inheres in at all times
realizes
has participant at some time
has occurrent part
part of occurrent
has participant at all times
Julius Caesar
Verdi’s Requiem
the Second World War
your body mass index
BFO 2 Reference: In all areas of empirical inquiry we encounter general terms of two sorts. First are general terms which refer to universals or types:animaltuberculosissurgical procedurediseaseSecond, are general terms used to refer to groups of entities which instantiate a given universal but do not correspond to the extension of any subuniversal of that universal because there is nothing intrinsic to the entities in question by virtue of which they – and only they – are counted as belonging to the given group. Examples are: animal purchased by the Emperortuberculosis diagnosed on a Wednesdaysurgical procedure performed on a patient from Stockholmperson identified as candidate for clinical trial #2056-555person who is signatory of Form 656-PPVpainting by Leonardo da VinciSuch terms, which represent what are called ‘specializations’ in [81
Entity doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example Werner Ceusters 'portions of reality' include 4 sorts, entities (as BFO construes them), universals, configurations, and relations. It is an open question as to whether entities as construed in BFO will at some point also include these other portions of reality. See, for example, 'How to track absolutely everything' at http://www.referent-tracking.com/_RTU/papers/CeustersICbookRevised.pdf
An entity is anything that exists or has existed or will exist. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [001-001])
entity
BFO 2 Reference: Continuant entities are entities which can be sliced to yield parts only along the spatial dimension, yielding for example the parts of your table which we call its legs, its top, its nails. ‘My desk stretches from the window to the door. It has spatial parts, and can be sliced (in space) in two. With respect to time, however, a thing is a continuant.’ [60, p. 240
Continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example, in an expansion involving bringing in some of Ceuster's other portions of reality, questions are raised as to whether universals are continuants
A continuant is an entity that persists, endures, or continues to exist through time while maintaining its identity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [008-002])
if b is a continuant and if, for some t, c has_continuant_part b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [126-001])
if b is a continuant and if, for some t, cis continuant_part of b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [009-002])
if b is a material entity, then there is some temporal interval (referred to below as a one-dimensional temporal region) during which b exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [011-002])
(forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (continuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [009-002]
(forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (hasContinuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [126-001]
(forall (x) (if (Continuant x) (Entity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [008-002]
(forall (x) (if (Material Entity x) (exists (t) (and (TemporalRegion t) (existsAt x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [011-002]
continuant
BFO 2 Reference: every occurrent that is not a temporal or spatiotemporal region is s-dependent on some independent continuant that is not a spatial region
BFO 2 Reference: s-dependence obtains between every process and its participants in the sense that, as a matter of necessity, this process could not have existed unless these or those participants existed also. A process may have a succession of participants at different phases of its unfolding. Thus there may be different players on the field at different times during the course of a football game; but the process which is the entire game s-depends_on all of these players nonetheless. Some temporal parts of this process will s-depend_on on only some of the players.
Occurrent doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the sum of a process and the process boundary of another process.
Simons uses different terminology for relations of occurrents to regions: Denote the spatio-temporal location of a given occurrent e by 'spn[e]' and call this region its span. We may say an occurrent is at its span, in any larger region, and covers any smaller region. Now suppose we have fixed a frame of reference so that we can speak not merely of spatio-temporal but also of spatial regions (places) and temporal regions (times). The spread of an occurrent, (relative to a frame of reference) is the space it exactly occupies, and its spell is likewise the time it exactly occupies. We write 'spr[e]' and `spl[e]' respectively for the spread and spell of e, omitting mention of the frame.
An occurrent is an entity that unfolds itself in time or it is the instantaneous boundary of such an entity (for example a beginning or an ending) or it is a temporal or spatiotemporal region which such an entity occupies_temporal_region or occupies_spatiotemporal_region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [077-002])
Every occurrent occupies_spatiotemporal_region some spatiotemporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [108-001])
b is an occurrent entity iff b is an entity that has temporal parts. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [079-001])
(forall (x) (if (Occurrent x) (exists (r) (and (SpatioTemporalRegion r) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x r))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [108-001]
(forall (x) (iff (Occurrent x) (and (Entity x) (exists (y) (temporalPartOf y x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [079-001]
occurrent
a chair
a heart
a leg
a molecule
a spatial region
an atom
an orchestra.
an organism
the bottom right portion of a human torso
the interior of your mouth
b is an independent continuant = Def. b is a continuant which is such that there is no c and no t such that b s-depends_on c at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [017-002])
For any independent continuant b and any time t there is some spatial region r such that b is located_in r at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [134-001])
For every independent continuant b and time t during the region of time spanned by its life, there are entities which s-depends_on b during t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [018-002])
(forall (x t) (if (IndependentContinuant x) (exists (r) (and (SpatialRegion r) (locatedInAt x r t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [134-001]
(forall (x t) (if (and (IndependentContinuant x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (Entity y) (specificallyDependsOnAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [018-002]
(iff (IndependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (not (exists (b t) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [017-002]
independent continuant
a process of cell-division, \ a beating of the heart
a process of meiosis
a process of sleeping
the course of a disease
the flight of a bird
the life of an organism
your process of aging.
p is a process = Def. p is an occurrent that has temporal proper parts and for some time t, p s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [083-003])
BFO 2 Reference: The realm of occurrents is less pervasively marked by the presence of natural units than is the case in the realm of independent continuants. Thus there is here no counterpart of ‘object’. In BFO 1.0 ‘process’ served as such a counterpart. In BFO 2.0 ‘process’ is, rather, the occurrent counterpart of ‘material entity’. Those natural – as contrasted with engineered, which here means: deliberately executed – units which do exist in the realm of occurrents are typically either parasitic on the existence of natural units on the continuant side, or they are fiat in nature. Thus we can count lives; we can count football games; we can count chemical reactions performed in experiments or in chemical manufacturing. We cannot count the processes taking place, for instance, in an episode of insect mating behavior.Even where natural units are identifiable, for example cycles in a cyclical process such as the beating of a heart or an organism’s sleep/wake cycle, the processes in question form a sequence with no discontinuities (temporal gaps) of the sort that we find for instance where billiard balls or zebrafish or planets are separated by clear spatial gaps. Lives of organisms are process units, but they too unfold in a continuous series from other, prior processes such as fertilization, and they unfold in turn in continuous series of post-life processes such as post-mortem decay. Clear examples of boundaries of processes are almost always of the fiat sort (midnight, a time of death as declared in an operating theater or on a death certificate, the initiation of a state of war)
(iff (Process a) (and (Occurrent a) (exists (b) (properTemporalPartOf b a)) (exists (c t) (and (MaterialEntity c) (specificallyDependsOnAt a c t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [083-003]
process
an atom of element X has the disposition to decay to an atom of element Y
certain people have a predisposition to colon cancer
children are innately disposed to categorize objects in certain ways.
the cell wall is disposed to filter chemicals in endocytosis and exocytosis
BFO 2 Reference: Dispositions exist along a strength continuum. Weaker forms of disposition are realized in only a fraction of triggering cases. These forms occur in a significant number of cases of a similar type.
b is a disposition means: b is a realizable entity & b’s bearer is some material entity & b is such that if it ceases to exist, then its bearer is physically changed, & b’s realization occurs when and because this bearer is in some special physical circumstances, & this realization occurs in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [062-002])
If b is a realizable entity then for all t at which b exists, b s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [063-002])
(forall (x t) (if (and (RealizableEntity x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (specificallyDepends x y t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [063-002]
(forall (x) (if (Disposition x) (and (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (bearerOfAt x y t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [062-002]
disposition
the disposition of this piece of metal to conduct electricity.
the disposition of your blood to coagulate
the function of your reproductive organs
the role of being a doctor
the role of this boundary to delineate where Utah and Colorado meet
To say that b is a realizable entity is to say that b is a specifically dependent continuant that inheres in some independent continuant which is not a spatial region and is of a type instances of which are realized in processes of a correlated type. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [058-002])
All realizable dependent continuants have independent continuants that are not spatial regions as their bearers. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [060-002])
(forall (x t) (if (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (bearerOfAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [060-002]
(forall (x) (if (RealizableEntity x) (and (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (inheresIn x y)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [058-002]
realizable entity
the ambient temperature of this portion of air
the color of a tomato
the length of the circumference of your waist
the mass of this piece of gold.
the shape of your nose
the shape of your nostril
a quality is a specifically dependent continuant that, in contrast to roles and dispositions, does not require any further process in order to be realized. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [055-001])
If an entity is a quality at any time that it exists, then it is a quality at every time that it exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [105-001])
(forall (x) (if (Quality x) (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [055-001]
(forall (x) (if (exists (t) (and (existsAt x t) (Quality x))) (forall (t_1) (if (existsAt x t_1) (Quality x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [105-001]
quality
Reciprocal specifically dependent continuants: the function of this key to open this lock and the mutually dependent disposition of this lock: to be opened by this key
of one-sided specifically dependent continuants: the mass of this tomato
of relational dependent continuants (multiple bearers): John’s love for Mary, the ownership relation between John and this statue, the relation of authority between John and his subordinates.
the disposition of this fish to decay
the function of this heart: to pump blood
the mutual dependence of proton donors and acceptors in chemical reactions [79
the mutual dependence of the role predator and the role prey as played by two organisms in a given interaction
the pink color of a medium rare piece of grilled filet mignon at its center
the shape of this hole.
the smell of this portion of mozzarella
b is a specifically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant & there is some independent continuant c which is not a spatial region and which is such that b s-depends_on c at every time t during the course of b’s existence. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [050-003])
Specifically dependent continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. We're not sure what else will develop here, but for example there are questions such as what are promises, obligation, etc.
(iff (SpecificallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (forall (t) (if (existsAt a t) (exists (b) (and (IndependentContinuant b) (not (SpatialRegion b)) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [050-003]
specifically dependent continuant
The entries in your database are patterns instantiated as quality instances in your hard drive. The database itself is an aggregate of such patterns. When you create the database you create a particular instance of the generically dependent continuant type database. Each entry in the database is an instance of the generically dependent continuant type IAO: information content entity.
the pdf file on your laptop, the pdf file that is a copy thereof on my laptop
the sequence of this protein molecule; the sequence that is a copy thereof in that protein molecule.
b is a generically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant that g-depends_on one or more other entities. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [074-001])
(iff (GenericallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (exists (b t) (genericallyDependsOnAt a b t)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [074-001]
generically dependent continuant
a flame
a forest fire
a human being
a hurricane
a photon
a puff of smoke
a sea wave
a tornado
an aggregate of human beings.
an energy wave
an epidemic
the undetached arm of a human being
BFO 2 Reference: Material entities (continuants) can preserve their identity even while gaining and losing material parts. Continuants are contrasted with occurrents, which unfold themselves in successive temporal parts or phases [60
BFO 2 Reference: Object, Fiat Object Part and Object Aggregate are not intended to be exhaustive of Material Entity. Users are invited to propose new subcategories of Material Entity.
BFO 2 Reference: ‘Matter’ is intended to encompass both mass and energy (we will address the ontological treatment of portions of energy in a later version of BFO). A portion of matter is anything that includes elementary particles among its proper or improper parts: quarks and leptons, including electrons, as the smallest particles thus far discovered; baryons (including protons and neutrons) at a higher level of granularity; atoms and molecules at still higher levels, forming the cells, organs, organisms and other material entities studied by biologists, the portions of rock studied by geologists, the fossils studied by paleontologists, and so on.Material entities are three-dimensional entities (entities extended in three spatial dimensions), as contrasted with the processes in which they participate, which are four-dimensional entities (entities extended also along the dimension of time).According to the FMA, material entities may have immaterial entities as parts – including the entities identified below as sites; for example the interior (or ‘lumen’) of your small intestine is a part of your body. BFO 2.0 embodies a decision to follow the FMA here.
A material entity is an independent continuant that has some portion of matter as proper or improper continuant part. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [019-002])
Every entity which has a material entity as continuant part is a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [020-002])
every entity of which a material entity is continuant part is also a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [021-002])
(forall (x) (if (MaterialEntity x) (IndependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [019-002]
(forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt x y t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [021-002]
(forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt y x t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [020-002]
material entity
On a somewhat higher level of complexity are what we shall call rate process profiles, which are the targets of selective abstraction focused not on determinate quality magnitudes plotted over time, but rather on certain ratios between these magnitudes and elapsed times. A speed process profile, for example, is represented by a graph plotting against time the ratio of distance covered per unit of time. Since rates may change, and since such changes, too, may have rates of change, we have to deal here with a hierarchy of process profile universals at successive levels
One important sub-family of rate process profiles is illustrated by the beat or frequency profiles of cyclical processes, illustrated by the 60 beats per minute beating process of John’s heart, or the 120 beats per minute drumming process involved in one of John’s performances in a rock band, and so on. Each such process includes what we shall call a beat process profile instance as part, a subtype of rate process profile in which the salient ratio is not distance covered but rather number of beat cycles per unit of time. Each beat process profile instance instantiates the determinable universal beat process profile. But it also instantiates multiple more specialized universals at lower levels of generality, selected from rate process profilebeat process profileregular beat process profile3 bpm beat process profile4 bpm beat process profileirregular beat process profileincreasing beat process profileand so on.In the case of a regular beat process profile, a rate can be assigned in the simplest possible fashion by dividing the number of cycles by the length of the temporal region occupied by the beating process profile as a whole. Irregular process profiles of this sort, for example as identified in the clinic, or in the readings on an aircraft instrument panel, are often of diagnostic significance.
The simplest type of process profiles are what we shall call ‘quality process profiles’, which are the process profiles which serve as the foci of the sort of selective abstraction that is involved when measurements are made of changes in single qualities, as illustrated, for example, by process profiles of mass, temperature, aortic pressure, and so on.
b is a process_profile =Def. there is some process c such that b process_profile_of c (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [093-002])
b process_profile_of c holds when b proper_occurrent_part_of c& there is some proper_occurrent_part d of c which has no parts in common with b & is mutually dependent on b& is such that b, c and d occupy the same temporal region (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [094-005])
(forall (x y) (if (processProfileOf x y) (and (properContinuantPartOf x y) (exists (z t) (and (properOccurrentPartOf z y) (TemporalRegion t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion y t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion z t) (not (exists (w) (and (occurrentPartOf w x) (occurrentPartOf w z))))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [094-005]
(iff (ProcessProfile a) (exists (b) (and (Process b) (processProfileOf a b)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [093-002]
process profile
data item
information content entity
curation status specification
The curation status of the term. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
Better to represent curation as a process with parts and then relate labels to that process (in IAO meeting)
PERSON:Bill Bug
data about an ontology part
Data about an ontology part is a data item about a part of an ontology, for example a term
Person:Alan Ruttenberg
obsolescence reason specification
The reason for which a term has been deprecated. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
The creation of this class has been inspired in part by Werner Ceusters' paper, Applying evolutionary terminology auditing to the Gene Ontology.
PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
PERSON: Melanie Courtot
denotator type
The Basic Formal Ontology ontology makes a distinction between Universals and defined classes, where the formal are "natural kinds" and the latter arbitrary collections of entities.
A denotator type indicates how a term should be interpreted from an ontological perspective.
Alan Ruttenberg
Barry Smith, Werner Ceusters
A mental process that creates, modifies or has as participant some cognitive representation.
GO:0050890, cognition, defined as `The operation of the mind by which an organism becomes aware of objects of thought or perception; it includes the mental activities associated with thinking, learning, and memory.'
a mental process that involves the manipulation of mental language and/or mental images
Consciousness is an inseparable part of all mental processes. It is that part of the mental process that: a) confers a subjective perspective, a phenomenology, an experience of the mental process of which it is a part; and b) intends the object or event that the mental process is about, should such exist; i.e., it confers intentionality on the mental process.
Note that while there are different modes of consciousness corresponding to the different senses, the whole of conscious experience at any one time is largely experienced as a unity, that is, as a fused whole. Mental processes which are simultaneously ongoing are separable only in fiat, not in essence.
consciousness
A mental process is a bodily process that is of a type such that it can of itself be conscious. Examples include thinking, feeling pain, remembering and emotion as occurrent experiences.
A bodily process which brings into being, sustains or modifies a cognitive representation or a beahvior inducing state.
A dependent continuant which is about a portion of reality.
A representation which specifically depends on an anatomical structure in the cognitive system of an organism.
A bodily disposition is a disposition that inheres in some extended organism. Examples are: my disposition to catch a cold when exposed to a virus, my ability to speak the English language.
bodily disposition
A mental disposition is a bodily disposition that is realized in a mental process.
mental disposition
Orgasm is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual tension during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic muscular contractions in the pelvic region characterized by sexual pleasure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasm
orgasm
Intentionality is the fundamental quality of conscious mental processes of always having content, of being directed towards, or about something.
intentionality
A bodily quality is a quality that inheres in some extended organism.
bodily quality
A mental quality is a bodily quality that inheres in those structures of the extended organism that are essential for mental functioning.
mental quality
An example of an intentional modality is the capacity to represent objects of intentionality as unfolding in time or being time contingent.
A structural capacity that shapes how an object of intentionality is represented for the subject.
intentional modality
A process in which at least one bodily component of an organsim participates.
From OGMS: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OGMS_0000060
From OGMS: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OGMS_0000087
example to be eventually removed
failed exploratory term
The term was used in an attempt to structure part of the ontology but in retrospect failed to do a good job
metadata complete
Class has all its metadata, but is either not guaranteed to be in its final location in the asserted IS_A hierarchy or refers to another class that is not complete.
organizational term
Term created to ease viewing/sort terms for development purpose, and will not be included in a release
ready for release
Class has undergone final review, is ready for use, and will be included in the next release. Any class lacking "ready_for_release" should be considered likely to change place in hierarchy, have its definition refined, or be obsoleted in the next release. Those classes deemed "ready_for_release" will also derived from a chain of ancestor classes that are also "ready_for_release."
metadata incomplete
Class is being worked on; however, the metadata (including definition) are not complete or sufficiently clear to the branch editors.
uncurated
Nothing done yet beyond assigning a unique class ID and proposing a preferred term.
pending final vetting
All definitions, placement in the asserted IS_A hierarchy and required minimal metadata are complete. The class is awaiting a final review by someone other than the term editor.
Core is an instance of a grouping of terms from an ontology or ontologies. It is used by the ontology to identify main classes.
core
obsolete_core
placeholder removed
terms merged
An editor note should explain what were the merged terms and the reason for the merge.
term imported
This is to be used when the original term has been replaced by a term imported from an other ontology. An editor note should indicate what is the URI of the new term to use.
term split
This is to be used when a term has been split in two or more new terms. An editor note should indicate the reason for the split and indicate the URIs of the new terms created.
universal
Hard to give a definition for. Intuitively a "natural kind" rather than a collection of any old things, which a class is able to be, formally. At the meta level, universals are defined as positives, are disjoint with their siblings, have single asserted parents.
A Formal Theory of Substances, Qualities, and Universals, http://ontology.buffalo.edu/bfo/SQU.pdf
defined class
A defined class is a class that is defined by a set of logically necessary and sufficient conditions but is not a universal
"definitions", in some readings, always are given by necessary and sufficient conditions. So one must be careful (and this is difficult sometimes) to distinguish between defined classes and universal.
named class expression
A named class expression is a logical expression that is given a name. The name can be used in place of the expression.
named class expressions are used in order to have more concise logical definition but their extensions may not be interesting classes on their own. In languages such as OWL, with no provisions for macros, these show up as actuall classes. Tools may with to not show them as such, and to replace uses of the macros with their expansions
to be replaced with external ontology term
Terms with this status should eventually replaced with a term from another ontology.
requires discussion
A term that is metadata complete, has been reviewed, and problems have been identified that require discussion before release. Such a term requires editor note(s) to identify the outstanding issues.