Agent & Object

The basic distinction between Agents and Objects in UFO-C reflects the very nature of the ontology. UFO-C is an ontology of social relations between agents and the role social objects play in these exchanges.

To illustrate the concepts from this diagram, follow the following thought experiment. Suppose John, a Person, has a mobile phone. John signed a $100 service plan contract with Alivo, a mobile service provider. However, on September, Alivo incorrectly charged John $350. John was so angry he went to an Alivo store and threw a rock at it. The rock hit the shop window and shattered it to pieces.

We may analyse this narrative using UFO-C and say both John and Alivo are Agents, since both are able to commit intentional actions and participate actively in events. Both the action of throwing the rock and the participation of John in the "window shattering event" are events themselves. The rock and the window also participate in the such event, but they do so as Objects, participating only as Resources. It is the distinction between active or passive participation in events that distinguishes between Agents and Objects, in the sense that only agents may contribute actively to events.

Also, we may distinguish between different types of Agents and Objects whether they are Social Agents (such as Alivo), Social Objects (such as money or the contract), Physical Agents (such as John) and Physical Objects (such as the rock or the window).

For further details on these concepts, please access the glossary of terms clicking on the links above or refer to Nardi et al. "Towards a Commitment-based Reference Ontology for Services" published on EDOC 2013 (link) for an up-to-date detailed definition of UFO-C.