Cristian Cocos

In this paper we present applications of the ACGT Master Ontology (MO) which is a new terminology resource for a transnational network providing data exchange in oncology, emphasizing the integration of both clinical and molecular data. The development of a new ontology was necessary due to problems with existing biomedical ontologies in oncology. The ACGT MO is a test case for the application of best practices in ontology development. This paper provides an overview of the application of the ontology within the ACGT project thus far.

This paper comes in support of an idea advocated, among others, by Putnam and Searle according to which “computation is in the eyes of the beholder”, i.e. the question whether a physical system implements a computation is a subjective issue. The attacks mounted by David Chalmers and Jack Copeland against this ideology constitute, essentially, the subject of my critique: I have ventured to show that, to the extent to which notions like ‘causality’ and ‘physical system’ Are accepted and/or tolerated by the contemporary science of Physics, both attacks are rendered ineffective.