Foundational Limits: Why BFO’s Aristotelian Framework Cannot Model Modern Science

Michael DeBellis

2025

Abstract

The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) has gained widespread adoption in the biomedical domain and is increasingly promoted as a domain-neutral upper ontology suitable for all branches of science, engineering, and business. Its design reflects a commitment to metaphysical realism rooted in Aristotelian distinctions, particularly between Continuants (entities that persist through time) and Occurrents (entities that unfold over time). While this approach has demonstrated utility in domains such as biology and medicine, it encounters significant limitations when applied to more complex or foundational areas of science, such as quantum physics. Using the example of the electron, whose ontological status defies classical categorization, I argue that the BFO framework lacks the flexibility to accommodate the indeterminacy, contextuality, and non-locality inherent in quantum theory. Bell’s theorem and the incompatibility between general relativity and quantum mechanics further highlight the fragmented and model-dependent nature of contemporary science. These challenges suggest that the search for a single upper model for all domains is based on a mistaken assumption: that science shares a single unified ontology. I conclude that ontology design must acknowledge the methodological and conceptual pluralism of science, and that attempts to enforce a single top-level ontology risk obscuring rather than clarifying the structure of scientific knowledge.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

DeBellis M. (2025). Foundational Limits: Why BFO’s Aristotelian Framework Cannot Model Modern Science. In Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management - Volume 2: KEOD; ISBN 978-989-758-769-6, SciTePress, pages 151-155. DOI: 10.5220/0013771200004000

in Bibtex Style

@conference{keod25,
author={Michael DeBellis},
title={Foundational Limits: Why BFO’s Aristotelian Framework Cannot Model Modern Science},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management - Volume 2: KEOD},
year={2025},
pages={151-155},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013771200004000},
isbn={978-989-758-769-6},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management - Volume 2: KEOD
TI - Foundational Limits: Why BFO’s Aristotelian Framework Cannot Model Modern Science
SN - 978-989-758-769-6
AU - DeBellis M.
PY - 2025
SP - 151
EP - 155
DO - 10.5220/0013771200004000
PB - SciTePress