Persistence, Change, and the Integration of Objects and Processes in the Framework of the General Formal Ontology
This work addresses foundational issues in formal ontology for researchers in philosophy and computer science, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing 4D-ontology concepts.
The paper tackles problems of persistence, change, and integrating objects and processes in temporal phenomena, proposing an approach where persistence stems from mental activity and personal identity, within the General Formal Ontology (GFO) framework.
In this paper we discuss various problems, associated to temporal phenomena. These problems include persistence and change, the integration of objects and processes, and truth-makers for temporal propositions. We propose an approach which interprets persistence as a phenomenon emanating from the activity of the mind, and which, additionally, postulates that persistence, finally, rests on personal identity. The General Formal Ontology (GFO) is a top level ontology being developed at the University of Leipzig. Top level ontologies can be roughly divided into 3D-ontologies, and 4D-ontologies. GFO is the only top level ontology, used in applications, which is a 4D-ontology admitting additionally 3D objects. Objects and processes are integrated in a natural way.