ONTOLOGY

Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences. In the broadest sense, ontologists investigate what makes a human human, relying on institutional, social, and technical conventions representing a nexus of intellectual activities.

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ontology

Noun

  1. The branch of metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being.
  2. The theory of a particular philosopher or school of thought concerning the fundamental types of entity in the universe.
  3. A logical system involving theory of classes, developed by (1886-1939).
  4. A structure of concepts or entities within a domain, organized by relationships; a system model.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: ontology
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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