I just finished looking up a word in the dictionary. When I was younger I hated the dictionary- it seemed like torture to have to stop reading just to figure out the meaning of one little word. Now, I appreciate it more, although I don't think that I use it as much as I should.
I got the dictionary out to define "ontological", which was used by Herman Bavinck in The Doctrine of God, which was quoted by Pastor Ralph Smith in a footnote in Chapter Three of Trinity and Reality: An Introduction to the Christian Faith.
The dictionary says:
"on-to-log-i-cal...adj
1: of or relating to ontology
2: relating to or based upon being or existence..."
Finding that this did an imperfect job of illuminating the word's meaning, I checked ontology, which said:
"1: A brance of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being
2: a particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of existents..."
From which two definitions I conclude that "ontological" is a term describing the study of being or existence.
2 comments:
Relating to ontology - the questions of reality, existence, being ...
Socrates is reputed to have said, "I do; therefore, I am" (or, roughly, "to be is to do.")
Sartre, on the other hand, reportedly taught that "I am; therefore, I do" (or, "to do is to be.")
The famous American entertainer, Sinatra, tried his hand at philosophy once, but trying to apprehend these two opposing philosophies put his head into such a spin that all he could say was "Do ... Be ... Do ... Be ... Do!"
~PS - don't try to find the quotes in a philosophy text. You might be able to google them up, though.
thanks for defining this for me i've never really gotten over my hatred for looking up words.
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