet born, - covering all stages from conception to birth. Meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that an animal that is mentioned has not yet been conceived, which means that it is a hypothetical animal (or person) that may exists in the future. This provides a referent to refer to anticipated future people as in statements such as 'My children will be well schooled' when such children do not yet exist physically. Such referents might also be attributed to a hypothetical world, to achieve a similar logical effect, but the use of NotYetAlive suggests an expectation (at the time the assertion is made) that such individuals will in fact exist at some point in the future, and are not being postulated for argument's sake. An attribute that specifies that a person is conscious, - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that an animal is awake, not sleeping or unconscious, - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that an animal is sleeping, which implies that the animal is conscious (unconscious is considered here as qualitatively different from sleeping), - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that an animal is unconscious, which implies that the animal is alive. - meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. An attribute that specifies that an animal is vegetative, which is categorized here as a more profound state of being unconscious, which also implies that the animal is alive, but not likely to regain consciousness. Meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. A Difference is an AttributeValue of an OrderedPair of entities, which may consist of the diachronically same entity at different times (the entities may be instances of TimeSlice). A Difference is expressed differently depending on whether the values being compared are commensurate QuantitativeAttributevalues or are QualitativeAttributeValues. ** For differences between commensurable quantitative attributes, the difference between pair {a, b} will be attr(a) - attr(b) (the attribute value of first element minus the second). ** For qualitative attributes or relations, the Difference consists of a group of one or more paired AttributeValues, one pair for each type of AttributeValue or Relation for which the value differs. Linguistically a qualitative difference can be expressed thus: if, for the pair {a, b} if a is red and b is blue, one may say 'a is red but b is blue'. NOTE that in order to be considered as a 'Difference' the pairs of AttributeValues constituting each difference must consist of AttributeValues that are disjoint from each other, which in general means that they must be of identical or commensurate AttributeType. To say that 'A is 5 feet long and Y is red' does not specify a legitimate Difference between X and Y. If there are no attribute values or relations that differ, the two entities might actually be identical - but if they have different locations, two entities will not be mathematically (logically) identical even if the locations are not specified in the description of the entities. The problem in deciding identity from a list of differences is that one never knows that *all* properties of two entities are known to be compared. Quantum mechanical issues create additional complications in comparisons at the subatomic level. A difference is one or more pairs of Attributes, qualitative or quantitative, that is derived as the result of a comparison process between one or more attributes of two entities, or between that attribute of a single entity after some period of time, as after an Event. A comparison process may also result in a partially complementary list of similarities (see 'Similarity'). There is no exact WordNet concept that expressses this meaning, but this is closest to WordNet sense 1 of 'difference: WN: the quality of being unlike or dissimilar; 'there are many differences between jazz and rock' WN-N04692996: sense 1 of 'difference' in WN 2.1. In the case of wordnet sense 1, it appears that this is intended to represent an overall difference, which could be a set of differences between two entities.There is, however, no other sense of 'difference' in WordNet that is more general, so this sense is assigned the most general 'difference' A common-sense problem arises when we classify a difference as merely an attribute which expresses the result of 'subtracting' one attribute value from another. If there is no difference, this result constitutes both a difference (value = 0) and a similarity (i.e. no difference). This is counterintuitive, from a linguistic point of view. Accordingly, though logically a 'similarity' could be classified as merely a 'small difference', the term 'similarity' will not be arranged as a subtype of 'Difference', but directly under 'AttributeValue', as is 'Difference'. To 'compare and contrast' two entities, both the similarities and the differences might be listed. A Similarity is an AttributeValue of a two or more entities at some particular time, or of the diachronically same entity at different times. There may be more than one AttributeValue that is similar between entities, and a Similarity can include one AttributeType or multiple AttributeTypes as measures of similarity; if multiple AttributeTypes are considered as constituting the Similarity, then that instance of Similoarity will be a Group of AttributeValoues, one for each entity being asserted as similar to the other(s). For similarities between a pair of entities, the AttributeValue consists of a group of paired properties, one pair for each type of AttributeValue or Relation for which the value is identical or negligibly small. (see also 'Difference' for a related concept). The common-sense notion of 'similarity' implies that the things that are 'similar' are not in fact the same thing. When asked to describe similarities, the list should include those properties (attributes or relations) that are little different between nonidentical entities. There may also be many differences, but the differences are not part of the 'similarity' attribute. This concept of 'similarity' is therefore a 'similarity with respect to some AttributeType'. haveSimilarity points from a Group to a Similarity (an AttributeValue). This relation cold also be termed 'areAlike', but that latter term wold suggest a high degree of similarity, wehereas 'haveSimilarity' merely points to *some* element of similarity, even if two entities are in general quite dissimilar. An Advantage is a Difference in which the first entity of the OrderedPair is judged by some agent to be superior or better in some respect for some purpose. Linguistically, for a pair {a, b} the advantage will be for a with respect to b, expressed: 'a has an advantage over b in (AttributeType)'. Advantages may be relative two two hypothetical situations, where the entities in the OrderedPair are two different situations: 'He will have an advantage if he learns Chinese before travelling to China' - knowing Chinese versus not knowing Chinese is an advantage. causes specifies that one EventType usually or often has as a result some other EventType; the resulting EventType may be a PersistentState (persistent for some period of time after it is caused); the probability of the resulting event ensuing is not specified,but can be specified by subrelations. NOTE: This relation is for direct physical causation, not the kind of causation that is mediated by mental processes, such as 'Jack's action caused me to leave the room'. The relations specifying mental causation are discussed under 'causesMentalEvent'. NOTE: to specify that one event inevitably causes another use the relation 'alwaysCauses'. To specify that an instance of an Event was caused by another instance of an Event, use 'hadEffect'. COSMO note: causality is a very primitive concept, about which there is no broad consensus. For COSMO, the main inference is the contrafactual assertion that 'if A caused B, B would not have occurred without A'. This by itself does not distinguish 'cause' from enabling conditions. The causal Event A should also be specified as effecting a change such that the state before A would not have permitted B, while the state after A did permit B. But processes can also have causal relations. The causality of processes is not yet elaborated in COSMO. More logical elaboration is needed. hadEffect Specifies one of the effects that are the result of an Event. Not every Event needs to have an 'effect'. A stative event merely represents the continuation of some attributes at their initial value for some interval of time, and no changes occur to be worthy of representing as an 'effect'. NOTE that this is an instance-level relation, and cannot be used to state that some type of Event typically or always causes some type of Effect. For the type-level relation use 'causes' or 'alwaysCauses'. NOTE that the use of the past tense in this relation does not necessarily mean that the Event argument occurred in the past before the assertion time; this relation can also be used to relate possible future Events. The past tense merely emphasizes that we are discussing arg1 Events that, in the given context, are viewed as completed and not ongoing. In Cyc the relation '#$causes-EventEvent' (guid = bfa7c0e3-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270) has a similar meaning. Cyc: (#$causes-EventEvent CAUSE EFFECT) means that the event CAUSE was sufficient to cause the event EFFECT. #$causes-EventEvent is the predicate to use for token-token event causation, i.e., causation between individual events. See #$NoteAboutCausationPredicates for a map of related predicates. 'caused' is a relation between instances of Events, specifying that one Event resulted by some direct mechanism in the occurrence of some other Event. It is a subproperty of 'hadEffect', restricted to Events where the occurrence of one resulting Event can be attributed to the necessary occurrence of a prior or simultaneous Event. NOTE: This relation is for direct physical causation, not the kind of causation that is mediated by mental processes, such as 'Jack's action caused me to leave the room'. The relations specifying mental causation are discussed under 'causesMentalEvent'. COSMO note: causality is a very primitive concept, about which there is no broad consensus. For COSMO, the main inference is the contrafactual assertion that 'if A caused B, B would not have occurred without A'. This by itself does not distinguish 'cause' from enabling conditions. The causal Event A should also be specified as effecting a change such that the state before A would not have permitted B, while the state after A did permit B. But processes can also have causal relations. The causality of processes is not yet elaborated in COSMO (v 0.43). More logical elaboration is needed. alwaysCauses specifies that one EventType inevitably has as a result some other EventType. This is primarily used for conceptual relations, like 'killing causes death'. In the physical world, there are many event types that usually result in some other EventType, but not always - for that relation use 'causes'. To specify that an instance of an Event was caused by another instance of an Event, use 'hadEffect'. causesMentalEvent is a specialization of relation 'causes' which relates a type of Event to some mental Event that is *typically* (but not necessarily alas) caused by the causing Event (however, there is no metatype in COSMO 0.43 specifically for MentalEvents as opposed to other events.) The MentalEvent can be to experience an emotion, to acquire knowledge, to believe something, or to decide to do something. A MentalEvent in which an agent deicdes to do something may be followed by the actual action, and this relation can be used to specify that a particular EventType typically causes some agent to engage in that action - the use of this relation will imply that the Action caused was mediated by causation of a MentalEvent. The difference between MentalCausation and PhysicalCausation is that the former must act through the intermediation of some MentalEvent in an agent, whereas the latter procedes directly by transfer of matter or energy to some physical system, and does not require the intermediation of some mental action in a cognitive agent. Mental causation is a subrelations of physical causation, since it proceeds via a physical Event, and causes a MentalEvent, which is a subtype of physical event. NOTE that the desire for or anticipation of some future event can be a mental cause. Thus, although a mental cause (such as desire or anticipation) must predede or be simultaneous with its effect, just as for physical causes, a FutureEvent may be directly related to a mental cause (form a part of the anticipated or desired event), which is not true of physical causes. isTheCauseOfMentalSituation relates some Objects, Processes or Events to a MentalEvent or Mental process, which are caused in some way by the causative Object or Event. This relation allows Objects to be the 'cause' of mental events, (such as revulsion or admiration) even though the act of looking at or thinking about an Object may be said to be the actual 'cause'. This relation is broad to allow direct representation of linguistic relations. The subrelation 'hadMentalEffect' is more restricted to causes that are Events. NOTE that 'situations' such as a ProblemSituation are Events, and may be related to MentalEvents by this relation. hadMentalEffect is a subproperty of 'hasEffect' in which the Effect is a MentalEvent or mental process. It is also a subproperty of 'isTheCauseOfMentalSituation', which is a relation with a borader range of causative things. NOTE that this is an instance-level relation, and cannot be used to state that some type of Event typically or always causes some type of mental effect. For the type-level relation use 'causesMentalEvent'. NOTE that the use of the past tense in this relation does not necessarily mean that the Event argument occurred in the past before the assertion time; this relation can also be used to relate possible future Events. The past tense merely emphasizes that we are discussing arg1 Events that, in the given context, are viewed as completed and not ongoing. NOTE that although this relation specifies causation of a mental Event or process, the resulting Event may be the impetus to an Action that was motivated by a MentalEvent caused by the first argument Event. Thus external Events that cause mental states may cause physical Events via this relation of mental causation. convincedAgentToAction is a subproperty of 'hadMentalEffect' in which the Effect is a MentalEvent, or some Action resulting from a MentalEvent that was caused by the first argument. This is an aggregate relation, which should be a tertiary relation of the form {?Event convinced ?Agent toDo ?Action}. Because of the binary relation limitation of OWL, this is compressed into a binary relation in which the second argument is an Action that specifies a specific Action performed by some specific Agent. To determine the Agent that was convinced by the Event of argument1, it will be necessary to extract the Agent from the Action instance. This relation expresses the notion of something (a physical Event or some social Event such as a discussion) convincing someone to think something, believe something, to feel some emotion, or to do some action. NOTE that although this relation name indicates 'Action', the 'Action' can be a strictly mental event (even a stative Event) such as believing something or having some emotional reaction such as fear or eager anticipation. This relation can be used to epress the results of some action taken by one person or organization to persuade someone else to believe something. The causative Event, however, need not be a deliberate attempt at persuasion; some natural event can persuade people to believe something or to take action, and this relation can be broadly utilized to express, for example, that some astronomical event convinced a scientist that some physical law is true; or that some natural disaster convinced people to move their residence. NOTE that this is an instance-level relation, and cannot be used to state that some type of Event typically or always causes some type of mental effect. For the type-level relation use 'causesMentalEvent'. causedToBelieve is a subproperty of 'convincedAgentToAction', specifically resulting in a state of belief This is an aggregate relation, which should be a tertiary relation of the form {?Event convinced ?Agent toBelief ?Proposition}. Because of the binary relation limitation of OWL, this is compressed into a binary relation in which the second argument is NOTE that this is an instance-level relation, and cannot be used to state that some type of Event typically or always causes some type of mental effect. For the type-level relation use 'causesMentalEvent'. isTheReverseOf specifies that one EvenType tends to reverse the effect of another EventType - not necessarily exactly, but the effects go in opposite directions. Thus ConcentratingaSolution is the reverse of Diluting.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of Location as one of their arguments.. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of Pattern as one of their arguments. a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of Feature as one of their arguments.. A collection of specializations of #$AnimalBodyRegion. Each instance of #$AnimalBodyPartType is a collection of body parts, where the parts in question are differentiated from other body parts according to structure or function. Instances of #$AnimalBodyPartType include #$SpinalColumn, #$Eyelash, #$NervousSystem, #$Urethra, #$Wing-AnimalBodyPart, and #$HeelOfPalm. bd58e7da-9c29-11b19dad-c379636f7270 a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of FacialHair as one of their arguments.. BiologicalSpecies is a metatype that can be used as an argument restriction for relations that take an instance of biological species as one of their arguments. An instance of #$BiologicalTaxonType. Each instance of #$BiologicalSpecies is the most general taxon from which two breeding organisms of appropriate sexes can conceivably produce fertile offspring, or, in the case of asexual reproduction, is conventionally defined. Members of different species of animals cannot produce fertile offspring by interbreeding. If there are only two breeds of a given species and one breed becomes extinct, the second breed by virtue of that fact becomes an instance of #$BiologicalSpecies - since the only organisms instances can breed with to produce fertile offspring are, at that point, members of that collection. An instance of #$BiologicalSpecies has members who all have significant traits in common, and members of each biological species have other members as parents. Exceptions occur when a species is conventionally defined to start since parenthood could conceivably be traced back billions of years, yet new species came into existence. In biological taxonomy, related species are grouped into a particular instance of #$BiologicalGenus. Some genera have only a single species, but they remain different taxons. SUMO: The Class of all biological species, i.e. the class of all classes of Organism whose instances can interbreed. bd58caeb-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 ObjectType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for objects, whether abstract or physical, and an argument restriction for various relations on Object types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. RegionType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for regions, and an argument restriction for various relations on Region types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. PhysicalObjectType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for physical objects and an argument restriction for various relations on Physical Object types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. hasCharacteristicObject relates some Region to Object Types that are expected to be in that type of Region. CoveringType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for physical objects that are subtypes of 'Covering-Object', and an argument restriction for various relations on CoveringObject types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. ContainerType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for containers and an argument restriction for various relations on container types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. ContainerType relates some ContainerType or individual Container to some objects or object type that the container was designed to hold (by Agents or by evolution). MeasuringDeviceType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for MeasuringDevices, and an argument restriction for various relations on MeasuringDevice types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. MeasurableQuantityType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for MeasurableQuantities, whether abstract or physical, and an argument restriction for various relations on MeasurableQuantity types. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. isUsedToMeasure relates a type of measuring device to the type of quantities that it is designed to measure. HabitatType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for regions or physical areas with particular characteristics, and can serve as an argument restriction for the relation 'hasTypicalHabitat' OrganismTypes. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. SubstanceType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for physical substances and an argument restriction for the hasComponentSubstance relation. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. The restriction on hasGrainDiameter for SubstanceTypes should require subclasses rather than instances of LengthMeasure - instances may have to be created as a workaround. 'hasChemicalName' points to a string that is a chemical name (there may be more than one) identifying a ChemicallyDefinedSubstance. Although it is conceptually an Identifier, we need to be able to have multiple instances of the same string,so it cannot be a reified element in the ontology. There may be many synonymous terms in different languages referring to the same substance. This is not the same as a ChemicalFormula. To specify a chemical formula on a substance, use 'hasChemicalFormula' SpecificationType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for specifications (plays, plans, games) and an argument restriction for the isAnExecutionOf relation. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. SportType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for specifications of sports (games) and an argument restriction for the isAnExecutionOf relation. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. GameType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for games and an argument restriction for the isAnExecutionOf relation. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations on relation arguments. consistsOfMany relates a granular material consisting of multiple individual objects of the same type (e.g. sand), considered as a Substance, to the individual objects. a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of ChemicallyDefinedSubstance as their argument. Cyc: A collection of collections and a specialization of #$TangibleStuffCompositionType. Each instance of #$ChemicalSubstanceType is a specialization of #$PartiallyTangible whose instances are defined _only_ by their chemical composition - not by their physical state or any other property. Instances of #$ChemicalSubstanceType can be of two varieties: (1) Collections whose instances are completely uniform with each other in terms of chemical composition; this includes (a) the chemical elements - such as #$Carbon, #$Oxygen, and #$Hydrogen - which are instances of #$ElementStuffTypeByNumberOfProtons (thus, the latter is a specialization of #$ChemicalSubstanceType), and (b) chemical compounds constituted of more than one substance chemically bonded, e.g., #$Water, #$Caffeine, and #$IronOxide, which are instances of #$ChemicalCompoundTypeByChemicalSpecies (2) Substances which have a general chemical specification, that is, whose instances do not have exactly the same chemical composition but fall within certain specifications, e.g., #$DNAStuff. Note that collections that are _not_ instances of #$ChemicalSubstanceType include collections of substances which have some component which is of overriding significance in some context, so that in everyday language such substances are frequently referred to by the name of their important component (e.g., penicillin applied to a tablet containing penicillin), but which have significant admixtures of other substances. Thus, #$Penicillin is an instance of #$ChemicalSubstanceType, but the collection of tablets containing penicillin and including other ingredients is not. Also, specializations of #$Mixture, such as #$Lemonade, are _not_ instances of #$ChemicalSubstanceType, because mixtures are determined by their physical state rather than solely by their chemical composition. bd58cd95-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 PharmaceuticalType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that pertain to more or less well-defined chemical substances that are used officially (in some society) as a medicine.. LifeStageType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that pertain to organisms at particular stages of their life cycle. BiologicalOrgan is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that pertain to named parts of organisms at particular stages of their life cycle. It is not necessarily an animal body part type - it may be part of a plant. An attribute that specifies the stage of life that a living thing is in at any particular time. For example, a Plant may be in the seed or seedling stage; an animal may bein the egg or embryonic stage; a butterfly or moth may be in the caterpillar or pupa stage. Meaningful only when asserted at a particular time. AttributeValueType is a metaclass used as the Type restriction on certain relations that take subclasses of AttributeValue as their argument. QualitativeAttributeType is a metatype which is a specialization of the Protege owl:Class that can serve as type for taste attributes and an argument restriction for some relations on QualitativeAttributes. This is a primitive mechanism to accommodate OWL limitations. isTheOppositeOf relates one attribute to another attribute that would be commonly considered the opposite of the first attribute. There is a hub-and-spoke structure to certain core attributes and related attribute, and the notion of 'opposite' is in many cases more lexical than conceptual. This relation tries to capture the common cases of opposites. isaDriedFormOfSubstance relates substances that are inherently liquid (paint, blood) to the dry substance that is formed by the drying of the liquid. The dried substance may have substantially different properties fomr the liquid, because chemical changes occur in addition to evaporation of the solvent. A #$SpatialThingTypeByDimensionality and specialization of #$SpatialThing. Each instance of #$ZeroDimensionalThing is either a point-like object or an arrangement of disconnected points in space. Zero-dimensional objects have no length or breadth or height, nor do they have parts. Specializations of this collection include #$GeometricalPoint. bf6f1bc5-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of both #$GeometricallyDescribableThing and #$IntangibleIndividual (qq.v.). This is the collection of all intangible, geometrically-describable things, whether spatially localized or not. #$GeometricallyDescribableThing-Intangible is the intersection (see #$collectionIntersection) of #$GeometricallyDescribableThing and #$Intangible. Examples include any spatially-connected, intangible thing that has or approximates (or which consists entirely of parts that all have or approximate) a simple geometric shape, such as the intangible space determined by a particular Egyptian pyramid, an abstract Platonic sphere, or the center of mass of the solar system (a point) at the first instant of the Twentieth Century in Greenwich, England. Important specializations of this collection are #$GeometricThing-Localized (which includes all spatially localized instances) and #$GeometricThing-Abstract (which includes all instances not spatially located in the empirically-observable universe). c12c73ef-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A specialization of #$ZeroDimensionalThing and #$GeometricallyDescribableThing-Intangible (qq.v.). The collection of one-piece zero-dimensional geometrical objects. Instances of #$GeometricalPoint have neither length, breadth, nor thickness; they might or might not move over time. Important specializations of #$GeometricalPoint include #$SpacePoint (whose instances have fixed locations with respect to some coordinate system) and its specialization #$SpacePoint-Empirical (whose instance have fixed locations in the empirically-observable universe). Thus the center of the solar system, considered diachronically, is a #$GeometricalPoint but not a #$SpacePoint. be2227ee-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 An instance of #$GeometricShapeType and a specialization of #$GeometricallyDescribableThing-Intangible and #$HomogeneousExtendedSpaceRegion (qq.v.). This is the collection of geometrical figures, conceived of as bounded (one- or higher-dimensional) regions of space. Neither a single point (see #$GeometricalPoint), nor a sum of scattered points, is an instance of #$Figure-Geometrical. Note that this collection includes line segments, but not unbounded lines. An important specialization of this collection is #$PlaneFigure-Geometrical. The class of all geometric figures, i.e. the class of all abstract, spatial representations. Instance of GeometricFigure are abstract mathematical objects which can be considered as independent of anything in our material universe. They are therefore not MentalObjects, which must be created by people. The instances of this class are GeometricPoints, TwoDimensionalFigures or ThreeDimensionalFigures or any other Object that can be represented as being a distribution of points, lines, planes, volumes, or hypervolumes in some abstract space. be91f0ad-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 hasTendency relates individual Objects, ObjectTypes, substances or SubstanceTypes to some attributes indicating a Tendency (Disposition, proclivity) that that attribute has to behave in a certain way, especially over some period of time. An instance of #$ExistingStuffType and a sub-collection of #$PartiallyTangible. Each instance of #$NaturalTangibleStuff is a naturally occurring partially tangible thing. Specializations of #$NaturalTangibleStuff include #$LandStuff, #$Wood, and #$Air. Man-made materials are _not_ instances of #$NaturalTangibleStuff. NOTE that a 'NaturalTangibleStuff' can also be an ArtificialSubstance, when it is extracted from its natural place for use by people. bd58d55a-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Any Substance that is the result of an IntentionalProcess, i.e. any substance that is created by Humans (from SUMO). A collection of tangibles. Each element of #$WaterSolubleStuff is a tangible thing that can dissolve in water. For example, instances of the collections #$Soap-Personal, #$LaundryDetergent, #$Sugar-Table. bd58f037-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A PhysicalSubstance having chemical properties that enable it to be added to mixtures of water and other materials, and to emulsify some of the solid or insoluble materials, so that the insoluble materials become dispersed in the water. The most common surfactants are used as soaps or detergents, but there are other specialized uses. Cyc: Stuff used as cleanser. Solubilizes oil and grease. SUMO: Surfactants, also known as Wetting agents, lower the surface tension of a Liquid, allowing easier spreading. The term surfactant is a compression of 'Surface active agent'. Surfactants are usually organic compounds that contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups, and are thus semi-soluble in both organic and aqueous solvents. bd58e4a1-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 Each subclass of LiquidSubstance labels a PhysicalSubstance which is liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. This category has been set as identical to the Cyc 'Liquid-StateOfMatter', though the original Cyc category is a physical object. This redefinition was done as part of the disentanglement of Cyc substances and objects. The Cyc category definition does not apply to this Type,and is closer to the COSMO 'LiquidObject'. The Cyc category was reinterpreted as a substance because it was used in Cyc predominantly as a parent class for what in COSMO are considered as substances. Water, gasoline, and vodka are examples. Although most substances are classified mainly by their composition, and may be solids or liquids (and sometimes gases) depending on temperature, there are some categories of substances that are conceptually in one state; ice is an example - it must be solid. A 'BathOil' must be a liquid. A LiquidSubstance is a PhysicalSubstance that must be liquid, at normal temperature and pressure. A Solvent is a LiquidSubstance that serves to dissolve the Solute in a Solution. A Solution of a Solute that is a solid at the ambient temperature will be liquid only because the Solvent is liquid at that temperature. NOTE that referring to a substance as a 'Solvent' necessarily refers to a situation where that substance is liquid at the ambient temperature and pressure of the situation being described, even though the same substance may be solid or gas at normal temperatures and pressures. A Solute is the PhysicalSubstance that is dissolved in the Solute in a Solution. A Solute may be a solid or a liquid at the ambient temperature in the Situation being represented. A Solution of a Solute that is a solid at the ambient temperature will be liquid only because the Solvent is liquid at that temperature. A specialization of #$PartiallyTangible. Each instance of #$Mixture is a homogeneous partially tangible thing composed of two or more different constituents (see the predicate #$constituents) which have been mixed. The inputs to this mixing do not form chemical bonds among themselves, and at a later time the mixture may be separated back out into these inputs. Specializations of #$Mixture include #$Blood, #$Mud, #$Air, and #$CarbonatedBeverage. Note that each instance of #$Mixture has a composition but not a structure; thus, the following are _not_ instances of #$Mixture, since all have some structure: a wet sponge, a person, or a portion of plywood. bd58e89f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A film of substance remaining after some event. COSMO note: This is a substance, not an individual quantity of dew, and is in a film shape. A single drop of dew is an object, not the substance 'Dew', and consists of water. The sheet of dew on a windowpane is an object that consists of Dew (which means that is consists of water in a particular shape). Cyc: The water residue that one finds coating things outdoors in the morning. c0fbae16-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270 A generic 'Emulsion' is a mixture consisting of a stable suspension of one substance, finely divided, in a liquid, or the dried residue of such a suspension. Emulsions of oil in water can be formed by agitating a mixture of oil and water with a surfactant such as soap or detergent. The emulsions used in photographic film contain minute particles of silver halide suspended in gelatin, spread thinly over a photographic plate or film, and dried. Any Mixture that satisfies two conditions, viz. it is made up predominantly of at least two things are Substances and any component other than Liquid in the Mixture is either dissolved, as in a soluiton, or in the form of fine particles The general category includes suspensions as well as solutions, and the suspended particles would in the general case be considered part (a component) of the LiquidMixture. But specialized categories could be defined to exclude any solids. which are suspended in the Liquid. Any PhysicalSubstance in the Gaseous form, at at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. A quantity of gas does not have a defined volume, but will expand to become uniformly distributed throughout its container. To classify a quantity of matter that is in the gaseous form, use 'GaseousObject'. This is equivalent to saying that it has the property of being 'gaseous' - but that property is not yet (v 0.45) defined in COSMO. At low enough temperature, all substances condense to a liquid or solid. Any Mixture that satisfies two conditions, viz. it is made up predominantly of things which are a Gas and any component other than Gas in the Mixture is in the form of fine particles which are suspended in the Gas. COSMO note: a Product is something of a kind that is or was usually created with the intention that it be sold in exchange for money or some other valuable thing. It may be a physical object (or substance), a service, or a right. A stock option, for example,is categorized as a right rather than an object or service, but is created as a 'Product' for sale. Because things created commercially may also be created by individuals for their own use, being a Product does not necessarily mean that each individual instance was in fact created with the intention to be sold. Creation for sale means that things of this Type will usually be found on the market, or was mostly found on the market at one time. Antique objects will still be Products even after that kind of object is no longer manufactured. OPENCYC 1: MAY 23, 2002 A collection of temporal things. Instances of #$Product are individual goods, services, investments, etc.-- basically anything that is offered (or may be exchanged) for money or trade. Typically, #$Products are things that are intended to be sold or used for some kind of service in exchange for money at least once in their lifetime. Examples: a Lexus sedan, a package of McDonald's french fries, a massage, a bouquet of flowers, a share in a money market fund, the services of a real estate agent, a research satellite. See also #$Artifact. ProductObject is an Artifact produced for sale: SUMO: An Artifact that is produced by Manufacture and that is intended to be sold.