Towards an ontology of common‐sense reasoning

Abstract

This exploratory study concerns a basic ontology present in the common‐sense reasoning of secondary students. Two questionnaires were given to 38 students (16‐18 years old), in which they were asked to classify a list of different conceptual entities by several ontological features. These features were selected with the help of a network regarding actions (in the Piagetian sense) as providing basic ways of thinking about different entities. The results suggest the form of a fundamental ‘ontological space’ and locate some scientific concepts in this space.