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2018 Vol. 9 №3

Events as a semantic framework for the construction of reality: the prospects of a transition to a dynamic ontology

Abstract

Events are the main element in the formation and presentation of a worldview across all the research disciplines in the humanities and other sciences. Cognising and understanding reality requires the consideration and construction of data, descriptions, correlations, and narratives, to all of which concrete events are the key. In this article, we analyse the connection between an event and reality, with a special focus on social events in the context of management. Such an approach does not confine us to descriptions. On the contrary, we can benefit from considering the phenomena in the context of opportunities for the constructive transformation of reality. We address three major problems. The first problem concerns the possibility of a dynamic description of the nature of events. In this context, we justify a transition to a constructive-dynamic ontological paradigm. We identify the functions of an event that consists in the creation, management, and destruction or reality. We demonstrate the need for a constructive model of a special event—a model taking into account the temporal factor in the development of reality. The second problem concerns the development of theoretical (mathematical) tools to describe such dynamics. In this connection, we identify the mathematical semantics of event processes. To build the necessary model, we use the methods of maxima/ minima and infinitesimal calculus and carry out an analysis of the threshold values of the event function. The third problem is the verification of the model and the description of its possible applications. In this context, we demonstrate how this model can be used in forecasting and developing special events, including those in interactive mode.

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Ontological taxonomy as a means to inventory the elements of the semantic metalanguage of cognitive analysis (based on E. V. Rakhilina’s monograph Cognitive Analysis of Object Names (Semantics and Collocations))

Abstract

In this work, I address the problems of inventorying the semantic metalanguage used in cognitive analysis to describe the meaning and collocation characteristics of object names. I establish correlations between elements of the semantic metalanguage to explain the meanings of linguistic units and speech sections in E. V. Rakhilina’s monograph Cognitive Analysis of Object Names (Semantics and Collocations) (Rakhilina 2010). I focus on the units of the semantic metalanguage, i. e. words and phrases denoting phenomena of reality. Such words and phrases comprise the lexicon of the metalanguage used in the semantic reflection of the author of semantic descriptions. The inventory of the semantic elements follows the alphabetical clustering principle. The ‘ontological taxonomy’ covers clusters, at the apex of which are the denominations of fragments of the world (reality) reflected by the internal aspect of linguistic units. These denominations are expressed by nouns with generic meanings: ‘object’, ‘container’, ‘surface’, etc. For brevity, I focus only on the third element — the ontological taxonomy. The result of the study — the ontological taxonomy of the researcher’s metalanguage — is presented in the appendix in the form of a dictionary.

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