ontological
About being itself
Ontological relates to ontology—the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of being, existence, and reality.
What kinds of things exist?
What does it mean for something to exist?
These are ontological questions.
The word appears in philosophical arguments: the ontological argument for God's existence reasons from the concept of a perfect being to its necessary existence.
More loosely, ontological describes anything concerning fundamental categories of existence: an ontological distinction between mind and body.
Independent existing thing
- substancePhysical material with mass
- objectTangible entity or aim
- individualOne separate human being
- particularSpecific or fussy
universal · category · property · attribute · phenomenon · form · nature · genus
State of being real
- actualityState of existing fact
- realTruly existing, not fake
- possibleAble to occur
- necessaryIndispensable, cannot omit
contingent · phenomenon · appearance · substrate · ground · fundamental · ultimate · modal
Philosophy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- phenomenologyStudy of subjective experience
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- PlatonismPhilosophy emphasizing ideal Forms
Aristotelianism · materialism · idealism · realism · nominalism · essentialism · foundationalism · hermeneutics
Single-substance metaphysics
- dualismPhilosophy of opposed pairs
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- physicalismAll is matter
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
A class of things
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- relationConnection or kin
dependence · emergence · constitution · instantiation · membership · inclusion · part-whole · trope
entity
Independent existing thing
- substancePhysical material with mass
- objectTangible entity or aim
- individualOne separate human being
particular · universal · category · property · attribute · phenomenon · form · nature · genus · species
existence
State of being real
necessary · contingent · phenomenon · appearance · substrate · ground · fundamental · ultimate · modal · world
metaphysics
Philosophy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- phenomenologyStudy of subjective experience
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
Platonism · Aristotelianism · materialism · idealism · realism · nominalism · essentialism · foundationalism · hermeneutics · dialectic
monism
Single-substance metaphysics
- dualismPhilosophy of opposed pairs
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- physicalismAll is matter
category
A class of things
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
relation · dependence · emergence · constitution · instantiation · membership · inclusion · part-whole · trope · universal
- philosophical termsSocratic, Kantian, Cartesian, Aristotelian, dialectical
ontologicalepistemological
Relating to knowledge theory
epistemic · ethical · phenomenological · logical · aesthetic
ontologicalempirical
Based on observation, not theory
phenomenal · experiential · observational · physical · material
ontologicalcontingent
Conditional or representative group
accidental · incidental · superficial · phenomenal · apparent