History in the Basic Formal Ontology.

Area of Science:

• Ontology
• Formal Ontology
• Philosophy of Science

Background:

• The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) currently defines 'history' narrowly, restricting it to material entities.
• This reductionist approach excludes processes involving material entities from their own histories.
• BFO remains silent on whether non-material continuants possess histories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the origins of BFO's restrictive definition of 'history'.
• To propose inclusive and alternative formal ontology definitions for 'history'.
• To accommodate all BFO-recognized continuant types within a broadened concept of history.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of scholarly work underpinning BFO's ontological framework.
• Comparative analysis of existing and proposed ontological definitions for 'history'.
• Development of two alternative formal ontology models for 'history'.

Main Results:

• Identified the reductionist nature of BFO's current 'history' definition.
• Demonstrated how BFO's approach excludes certain processes from entity histories.
• Proposed two novel, inclusive versions of 'history' applicable to all BFO continuants.

Conclusions:

• BFO's current definition of 'history' is overly restrictive and requires revision.
• The proposed alternative models offer a more comprehensive and accurate representation of 'history' in formal ontology.
• These revisions enhance the BFO's capacity to model complex entities and their temporal development.