Composite Entity

A Composite Entity is an entity that is composed of other entities (its components).

• Context:
  • It can range from being a Static Composite Entity to being a Dynamic Composite Entity.
  • It can range from being a Physical Composite Entity to being an Abstract Composite Entity.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • a Planet.
  • a Planetary System.
  • a Data Record.
  • an Information-Bearing Non-Connected Stone Arrangement.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Quark?
  • a Data Value.
  • Empty Space.
• See: PropertiesOf Relation, RelationsOf Relation.

---

---

References

2008

• Jerry R. Hobbs. http://www.isi.edu/~hobbs/bgt-composite-entities.text
  • A composite entity is a thing composed of other things. It is one of the most basic concepts in a knowledge base of commonsense knowledge. It is hard to think of anything that is not a composite entity, and much of our everyday vocabulary is for talking about composite entities.

    Under the concept of “composite entity” we mean to include complex physical objects, such as a door, a cup, a telephone, a chair, and an automobile; complex events, such as a hike, the process of erosion, and a concert; and complex information structures, such as an equation, a sentence, a theory, and a schedule. Some entities, such as books, have both physical and informational components. In this theory of composite entities, we do not make any distinctions among the types of components an entity might have. From the standpoint of the theory of composite entities, the physical-abstract distinction is of no interest.

    A composite entity is characterized by a set of components, a set of properties, and a set of relations.

    • (1)

  (forall (x)   
     (iff (compositeEntity x)
          (exists (s1 s2 s3)
             (and (componentsOf s1 x)(propertiesOf s2 x)
                  (relationsOf s3 x)))))

---