Robert Arp
Encyclopedia
Robert Arp is a philosopher
and ontologist, and is known for his work in ontology (information science), philosophy of biology
, evolutionary psychology
, and philosophy and popular culture. He completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy at The Catholic University of America
(1992), his master's degree in philosophy at The Catholic University of America (1993), and Ph.D. in philosophy at Saint Louis University
(2005). Arp taught at Southwest Minnesota State University
and then at Florida State University
for a year with Michael Ruse
, as well as at many schools in the St. Louis, Missouri
area as an adjunct professor of philosophy, before doing postdoctoral research in ontology through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology with Mark Musen and Barry Smith (ontologist)
at the University at Buffalo.
, RDFS, OWL
, and SPARQL
to assist in building ontologies for the Next Generation Air Transportation System
, utilizing ontology-building tools such as TopBraid and Protégé (software)
. He was part of the initial steps in developing the world’s first weather
ontology with other ontologists at Lincoln Laboratory
. He was also part of the genesis of the Infectious Disease Ontology through meetings and discussions in 2007 and 2008. The Infectious Disease Ontology is one of the ontologies in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies Foundry, also known as the OBO Foundry
.
As a theoretical ontologist, having worked closely with Barry Smith (also a philosopher/ontologist), Arp has contributed to Smith's Basic Formal Ontology
in the areas of function, role, and disposition. Concerning biological function (biology)
, in the past Arp has put forward a middle position between the two viable accounts of function today—namely, the organizational account of function (usually attributed to Robert Cummins) and the modern history account of function (usually attributed to Paul Griffiths and Peter Godfrey-Smith
)—and his position has been called “reconciliatory” and “pluralist.” Within the context of Basic Formal Ontology, biology
, and bioinformatics
, although Arp’s definition of function has been criticized as inapplicable to “entities above or below a certain size,” the definition not only offers an attempt at a “coherence between the concepts of biological function and technical function,” but it also has been utilized by researchers doing work in biochemical processes, hypersensitivity conditions, service systems, and domain conceptual modeling in general.
Like Barry Smith, Arp also has sought to defend a common sense realist position concerning the construction of domain ontologies (essentially, scientific realism
) whereby a domain ontology should, if possible and appropriate, represent the actual entities out there in the world that fall under the purview of science. One argument Arp puts forward is a restatement of the “no-miracles argument” for scientific realism
which states that it would be miraculous if scientific theories were not at least approximately true descriptions of the world, since they are so (seemingly) successful at prediction and control. He has argued for this position in the past.
However, cognizant of the difficulties surrounding a realist position (especially for practical, working ontologists), Arp has argued for a form of as-if philosophical realism
, along the lines of Immanuel Kant
and Hans Vaihinger
whereby the “commitment to the pursuit of abstract objects could become instrumental in guiding the life of philosophy and science in a limited as if manner.”
Just as Kant spoke of the value of the regulative ideas as aiding in, not only the rounding off of our systematic picture of reality, but also prompting us to do further research and investigation, so too, according to Arp thinkers are to act as if there is a reality “out there” (the ding-an-sich or noumenon
, as it were) when they construct domain ontologies or engage in any other kind of scientific endeavor. Given the as-if nature of this position, there is always the possibility that there may be practical or pragmatic concerns in building domain ontologies which actually trump the realist pursuit, and Arp is mindful of this possibility.
Also, following other ontologists he has drawn a distinction between philosophical ontology (physical ontology), domain ontology, and upper ontology (information science) (also known as top-level or formal) ontology,
and has attempted to articulate principles for best practices in the building of domain ontologies in radiology, cell signaling, bioethics, and finance.
mentioned above, Arp has attempted a definition of life
, arguing that the “components and attending processes of an organism must be considered as living, emergent phenomena because of the way in which the components are organized to maintain homeostasis of the organism at the various levels in the organismic hierarchy.” He calls this position the homeostatic organization view of biological phenomena. With Alexander Rosenberg
, Arp has edited Philosophy of Biology: An Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), with Francisco J. Ayala
, he has edited Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), and with George Terzis, he has edited Information and Living Systems: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives (MIT Press, 2011).
Arp has also offered helpful suggestions for the interactions of philosophers and scientists as they go about their work in philosophy of science
.
's cognitive fluidity
view by arguing that such fluidity would be random and chaotic without mechanisms of selection and integration. Thus, what he calls “scenario visualization” is a necessary ingredient in creative problem solving, and likely was one of the first things that emerged in human consciousness
. Scenario visualization is defined by Arp as a “conscious ability to segregate and integrate visual images in future scenarios.”
While this view has been applauded as “innovative and interesting,” a “valuable resource and a stimulating contribution,” and even “ambitious,”
there are those who critique Arp’s position as “saying nothing new” and suffering from “a form of selectivity deficit – an inability to judge what is and isn’t relevant to his claims.”
Arp’s view continues to be referred to as plausible by cognitive scientists and others doing work in artificial intelligence
and philosophical psychology.
, who is now the General Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series through Wiley-Blackwell (publisher). In 2006 Arp edited the flagship book in that series, South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today
, which has been translated into the Italian language
, the Turkish language
, and the Portuguese language
.
He also co-edited Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul with Mark White, soon to be translated into the German language
. Arp and White were interviewed in 2008 by The Boston Globe
and, when asked by The Globe "Do some scholars see this kind of thing (i.e., Philosophy and Popular Culture books) as silly?" part of Arp's response was: "At root we are trying to bring philosophy to people and bring people to philosophy." Arp and White also contributed an article to The Globe called “Should Batman Kill the Joker?” in 2008.
Arp has also worked with Mark Conard and The Philosophy of Popular Culture series through The University Press of Kentucky, as well as with David Ramsay Steele
and the Popular Culture and Philosophy Series through Open Court Publishing Company
, which has produced titles such as The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
, Star Wars and Philosophy, Star Trek and Philosophy, The Beatles and Philosophy, James Bond and Philosophy, and many others. One of Arp's latest projects is as editor of Tattoos - Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am with Fritz Allhoff (General Editor of the Philosophy for Everyone series) and Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and ontologist, and is known for his work in ontology (information science), philosophy of biology
Philosophy of biology
The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences...
, evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
, and philosophy and popular culture. He completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
(1992), his master's degree in philosophy at The Catholic University of America (1993), and Ph.D. in philosophy at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
(2005). Arp taught at Southwest Minnesota State University
Southwest Minnesota State University
Southwest Minnesota State University is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, United States, a city of 13,000 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,500 students and...
and then at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
for a year with Michael Ruse
Michael Ruse
Michael Ruse is a philosopher of biology at Florida State University, and is well known for his work on the creationism/evolution controversy and the demarcation problem in science...
, as well as at many schools in the St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
area as an adjunct professor of philosophy, before doing postdoctoral research in ontology through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology with Mark Musen and Barry Smith (ontologist)
Barry Smith (ontologist)
Barry Smith is a Julian Park Distinguished Professor of Philosophy in the University at Buffalo and Research Scientist in the New York State . From 2002 to 2006 he was Director of the Institute for Formal Ontology and Medical Information Science in Leipzig and Saarbrücken, GermaUny...
at the University at Buffalo.
Work in Ontology
As a practical ontologist, Arp has worked with RDFResource Description Framework
The Resource Description Framework is a family of World Wide Web Consortium specifications originally designed as a metadata data model...
, RDFS, OWL
Web Ontology Language
The Web Ontology Language is a family of knowledge representation languages for authoring ontologies.The languages are characterised by formal semantics and RDF/XML-based serializations for the Semantic Web...
, and SPARQL
SPARQL
SPARQL is an RDF query language; its name is an acronym that stands for SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. It was made a standard by the RDF Data Access Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium, and considered as one of the key technologies of semantic web...
to assist in building ontologies for the Next Generation Air Transportation System
Next Generation Air Transportation System
The Next Generation Air Transportation System is the name given to a new National Airspace System due for implementation across the United States in stages between 2012 and 2025. The...
, utilizing ontology-building tools such as TopBraid and Protégé (software)
Protege (software)
Protégé is a free, open source ontology editor and a knowledge acquisition system. Like Eclipse, Protégé is a framework for which various other projects suggest plugins. This application is written in Java and heavily uses Swing to create the rather complex user interface...
. He was part of the initial steps in developing the world’s first weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
ontology with other ontologists at Lincoln Laboratory
Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...
. He was also part of the genesis of the Infectious Disease Ontology through meetings and discussions in 2007 and 2008. The Infectious Disease Ontology is one of the ontologies in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies Foundry, also known as the OBO Foundry
OBO Foundry
The Open Biomedical Ontologies Foundry is a collaborative experiment involving developers of science-based ontologies...
.
As a theoretical ontologist, having worked closely with Barry Smith (also a philosopher/ontologist), Arp has contributed to Smith's Basic Formal Ontology
Basic Formal Ontology
The Basic Formal Ontology is a formal ontological framework developed by Barry Smith and his associates that consists in a series of sub-ontologies at different levels of granularity...
in the areas of function, role, and disposition. Concerning biological function (biology)
Function (biology)
A function is part of an answer to a question about why some object or process occurred in a system that evolved through a process of selection. Thus, function refers forward from the object or process, along some chain of causation, to the goal or success...
, in the past Arp has put forward a middle position between the two viable accounts of function today—namely, the organizational account of function (usually attributed to Robert Cummins) and the modern history account of function (usually attributed to Paul Griffiths and Peter Godfrey-Smith
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Peter Godfrey-Smith is a professor of philosophy at Harvard University. Born in Australia in 1965, he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from UCSD in 1991, and joined Harvard in 2006 after previous positions at Stanford University and Australian National University...
)—and his position has been called “reconciliatory” and “pluralist.” Within the context of Basic Formal Ontology, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, and bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
, although Arp’s definition of function has been criticized as inapplicable to “entities above or below a certain size,” the definition not only offers an attempt at a “coherence between the concepts of biological function and technical function,” but it also has been utilized by researchers doing work in biochemical processes, hypersensitivity conditions, service systems, and domain conceptual modeling in general.
Like Barry Smith, Arp also has sought to defend a common sense realist position concerning the construction of domain ontologies (essentially, scientific realism
Scientific realism
Scientific realism is, at the most general level, the view that the world described by science is the real world, as it is, independent of what we might take it to be...
) whereby a domain ontology should, if possible and appropriate, represent the actual entities out there in the world that fall under the purview of science. One argument Arp puts forward is a restatement of the “no-miracles argument” for scientific realism
Scientific realism
Scientific realism is, at the most general level, the view that the world described by science is the real world, as it is, independent of what we might take it to be...
which states that it would be miraculous if scientific theories were not at least approximately true descriptions of the world, since they are so (seemingly) successful at prediction and control. He has argued for this position in the past.
However, cognizant of the difficulties surrounding a realist position (especially for practical, working ontologists), Arp has argued for a form of as-if philosophical realism
Philosophical realism
Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
, along the lines of Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
and Hans Vaihinger
Hans Vaihinger
Hans Vaihinger was a German philosopher, best known as a Kant scholar and for his Philosophie des Als Ob , published in 1911, but written more than thirty years earlier....
whereby the “commitment to the pursuit of abstract objects could become instrumental in guiding the life of philosophy and science in a limited as if manner.”
Just as Kant spoke of the value of the regulative ideas as aiding in, not only the rounding off of our systematic picture of reality, but also prompting us to do further research and investigation, so too, according to Arp thinkers are to act as if there is a reality “out there” (the ding-an-sich or noumenon
Noumenon
The noumenon is a posited object or event that is known without the use of the senses.The term is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to "phenomenon", which refers to anything that appears to, or is an object of, the senses...
, as it were) when they construct domain ontologies or engage in any other kind of scientific endeavor. Given the as-if nature of this position, there is always the possibility that there may be practical or pragmatic concerns in building domain ontologies which actually trump the realist pursuit, and Arp is mindful of this possibility.
Also, following other ontologists he has drawn a distinction between philosophical ontology (physical ontology), domain ontology, and upper ontology (information science) (also known as top-level or formal) ontology,
and has attempted to articulate principles for best practices in the building of domain ontologies in radiology, cell signaling, bioethics, and finance.
Work in Philosophy of Biology
Besides his work in functions and teleologyTeleology
A teleology is any philosophical account which holds that final causes exist in nature, meaning that design and purpose analogous to that found in human actions are inherent also in the rest of nature. The word comes from the Greek τέλος, telos; root: τελε-, "end, purpose...
mentioned above, Arp has attempted a definition of life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
, arguing that the “components and attending processes of an organism must be considered as living, emergent phenomena because of the way in which the components are organized to maintain homeostasis of the organism at the various levels in the organismic hierarchy.” He calls this position the homeostatic organization view of biological phenomena. With Alexander Rosenberg
Alexander Rosenberg
Alexander Rosenberg is an American philosopher, and the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University.Rosenberg was educated at Stuyvesant High School, the City College of New York and Johns Hopkins University...
, Arp has edited Philosophy of Biology: An Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), with Francisco J. Ayala
Francisco J. Ayala
Francisco José Ayala Pereda is a Spanish-American biologist and philosopher at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former Dominican priest, ordained in 1960, but left the priesthood that same year. After graduating from the University of Salamanca, he moved to the US in 1961 to study for...
, he has edited Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), and with George Terzis, he has edited Information and Living Systems: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives (MIT Press, 2011).
Arp has also offered helpful suggestions for the interactions of philosophers and scientists as they go about their work in philosophy of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
.
Work in Evolutionary Psychology
In his book, Scenario Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem Solving, Arp adds to Steven MithenSteven Mithen
Steve Mithen is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading. He has written a number of books including The Singing Neanderthals and The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science.-See also:...
's cognitive fluidity
Cognitive fluidity
Cognitive fluidity is a term first popularly applied by Steven Mithen in his book The Prehistory of the Mind, a search for the origins of Art, Religion and Science....
view by arguing that such fluidity would be random and chaotic without mechanisms of selection and integration. Thus, what he calls “scenario visualization” is a necessary ingredient in creative problem solving, and likely was one of the first things that emerged in human consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
. Scenario visualization is defined by Arp as a “conscious ability to segregate and integrate visual images in future scenarios.”
While this view has been applauded as “innovative and interesting,” a “valuable resource and a stimulating contribution,” and even “ambitious,”
there are those who critique Arp’s position as “saying nothing new” and suffering from “a form of selectivity deficit – an inability to judge what is and isn’t relevant to his claims.”
Arp’s view continues to be referred to as plausible by cognitive scientists and others doing work in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and philosophical psychology.
Work in Philosophy and Popular Culture
Arp has chapters in more than 25 books in the genre known colloquially as Philosophy and Popular Culture, including Metallica and Philosophy, Family Guy and Philosophy, Lost and Philosophy, 24 and Philosophy, The Office and Philosophy, Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy, Watchmen and Philosophy, Final Fantasy and Philosophy, Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, True Blood and Philosophy, 30 Rock and Philosophy, and others. He has worked numerous times with William Irwin (philosopher)William Irwin (philosopher)
William Irwin is professor of Philosophy and Director of the Honors Program at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1970 and raised in Yonkers, New York. Irwin attended Regis High School in Manhattan, an elite Jesuit institution, graduating in 1988. He received his B.A...
, who is now the General Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series through Wiley-Blackwell (publisher). In 2006 Arp edited the flagship book in that series, South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today
South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today
South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today is the first non-fiction book in Blackwell Publishing Company’s Philosophy & Pop Culture series and is edited by philosopher and ontologist, Robert Arp, at the time assistant professor of philosophy at Southwest Minnesota State University...
, which has been translated into the Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, the Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
He also co-edited Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul with Mark White, soon to be translated into the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Arp and White were interviewed in 2008 by The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
and, when asked by The Globe "Do some scholars see this kind of thing (i.e., Philosophy and Popular Culture books) as silly?" part of Arp's response was: "At root we are trying to bring philosophy to people and bring people to philosophy." Arp and White also contributed an article to The Globe called “Should Batman Kill the Joker?” in 2008.
Arp has also worked with Mark Conard and The Philosophy of Popular Culture series through The University Press of Kentucky, as well as with David Ramsay Steele
David Ramsay Steele
David Ramsay Steele is the author of From Marx to Mises: Post-Capitalist Society and the Challenge of Economic Calculation and Editorial Director of Open Court Publishing Company. With Michael R...
and the Popular Culture and Philosophy Series through Open Court Publishing Company
Open Court Publishing Company
The Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and La Salle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois.-History:...
, which has produced titles such as The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
, Star Wars and Philosophy, Star Trek and Philosophy, The Beatles and Philosophy, James Bond and Philosophy, and many others. One of Arp's latest projects is as editor of Tattoos - Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am with Fritz Allhoff (General Editor of the Philosophy for Everyone series) and Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.