Michael Healy – författare

An early spring morning . . . a young man fi shing in arock-pool at the edge of the sea and exulting in his catch. . . a voice calling suddenly to him . . . the voice of a youngwoman who is slowly walking out from the waves . . . I beg you, let it free again.

Th is is the setting for Th e Day of the Mermaid, a storyof the awakened love of that young man for the maidenwho appears before him, recounted when he is old andlooking back upon the day when his heart was forevercaptured and forever broken a lyrical and romantic talein gentle, sensitive and poignant verse:

Why are you thus so sad? said I.Why do you grieve for such a thing?Is not the ocean full with fi sh?Is one worth so much sorrowing?Th en, from her lips, there came a sigh,And, in her voice, I heard the sea:Yes, even one is dear to me.

Ontology was once understood to be the philosophical inquiry into the structure of reality: the analysis and categorization of ‘what there is’. Recently, however, a field called ‘ontology’ has become part of the rapidly growing research industry in information technology. The two fields have more in common than just their name.Theory and Applications of Ontology is a two-volume anthology that aims to further an informed discussion about the relationship between ontology in philosophy and ontology in information technology. It fills an important lacuna in cutting-edge research on ontology in both fields, supplying stage-setting overview articles on history and method, presenting directions of current research in either field, and highlighting areas of productive interdisciplinary contact.Theory and Applications of Ontology: Computer Applications presents ontology in ways that philosophers are not likely to find elsewhere. The volume offers an overview of current research in ontology, distinguishing basic conceptual issues, domain applications, general frameworks, and mathematical formalisms. It introduces the reader to current research on frameworks and applications in information technology in ways that are sure to invite reflection and constructive responses from ontologists in philosophy.