This chapter proposes an ontology of systemness that explains the organization of things in the universe. It also examines how systems knowledge can be used to obtain understanding of all systems. This work prepares us for presenting a systems language
Ontology is the study of what exists. It identifies the names and categories of things found in reality.
It deals with general categories rather than specific instances. Ontology is not concerned with specifics, like your pet dog. It is interested in the general category of “dogness” the qualities that all dogs share.
Ontologies can’t claim truth. They can only commit to categories and relations that are internally consistent.
In information science, “domain ontologies” are used to represent knowledge in computable form.
This book develops a hybrid ontology of systems which combines natural language with algorithmic computation. This allows for the ideas of systemness to freely flow between computer simulations and human understanding.
The systems ontology is the foundation for a language of systems which is used to build knowledge of the world and how it works.
Cosmological ontogenesis is the process whereby forms of new systems are created. This process naturally produces categories. Categories are generalized groupings of systems with a subset of similar characteristics.
There are universal patterns of process and form at each level of organization that repeat throughout the universe. For example: