ABSTRACT
Ontology and Epistemology Perhaps the most basic areas of philosophy are those that try to understand the funda-
mental nature of being and reality: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is
existence and reality? How do we know? How can we understand? The nature of existence
or being is a question of ontology, and the nature andmode of acquisition of knowledge is
a question of epistemology. Within these broad categories lie arguments about issues
such as holism and reductionism, materialism and idealism, any of which may be con-
sidered debates about ontology or epistemology depending on their context. For phi-
losophers concerned with formal ontology as a primary area of study, ontology is the
study of the fundamental categories of existence and reality. Those concerned with for-
mal epistemology want to explore how we can know and reason about that reality and the
reliability of knowledge claims.
