A Taxonomy of Questions With Respect to the Universal-Particular Dichotomy

1. Introduction The Question Ontology Project aims at providing a philosophical analysis and categorization of questions. The categorization is based on criteria such as linguistic patterns, semantic representations, formal structures of questions, and so on. On this basis, we have devised ten taxonomies of questions. We aim at building a model such that each question (except rhetorical and ironic ones) could be located in one of those taxonomies. We also aim at formalizing complexity values for each question, which would reflect the difficulty to answer a question. By constructing taxonomies and calculating complexity values of questions, this project aims at supporting scientific research: When the complexity value of their research question exceeds a manageable point, scientists can, for instance, change their question into a more manageable one. This paper presents one of those ten taxonomies named the Universal-Particular classification. The universal-particular dichotomy is a crucial aspect not only for philosophy, but also for ontologies [1]. It is not exclusive from our other taxonomies, and a question may be classified in one of the other taxonomies and still find a place in this classification. To take a concrete example, an inquiry into Sherlock Holmes can be classified in a taxonomy of question types, and still be placed in the Universal-Particular Taxonomy as its feature a fictional character.