Essentialized Conceptual Structures in Ontology Modeling

Psychology and cognitive science show that human concepts possess particular structures (conceptual structures). However, in process of ontology modeling information concerning the structure of human concepts is lost. In ontologies concepts are typically represented as undifferentiated clusters of necessary (and sufficient) conditions. The lack of representation of conceptual structure may cause ontologies to be inadequate and may limit their usability. We present an attempt to bring ontology modeling closer to theories of conceptual structures, in particular to psychological essentialism. A metaontology is developed to support representation of conceptual structure, in particular the distinction between essential and merely necessary conditions.