At 03:12 PM 1/25/2006, you wrote:
>Barry,
>Re: Leaving aside administrative domains (e.g. tax collection), types,
>like instances, are discovered. They are out there in reality. They
>form the subject-matter of scientific inquiry.
>
>As stated earlier - this is simply not the general case, at least not in my
>world. We can accept the existence of such "natural types" and provide a
>prominent place for them in our ontology, but MOST of the types we and our
>customers deal with represent concepts made up by man. (01)
What do you mean by 'represent' here? Do you mean that they ARE
concepts made up by man?
Are not all concepts made up by man? (02)
> Some are
>"discovered" in watching what man does but many are simply made up as a
>means of specifying a future system or interpreting an existing systems. (03)
Types are discovered.
Concepts are, by definition, creatures of language-using organisms.
They are the meanings of terms. (04)
>Even those that are discovered are an abstraction and interpretation of this
>"real world" - essentially an opinion. (05)
Are the types cell, or bacteria, or protein, which were instantiated
many billions of years before language-using, abstracting,
interpreting, opinion-forming organisms existed, "essentially opinions"? (06)
> Instances, likewise, are then
>created based on this constructed world (07)
I cannot believe that you mean this sincerely, e.g. for types like
cell, bacteria, protein. (08)
>- such as an electronic payment.
>Every organization, business process and information structure was an idea
>before it existed and a specification (formally or informally) before it was
>realized. (09)
Of course, that is why my posting began: 'Leaving aside
administrative domains ...'
BS (010)
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