About Material and
Immaterial Creation
Martin Doerr
Institute of Computer Science
Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas
Heraklion, Crete
Corrections made 30 November 2008
ICS-FORTH October 23, 2006
Material and Immaterial Creation
Problem statement
 Creation, a key concept of culture and science - a clear concept?
 Intuitively: “An intentional activity (process) which brings into
existence new things”.
— A thing not seen before.
— Acquires a new identity through this process.
— Bears essential traits from this process (and the creator?)
 Questions:
— New in which sense?
— Senses: Different from what it is made of; different from peers; physically
different; quantitatively different; functionally different.
— Can the kind of intention be separated from the sense of “new”? Is absolute
identity adequate to describe the relevant senses of “new” ?
— how relates absolute identity to our creation concepts?
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Material and Immaterial Creation
Problem statement
 General goal:
 An ontology for representing factual knowledge expressed individually in
cultural, historical or scientific documents, so that this knowledge can be
integrated in a monotonic way, as long as information is not contradictory
for the expert.
 …not excluding the necessity of guidelines for good documentation practice…
 Problem:
 The same processes and constellations of matter may be described in
ways so that formal reasoning may come to contradictory inferences, such
as the same things existing and not existing, or existing multiply etc.
 Approach: Ontology engineering from evidence of practice. Adequacy
to the conceptualizations of domain experts.
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Material and Immaterial Creation
The CIDOC CRM (ISO21127)
The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (ISO 21127)
 Developed since 1996 by CIDOC / ISO TC46, ISO 21127 by 2006, result of
long-term interdisciplinary work and agreement.
 Is a core ontology describing the underlying semantics of data schemata
and structures from all museum disciplines and archives, aiming to
integrate cultural heritage information
 In essence, it is a generic model of recording of “what has happened” in
human (mesoscopic) scale.
 It can generate huge, meaningful networks of knowledge by a simple
abstraction: history as meetings of people, things and information.
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Material and Immaterial Creation
The CIDOC CRM Encoding
 The CIDOC CRM is a formal ontology (defined in TELOS)
 But CRM instances can be encoded in many forms: RDBMS, ooDBMS, RDF(S), OWL
 Uses Multiple isa – to achieve uniqueness of properties in the schema.
 Uses multiple instantiation - to be able to combine not always valid combinations
(e.g. destruction – activity).
 Uses Multiple isA for properties to capture different abstraction of relationships.
 Methodological aspects wrt “core”:
 Classes are introduced as anchors of properties ( and if structurally relevant). Other
classes are seen as “terminology” (E55 Type).
 Properties are introduced by evidence from frequently used data structures
 Properties are declared with quantifiers 0,1,many at domain and range.
 So far no FOL expressions.
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Material and Immaterial Creation
The CIDOC CRM Thing
material
immaterial
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Material and Immaterial Creation
Immaterial things in the CIDOC CRM
E28 Conceptual Object *:
This class comprises non-material products of our minds and other human produced data
that have become objects of a discourse about their identity, circumstances of creation or
historical implication. The production of such information may have been supported by the
use of technical devices such as cameras or computers.
Characteristically, instances of this class are created, invented or thought by someone, and
then may be documented or communicated between persons. Instances of E28 Conceptual
Object have the ability to exist on more than one particular carrier at the same time, such as
paper, electronic signals, marks, audio media, paintings, photos, human memories, etc.
They cannot be destroyed. They exist as long as they can be found on at least one carrier
or in at least one human memory. Their existence ends when the last carrier and the last
memory are lost.
* Variant of the definition in ISO21127
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Material and Immaterial Creation
Immaterial things in the CIDOC CRM

Conceptual Objects do not depend in their form/substance on a particular
carrier (“like fish and water”)

They are immaterial because they can reside identically at the same time on
more than one carrier. They cannot “do” anything without a physical carrier.

They are particulars of a discourse. Some may be seen as equivalence classes
of their carriers ( are they hidden universals ? ). Some are universals (!!).
 a text versus a text plus its layout: part-of or IsA?
 IPRs do not pertain to the carriers.

Idea: Conceptual Objects participate in meetings via their carriers. They are
only transferred via meetings of things and/or people ( a physical constraint on
the “intellectual world”).
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Information exchange as meetings…
t
coherence volume of
second announcement
Victory!!!
coherence volume of
first announcement
other
Soldiers
2nd Athenian
Victory!!!
1st Athenian
runner
coherence volume of
the battle of
Marathon
Marathon
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Athens
S
Material and Immaterial Creation
The CIDOC CRM: only a partial formalization
E39 Actor
0,n P14 carried out by 1,n
(performed)
P16 used specific object
(was used for):
E7 Activity 0,n
0,n
E70 Thing
P14.1 in the role of
E55 Type
E11 Modification
1,n
E18 Physical Thing
0,n
E12 Production
1,n
P108 has produced
(was produced by)
E24 Physical Man-Made Thing
1,1
memorized in?
E65 Creation
P94 has created
1,n (was created by): 1,1
E28 Conceptual Object
P128B is carried by
(carries)
E73 Information Object
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Material and Immaterial Creation
The FRBR-CRM Harmonization Project
 Formation in 2003 of the International Working Group on FRBR/CIDOC
CRM Harmonisation:
 A collaboration of CIDOC CRM-SIG and the IFLA FRBR Review Group.
 To express the IFLA FRBR model as FRBROO with the concepts,
ontological methodology and notation conventions provided by the CIDOC
CRM.
 To facilitate the integration, mediation and interchange of bibliographic
and museum information.
 A comprehensive text with all related CRM definitions and complete
mappings FRBRER to FRBROO, OWL/RDF files, VISIO graphics.
 Work continues with FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data)
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Material and Immaterial Creation
FRBR
The Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR)
 developed 1992-1997 by IFLA, now being complemented by the Functional
Requirements for Authority Files (FRAR)
 A core ER model to integrate library objects by content relation
 Intended to formulate a new library practice
 Innovations:
 Definition of 4 stages/ abstraction levels of intellectual products: Work,
Expression, Manifestation, Item.
 Clusters publications and items around the notion of derivation and
common conceptual origin across stages / abstraction levels.
 Lacks: any explicit notion of the processes behind. Partially
ambiguous definitions (overgeneralization).
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Material and Immaterial Creation
FRBR : Abstraction Levels
has part
“a distinct intellectual or artistic creation…
there is no single material object
one can point to as the work...”
Work
is realized through
(is a realization of)
has part
“the intellectual or artistic realization of a work in the
form of alpha-numeric, musical, or choreographic
Expression
notation, sound, image, object, movement, etc”
is embodied in
(is the embodiment of )
“the physical embodiment of an expression of a
work…all the physical objects that bear the same
characteristics…
…may be only a single physical exemplar…”
“a single exemplar of a manifestation...”
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Manifestation
has part
is exemplified by
(exemplifies )
Item
has part
has a complement
has a successor
has a summary
has a supplement
has a transformation
has adaptation
has an imitation
has a complement
has a successor
has a summary
has a supplement
has a transformation
has adaptation
has an imitation
Material and Immaterial Creation
FRBROO – clarification of key concepts
E28 Conceptual Object
The substance of Work is concepts (the
idea).
F1 Work
Only through the comprehension of the
concepts derivation is possible.
F15 Complex Work
F14 Individual Work
F16 Container Work
Complex Work: Continuation, possibly by
others.
F17 Aggregation Work
F19 Publication Work
F20 Performance Work
F21 Recording Work
F18 Serial Work
E73 Information Object
The substance of Expression is signs
(the text).
F2 Expression
An Expression can be “complete”.
The kinds of signs/features that
identify an Expression depend on
the function.
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F22 Self Contained Expression
F23 Expression Fragment
F25 Performance Plan
F26 Recording
F24 Publication Expression
Material and Immaterial Creation
FRBROO : The “first externalization” process
E65
Creation
E28
Conceptual
Object
E12
Production
F28 Expression
Creation
R19 created a
realization of
F3 Manifestation
Production Type
R28 produced
(was produced by)
R4 comprises carriers of
R17 created
F1 Work
F2 Expression
R18 created
R9 is
realized in
F15 Complex
Work
F14 Individual
Work
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F32 Carrier
Production
Event
F22 Self Contained
Expression
F23 Expression
Fragment
E24
Physical
Man-Made
Thing
E84
Information
Carrier
R7 is example of
F4 Manifestation
Singleton
F5 Item
Material and Immaterial Creation
FRBROO: Conception and “Externalization”
F1 Work
F27 Work Conception
P4 has time-span
(is time-span of)
E52 Time
P7 took place at
(witnessed)
E53 Place
E39 Actor
F28 Expression Creation
R19 created a realisation of
(was realised through)
R18 created
(was created by)
F4 Manifestation Singleton
F2 Expression
Work elaboration
Work conception
Expression creation
time
produces a work
produces an idea
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Produces (simultaneously) an
Expression and a Manifestation-Singleton
Material and Immaterial Creation
When is a new thing produced? - Immaterials
 Identity and historical reasoning:
 This idea was created by/in…, this physical law was detected by/in
 How did they learn about it? Who told them? (China 1421…)
 Thesis: Conceptual Objects exist for our discourse from the “first
externalization” on, from the point on they can be recognized.
 Consequently: At least one physical carrier.
 Becomes the physical carrier a new object by carrying a new conceptual
object? Or is it only modified? There IS something physically new on it.
 Oral Tradition: At least 2 carriers needed? Becomes a new human carrier
modified?
 Is witnessing something a collective conceptual creation?
ICS-FORTH October 23, 2006
Material and Immaterial Creation
When is a new thing produced? - Immaterials
 Modification and Derivation:

An immaterial object is not modified like a material one: The precursor
may continue to exist on another carrier => two distinct objects at the same
time. Better talk only about derivation?
 Which changes make it “new”?
— Any reproducible change (DNA tracing!)
— Sufficient change for a specific function: words, type face, lay-out?
 Relative notion of identity? Dependency: coarser level changes imply finer
level changes.
 New as a question of quantity? (trials on IPR?)
 Research problem:
 What are the kinds of relations between particulars which can be seen
under different views of identity, as usual in our laws, library practice,
scholarly tradition ?
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Material and Immaterial Creation
When is a new thing produced? - Immaterials

What about detecting the same concept?
 Claim: There are conceptual objects that have an identity bound to a characteristic
creation, so that necessarily all carriers must have a chain of tradition to them (see IP
rights, secrets, know-how). This implies that they can be forgotten. If there would be no
such objects, there would be no immaterial creation.
 Do conceptual object that can be “redetected” have a distinct substance from the
“invented” ones and thus can be separated?
 Or should we bind a concept to a tradition chain, and declare a merging of two traditions
as a distinct event? (e.g. Newton – Leibniz dispute).
 Can observations about particulars be treated like invented concepts?
— In FRBROO, we regard a merge of two works as a new work.
— Biologists regard a species declaration as distinct from a naïve concept.
— Many laws in physics have not been detected twice. (Europe, China, Maya?)
— Was zero invented or detected?
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Material and Immaterial Creation
When is a new thing produced? – Material Objects
 Identity and historical reasoning:
 Who made it, and where?
 Who has seen it? Where does it come from? Who were the owners?
 Material Objects exist either from the point in time they become an
independent material unit (“birth”), or they are “completely
transformed”.
 Relative notion of independence: no more kept together or no more
sticking together?
 Transformation, modification and creation can be a point of view.
 In the CRM we say, the documentalist decides what it is.
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Material and Immaterial Creation
Example Palimpsest

Example palimpsest, three independent descriptions may describe three
different books, created at different times, destroyed at different times, and yet
the “same object”:
— Parchment book created
— First manuscript written
— First manuscript erased
— Second manuscript written
— First manuscript made visible via IR…
— book burned together with the library
 Model A: 1 Physical Object + 2 Physical Features + 2 Information Objects:
 Can the ink be seen as separate from the book? Is the Feature, rather than the book
the carrier?
 Non-monotonic under the (usual) view that ignores the creation of the empty book.
 Model A as normalized documentation form impractical!
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Material and Immaterial Creation
Example Palimpsest

Model B: a transformation sequence of 4 new Physical Objects
 Empty book ends to exist when first manuscript is made out of it etc.
 Incompatible with the conservators view. Non-monotonic.

Model C: nested identity of “phases”:
 Each manuscript is a phase of the parchment book. As such it is new as a
manuscript, and old as a parchment book.
 Monotonic wrt curator views
 Makes the notion of Production relative to a class.
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Conclusions
 We have presented a materialistic view on material and immaterial creation
under the perspective to support the discourse about historical provenance
and tradition of things and ideas. Material constraints apply to the creation and
tradition of immaterial items. It should be possible to formalize them.

It seems that the notion of carrying immaterial objects and transferring them in
meetings can reasonable describe a part of the historical discourse. To be
formalized.
 It seems that the notion of absolute identity cannot be held when integrating
correct historical information about the same physical reality.
 Lots of open questions with respect to the limitations of such a theory and its
generalization, such as:
— Do we have to separate purely mental objects from symbolic representations,
invented concepts from detected concepts and observations about particulars?
Can/should conceptual objects be relative to a tradition?
— Under which conditions can views of relative identity occur, and how are the
respective instances related, and which bearing does that have on the notions of
modification, derivation and creation?
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