Entityrather

Entityrather is a term used in information science and philosophy of language to describe a preference for modeling and referencing entities as the primary units in knowledge representation, rather than relying primarily on descriptive properties. The word combines “entity” with “rather” to indicate a stance that emphasizes entity-centric representations to improve clarity, disambiguation, and interoperability in heterogeneous data sources.

Origin and usage: The term is informal and circulated in practical discussions about knowledge graphs, ontology engineering, and data integration. It functions as a design principle or heuristic rather than a formal theory, guiding how data architects structure identifiers, relationships, and governance around entities rather than descriptive class-level generalizations.

Principles: An entityrather approach prioritizes stable, unique identifiers for individuals and objects, explicit relationships between entities, and reuse of canonical entity records across datasets. Descriptions and properties are treated as attributes of entities rather than primary determinants of identity. This emphasis can reduce duplication, enhance data linking, and improve provenance, but may require robust disambiguation, versioning, and governance to prevent fragmentation.

Applications: In knowledge graphs and semantic web projects, entityrather design supports cross-domain operability by enabling consistent merging of records from multiple sources. It often pairs with governance frameworks that manage entity resolution, linking, and URI design to maintain coherence across systems.

Criticism and limits: Critics note that overemphasizing entities can obscure useful high-level generalizations and complicate reasoning that relies on properties or contexts. Practical implementations must balance entity-centric modeling with flexible description mechanisms.

See also: ontology engineering, knowledge graph, entity-relationship model, identity criteria.