Unifying explanatory and constructive modeling: towards removing the gulf between ontologies and conceptual models

The universal agreement regarding modeling as a useful endeavor can hide the large divide that runs through the modeling community. The differences between explanatory and constructive modeling give rise to two almost disjoint modeling universes, each based on different, mutually incompatible assumptions, rules, and tools. This division is undesirable as it prevents modelers from fluently transitioning between these worlds and denies them the benefits afforded by the underpinnings of the opposite camp. In this paper I characterize the typing disciplines underlying these different schools of thought, identify their respective trade-offs, and propose a unified approach which treats the different world views as modes of modeling that one may transition into in either direction. I present a unifying typing framework that can form the basis for a mutual fertilization between the hitherto rather separated worlds of explanatory versus constructive modeling.