Epistemology Vs Ontology

EPISTEMOLOGY VS ONTOLOGY



Many years ago, when still a child, I read a book whose name I have long since forgotten. In it was written the following: ‘The power of the pack is the wolf, and the power of the wolf is the pack.’ This was a striking statement, and one which exercised an immense influence on how I perceived both the world and its people. Now, decades later, being confronted withissues of knowledge, existence and logic, the quote came back to me as almost an epistemology of ontology - one that explains the world in which I have lived and survived for so many interesting years. But, perhaps I am a little too hasty in my employment of those terms right now. Just what is the difference between epistemology and ontology? And why are these concepts important?Epistemology is the study of knowing; essentially it is the study of what knowledge is and how it is possible. It consists of ideas about the natural world and focuses on how we can (and ought) to obtain knowledge, and how we can (and ought) to reason: the forms into which our models are cast, and their relationships to the world (i.e. what we are trying to model/know about).


Ontology, on the otherhand, is more concerned about the natural world – how it came to be rather than an analysis of what is. In the power of the pack, the pack of wolves would be the natural given – one can say it is ‘where it all begins’, or, its ontology. The fact that the wolves gain their power from the strength of the individuals in the pack is the epistemology for the nature of the pack. Some analysis has gonein to the nature of the pack and why it forms a strong unit.


In epistemology we strive to generate truthful (valid or plausible) descriptions and explanations of the world. This said, the ‘world’ need not incorporate the earth’s entirety
– if one were to study the habits and activities of a pack of wolves in a particular area, that would become the “world of study”. This wouldusually be termed the scope or target of our research. Thinking and theorising about society in our world is what we call our epistemology. When studying the pack of wolves, one is required to think about what
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one sees, make conclusions (theorise) about them and ultimately, based on one’s thinking and theorising, explain what is seen. Concluding that ‘the power of the pack is the wolf andthe power of the wolf is the pack’, is a good example of this kind of thinking, theorising and explaining. The pack of wolves is the basis of the study. It is visible as a society under study, and is therefore one’s ontology.


Ontology is concerned with how you, as the observer of a phenomenon, may know. It is not concerned with what you may know thereby. It implies a study of existencebased on the assumption of its absolute and metaphysical meaning, and not on its cognitive meaning. Epistemology, on the other hand, seeks to understand the origin, processes and limitations of observation. These include operations such as drawing distinctions, establishing relations, and the creation of constructs. In addition, it includes all consequences ofknowledge resulting from communication between observer and observed, within a community of observers who may, in addition, observe each other. Ontology asks, “what is?”, or “what can we know?”, where epistemology asks “how do we come to know?”.


At this stage you would probably have noticed that ontology precedes epistemology – you need to identify a “world” or target for your study(ontology) before you can acquire any further information from your target (epistemology).


At this point, I trust that it is clear that epistemology is the theory of knowledge. It includes the methods, validity and scope of knowledge that we employ in our research. It is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion. Epistemology implies the provision of evidence for...