Theory and History of Ontology

by Raul Corazzon - e-mail: raul.corazzon[at]formalontology.it

For an overview see the Index of the Pages, the SITE MAP or the Alphabetical Index of the Philosophers: A-F - G-O - P-Z; You can also download this page as

Table of Contemporary Ontologists (click on the image to see the PDF file)

Jacob Lorhard (1561-1609): The Creator of the Term "Ontologia"

Index of the Section: "The Rise and Fall of Ontology in the Modern Era from Suarez to Kant"

• Birth of a New Science: the History of Ontology from Suarez to Kant

  • Annotated Bibliography on the History of Continental Ontology from Suárez to Kant

  • Annotated Bibliography on the History of British Ontology from Hobbes to Hume

• A Selection of Ontologists from Fonseca to Crusius (1560-1770)

• Jacob Lorhard (1561-1609): The Creator of the Term "Ontologia"

• Francisco Suarez on Metaphysics as the Science of Real Beings

  • Annotated Bibliography on the Metaphysics of Francisco Suarez

• Christian Wolff's Ontology: Existence as "Complement of Possibility"

  • Annotated Bibliography on the Ontology of Christian Wolff

• Kant from the Critique of Metaphysics to Transcendental Philosophy

Philosophical Works by Jacob Lorhard

The first edition of his Ogdoas Scholastica contains the first occurrence of the Latin term"Ontologiae"

• Disputatio de vera et Aristotelica methodo demonstrandi. Dissertation. (Defender: Georg Johannes Peplis). Tubingae: Gruppenbach, 1595.

• Liber de adeptione veri necessarii seu apodictici, in quo habes, candide lector, luculentam rationem et methodum conficiendi syllogismi necessarii, omnium philosophorum indefessis studiis et laboribus, ex obscurissimo Aristotele quaesitam. Tubingae: Gruppenbach, 1597.

• Ogdoas Scholastica, continens Diagraphen Typicam artium: Grammatices (Latinae, Graecae), Logices, Rhetorices, Astronomices, Ethices, Physices, Metaphysices, seu Ontologiae. Sangalli: Straub, 1606.
  

   

• Theatrum Philosophicum : In quo Artium Ac Disciplinarum Philosophicarum plerarumq[ue] omnium, Grammatices Latinae, Graecae, & Hebraeae: Logices; Rhetorices; Arithmetices; Geometriae; Musices; Astronomices; Ethices; Physices; Metaphysices; Praecepta, in perpetuis Schematismis ac Typis, tanquam in speculo, cognoscenda obiiciuntur. Basileae: Waldkirch, 1613.
  Second, expanded edition of Lorhard (1606).

Ogdoas Scholastica (1606) - The Diagraph of Ontologia

Translation from: Peter Øhrstøm, Sara L. Uckelman; HenrikSchärfe - Historical and conceptual foundations of diagrammatical ontology - in: Uta Priss, Simon Polovina, Richard Hill (eds). - Conceptual Structures: Knowledge Architectures for Smart Applications - Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Conceptual Structures, Sheffield, UK, July 22-27, 2007, Berlin, Springer, 2007, pp. 374-386.

LINKS TO PDF FILES

• English translation by Sara L. Uckelman of Chapter 8 of Ogdoas Scholastica: Diagraph of Metaphysic or Ontology

• Øhrstrøm, Peter, Uckelman, Sara L., Schärfe Henrik, - Historical and conceptual foundations of diagrammatical ontology
  Abstract: During the Renaissance there was a growing interest for the use of diagrams within conceptual studies. This paper investigates the historical and philosophical foundation of this renewed use of diagrams in ontology as well as the modern relevance of this foundation. We discuss the historical and philosophical background for Jacob Lorhard’s invention of the word ‘ontology’ as well as the scientific status of ontology in the 16th and 17th century. We also consider the use of Ramean style diagrams and diagrammatic ontology in general. A modern implementation of Lorhard’s ontology is discussed and this classical ontology is compared to some modern ontologies.

• Øhrstøm, Peter, Schärfe Henrik, Uckelman, Sara L., - Jacob Lorhard's Ontology: a 17th century hypertext on the reality and temporality of the world of intelligibles
  Abstract: Jacob Lorhard published his ontology in 1606. In this work the term ontologia ‘ontology’ was used for the first time ever. In this paper, it is argued that Lorhard’s ontology provides a useful key to the understanding of the early 17th-century world view in Protestant Europe. Among other things, Lorhard’s ontology reflects how the relations between scientific investigation and religious belief were seen. It is also argued that several of the conceptual choices which Lorhard made in order to establish his ontology may still be relevant for modern makers of ontological systems. In particular, Lorhard’s considerations on the notions of reality and time deserve modern reflections. Also his assumption of the educational value of diagrammatical ontology deserves a modern discussion. Along with this paper an online hypertext version of Lorhard’s ontology has been presented in order to create a useful tool for historical research in early 17th-century thought and in order to illustrate the problems, which characterized the early attempt at establishing a diagrammatical approach to ontology.

RELATED PAGES

The Rediscovery of Ontology in Contemporary Thought

• Table of Formal and Descriptivists Ontologists (PDF - from Bernard Bolzano to present time)

  Ontologists of the 19th and 20th Centuries (a selection of critical judgments about some of the greatest philosophers of the recent past)

  Living Ontologists (a list of authors with an interest in ontology, with synthetic bibliographies)

Last modified: Monday, February 08, 2010