?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Ontology+and+geographic+kinds&rft.creator=Smith%2C+B&rft.creator=Mark%2C+D+M&rft.subject=Sociobiology&rft.subject=Metaphysics&rft.subject=Social+Psychology&rft.description=An+ontology+of+geographic+kinds+is+designed+to+yield+a+better+understanding+of+the+structure+of+the+geographic+world%2C+and+to+support+the+development+of+geographic+information+systems+that+are+conceptually+sound.+This+paper+first+demonstrates+that+geographical+objects+and+kinds+are+not+just+larger+versions+of+the+everyday+objects+and+kinds+previously+studied+in+cognitive+science.+Geographic+objects+are+not+merely+located+in+space%2C+as+are+the+manipulable+objects+of+table-top+space.+Rather%2C+they+are+tied+intrinsically+to+space%2C+and+this+means+that+their+spatial+boundaries+are+in+many+cases+the+most+salient+features+for+categorization.+The+ontology+presented+here+will+accordingly+be+based+on+topology+(the+theory+of+boundary%2C+contact+and+separation)+and+on+mereology+(the+theory+of+extended+wholes+and+parts).+Geographic+reality+comprehends+mesoscopic+entities%2C+many+of+which+are+best+viewed+as+shadows+cast+onto+the+spatial+plane+by+human+reasoning+and+language.+Because+of+this%2C+geographic+categories+are+much+more+likely+to+show+cultural+differences+in+category+definitions+than+are+the+manipulable+objects+of+table-top+space.&rft.date=1998&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F300%2F1%2Fontology.html&rft.identifier=++Smith%2C+B+and+Mark%2C+D+M++(1998)+Ontology+and+geographic+kinds.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(In+Press)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F300%2F