Ontology and Epistemology 21-1-18 Students

Ontology and
epistemology
Professor Indra Abeysekera
2 Learning goals
At the end of this topic you know the philosophical bases in conducting
research
1. Philosophical bases as concepts
2. Philosophical bases in application
3. World view

3 Learning goals
research
3. World view

4 Philosophical bases
 Student Einstein triumphs atheist professor

https://xamishatheist.com/2012/04/24/student-einstein-trumps-atheist-
philosophy-professor/
Is god present?
Milind Yes is based on perception. There are matters beyond the control of science.
Those ‘unseen forces’ can be construed as god.
Nidhi Faith and experience
Abhishek No god – universal power based on the subconscious mind
Sakuntala Don’t know
Anthony Majority believe in god. Science could not disprove.
Bala Believe there is god. The god is the universal power. All the actions are governed
by universal forces
Megna Don’t know.
Professor Indra It could be due to constructions that gives us hope
Abeysekera
Is god present?
Swetha Manipulate the reader. The reader is psychologically manipulated and there is
no instrumental measure to measure the presence of god
Satya ‘Un-justfied’ faith of the presence of god
Arun Although I have faith, it is an ideology; I don’t know
Chittaranjan Definition of god is not clear. Everyone defines their own way to comment. We
need to define what is god
Sujata Supporting evidence to say that there is god
Anil God is an abstract statement. Concept created by the human mind. Anything
that happens beyond our control is attributed to a super-power - god
Sanjay It is a matter of faith;
Is god present?
Bhanu Arguments and counter-arguments (evidence); but based on evidence there is
no god
Venkat Based on the article, author is manipulating to say there is no god
Ashwin I perceive the article as an argument of existence of god not supported by
scientific evidence; it is a matter of how we perceive evidence
Sakuntala Each of us bring our prejudices for the interpretation
Bireshwar Data provided in the article is insufficient to make a clear conclusions
Vaibhav How easily faith can be manipulated. Faith is manipulated by professor against
god, and student for present. There is no strong evidence either way.

Truth is objectively found; once truth is

Ontology realism found, you can generalise to other
Onto = existence situations
Logia = study
Beliefs about
Reality Truth is relative; there are multiple
truths; what real depends on the
truth relativism
context; truth becomes real in a given
context
Out
there
In here
Where is the
real [world]?
(ontological
question)
Philosophical versus non-philosophical aspects of ontology

1. Are physical parts real than non physical parts ; are shoes (objects) real
than the walking (concept)?
2. What is the relationship between shoes (objects) and walking (concept)?
3. Are hardware real than software in computers: hardware (objects) than
software (concept)?
Material versus ideal ontology
1. Are materials, chemical processes (reality exists regardless of the observer)
more real than mind and consciousness (reality exists in the human mind)?

 Ontology
 Knowledge (about…the origin of humanity)
 Relationship between concepts and categories
… to know the nature of being …of things,
people, spaces…

Rationalism
logic - Reasoning to justify
claims and beliefs
Evidence gathered
What kind of not influenced by Empiricism
What is truth, researcher - Evidence from senses to
relationship
reality for the (objective justify claims and beliefs
researcher has
researcher evidence)
with the
(ontology)
research?
Evidence gathered
influenced by Relativism
researcher - - Truth is constructed by
interaction (subjective those involved; find out
evidence) by interacting with them

Ontology of a domain
 Is a system of knowledge classification
 It is the intrinsic conceptual knowledge structure
 Characterizing knowledge [as domains] - conceptualizing for meaning and

building a vocabulary / syntax (of meanings)

 Epistemology
 The discourse about knowing…
Listening
Thinking Talking
The
relationship
to
knowledge
Tasting Seeing
Hearing

How to relate Lets perceive
Is there? to knowledge
Seeing
Five senses + mind (cognition)

hearing
knowledge is acquired)
Logical discourse (how
Ontology
Epistemology
tasting
Actual
knowledge, and
its composition
smelling
touching

Thinking
Epistemology
Episteme = knowledge, understanding; logy = study
How we come to know what we know; the relationship the researcher has with the research
Knowledge about reality, truth Empiricism

Know that there are Come to know by
(quantitative;
objects objective evidence
positivism)
Come to know by Interpretivism and

Ontology
interpretation (qualitative)
Know that there are
stock and flow
Come to know by Constructionism
construction (qualitative)
Come to know by
Objects are influenced Critical theory (post
critiquing objectivity as
by stock and flow positivism)
a way of interpretation

Epistemology of a domain
 Is the way of sharing knowledge
 It is about the syntax (set of rules for structuring statements and analysis of
knowledge
It is about encoding to share knowledge; For example,

 Electronic- devices manufacturers can use a common vocabulary and
syntax to build catalogues that describe their products.
 Then, the manufacturers could share the catalogues and use them in
automated design systems. This kind of sharing vastly
 Increases the potential for knowledge reuse.

16
Learning goal
Philosophical bases as concepts

17 Learning goals
research
3. World view

Findings
Knowing of
attributions
Methods
Attributional data
collection and
interpretation
Methodology
Positivist, constructionist,
post-positivist
Theory
Attributional knowledge and
relationships
Axiology
What is relevant and not relevant
Epistemology
Encoding knowledge
Ontology – knowledge classification and attribute identification;

domain general and domain specific

Findings
Knowing of Knowing about attributes
attributions
Methods Objectivity established with archival data (bases);
Attributional data collection subjectivity established using interactions with data
and interpretation (providers); critique (data and data providers)
Methodology
Relationships among governance, duty, and strategy;
Positivist, constructionist, objective, subjective; critiqued
post-positivist
Theory
Stakeholder theory – stakeholders, fiduciary duty,
Attributional knowledge strategy
and relationships
Axiology Relevant dimensions and attributes -
Governance and independent directors,
What is relevant and not relevant strategy and resources
Epistemology Relating to knowledge- Organization: Profit
making, not profit making; sustainability -
Encoding knowledge governance, credibility, performance, vision,
Ontology – knowledge classification and attribute strategy,Domain
stakeholders
general knowledge–
identification; organization; domain specific
domain general and domain specific knowledge- sustainability
1. Please write a research question that you like to investigate
2. For each research question, identify and write in detail as to why you chose
the question.
3. Then, write as to how you would go about

Findings
What is now known?
Methods
What is the specific approach(es) to come to know? –
data gathering techniques
Problem or
Methodology
Question Theory
What are the debates about coming to know?
Axiology
Is it worth knowing?
Epistemology
The relationship to knowing of truth and reality and
the researcher
Ontology
What is truth, reality to the researcher?
 There are numerous philosophical methodologies that has arisen

 Knowledge is not neutral and is influenced by human interests. These
include person's worldview /world outlook (German word:
Weltanschauung) and implicit value assumptions
Methodology Explanation
Positivism A system where knowledge is verify with facts without
personal involvement
Social A system where knowledge is constructed through
constructivism interaction with others
Pragmatism A system where knowledge is evaluated for their practical
application
23
Learning goal
Philosophical bases as in research and

practice

24 Learning goals
research
3. World view

 Seven habits of highly effective people

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/07/24/the-only-thing-you-
need-to-remember-about-the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-
people/#7bcac2f767f7
State your agreement or disagreement

A way of thinking about the world

ontological
(set of beliefs, faith, and

Paradigm / world view
epistemological
evidence)
Axiological
methodological
Failure process and causes of company bankruptcy: a typology. H. Ooghe and S. De Prijcker
https://ideas.repec.org/p/rug/rugwps/06-388.html
Based on case studies and considering companies’ ages and management characteristics, we
discovered four types of failure processes.
I. The first failure process describes the deterioration of unsuccessful start-up companies leaded
by a management with a serious deficiency in managerial and industry- related experience.
II. The second process reveals the collapse after a failing growth of ambitious early- stage
companies. Those companies have, after a failed investment, insufficient financial means to
adjust their way of doing business to the changes in the environment in order to prevent
bankruptcy.
III. Third, we describe the failure process of dazzled established companies, leaded by an
overconfident management without a realistic view on the company’s financial situation.
IV. Lastly, the bankruptcy of apathetic companies, describes the gradual deterioration of an
apathetic established company where management had lost touch with the changing
environment. This typology gives new insight into the evolution of financial performance ratios
during the years preceding bankruptcy.
Furthermore, we found that there is a great difference in the presence and importance of specific
causes of bankruptcy between the distinctive failure processes. Errors made by management, errors
in corporate policy and changes in the gradual and immediate environments differ considerably
between each of the four failure processes.

Oliver Lukason 1& Richard C. Hoffman. 2014. Firm Bankruptcy Probability and Causes: An
Integrated Study. International Journal of Business and Management; Vol. 9, No. 11.
www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/download/38147/22718
 Causes of bankruptcy were obtained from court judgments for 70 Estonian manufacturing
firms and classified into two taxonomies–the number of causes and the different types of
causes of failure such as internal (different management deficiencies) or from factors
external to the firm. Bankruptcy scores for the first and second pre-bankruptcy years were
calculated using both Ohlson’s model and a local (Grünberg’s) bankruptcy prediction
model. Independent samples median tests were applied to examine, whether different
causes are associated with different failure risk.
 Findings indicate that multiple causes lead to a significantly higher bankruptcy risk than a
single cause for the year prior to the declaration of bankruptcy.
 On the contrary, no significant effect of different types of failure causes was found on the
risk of failure. Implications of the results for research and practice are discussed.

 Why are the findings of the two studies?
 What are the methodologies used ?
 What are the methods used?

30
Philosophical bases
 What are we finding? [company failure]
 It is about the experiencing of the phenomenon [experiencing /witnessing

‘second hand’, and experiencing /witnessing ‘first hand’]
 Different methodologies construct experiencing in different ways
 Experiencing /witnessing the phenomenon

 at a distance (not getting involved),
 getting involved,
 becoming practical (getting involved or not but being pragmatic about it)

What assumptions mean

Nature of reality
Ontology [is it knowable?
Making known using the

language
Epistemology What is knowledge
Rhetoric
and what is not?
Five
philosophical
assumptions
The system of approach Methodology Axiology

what is valued to know and
to investigation what is not valued to know?

What philosophical bases are contained in the following questions?
Why is there something rather

than nothing?
How do you explain human
nature?
What happens to a person at
death?
How do you determine what is
right and wrong?
How do you know that you
know?
What is the meaning of history?

What is world view? Weltanschauung?

 A world view is a set of assumptions which we hold (consciously or
subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world
 A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the

world and second, an application of this view to life.
 A worldview is a view of the world and a view for the world."

 Who is the witness?

 Who is witnessed?
 What is the witness by the witnesser?

 What is witnessed by the witness?

Witnesser
Witnessed Findings
Methods
The specific approach(es)
Methodology
[The debate about] the ‘science’ of how to approach
Problem or
Question Theory Epistemology
[The debate about] Is it worth knowing?
Ontology
[The debate about] What, where, when, whom, is to know?

Witnesser
Each witnesser depending on the
world view will see the problem or
question differently.
Findings
Witnessed
Methods
Methodology
Problem or [The debate about] the ‘science’ of how to approach
Theory Axiology
Question
Is it worth knowing
Epistemology
Ontology

Witnesser
The world view would determine
the implications on practice
Witnessed Findings
Practice
Methods
Methodology
Problem or
Theory [The debate about] the ‘science’ of how to approach
Question
Axiology
Is it worth knowing?
Epistemology
Ontology

 The world views / paradigms / way of opening up to the problems has given
rise to theories (generalised understandings - reasonings)
Theory Explanation
Postmodern Source of knowledge is in the root of the problem
theory(ies)
Queer theory Each sex comes with its own essential characteristics
Critical theory Critiquing and changing society as a whole
Critical race theory critical analysis of race and racism
Disabilities theory meaning, nature, and consequences of disability as a social
construct

 What is your philosophy?

 It is your world view
 It is the backdrop of all knowledge and thought
 Philosophy exposes the worldview to consciousness because it is often

‘hidden’ sub-conscious’
 But why and how is philosophy plays a role in research investigations?

About the DBA research
Explanation
1. What is your world view?
2. What is ontology of the
research?
2. What is the epistemology?
3. What is the methodology?
4. What is the research
method(s)? Does not have to
be technical here
5. How is that going to relate
to the world we live in?

Implications for practice • Researcher reports different perspectives as

themes develop in the findings
Ontology • Multiple realities

• Hesitant to critique the
participant
• Researchers acknowledge
• Carefully laid out biases that research is value laden
Epistemology and that biases are present.
(researcher, research design) Rhetorical
helps the reader to
Five • Researcher gets close to
determine the extent of philosophical
generalisations assumptions
participants and subjective
facts are collected
• Researcher works with particulars • Researchers collaborate and spend

time in field with participants, to
(details) before generalizations, become an “insider” and rely on
describe in detail the context of the Methodology Axiology quotes from participants as
study, and continually revise questions evidence.
from experiences in the field
• Longer stay with the participants
helps to deeply understand their
Professor Indra Abeysekera views
What are their characteristics
Characteristics: Reality is multiple as seen

through many different views
Ontology
Characteristics: uses participants Epistemology

language. Rhetorical
Five Characteristics: Researchers
philosophical
assumptions acknowledge that research is
value laden and that biases are
present
Characteristics: Researchers Characteristics: Researcher uses

acknowledge that research is value Axiology Methodology
inductive logic, studies in the
laden and that biases are present topic within its context

 Abeysekera, I. 2014, Why do firms disclose and not disclose structural

intangibles? Advances in Accounting, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 381-393.
https://ssrn.com/author=1410614

What characteristics are Explanation

found
Ontology
Epistemology
Axiology
Methodology
Rhetorical

Activity
Who are Monsanto and are they really evil? -
Truthloader
 Articulate the philosophical bases based on
the evidence presented in the video
implications for practice Explanation

Ontology
Epistemology
Axiology
Methodology
Rhetorical
Prof Indra Abeysekera

46
Learning goal
The worldview

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Ontology and

2. Philosophical bases in application

Professor Indra Abeysekera

2. Philosophical bases in application

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 Student Einstein triumphs atheist professor

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Truth is objectively found; once truth is

Philosophical versus non-philosophical aspects of ontology

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 It is the intrinsic conceptual knowledge structure

 Characterizing knowledge [as domains] - conceptualizing for meaning and

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Five senses + mind (cognition)

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Knowledge about reality, truth Empiricism

Come to know by Interpretivism and

Professor Indra Abeysekera

It is about encoding to share knowledge; For example,

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Philosophical bases as concepts

Professor Indra Abeysekera

2. Philosophical bases in application

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Ontology – knowledge classification and attribute identification;

Professor Indra Abeysekera

1. Please write a research question that you like to investigate

3. Then, write as to how you would go about

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 There are numerous philosophical methodologies that has arisen

Philosophical bases as in research and

Professor Indra Abeysekera

2. Philosophical bases in application

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 Seven habits of highly effective people

State your agreement or disagreement

Professor Indra Abeysekera

A way of thinking about the world

(set of beliefs, faith, and

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 Why are the findings of the two studies?

 What are the methodologies used ?

 What are the methods used?

Professor Indra Abeysekera

 What are we finding? [company failure]

 It is about the experiencing of the phenomenon [experiencing /witnessing

 Different methodologies construct experiencing in different ways

 Experiencing /witnessing the phenomenon

Professor Indra Abeysekera

What assumptions mean

Making known using the

The system of approach Methodology Axiology

Professor Indra Abeysekera

Why is there something rather

Professor Indra Abeysekera