ontology

Do you like to learn new words? Who plays with crossword puzzles?

I am awed by the tenacity of die hard “crossword workers”.  Personally, I get easily frustrated by counting blocks and reading descriptions and penciling in letters in some pattern that is not visually pleasing. Think about cross words. You either like them or you don’t. Although I did find it interesting to make your own puzzle, that was out of the ordinary for me. It was fun using the Puzzle Maker, but I have never enjoyed doing puzzles of any kind.  Some people believe they are a recommended past time for “keeping your mind alive”. Recent research has debunked the puzzling as protective against dementia and now suggest advanced educational attainment and management skills may be protective. Thank goodness, I can now forge ahead without a guilty moment about not wanting to do them!

Where am I going with this? Words. I do find words interesting. Today, I ran across ontology. It is defined as the philosophy of being, and specifically of human being. Questions pertaining to the essence of humans are the focus of ontological debates. I read that four times, before it started sinking in. The implications of one’s ontological position are immense, as this position forms the basis from which one perceives oneself and others- including those under your care. Ontology defines the groundwork for all human interaction. It is the study of human essence. BINGO. I have been engaged in this study my whole life and deeply the last few years. Funny how one word can bring new meaning to what you couldn’t quite express.  One comment stands out among the rest from the 5,000 plus that have been posted to this “random musing” of mine. A lady told me, if I was questioning everything in my whole life, I might want to consider therapy. Really? Therapy for what? Trying to understand the “human essence”?

I deserve an open minded adventure achievement award for wandering around in a philosophy that I didn’t know about and finding it!! 🙂 Fascinating, how it boils down to two ways to be involved in a relationship with another. I am relationship focused, so of course human essence is relationship based at its core for me.

The first type of relationship is an inauthentic manner of considering the other person as a thing,  a resource, a means to an end and to be exploited for whatever its worth. Ever known any of those believers and practitioners? They smile and act nice, when their intent is to use another person for what they want from them and then move onto the next unsuspecting soul. The second type of relationship is to treat another person with dignity and respect that transcends race, gender, cognitive capacity or physical condition. It seeks the preservation of the other person’s uniqueness and confirmation of the personal worth and value for no purpose but being themselves. “I become who I am through my relationship with the other”.

Profound. Isn’t it?

Of course, my mind wanders to the other word I did know that was close to this one. Ornithology- a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds.  I guess I knew about the birds because of those book store jaunts to find out more about Bluebirds or Purple Martins . Yes, I have a fascination with birds, too. They are lovely little creatures who grace me with their presence.