Ontology – The nature of reality
Ontology is a field of philosophy that delves into the fundamental nature of existence, reality, and the basic categories of being, along with their relations. It is traditionally considered a subfield of metaphysics, which addresses inquiries regarding the existence of entities and how these entities can be categorized, related, and subdivided based on similarities and differences.
While some philosophers in their ontology books argue that nouns do not always represent actual entities but instead act as a shorthand to refer to a collection of objects or events, others believe that the mind does not refer to a specific entity but, instead, a collection of mental events experienced by an individual. Similarly, society refers to a collection of individuals who share common characteristics, while geometry refers to a collection of a particular type of intellectual activity.
The study of ontology involves several essential dichotomies, such as universals and particulars, substance and accident, abstract and concrete objects, essence and existence, and determinism and indeterminism. These dichotomies aid in better understanding the nature of existence and how entities can be classified and related to each other.
The ontology books portraying the nature of being has been a fundamental aspect of philosophy for centuries. However, with the advent of the digital age, the nature of being has become even more complex, and understanding it has become increasingly important. In his book, “Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age,” Mark Jarzombek offers a comprehensive guide to ontology in the digital age.
Jarzombek, a historian, and philosopher, provides a visual history of the digital age, asking the simple yet challenging question, “How did we get where we are?” He explores various advertisements, scientific papers, journals, political events, and ransomware histories to produce a visual panorama interspersed with graphs and questions that allow for a more robust conversation about the digitally modified, digitally-enhanced, digitally-polluted human.
One of the key arguments in the book is that the digital age has been more insidious than previous technological transitions because the world of algorithms is almost completely invisible to the common person. We are no longer “humans” but digitally-modified and digitally-polluted beings. Jarzombek explores how computation, algorithmic modeling, data capitalism, multinational corporations, Big-data, and global post-ontology have all contributed to this transformation.
Before the modern scientific revolutions, many academic and intellectual pursuits in ancient times fell under the purview of philosophy. Various philosophies differed in the questions they posed and the problems they attempted to resolve through reasoning. One of these ancient philosophical topics was ontology. But what exactly is an ontology? At its simplest, ontology is the branch of philosophy that investigates existence. The term “ontology” origins from the Greek word “on,” which means “being.” Therefore, ontology books attempt to comprehend the nature of existence, reality, being, and becoming. This places ontology within the broader domain of metaphysics, which aims to understand the nature of things. For example, a metaphysical topic could be the first cause, such as the existence of God and the nature of God.
Ontology and metaphysics are philosophical branches traced back to the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. However, some pre-Socratic philosophers are also associated with discussing and studying topics that fall under ontology and metaphysics. Pre-Socratic philosophers like Heraclitus and Parmenides are attributed to some ontological ideas. Furthermore, Aristotle’s teacher, Plato, also delved into the study of ontology. Nonetheless, most of the earliest written works on metaphysics and ontology come from Aristotle.
Ontology as a Philosophy
An Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle was a proponent of searching for ontological meaning and questioning the nature of existence. He is one of the philosophers whose writings have been more abundantly preserved than others. In his works, particularly in his ontology book “Metaphysics,” Aristotle expounds on ontological concepts and ideas. Additionally, in his book “Categories,” Aristotle refers to the substance of something (or its ontology) as “gene ton kategorion” or “the genera of predictions.” This implies that the very being or substance of something can be based on assertions that can be made about the thing.
According to Aristotle, something’s being can be classified in two ways: (1) what is said of and (2) what is present in the thing and others. However, Aristotle does not provide clear definitions of these concepts in his writings, leading to difficulty in pinpointing their exact meaning. Nonetheless, most academics agree that being or essence that is “said-of” refers to universals or innate properties, while being that is “not said-of” pertains to particulars about the thing. Additionally, they concur that being “present-in” other things is accidental, while the inverse is non-accidental. This makes things that are said of and not present-in other things essential universals.
Aristotle believes that the nature of substance can be broken down into a hierarchy. The substance itself can be categorized into immobile and mobile substances. Immobile substances refer to the very substance of the first cause or the unmoved mover, which can be thought of as God. On the other hand, mobile substances are substances that the unmoved mover has moved.
How people talk about the mind reflects the linguistic representation of ontological assumptions about its nature. The mind, as a concept, does not exist independently but is created by professionals and laypeople’s discourse about what the mind is. It is usually assumed that the mind is the receptacle for “individuality” and “thoughts.” The concept of “individuality” assumes that people are separate, unique, and fully responsible for all aspects of their life, from catching a cold to having children who become delinquents or experiencing career decline. This view is predominant in Western thinking.
Jarzombek’s ontology book is not just a theoretical exploration of ontology in the digital age but also a call to action. He argues that we need to rethink architecture, design, and other aspects of our lives regarding the developing scientific, social, and political parameters of the 21st century. To this end, Jarzombek is a co-founder of the Office of (Un)certainty Research, a design practice dedicated to rethinking architecture in light of the challenges of the digital age.
Overall, “Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age” is a fascinating study of the nature of being in the digital age. Jarzombek’s engaging style and use of visual aids make the book approachable to a wide range of readers, from philosophers and historians to designers and architects. The book offers a unique perspective on our challenges in the digital age. It provides a compelling call to action for anyone interested in understanding and shaping the future.
