on⋅tol⋅o⋅gy
[on-tol-uh-jee] 
ə
| 1. | the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being as such. |
| 2. | (loosely) metaphysics. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| on·tol·o·gy (ŏn-tŏl'ə-jē) n. The branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of being. on·tol'o·gist n. |
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Ontology
On*tol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ? the things which exist (pl.neut. of ?, ?, being, p. pr. of ? to be) + -logy: cf.F. ontologie.] That department of the science of metaphysics which investigates and explains the nature and essential properties and relations of all beings, as such, or the principles and causes of being.Cite This Source
ontology
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ontology
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For AI systems, what "exists" is that which can be represented. When the knowledge about a domain is represented in a declarative language, the set of objects that can be represented is called the universe of discourse. We can describe the ontology of a program by defining a set of representational terms. Definitions associate the names of entities in the universe of discourse (e.g. classes, relations, functions or other objects) with human-readable text describing what the names mean, and formal axioms that constrain the interpretation and well-formed use of these terms. Formally, an ontology is the statement of a logical theory.
A set of agents that share the same ontology will be able to communicate about a domain of discourse without necessarily operating on a globally shared theory. We say that an agent commits to an ontology if its observable actions are consistent with the definitions in the ontology. The idea of ontological commitment is based on the Knowledge-Level perspective.
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(1997-04-09)
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