In scientific communication, we usually resort to formal theories -
like algebra or first-order logic - to express our thoughts and
intuitions in such a way they can be understood by our colleagues. I
will argue that the tools of formal ontology (such as the notions of
parthood, unity, dependence, identity) can play a similar role in
ordinary communication, for instance during e-commerce transactions. I
will briefly present what these tools are, and I will give examples
concerning their role in facilitating mutual agreement, as well as
recognizing and explaining disagreement.
Brief Speaker Bio :
Nicola Guarino (1954) is a senior research scientist at the Institute
of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research
Council (ISTC-CNR), where he leads the Laboratory for Applied Ontology
(LOA) in Trento. He graduated in Electrical Engineering at the
University of Padova in 1978.
He has been active in the ontology field since 1991, developing a
strongly interdisciplinary approach that combines together Computer
Science, Philosophy, and Linguistics, and relies on Logic as a unifying
paradigm. He has played a leading role in promoting a well-founded
ontological approach within the Computer Science community, as
testified by the successful series of conferences on Formal Ontology in
Information Systems (FOIS), a long list of research papers, a number of
special issues on international journals, and a series of invited talks
and tutorials in different communities. His lab is currently involved
in various ontology-related projects, and strong cooperation
relationships exist with various national and international research
institutes.
He is general chair of the FOIS conference series, associate editor of
the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies and the Journal of
Data Semantics, and editor-in-chief of the forthcoming Journal of
Applied Ontology. He is a member of ACM, AAAI, and AI*IA.
