Ontology

Ontology is the most fundamental branch of Metaphysics, which is the most fundamental branch of Philosophy. The study of Being and Existence, as well as the basic Categories of Things in general, Ontology is really the study of Reality, and supports all of Science today. A Being is anything that can be said “to be” in any sense of the word “Being”. The verb “to be” can seem rather ambiguous, which is why it has so many different meanings and contexts in so many different languages. There are, accordingly, many different ways of...well...Being. Still, what we are calling “Ontology” is a collection of ultra-deep philosophical questions rooted into every form of “belief system”, Religion, Epistemology, or “value system” known. Your ontology makes you who you are as much as your genetics or your food.

Aristotle described Ontology as “the Science of Being qua Being”, and that word, “qua”, means “with regard to the aspect of”. So, Ontology is the Science of “Being”, in the sense of how anything can be be said to “exist” in any form. This means Ontology is the study of beings in-so-far as they exist, or “Being” with regard to the aspect of existing itself. Isn't that clear? Even more precisely, Ontology is about how we determine what the Categories of Being are, which categories are fundamental, and whether or not, and in what sense, items in those categories can even be said to exist. In other words, before Science can even be considered in terms of Truth or Reality, we must define how it is that anything can be considered “true” or “real”. Ontology is that powerful.

Ontology and Science

There have been different fundamental Categories of Being throughout the History of Philosophy, but a good place to start is with Aristotle, whose ten Categories were Substance, Quantity, Quality, Relation, Place, Date, Posture, State, Action, and Passion. Generally, Categories of Being were focused on the issues of physical and non-physical, abstract and concrete types of Being. Before the rise of the Sciences in the Western Renaissance, Ontology, taken with Metaphysics more generally, was the most central focus of philosophical concern, and it still is, though it may not be the most popular focus. The reason for this focus was because Ontology and Categories of Being relate directly to “what is”, what is real, what exists. During the Middle Ages this became more of a question of Theology (or the Philosophy of Religion) and the existence of some form of “God”. Yet, Ontology directly challenges such application, and slowly, as Science became the repository of Evidence, “Ontology” as a word was reduced to historical curiosity, because Ontology more or less became the Philosophy of Science - yet all of Science and Philosophy of Science IS an ontological study. Representative ground-breaking work in Ontology is found in Plato, Aristotle, Neoplatonism, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, to name but a few. In more Contemporary Philosophy, Ontology was taken up by physicists who were already asking very similar questions using the Scientific Method to develop areas like Quantum Physics and others.

To be sure, Ontology is indeed being done today, though not necessarily under its ancient name. It is found in virtually all of the many branches of Philosophy and Science. Quantum Physics is a direct descendant of the Ancient ontological traditions. Those traditions naturally grew beyond the historical distinctions between Universals and Particulars into questions of Particle States and Probability Patterns within Magnetic Fields. The basic ontological questions of the nature of Existence are even more relevant to Quantum Mechanics today, as notions of solid Matter and any distinct, separate existence of Objects are challenged by the new discoveries. And what is Epistemology, for example, if it has not come to terms with the findings of Quantum Physics?

Even in areas seemingly unrelated to Philosophy, such as Computer Science, Ontology is about asking what a Programming “Object” is (not an easy question to answer, given various programming languages, schemas, and practices), and what types of computer Architecture is to be used. In areas like Marketing or Sales, ontological issues lie right at the heart of what a “Brand” is, and how to deal with “Brand Names” and even “Product Lines”, not to mention the Legal connections with Intellectual Property and Management connections with “Business Processes”. In Business as well as Government, ontological questions abound about the use and Management of Information, and how to gain a competitive advantage over an opponent or adversary though the manipulation of Information, either in the sense of Public Relations, or Warfare.

Quintessential Concepts and Questions

• The “Problem of Universals”
• The Objecthood or “Problem of Substance”
• The “Question of Existence”
• What are physical Objects?
• Is it possible to give an account of the existence of physical Objects?
• What are an Object's Properties or Relations and how are they related to the Object itself?
• Is Existence a Property, Substance, or State?
• When does an object go out of Existence, as opposed to Change?

Scholarship by M.R.M. Parrott

Dynamism: Life: Volume II: Biological Chemistry and Epistemology Philosophy and Science Treatise ©2001, 2010-2011 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Jun 2011 Published by rimric press 0-9746106-5-8 | 978-0-9746106-5-8 216 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

Dynamism: Force: Volume I: Quantum Physics and Ontology Philosophy and Science Treatise ©2001-2004 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Feb 05/Jun 11 Published by rimric press 0-9746106-1-5 | 978-0-9746106-1-0 204 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Both Prefaces, Afterword, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

Synthetic A Priori: Philosophical Interviews Interviews, Discussion ©1998-1999 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: 99,00,02,08,11 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-6-1 | 978-0-9662635-6-5 232 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Both Prefaces, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Pure Critique of Reason: Kant and Subjectivity Philosophical Monograph ©1998-1999 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Oct 2002 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-5-3 | 978-0-9662635-5-8 148 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword, Notes on the Text Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Generation of 'X': Philosophical Essays 1991-1995 Academic Papers ©1991-1995 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Oct 2002 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-0-2 | 978-0-9662635-0-3 160 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

External Links

• Aristotle's Definition and Modern Interpretations
• Introduction to Ontological Categories by Daniel J. Castellano
• Parrott, M.R.M., books on Ontology and other concepts, including “The Generation of X” (1995), “The Pure Critique of Reason” (1999), “Synthetic A Priori” (1999), “Dynamism: Volume I: Force” (2005), “Dynamism: Volume II: Life” (2011)