Foundational Ontology Comparison: Ontological Commitments
| Term and meaning | DOLCE | BFO | GFO | SUMO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
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| Descriptive vs. Realist (Descriptive: represent the entities underlying natural language and human common-sense; Realist: represent the world exactly as is) | Descriptive | Realist | Descriptive and Realist | Descriptive |
| Universals vs. Particulars (Universals can have instances, particulars do not) | Particulars | Universals | Universals and Particulars | Universals and Particulars |
| Multiplicative vs. Reductionist (Multiplicative: different objects can be co-located at the same time; Reductionist: only one object may be located at the same region at one time) | Multiplicative | Reductionist | Unclear | Multiplicative |
| Endurantism vs. Perdurantism (Endurantism: an object is wholly present at all times; Perdurantism: an object has temporal parts) | Endurantism and Perdurantism | Endurantism and Perdurantism | Endurantism and Perdurantism | Endurantism and Perdurantism |
| Actualism vs. Possibilism (everything that exists in the ontology is real; Objects are allowed independent of their actual existence | Possibilism | Actualism | Unclear | Unclear |
| Eternalist stance (the past, present and future all exist) | Eternalist | Eternalist | Eternalist | Eternalist |
| Concrete & Abstract entities (Concrete: entities that exist in space and time; Abstract: entities that exist neither in space nor time) | Concrete and Abstract | Concrete | Concrete and Abstract | Concrete and Abstract |
| Mereology (theory of parts) | GEM | Own mereology | Own mereology | Own mereology |
| Temporal aspects | Provided | Not provided | Provided | Provided |
| Granularity (different levels of detail contained in an on- tology) | High level | Sensitive | Unclear | Unclear |
| Properties and values ('attribute'; e.g., the colour of an apple) | Included | Some support | Included | Included |
| Model for space and time (Consists of time and space regions and boundaries) | Not included | Included | Not included | Not included |
| One-layered vs. Three-layered architecture (a basic level only; an abstract top level, abstract core level and basic level) | One-layered | One-layered | Three-layered | One-layered |
| Situations and situoids (Situation: an aggregate of facts that can be comprehended as a whole and satis es certain conditions of unity; Situoid: is a part of the world that is a comprehensible whole and can exist independently) | Not included | Not included | Included | Not included |