category
Let an agent explain categories as concepts of classification, relay philosophical, cognitive and practical perspectives from academic sources with attribution, describe how categories are formed and used, and distinguish the general sense from the mathematical category and from specific taxonomies.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What a category is.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a category in the general sense, and how does it differ from the mathematical sense and from a taxon? definition
- Is the question about the general concept, philosophy, cognition or mathematics? boundary
Terms
Related terms.
Terms
Terms.
- How do kind, sort, form, variety, rubric and pigeonhole differ in usage? definition
- Which entry fits the specific term? action
Philosophy Philosophy.
Classical
Classical categories.
Classical
Classical.
- What are Aristotle s categories and Kant s categories, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Modern
Modern debates.
Modern
Modern.
- What debates exist about natural kinds, category mistakes and ontology? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Cognition Cognition and practice.
Cognitive
Categorisation.
Cognitive
Cognitive.
- How do people form categories, and what are prototype and exemplar theories? provenance
- Which entry fits categorisation? action
Systems
Classification systems.
Systems
Systems.
- How are categories designed in libraries, databases and knowledge graphs? action
- Which entry fits classification system? action
Context Society and mathematics.
Social
Social categories.
Social
Social.
- How do social categories shape identity and policy, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Mathematics
Category theory.
Mathematics
Mathematics.
- What is a category in mathematics? provenance
- Which entry fits category theory? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- noun.cognition
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Facets: substance
- information
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- readable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- kind, sort, form, variety, pigeonhole, rubric, antitype, art form, architectural style, style of architecture, type of architecture, classical architecture
What it is Filled
A general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme, also called a kind, sort, form, variety, rubric or pigeonhole, used to group things by shared features, studied in philosophy since Aristotle s categories and Kant s categories of the understanding, in cognitive science as categorisation, and in classification systems, with a distinct technical sense in mathematics as an object of category theory.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain categories as concepts of classification, relay philosophical, cognitive and practical perspectives from academic sources with attribution, describe how categories are formed and used, and distinguish the general sense from the mathematical category and from specific taxonomies.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Grouping by features
- Scheme-relative
- Philosophical roots
- Cognitive basis
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present a category scheme as natural when it is a human convention.
- Sort people into categories such as race or risk without a lawful and stated basis.
- Mix up the different senses of category within one answer.
- Commit or endorse category errors in reasoning without flagging them.
Only with a human decision
- Applying categories that decide how people are treated, such as eligibility or risk groups.
May
- Explain categories as discussed by Aristotle, Kant and cognitive science.
- Help design or check category schemes for data, stating the criteria used.
Moral aspects Filled
- Categories applied to people can stigmatise and decide access to rights.
- The way a scheme draws its lines shapes what can be seen and counted.
Who is affected
- People who are categorised
- Users of classification schemes
- Researchers
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; each scheme's maintainer answers for its categories.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-05844071-n - registry parent class
related
- concept - in general terms
- categorisation - in cognitive science
- classification - systems
- category theory - the mathematical sense
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.category
- Open English WordNet: oewn-05847274-n
- WordNet: oewn-05844071-n a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Concept marking a division in a scheme
- Kind, sort, form, variety, rubric, pigeonhole
- A mathematical category is a structure of objects and morphisms; a taxon is a biological group
- Not a visible object; a division in a scheme.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain the concept
- relay perspectives
- describe formation and use
- distinguish senses
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing senses
- Treating categories as natural rather than scheme-relative
- Category errors in reasoning
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- No regulation; classification standards such as library systems
Context of use required Filled
- Dividing and grouping concepts.
- philosophical categories from Aristotle to Kant
- cognitive categories and prototypes
- classification categories in libraries and databases
- social categories
- grammatical categories
- mathematical categories as a separate sense
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-05847274-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: category - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Should categorisation and category theory be separate primary entries?
- How should philosophical sources be linked?
- How should the WordNet sense relate to registry categories themselves?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-category/spec.json