SBVR11 — Individual Concept and Change

In SBVR C.1.6 there is an example, “thing [individual concept] is changed”, defined thus: “the extension of the individual concept is different at one point in time from what it is at a subsequent point in time”. In early SBVR thinking, the meaning of a singular definite description was an individual concept (a concept that corresponds to only one object [thing]) even if the description could refer to a different individual at a different time or in a different possible world. But that early understanding was later changed, as seen in a note in the SBVR entry for ‘individual concept’: “… each referring individual concept has exactly one and the same instance in all possible worlds”.

Therefore, the first and third examples in C.1.6 and the similar example in E.2.3.1 need to be changed to not use ‘individual concept’. Perhaps a new concept type is needed for the meaning of a singular definite description.

A new concept type, ‘unitary concept’, is added. The examples and explanations in C.1.6 are changed to use the new concept. Also, one example in clause 9 and a fact type in Annex E that involve intensional roles are changed to be consistent with the changes to C.1.6.