Contributions to the formal ontology of functions and dispositions: an application of non-monotonic reasoning
Abstract
We introduce a basic ontology of functions and dispositions. The theory we suggest is compatible both with major philosophical theories of biological functions and with most top-level ontologies. The particular focus of the suggested formalism is on the inference of causal relationships from functionality and the explicit formalization of the normative character of functions using non-monotonic forms of knowledge representation.