RE: How would you describe your ontological views?
July 29, 2014 at 11:28 pm
(This post was last modified: July 29, 2014 at 11:29 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(July 29, 2014 at 8:13 pm)whateverist Wrote:The nature of the question is to search for that which persists through change. If things exist they exist as specific things, i.e. they preserve their identity even though they change. But if they change then how can anyone say that its really the same thing after the change. Why isn't it something else? The study of ontology calls on the student to discern between what is fundamental and what is contingent, what is essential and what is accidental.(July 29, 2014 at 3:38 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Ontology, as a branch of philosophy, is about trying to understanding the unchanging ground of being.
Why unchanging?
For example, are the laws of physics themselves fundamental or are they contingent? Saying they are fundamental makes the unsupported claim that an empirical inquiry has come to an end. If the laws of physics are contingent, on what do they in turn depend.
(July 29, 2014 at 3:38 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Any ontology worthy of the name would be valid independent of a society’s level of scientific knowledge.
(July 29, 2014 at 8:13 pm)whateverist Wrote: Can you then be sure there are any ontologies worthy of their name?I think you misunderstand. I'm not saying that an ontology must be certain. I am saying that a worthy ontology must present a coherent solution to the original problem, the persistence of being despite change.