Report from the ECOOP 2004 Workshop on Philosophy, Ontology, and Information Systems

The workshop aimed at providing a forum to discuss the use of philosophical ontology in object-oriented information systems. Whilst ontology is now more widely used in computing circles – knowledge representation, system integration, legacy transformation, and the semantic web for example – initial attempts have been modest in their outcomes. This is because computing ontology to-date has been used primarily for (often competing) concept definitions: Pragmatically, ontologies have either been developed in an abstract sense (based on some authorative perspective), or people have taken materials at hand (data models and the like) and tried to glue them together. A sound basis on which to properly align different views on aspects of the world in order to work towards a consistent whole is missing. With this in mind, the workshop aimed to secure a measure of agreement on:

• What philosophical ontology is,
• How ontology can assist in software development,
• Key obstacles to the deployment of ontology, and
• Possible collaborative efforts among the participants.

Selection of participants was based on short position papers and/or previously demonstrated interest in related areas of activity. The title of this report should be referenced as “Report from the ECOOP 2004 Workshop on Philosophy, Ontology, and Information Systems”.