Let us define "property" as anything subject to ownership.

Let us further define "ownership" as the act of owning a property -- in other words, the relatiionship between a human being (owner) and something that he or she owns.

It will be useful in this examination to have some symbols that we can use to visually illustrate the concepts of Property and Ownership.

These symbols will help us to distinguish between a person (owner) and a property, and will help us to illustrate and visualize the relationship between the two.

In the above diagram, the circle we will use to designate a person - an "owner".

The square or rectangle will designate a "property" - any kind of property at all.

When no connecting lines appear, the person is recognized as an "owner" who owns himself.  The property in the above case is unowned.