Research 701 ~ Ontology & Epistemology

Today in class the tutor had a set of questions that he wanted us to break up into groups and answer. Reflecting on these questions has only increased the amount questions rather than provide truthful or even a slightly understandable answers. In saying that they are also extremely interesting questions that have a much deeper meaning than anyone could ever percieve or come to understand. These are the answers that resulted after refined discussion internally and with the group I was with.

Is there a difference between ‘knowing’ something and ‘having knowledge’ of something?

Yes, knowing is something that one believes to be true, and knowledge is a belief that a known holds true.

What is ‘truth’?

A truth is a known belief, but that just spawns more questions likewhat does one believe to be known? or how can one know for absolute fact what is believed?, how does the first come to know a belief?

No one is the only one who can know 
where words first truly came from, because no one can 
know which one said what first. 
                        ~ one who first said what

This question is an example of something I believe to be truth(ful), based on deductive reasoning. By that I mean this question, although highly ambigous, through logical conclusion(s) can actually be proven true. One can deduce that if that if no one can know where words first truly come from, someone must know or come to know. If one believes the previous, then one can deduce that no one can know which one said what first because which one would be the one to “hear”/come to know ones first word what? If the previous is believed, then one can finally deduce that the one who must have been the one “saying” or coming to know the quote was one who said what first.

What do we really mean when we say something is ‘true’?

It has been researched or experienced and continues to hold true. Death is the easiest example, although one of the hardest to understand (entirely). Everyone knows or comes to know death one way or another and everytime the true remains the same about a few things.

1) Death is final

2) Death comes for everyone

3) No one can ever escape death

4) Death can come at any moment

These are only a couple examples, I am encourage you to think of more.

Is there a difference between knowing something is ‘true’ and believing that something is ‘true’?

Yes. Knowing is experiencing a truth, where as believing is perceiving a truth. To yourself knowing and believing are the same, but to outside, knowing is something that holds true and believing something that can be true or not.

What is the difference between subjective and objective ‘truth’?

Subjective truth is determined by an individual, since everyone forms an outcome in a different way, where as objective truth is a truth that is true or false and cannot be inferred.

What is a ‘fact’ and can ‘facts’ change ?

A fact is a truth that remains to be true regardless of the number of times it is tested/experienced. Yes facts can change, because facts can be proven wrong due to new knowns or unknowns.

How do we discover if something is ‘true’ or not?

Repetition of the truth until proven untrue. Something can hold true, but could never not be proven wrong. Take for example the statement “I am funny.” This is a statment that I percieve to be true. Then I am asked to tell a joke and reply “there is no place like 127.0.0.1”. Does this statement hold true in your perception? Lets say you thought that joke was funny, this means that the statement holds true. Now lets say you didnt think my joke was funny, this means that the statement is no no longer true. That is my perception of how one discovers if something is true.

“We do not see things as they are but as we are” Anais Nin. What does this mean?

To me I think that this quote means that we percieve things individually, and so we do not ever truly see things as they are, but as we percieve them to be.

“Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one” Einstein. What does this mean?

Reality is continual perception formed by ones knowing and the knowledge of others.

Is there a difference between ‘true’ and ‘valid’? Explain!

Yes, something that is true can be proven wrong. Validity is a conclusion drawn from truths that cannot be proven. Lets take the funny example again. Lets assume that we both believe that I am funny. From this truth we can percieve that the next person would also believe me to be funny/not funny. We cannot ourselves determine whether the conclusions are true, we can only continue percieving it to be valid until otherwise.

The next set of questions are homework which are the following …

What is ontology? How is it relevant to research?

Ontology is a question that branches from metaphysics which concerns the study of being, existence, reality, and others. “Ontology is the assumptions we make about the kind and nature of reality and what exists.” Snape and Spencer (2003)

Personally I believe its relevance to research is to define what it is being studied. How can one study about something one does not know about? One must first know about what it is one wants to know more or come to understand better something which they know little of. How one first comes to know may not have an answer (or a simple one). Lets take an epiphany as an example and a thought experiement of who first came to know about space.

This might be arbitrary, but there is a great example on the wiki of epiphany which is the Flammarion engraving. From “L’atmosphère”, book of 1888. Though one cant say how the one who made L’atmosphère came to understand there was something out beyond the edges of our earth, one can say that they did know about the stars and the sun (perhaps we could safely assume the moon as well). That means they could come to understand space even though it wasnt tangible or accessible. We also know now that there is in fact something out beyong the edges of our earth; the sun. the stars. space, and more (neutron stars, blackholes, ect…).

What is epistemology? How is it relevant to research?

Epistemology is the study around knowledge or one coming to know. The example above could be thought as knowledge that was realized through previous knowledge. This can be safely assumed because one had knowledge of the stars and thes sun since one included it in the engraving.

I believe that its relevance is similar to ontology, but the difference is rather than define what it is, epistemology addresses what it is not. Why is it important to understand what something is not? If one comes to know something that is not, then one has come to know of a thing. Meaning they came to knowledge of something (perhaps also something that is not a thing).

What is the connection between ontology and epistemology in a research context?

Both ontology and epistemology are required in order for one to “study” something. In order for one to study something, one must first know or have knowledge of the something. Knowing doesn’t necessarily mean absolute knowledge of something, in fact one can never absolutely know something for certain. So it is from what is known and the knowledge around what is, that serves as a foundation for research.