The Ontology-Epistemology Divide: A Case Study in Medical Terminology

Area of Science:

• Biomedical informatics
• Medical terminology
• Ontology engineering

Background:

• Medical terminology is crucial for organizing biomedical knowledge.
• Terms in vocabularies serve as labels for classes and reflect organizational principles.
• Biomedical terms encompass both invariant features (ontology) and subjective perceptions (epistemology).

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the interaction between ontological and epistemological components in biomedical terminologies.
• To identify how subjective perceptions influence the structure of medical terms.
• To understand the implications for biomedical vocabularies and ontologies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of terms from multiple biomedical vocabularies.
• Categorization of terms based on their ontological and epistemological contributions.
• Identification of four distinct cases of term construction.

Main Results:

• Epistemology-loaded terms are prevalent in biomedical vocabularies.
• These terms often name classes that do not adhere to sound classification principles.
• Four categories of terms were identified: classification criteria, detectability/uncertainty, complete partition, and fiat boundaries.

Conclusions:

• The pervasive influence of epistemology in biomedical terms complicates classification.
• Inconsistent classification principles due to subjective terms can hinder terminology evolution.
• Alignment issues between terminologies and ontologies are likely exacerbated by epistemology-loaded terms.