Philosophy Continues

Wednesday’s Word

Ontology

            A philosophical study into the nature of being, becoming, or reality

            Directly linked with the categories of being

Last week, Wednesday’s word was prudence. I established the fact that I have no idea what the root of that word really means – not linguistically of course, but from a moral and ethical understanding, I’m still sorting out specifically how it applies and relates to my life.

It’s only nature that in my examination of prudence I delved into the world of ontology which relates to the study of being. As a writer and a linguist, I tend to be hyper aware of intended versus implied meanings of words, which is one of the reasons that Wednesday’s editions are always the most painfully joyous posts to write. Right, so … ontology studies becoming, the reality and awareness the self offers to existence.

Ontology can’t be described without understanding the root categories of being. Simply, categories of being attempt to understand and define the highest classes under which all elements of being can be classified. I know, it’s a bunch of big words that don’t make sense. Basically, it means that in order for something to exist, it has to belong to a particular classification. Ontology takes that one step further and attempts to examine the ways in which something actually comes into existence.

It’s all fascinating stuff, really. It takes the most obscure sort of thought and gives it credence because it helps to divide it into smaller and smaller units of measure. I like this way of approaching my thinking and understanding of words and language. Not only does it offer me compartmentalization for these terms, but it also gives me a nice practical use for the knowledge.

Since ontology is the study of being, and I write narratives that examine the characters from an ontological perspective, then I can make the assertion that I am an ontological novelist. It sounds so official!