 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Investigations |
Modelling |
|
|||
|
Foundations |
Ontologies |
|
|||
|
Analyses |
Languages |
|
|||
Onto-Med >> Theories >> GFO Part I Basic Principles |
|||||
 |
6.3 Templates of IndividualsIndividuals exist in time or space in different ways. To obtain a more detailed overview of these possibilities we introduce the notion of the template of an individual. A template of an individual is a pair  of
numbers
that are determined using two functions  ,  being defined
for arbitrary individuals .
 is the space dimension of , and  the time structure which is
associated with . The values of may be
 ,
while those of
can
be  .
 has the meaning that is independent from space,
analogously, is independent from time if  . We consider time
entities (chronoid,
boundaries) or
space entities (topoids, surfaces, lines, points ) as
individuals. Therefore, there are 15 combinations  ,
 ;  .
 means that the individual is independent from space
and time.
A material structure has the template  , because occupies a
three-dimensional space region and exists at a particular
time-point. A material boundary of
a material structure has the template  because any material surface
occupies a spatial entity of dimension  , which is a spatial boundary.
It is not clear which of these
combinations can be realized by individuals. For instance, a process 
always
satisfies the condition  ; however, the determination of the
possible values of
 seems to be an open question. Therefore, a complete analysis of all
combinations should be completed in order to determine which can actually be
realized by individuals.
Robert Hoehndorf 2006-10-18 |
||||
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |