ONT Re: Zeroth Order Theories (ZOT's)
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DM = Douglas McDavid
DM: This, again, is an example of how real issues of ontology are
so often trivialized at the expense of technicalities. I just
had a burger, some fries, and a Coke. I would say all that was
non-living and non-mineral. A virus, I believe is non-animal,
non-vegetable, but living (and non-mineral). Teeth, shells,
and bones are virtually pure mineral, but living. These are
the kinds of issues that are truly "ontological," in my
opinion. You are not the only one to push them into
the background as of lesser importance. See the
discussion of "18-wheelers" in John Sowa's book.
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doug,
it's not my example, and from you say, it's not your example either.
copied it out of a book or a paper somewhere, too long ago to remember.
i am assuming that the author or tardition from which it came must have
seen some kind of sense in it. tell you what, write out your own theory
of "what is" in so many variables, more or less, publish it in a book or
a paper, and then folks will tell you that they dispute each and every
thing that you have just said, and it won't really matter all that much
how complex it is or how subtle you are. that has been the way of all
ontology for about as long as anybody can remember or even read about.
me? i don't have sufficient arrogance to be an ontologist, and you
know that's saying a lot, as i can't even imagine a way to convince
myself that i believe i know "what is", really and truly for sure
like some folks just seem to do. so i am working to improve our
technical ability to do logic, which is mostly a job of shooting
down the more serious delusions that we often get ourselves into.
can i be of any use to ontologists? i dunno. i guess it depends
on how badly they are attached to some of the delusions of knowing
what their "common" sense tells them everybody ought to already know,
but that every attempt to check that out in detail tells them it just
ain't so. a problem for which denial was just begging to be invented,
and so it was.
jon awbrey
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