We consider the arguments of Berkeley against the thinkability of realism. We show that in fact Berkeley’s assumptions do not merely lead to the conclusion that realism is unthinkable, but that in fact Berkeley’s argument implies that idealism is also unthinkable, and leaves only a weak version of solipsism remains as a thinkable ontological position. From this, we argue that it is not possible...

In this book, the authors present an important body of work in computational linguistics, which they and their colleagues have been developing over the past 20 years. For a unifying perspective, they organize their assumptions, theories, and techniques around the theme of ontological semantics. Along the way, they critique many alternative views of semantics, which they distinguish from their o...

Wave-particle duality, wave function collapse, objective probability and nonlocality constitute four prominent puzzles in modern physics. Although these topics may appear unrelated, a closer examination reveals that they do share some common assumptions at the foundational level have characterized physics for last 100 years. Progress can be made on only if we understand possibly revise long-hel...

The paper proposes a new perspective on modelling ad hominem (AH) techniques in a dialogue. The approach is built upon the following assumptions: (i) that ad hominem is not an inferential, but undercutting structure; (ii) that it can be a non-fallacious dialectical technique in some communicative contexts; and (iii) that critical questions in Walton’s AH scheme can be used to determine strategi...

A paradigm shift has been observed across scientific, engineering, and other disciplines. While this shift also impacts design, the impact within the design profession has been rather sporadic without a clear recognition of a profound philosophical change. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the transformation in design triggered by the emergence of new paradigms. For this, we contrast th...

In this paper I present a narrative approach to environmental education research. This approach evolved through a dynamic interplay between research questions, theory, experience, conversation, and reflection. I situate the approach with respect to narrative inquiry and clarify the key conceptual metaphors underpinning my study, including “story,” “narrative,” and “metaphor.” I then discuss the...

In this book, the authors present an important body of work in computational linguistics, which they and their colleagues have been developing over the past 20 years. For a unifying perspective, they organize their assumptions, theories, and techniques around the theme of ontological semantics. Along the way, they critique many alternative views of semantics, which they distinguish from their o...

Subjective knowledge becomes an unavoidable subject, which must be integrated and developped in Ontological Engineering. REDENE is a project which is based on (i) the formalization of some results defined in Cognitive Psychology on human memory by considering assumptions established in the field of the Neurosciences and (ii) the integration and the exploitation of such a formalisation within th...

Redundant hierarchical relations refer to such patterns as two paths from one concept to another, one with length one (direct) and the other with length greater than one (indirect). This paper introduces a novel and scalable approach, called FEDRR – Fast, Exhaustive Detection of Redundant Relations – for quality assurance work during ontological evolution. FEDRR combines the algorithm ideas of ...

This paper outlines a method, called reconciliation, for managing interference between partial specifications or viewpoints. The method supports the detection, verification and tracking of ontological overlaps. The paper describes the heuristics on which the method is based and illustrates the application of the method to a scenario.