General Formal Ontology (GFO): A foundational ontology for conceptual modelling

Abstract

The current chapter presents an overview about the current stage of the foundational ontology GFO. GFO (General Formal Ontology). GFO is a foundational ontology integrating objects and processes. It is being developed by the research group Onto-Med (Ontologies in Medicine) at the University of Leipzig. Unique selling properties of GFO are the following: it includes categories of objects (3D objects) as well as of processes (4D entities) and both are integrated into one coherent framework. GFO presents a multi-categorial approach by admitting universals, concepts, and symbol structures and their interrelations. GFO adopts categories pertaining to levels of reality, and it is designed to support interoperability by principles of ontological mapping and reduction. GFO contains several novel ontological modules, in particular, a module for functions and a module for roles. GFO is designed for applications, firstly in medical, biological, and biomedical areas, but also in the fields of economics and sociology. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.