John F. Sowa

In this book, John Sowa conveys diverse and effective insights within the field of knowledge representation (KR). The frameworks he employs are deeply grounded philosphically. (Sowa's previous work on conceptual structures reactivated and extended the innovative work of Charles Sanders Peirce integrating logic and graph theory.) The work reviewed here surveys a wide range of KR issues from basic ontology to agency and processes. Chapter 6, Knowledge Soup, is widely recognized for framing and addressing some of the more demanding, and largely unresolved, challenges in the field.

Throughout the book, issues are explored in a coherent, readable way. Of course, KR implies the use of relevant formalisms, and readers with some background in some AI research tradition will be better prepared to absorb the book's insights. However, for students and scholars looking for an integrated overview, Sowa makes a unique contribution.… (mere)