Conceptual modeling: Foundations, a historical perspective, and a vision for the future

John Mylopoulos; Giancarlo Guizzardi; Nicola Guarino

doi:10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483

Conceptual modeling: Foundations, a historical perspective, and a vision for the future

John Mylopoulos^*
, Giancarlo Guizzardi^*
, Nicola Guarino

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

454 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We recount the foundations of Conceptual Modeling in Computer Science, Philosophy and Cognitive Science and their implications on what are concepts, conceptualizations, and conceptual models. We then review the history of the field, considering earlier work by the three co-authors, and highlight some of the contributions that made it what it is. Finally, we propose three research directions whose solutions could advance the field and will hopefully be addressed in the future. Our study is intended to help to circumscribe and characterize the field. It draws ideas from Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Engineering and the Social Sciences, as well as several areas within Computer Science, including Programming languages, Artificial Intelligence, Databases, Software Engineering, and Information Systems Engineering.

Original language	English
Article number	102483
Journal	Data & knowledge engineering
Volume	160
Early online date	15 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483
Publication status	Published - Nov 2025
Event	18th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science, RCIS 2024 - Centro Cultural Vila Flor (CCVF) , Guimarães, Portugal Duration: 14 May 2024 → 17 May 2024 Conference number: 18 https://www.rcis-conf.com/rcis2024/

Keywords

Conceptual models
Conceptual modeling
Knowledge representation
Ontologies
Philosophical foundations

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10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483Licence: Elsevier licence

ArticleFinal published version, 1.23 MBLicence: Elsevier licence

Cite this

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title = "Conceptual modeling: Foundations, a historical perspective, and a vision for the future",

abstract = "We recount the foundations of Conceptual Modeling in Computer Science, Philosophy and Cognitive Science and their implications on what are concepts, conceptualizations, and conceptual models. We then review the history of the field, considering earlier work by the three co-authors, and highlight some of the contributions that made it what it is. Finally, we propose three research directions whose solutions could advance the field and will hopefully be addressed in the future. Our study is intended to help to circumscribe and characterize the field. It draws ideas from Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Engineering and the Social Sciences, as well as several areas within Computer Science, including Programming languages, Artificial Intelligence, Databases, Software Engineering, and Information Systems Engineering.",

keywords = "Conceptual models, Conceptual modeling, Knowledge representation, Ontologies, Philosophical foundations",

author = "John Mylopoulos and Giancarlo Guizzardi and Nicola Guarino",

year = "2025",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483",

language = "English",

volume = "160",

journal = "Data \& knowledge engineering",

issn = "0169-023X",

publisher = "Elsevier",

note = "18th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science, RCIS 2024, RCIS 2024 ; Conference date: 14-05-2024 Through 17-05-2024",

url = "https://www.rcis-conf.com/rcis2024/",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Conceptual modeling

T2 - 18th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science, RCIS 2024

AU - Mylopoulos, John

AU - Guizzardi, Giancarlo

AU - Guarino, Nicola

N1 - Conference code: 18

PY - 2025/11

Y1 - 2025/11

N2 - We recount the foundations of Conceptual Modeling in Computer Science, Philosophy and Cognitive Science and their implications on what are concepts, conceptualizations, and conceptual models. We then review the history of the field, considering earlier work by the three co-authors, and highlight some of the contributions that made it what it is. Finally, we propose three research directions whose solutions could advance the field and will hopefully be addressed in the future. Our study is intended to help to circumscribe and characterize the field. It draws ideas from Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Engineering and the Social Sciences, as well as several areas within Computer Science, including Programming languages, Artificial Intelligence, Databases, Software Engineering, and Information Systems Engineering.

AB - We recount the foundations of Conceptual Modeling in Computer Science, Philosophy and Cognitive Science and their implications on what are concepts, conceptualizations, and conceptual models. We then review the history of the field, considering earlier work by the three co-authors, and highlight some of the contributions that made it what it is. Finally, we propose three research directions whose solutions could advance the field and will hopefully be addressed in the future. Our study is intended to help to circumscribe and characterize the field. It draws ideas from Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Engineering and the Social Sciences, as well as several areas within Computer Science, including Programming languages, Artificial Intelligence, Databases, Software Engineering, and Information Systems Engineering.

KW - Conceptual models

KW - Conceptual modeling

KW - Knowledge representation

KW - Ontologies

KW - Philosophical foundations

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105010566816

U2 - 10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483

DO - 10.1016/j.datak.2025.102483

M3 - Article

SN - 0169-023X

VL - 160

JO - Data & knowledge engineering

JF - Data & knowledge engineering

M1 - 102483

Y2 - 14 May 2024 through 17 May 2024

ER -

Conceptual modeling: Foundations, a historical perspective, and a vision for the future

Abstract

Keywords

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