[topicmapmail] instance-of relationship

[Murray Altheim]

Lieberknecht, Katharina wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I know the relationship "instance-of" from KR with semantic networks
> where it is used to define the relationship between a class and an 
> individual of
> that class. One feature of an individual, as I know it, is that it 
> cannot play the
> role of a class.
> 
> Does the "instance-of"-relationship or the 
> "class-instance"-relationship, respectively
> have different semantics in semantic networks and topic maps?
> Or is it just a naming problem? And the term "instance" implies that
> it is an "individual"?

We've just been having a long conversation about this very subject
under a thread that wouldn't indicate so. I'd suggest reading the
thread from the archives beginning at:

    "Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus On Line"
    http://www.infoloom.com/pipermail/topicmapmail/2003q3/005114.html

in particular, the message from Daniel Rivers-Moore:

    http://www.infoloom.com/pipermail/topicmapmail/2003q3/005145.html

In a nutshell, something is an instance of a class within a specific
context. Within a different context it may sometimes play the role of
a class. For example, "Homo sapiens" may be certainly a classifier
for human beings, but is itself an instance of a zoological or
Linnaean taxon.

Murray

...........................................................................
Murray Altheim                         http://kmi.open.ac.uk/people/murray/
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK                    .

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