Identity of things (was: Re: reification test case)

>  > Let me recast this then:
>>
>>  We have to decide on Dan Brickley's equality test.  Does
>>
>>  >  <stmt1> <rdf:type>      <rdf:Statement> .
>>  >  <stmt1> <rdf:subject>   <subject> .
>>  >  <stmt1> <rdf:predicate> <predicate> .
>>  >  <stmt1> <rdf:object>    <object> .
>>  >
>>  >  <stmt2> <rdf:type>      <rdf:Statement> .
>>  >  <stmt2> <rdf:subject>   <subject> .
>>  >  <stmt2> <rdf:predicate> <predicate> .
>>  >  <stmt2> <rdf:object>    <object> .
>>  >
>>  >  <stmt1> <property>      <foo> .
>>  >
>>  >  entail:
>>  >
>>  >  <stmt2> <property>      <foo> .
>
>it of course all depends on the theory of RDF reification
>if we want to go the way that a statement is a functional
>property of a triple, then the answer to your question is YES

? I don't see how that follows. There can be two triples here, and 
then there would be two statements even if that was a functional 
property.

There isnt, in general, any way to infer that because two things have 
a similar description that they must therefore be the same thing. The 
only way to do that is to assume that the description is a 
*definition* of the thing. Where do we get a licence to treat a 
reification as a definition?

Pat
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Received on Monday, 4 February 2002 20:02:38 UTC