Ontology: its transformation from philosophy to information systems

- It is no secret that the multidisciplinary sphere of information systems has borrowed the term `ontology' from philosophy, and reinterpreted it to be more suitable for information systems. However, there is some disagreement about what this reinterpretation should be. This paper examines two prominent and distinct views on what information systems ontology is, and attempts to advance a unified definition that can be understood interdisciplinarily. But the goal of this paper is to show the specific points of variance between information systems ontology and philosophical ontology in order to shed light on the transformation of the term `ontology' in its adoption by the information systems community. The relatively new information systems ontology is facing great challenges that may be better confronted with the insights that can be discovered through philosophical ontology.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2001
• Where: FOIS
• Authors: Gloria L. Zúñiga
• Keywords: FOIS 2001, FOIS 2008, Information Systems, Information Systems Ontology, Philosophical Ontology