The Closed Loop is a proposal and design for a "foundational ontology" of great breadth and inclusion. Though it is guided and inspired by projects in "domain-specific ontology", the core vision of this project is philosophical, general-purpose and top-down.

A primary purpose of the Closed Loop vision is to help support and inspire cooperation and interaction across a very broad spectrum of human experience. We are talking about values and principles and methods that are common to everything human beings do.

Yet it is very true that the advanced technical specializations in the world today, for which most domain ontologies are developed, have very specialized needs. Is there a need for this great breadth of inclusion? Do we really need a "one size fits all" model of foundational logic? It is even desirable? Is it feasible?

We are approaching this question with caution. There are many facets of ontology that are common to all human activities and technical specializations. And there are important elements that are highly specialized and absolutely do need intimately dedicated interpretations.

We are exploring the role of "hub" within this context. The driving vison and instinct is -- yes, this generalization is meaningful. The world needs a general-purpose interconnecting semantic matrix, and it does appear that this ambition is feasible. But if it is to be more than speculation, it must be developed cautiously and with careful attunement to real-world problems.

Sun, Apr 18, 2021