Editing Ontological commitment (section)

{{Short description|Object(s) postulated to exist by a given language}}

In [[Formal semantics (natural language)|formal semantics]], an '''ontological commitment''' of a [[language]] is one or more objects [[Axiom|postulated]] to [[Existence|exist]] by that language. The 'existence' referred to need not be 'real', but exist only in a [[universe of discourse]].  As an example, [[Law|legal system]]s use vocabulary referring to '[[legal person]]s' that are collective entities that have rights. One says the legal doctrine has an ''ontological commitment'' to non-singular individuals.<ref name=Schafer/>

In [[information system]]s and [[artificial intelligence]], where an [[Ontology (information science)|ontology]] refers to a specific vocabulary and a set of explicit assumptions about the meaning and usage of these words, an ontological commitment is an agreement to use the shared vocabulary in a coherent and consistent manner within a specific context.<ref name=Guarino/>

In [[philosophy]], a "theory is '''ontologically committed''' to an object only if that object occurs in ''all'' the ontologies of that theory."<ref name=definition/>