1 SNAP and SPAN Barry Smith and Pierre Grenon University at Buffalo and Institute for Formal Ontology and Medical Information Science (ifomis.de) University of Leipzig

2 Formal Ontology = domain-neutral Examples of categories: Substance, Process, Agent, Property, Relation, Location, Spatial Region Part-of, Boundary-of

3 Material Ontology = regional or domain-specific ontology, e.g. GeO Examples of categories: River, Mountain, Country, Desert … Resides-In, Is-to-the-West-of

4 Realist Perspectivalism There is a multiplicity of ontological perspectives on reality, all equally veridical and transparent to reality vs. Reductionism: “Only my preferred perspective on reality is veridical”

5 Realist Perspectivalism Perspectivalism: all views are ontologically admissible. Realist Perspectivalism: only those perspectives are admissible that are transparent to reality

6 Need for different perspectives Double counting: 3 apples on the table 7 x molecules at spatial locations L1, L2 and L3 Not one ontology, but a multiplicity of complementary ontologies Cf. Quantum mechanics: particle vs. wave ontologies

7 Cardinal Perspectives Formal vs. Material Micro- vs. Meso- vs. Macro SNAP vs. SPAN

8 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO BFO = Basic Formal Ontology

9 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO MedO

10 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO MedOGeO

11 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO MedOGeOLexO

12 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO MedOGeOLexOMilO

13 A Network of Domain Ontologies BFO MedOGeOLexOMilOEcO

14 Cardinal Perspectives Formal vs. Material Ontologies Granularity (Micro vs. Meso vs. Macro) SNAP vs. SPAN

15 Granular Partitions

16 Ontological Zooming

17 Ontological Zooming folk geography land survey

18 Ontological Zooming both are transparent partitions of one and the same reality

19 Cardinal Perspectives Formal vs. Material Ontologies Granularity (Micro vs. Meso vs. Macro) Time: SNAP vs. SPAN

20 Substances and processes exist in time in different ways substance t i m e process

21 Snapshot vs. video substance t i m e process

22 Endurants and perdurants Substances and processes Continuants and occurrents In preparing an inventory of reality we keep track of these two different categories of entities in two different ways (stocks vs. flows)

23 Endurants vs. perdurants Endurants - have continuous existence in time - preserve their identity through change - exist in toto if they exist at all Perdurants - have temporal parts - unfold themselves through time - exist only in their phases/stages

24 Endurants vs. perdurants Substances vs. their lives

25 You are a substance Your life is a process You are 3-dimensional Your life is 4-dimensional

26 Substances do not have temporal parts The first 5-minute phase of my existence is not a temporal part of me It is a temporal part of that complex process which is my life

27 How do you know whether an entity endures or perdures?

28 SNAP vs. SPAN 1.SNAP: a SNAPshot ontology of endurants existing at a time 2.SPAN: a four-dimensionalist ontology of processes

29 Three kinds of SNAP entities 1.Substances 2.SPQR… entities 3.Spatial regions, Contexts, Niches

30 SPQR… entities States, powers, qualities, roles …

31 Other SPQR… entities: functions, dispositions, plans, shapes SPQR… entities are all dependent on substances relations

32 Examples of simple SNAP ontologies 1 space

33 Examples of simple SNAP ontologies 2

34 Examples of simple SNAP ontologies 3

35 each SNAP section through reality includes everything which exists at the corresponding now

36 Many SNAP Ontologies t1t1 t3t3 t2t2 here time exists outside the ontology, as an index or time-stamp

37 The SPAN Ontology t i m e

38 here time exists as part of the domain of the ontology The SPAN ontology

39 t i m e campaign The SPAN ontology

40 They are windows on just that portion of reality which is visible through the given ontology ( … Pat Hayes … ) SNAP and SPAN ontologies are partial only (Realist perspectivalism)

41 SNAP: Entities existing in toto at a time

42 Three kinds of SNAP entities 1.Substances 2.SPQR… entities 3.Spatial regions, Contexts, Niches

43

44

45 SNAP

46 SPAN: Entities extended in time

47 SPAN: Entities extended in time

48 SPAN: Entities extended in time

49 Rule: Respect Granularity spatial regionqualitysubstance parts of spatial regions are always spatial regions

50 Respect Granularity spatial regionqualitysubstance parts of substances are always substances

51 Respect Granularity spatial regionqualitysubstance parts of qualities are always qualities

52 Respect Granularity process parts of processes are always processes

53 Relations crossing the SNAP/SPAN border are not part- relations John’s life substance John physiological processes sustaining in existence

54 Parts of processes (1) c c: boundary a a a: scattered part b b: temporal slice

55 Parts of processes (2) a a: sub-process b b: phase

56 Relations between SNAP and SPAN SNAP-entities participate in processes; they have lives, histories.

57 SPQR… entities and their SPAN realizations the expression of a function the exercise of a role the execution of a plan the realization of a disposition the application of a therapy

58 SPQR… entities and their SPAN realizations function role plan disposition therapy SNAP

59 SPQR… entities and their SPAN realizations expression exercise execution realization application SPAN

60 Temporal Co-Incidence x y SNAP-t At time t, colony of bacteria in the throat. time SPAN Migration of a colony of bacteria from the mouth to the small intestine. B

61 Participation x y substances x, y participate in process B time B x y SNAP-t i. time SPAN B

62 Projections process material regionspatial region participants spatio-temporal region SNAP t i SPAN

63 SNAP-SPAN relations (3) Ontological dependence. Some forms of participation: -initiation, termination -creation, destruction -sustenance, degradation

64 Ontology for Geographical Information Science

65 GeO

66 An adequate ontology of geography has to have those three components: 1. SNAP 2. FIELD 3. SPAN

67 SNAP GeO

68 An adequate ontology of geography has to have those three basic categories: 1. Geographical Objects 2. Geographical Attributes 3. Places, Niches, Environments

69 FIELD GeO

70 An adequate ontology of geography has to have those three categories: 1. Fields 2. Fields Attributes 3. Spatial Regions

71 SPAN GeO

72 An adequate ontology of geography has to have those two categories: 1. Processual Entities 2. Space-Time Worms

73 Relations in GeO Of course, all the Basic Formal Relations obtain here. There are GeO specific relations or GeO specifics forms of Basic Formal Relations.

74 Relations in GeO Forms of geo-spatial location -orientation (east of, etc.) -field elements -geographical location (projection on Earth's surface, 2-D) -geo-spatial location (with considerations of altitude, 3-D) Relations defined based on participation in specific geographical processes.

75 Geo Location ground, 2d-location underground, 3d-location above ground, 3-d location

76 Relations between SNAP and SPAN (and FIELD) in GeO

77 Geographical Changes Some types of processes: -Movements (location change) -Substantial Change -Property Change

78 Movement from location x ends begins movement to location y

79 begins movement from location x to location y ends Moving Outside

80 Initiation Destruction

81 Creation a process P t1 a region of space R where P is ongoing R Snap-t1

82 Creation P t1 R Snap-t1 t2>t1 R Snap-t2 P initiates a, a's birth at t2 a's life (overlaps P)

83 Property change

84 Scenario