Taming the Sea of Errors: An Ontological Study of Biases in DOLCE

In this paper, we present a preliminary ontology of bias based on the DOLCE foundational ontology. The main reason for devising such an endeavour is to make explicit the ontological assumptions behind the use of terms indicating the elements composing a biased outcome. Firstly, we discuss what the object of a bias is —namely, the entity that might be deemed biased, which we identify with situated inferences, i.e. propositional contents that can be asserted by some (human or artificial) agent from other propositional contents. We will thus categorise in DOLCE various types of biases as concepts that classify situated inferences. The content of such inferences is then associated with the following elements: i) the agent responsible for drawing the conclusion, ii) the objects and iii) the concepts used in the premises and in the conclusion of the inference, iv) the time when the inference takes place. These ingredients will serve to trace the origin of what we shall call a biased inference back to any of the above elements, relating some of the biases present in the literature to these ontologically founded elements.