Barry Smith
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy, Formal Ontologyb. 1952
Barry Smith (born 1952) is a British-American analytic philosopher and ontologist, Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), best known for his work in formal ontology, applied ontology, and philosophy of language. He is the principal architect of Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), a top-level ontology now foundational to biomedical informatics, and has contributed to truthmaker theory, mereology, and the metaphysics of negative truths.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), adopted as ISO/IEC 21838 and used across hundreds of biomedical ontologies
2
Contributed to truthmaker theory, including defenses of the optimalist treatment of negative truths
3
Co-edited foundational volumes on parts and wholes (mereology) and formal ontology
4
Led development of applied ontologies for the Gene Ontology Consortium and related biomedical projects
5
Authored influential work on Husserlian phenomenology and its relation to analytic metaphysics