Ontology
From the Greek ontos and logos. The philosophical or systematic theory of existence (i.e., ‘being’.
One of the major subdivisions of Metaphysics,
Ontology investigates the nature of existence. What is the nature of existence? What does it mean for something
to be? What is the nature of is-ness?
Ontologies typically fall into one of three categories:
- Monism - which maintains there is only one type of substance in the universe,
- Dualism - which maintains there are two fundamental substances (matter and mind) in the universe, and
- Pluralism - which maintains there are three or more properly basic substances in the universe.
Dualism is by far the most common view in the history of Western Philosophy, but in the late
Modern and Post-Modern era it has
been surpassed by Materialism (the most common form of Monism).
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