Inferences: Integrals and Derivatives

Abstract

Orbst’s paper on ontological interoperability presents a continuum from descriptions with very week semantics to those with strong semantics. Those ontologies represented in terms of axioms in first order logic have the strongest semantics and therefore the highest level of interoperability. These representations also allow for inferences about the system described by the axioms. The mathematicians of the early 20th century were focused on the possibility of determining which inferences were possible from the axioms. The problem for otologists working in describing services and business models is reversed. We know what inferences must be possible within the model, and it is therefore incumbent on the developers of a particular ontology to show whether these inferences are possible. For example, it is critical for a set of axioms that purport to describe the REA ontology to make inferences about not only accounting artifacts, but also other auditing conclusions. This paper attempts to describe the types of inferences that are required of any ontology.

Keywords: Inferences, Derivatives, Integrals, Attribute Bundles, Naming versus Defining