SNAP/SPAN in Basic Formal Ontology: An Aristotelian Suggestion

Basic Formal Ontology (Zakladni formalni ontologie, zkr. BFO) vyvijena Barry Smithem a jeho spolupracovniky je fundamentalni ontologie uživana v informacni vědě k popisu entit na nejvyssi urovni obecnosti. Jednim z napadných rysů BFO je rozděleni entit na ty, ktere trvaji (continuants) a jsou soucasti ontologie SNAP (snap = snimek), a na ty, ktere se ději (occurents) a jsou soucasti ontologie SPAN (span = rozpěti). Toto děleni je motivovano kontroverzi mezi endurantismem a perdurantismem v soucasne analyticke metafyzice. V tomto clanku, v navaznosti na Aristotela, navrhuji v zajmu realismu urcitou modifikaci Smithova přistupu. Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), developed by Barry Smith and his colleagues, is a foundational ontology used in information science for the description of entities at the highest level of generality. One of the salient features of BFO is the division of entities into continuants of so-called SNAP (or snapshot) ontology and occurents of so-called SPAN (or spanning time) ontology. The division is motivated by an apparent impasse in the endurantist/perdurantist controversy in recent analytical metaphysics. In this paper, drawing on Aristotle, I suggest a realism-supporting modification of Smith’s approach. Daniel D. Novotný Teologicka fakulta Jihoceske univerzity v Ceských Budějovicich