What is Ontology:
Ontology means “he study of being“. This word is formed through the Greek terms οντος, ontoswhat does it mean be, entityand λóγος, logoswhat does it mean study, speech, science, theory. Ontology is a part or branch of philosophy that studies the nature of being, existence and reality, trying to determine the fundamental categories and relationships of “being qua being.”
It encompasses some abstract questions such as the existence or not of certain entities, what can be said to exist and what does not, what is the meaning of being, etc.
The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle studied this concept, which is often confused with metaphysics. In fact, ontology is an aspect of metaphysics that seeks to categorize what is essential and fundamental in a given entity.
The “ontological proof” or “ontological argument” is one of the classic proofs or arguments about the existence of God, based on the need for existence attributed to Him as an infinitely perfect Being, using only reason.
In Science and Information Technology, ontologies are classifications. They are used as a means to categorize or group information into classes.
Ontologies are also applied in the Semantic Web and in Artificial Intelligence to assimilate and codify knowledge, defining the existing relationships between the concepts of a certain domain (an area of knowledge).
See also What is reality?