Space and time in eco-ontologies

In this paper, we elaborate on the fundamental characteristics of ecological ontologies, and draw attention to the importance of space and time in the structure of these ontologies. First, we argue that a key to the specification of eco-ontologies is the notion of ideological organization grounded in a notion of recursion. Second, we introduce the notion of roles to characterize the generalized and interactive ideological aspects of ecological systems. Third, we also introduce a preliminary set of temporal and spalial concepts intended to represenl ecological space and time in the formalization of eco-ontologies. Fourth, we show how some important epistemological conslrainls on cognition are fundamentally ecological in nature. This work is informed by Kant's investigations into the foundations of biology, by the hermeneutic investigations of Heidegger and Gadamer, and by mathematical investigations into recursive logic and their application to biology by Spencer-Brown, Maturana, Varela, and Kauffman.