FROLIO – Formalizable Relationship-Oriented Language-Insensitive Ontology

© Roger M Tagg 2010-2011

Welcome to FROLIO – a new attempt to merge philosophy and the "semantic web".

Book Highlights - Index

When I come across a really interesting book, especially if I have to return it to a library or to the friend who lent it to me, I go through it again and make a note of what I think are the big points in the book. I do this by page number (of the edition I read) and sometimes colour-code the chapters. Otherwise I find I quickly forget what it was all about.

Most of these books have some relevance to FROLIO; they cover things like Philosophy;  Religion 'after Religion'; and Bullshit. Things sometimes drift into Psychology and the Social World.

Obviously the selection of quotations reflect my own biases and preferences. I usually only put things in double quotes where it is exactly what the author (or another person whom the author quotes) said. The bits in brackets, e.g. [RT: xxx] are thoughts that I have added.

In the January 2011 versions I have added hyperlinks to other sources in case clarification is needed. I realize that I've dropped a lot of names and reproduced a lot of the authors' fancy words. As a default, I've used English Wikipedia entries. These seem to me to "grind the fewest axes" (see also this comment). Post-modernists and others might accuse Wikipedia of cultural bias, but if so it's the bias of "the average decent citizen who does not beat his wife and who certainly does not maltreat his dog" (Alistair Kee, 'The Way of Transcendence' p227 - see below).

In most cases I have started off with a short summary, but I don't pretend to offer any serious reviews in most of the cases.

'Highlights' that are currently available

General Philosophy

Alain de Botton - Consolations of Philosophy Alexander George - I Am, Therefore I Think Joey Green - Philosophy on the Go Stephen Law - The Philosophy Gym
Adam Morton - Philosophy in Practice Dave Robinson - Introducing Kirkegaard Laurie Spurling - Phenomenology and the Social World (based on Merleau-Ponty) Bryan Magee - The Great Philosophers (edited transcript of TV series)

Epistemology (i.e. what can we know, what is reality, and what is truth)

Adam Morton - Theory of Knowledge WV Quine - The Pursuit of Truth Richard Rorty - Truth and Progress John Searle - The Construction of Social Reality

Ethics (how should we live a good life)

Richard Holloway - Between the Monster and the Saint Stephen Law - The War for Childrens Minds Dave Robinson - Ethics for Beginners  

Existentialism (we're here because we're here)

David Cooper - Existentialism Gary Cox - How to be an Existentialist Michael Allen Fox - The Remarkable Existentialists  

Meaning (what do people want when they utter something)

Grant, Keenoy & Oswick - Discourse and Organization Polanyi & Prosch - Meaning Anton Zijderveld - On Clichés  

Religion (comparative and post-theist)

Flew, MacIntyre (eds) - New Essays in Philosophical Theology Sigmund Freud - The Future of an Illusion John Humphrys - In God We Doubt Aldous Huxley - The Perennial Philosophy
Alistair Kee - The Way of Transcendence Holy Koran Momen - The Baha'i Faith DZ Phillips (ed) - Religion and Understanding
John AT Robinson - Honest to God John Shelby Spong - A New Christianity for a New World Wafa Sultan - A God Who Hates Thai Information Service - About Buddhism
Turner - Understanding the Revised Mass Texts Owe Wikström - The Icon in My Pocket   Robert Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, also Lila

Psychology and Science

Bill Bryson - Seeing Further (stories about the Royal Society) Stephen Hall - Wisdom: from Philosophy to Neuroscience Aldous Huxley's "Drugs Trilogy" William James - Talks to Teachers on Psychology
Richard Layard - Happiness Michael Losier - The Law of Connection M Scott Peck - The Road Less Traveled  

Society and Human Relationships

Bendelow & Williams - Emotions in Social Life Bernard Guerin - Social Strategies of Everyday Life(mini-essay) Karl Popper - The Open Society and its Enemies John Sitton - Habermas and Contemporary Society

Bullshit

Nick Davies - Flat Earth News Madsen Pirie - How to Win Every Argument Schopenhauer's 38 Tricks D Southwell - Secrets and Lies (mini essay)
Richard Thouless's 38 Tricks Francis Wheen - How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World Richard Wilson - Don't Get Fooled Again  

A longer reading list is also available - this includes a number of items related to Information Systems as well as directly FROLIO-related issues.

Explanations of major components in FROLIO

Abstract concepts Activities What we can say about things and concepts What we mean by Context
Why simple hierarchies aren't enough Different types of Ideas Things, concepts, objects and classes Scenarios and "states of affairs"
Different sorts of Structures      

FROLIO project home page

Some of these links may be under construction – or re-construction.

This version updated on 29th January 2012

If you have constructive suggestions or comments, please contact the author rogertag@tpg.com.au