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Ontological Indeterminacy and the Semantic Web

Ontological Indeterminacy and the Semantic Web

Allen Ginsberg
Copyright: © 2008 |Volume: 4 |Issue: 2 |Pages: 30
ISSN: 1552-6283|EISSN: 1552-6291|ISSN: 1552-6283|EISBN13: 9781615204854|EISSN: 1552-6291|DOI: 10.4018/jswis.2008040102
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MLA

Ginsberg, Allen. "Ontological Indeterminacy and the Semantic Web." IJSWIS vol.4, no.2 2008: pp.19-48. http://doi.org/10.4018/jswis.2008040102

APA

Ginsberg, A. (2008). Ontological Indeterminacy and the Semantic Web. International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS), 4(2), 19-48. http://doi.org/10.4018/jswis.2008040102

Chicago

Ginsberg, Allen. "Ontological Indeterminacy and the Semantic Web," International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS) 4, no.2: 19-48. http://doi.org/10.4018/jswis.2008040102

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Abstract

Ontological indeterminacy (OI) involves incompatible conceptual systems being applicable to a domain with equal empirical adequacy; a phenomenon familiar in philosophy, but also present in the sciences and everyday life. This article presents arguments and a detailed use-case showing how OI causes problems for what seems to be a widespread, if implicit, understanding of how semantic Web (SW) terms refer or have meaning, namely: the referent/meaning of a SW term is established through precise definitions given in a formal ontology. We show that this account is incompatible with the key requirement that SW terms/statements be similar in meaning to corresponding natural language terms/statements. We present a new account, based on a “meaning as use” philosophy of language, that avoids these problems by formalizing the distinction between the intention to use a term in a customary manner and the decision to adopt a formal theory that explains or explicates that usage.

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