Local Qualities, Quality Fields, and Quality Patterns: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract. When we describe the shape of certain entities, like a vase or a river, we refer to their qualities in different ways. A river has usually a definite length, but its width varies with the distance from the source, typically getting higher towards the end. Similarly, a vase has a definite height, but its width may vary, reflecting a certain pattern that often marks a particular style. So, at least for certain entities, quality kinds such as length, height and width don’t behave in the same way: length or height just inhere to these objects with no need of further qualification, while width requires a spatial localization in order to be determined. In this paper I would like to explore the way qualities of things behave with respect to the parts of such things. Building on the notion of individual quality introduced in the DOLCE ontology, I will introduce the new notions of local quality, quality field and quality pattern, stressing their cognitive role in many practical situations. I will argue that an expression like “the river’s width” or “the depth of the sea” actually refers to a quality field, and not to an individual quality. Quality fields will be used to introduce the further notion of quality pattern, and to analyze the distinction between variation and change. When we describe the shape of certain entities, like a vase or a river, we refer to their qualities in different ways. A river has usually a definite length, but its width varies with the distance from the source, typically getting higher towards the end. Similarly, a vase has a definite height, but its width may vary, reflecting a certain pattern that often marks a particular style. So, at least for certain entities, quality kinds such as length, height and width don’t behave in the same way: length or height just inhere to these objects with no need of further qualification, while width requires a spatial localization in order to be determined. In this paper I would like to explore the way qualities of things behave with respect to the parts of such things. Building on the notion of individual quality introduced in the DOLCE ontology, I will introduce the new notions of local quality, quality field and quality pattern, stressing their cognitive role in many practical situations. I will argue that an expression like “the river’s width” or “the depth of the sea” actually refers to a quality field, and not to an individual quality. Quality fields will be used to introduce the further notion of quality pattern, and to analyze the distinction between variation and change.