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Ontology is the part of philosophy that asks what exists and what to be even means. It is not about what we should do, and not about how we know things; it is about what is there in the first place.
Ontology本體論 is the part of philosophy是哲學裡的一個分支 that asks what exists探討什麼東西存在 and what to be even means還有「存在」這件事到底是什麼意思。It is not about what we should do它談的不是我們應該做什麼, and not about how we know things也不是我們怎麼知道事情; it is about what is there in the first place而是一開始有什麼東西存在。
The English word is a learned borrowing from New Latin ontologia (first used in 1606). That was built from Ancient Greek ōn, ontos, “being,” plus logos, “account.” First known English use is 1663. By the look of the modern word: onto- + -logy.
The English word is a learned borrowing這個英文字是一個學術上借來的字 from New Latin ontologia來自新拉丁文 ontologia (first used in 1606)（最早在1606年使用）。That was built from Ancient Greek ōn, ontos, "being,"這個字是由古希臘文 ōn、ontos（意思是「存在」） plus logos, "account."加上 logos（意思是「說法、論述」）組成。First known English use is 1663英文最早已知的使用是在1663年。By the look of the modern word從現代這個字的拼法來看: onto- + -logy就是 onto- 加 -logy。
In the last few decades, computer people borrowed the same spelling for a different but related job: a careful map of concepts in a field, so a machine can tell how those ideas connect. A medical ontology, for example, lists diseases and how they relate.
In the last few decades在過去幾十年裡, computer people borrowed the same spelling資訊領域的人借用了同樣的拼法 for a different but related job拿來做一件不同但相關的事: a careful map of concepts in a field把某個領域的概念仔細整理成一張地圖, so a machine can tell how those ideas connect好讓機器能看懂這些概念彼此怎麼連結。A medical ontology, for example舉例來說一個醫學 ontology, lists diseases and how they relate會列出各種疾病還有它們之間的關係。
Same word, two homes — lecture hall and lab. Both are specialist. In the computer sense, people in Taiwan often just say ontology in English.
Same word, two homes同一個字，兩個家 — lecture hall and lab一個在講堂，一個在實驗室。Both are specialist兩種用法都很專業。In the computer sense在資訊這個意義上, people in Taiwan often just say ontology in English台灣人通常直接說英文 ontology。
組成Learned borrowing from New Latin ontologia (1606), from Ancient Greek ὤν, ὄντος (being) + λόγος (account). By surface analysis, onto- + -logy.
同家族的字
- ontologicalthe adjective form: about the nature of existence
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
ontologynoun/ɒnˈtɒləd͡ʒi/
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human-sciencesphilosophysciencesThe branch of metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being.
- [Martin] Heidegger's concern […] was with ontology, the nature of beings, above all humans. The central question for him was "What is being? What is it for something to be?" He tackled this question not by way of the sciences, but by way of an examination of our prescientific daily life. We are, he argued, not cut off from the world by our mental processes: we are "in the world", in direct contact with our surroundings.
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human-sciencesphilosophysciencesIn a subject view, or a world view, the set of conceptual or material things or classes of things that are recognised as existing, or are assumed to exist in context, and their interrelations; in a body of theory, the ontology comprises the domain of discourse, the things that are defined as existing, together with whatever emerges from their mutual implications.
- Meronym: taxonomy
- Do you believe in ghosts? Then ghosts are in your ontology, along with tables and chairs and songs and vacations, and snow, and all the rest. It has proved more than convenient to extend the term "ontology" beyond this primary meaning and use it for the set of "things" that an animal can recognize and behave appropriately with regard to (whether or not animals can properly be said to have beliefs) and — more recently — the set of "things" a computer program has to be able to deal with to do its job (whether or not it can properly be said to have beliefs). Vacations are not in the ontology of a polar bear, but snow is, and so are seals. Snow is probably not in the ontology of a manatee, but outboard-motor propellers may well be, along with seaweed and fish and other manatees. The GPS system in your car handles one-way streets, left and right turns, speed limits, and the current velocity of your car (if it isn't zero, it may not let you put in a new target address), but its ontology also includes a number of satellites, as well as signals to and from those satellites, which it doesn't bother you with, but needs if it is to do its job.
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human-sciencesphilosophysciencesThe theory of a particular philosopher or school of thought concerning the fundamental types of entity in the universe.
- The answer to the controversial question of whether Aristotle's ontology includes non-substantial particulars, then, is that it does.
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human-scienceslogicmathematicsA logical system involving theory of classes, developed by Stanislaw Lesniewski (1886-1939).
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computercomputingengineeringA structure of concepts or entities within a domain, organized by relationships; a system model.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。