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The words ontology and epistemology seem like confusing and broad terms, however, an individual makes ontological assumptions and takes epistemological stances throughout their entire life, usually without realizing such. Ontology is "the study of being. It is concerned with 'what is ', with the nature of existence, with the structure of reality as such" (Crotty 1998). Our assumptions about the nature of being, create our epistemology which is defined as "the theory of knowledge embedded in the theoretical perspective and thereby in the methodology" (Crotty 1998). I personally employ the ontological assumption of relativism. This ontological assumption forms my epistemological stance of constructionism. My ontology and epistemology have …show more content…
Constructionism is defined as "meaning is not discovered but constructed. Meaning does not inhere in the object, merely waiting for someone to come upon it" (Crotty 1998). By this constructionism claims that the structures in which we engage with in the world create our meanings. Objects do not have a prescribed meaning within them, it is the human being who attributes their individualistic meaning of the source. So, while relativism claims that there is no set meaning for objects, constructionism compliments this assumption by arguing that there are no set meanings for entities because it is the individual who dictates their own meaning to structural elements of our world. A simple example of this is that I as someone who was trained in ballet for fifteen years see 's ballet as an art that takes great strength, endurance, and focus. Whereas someone who never took ballet may see it as a frivolous and easy past time for young girls. As Crotty states when speaking of the main aspects of constructionism, "Consciousness is directed towards the object; the object is shaped by the consciousness" (1998). This is to say that how we engage with the world shapes our meaning and understanding of the world. It is my opinion that we are born as blank slates and our meanings, understandings, and assumptions come from how we interact with one another and all …show more content…
Before beginning my undergraduate degree I did not think of how someone 's meaning of the world and that within it may be different than mine. I have taken many courses on women, gender, sex and race which have broadened my knowledge on how these aspects affect individual 's perspectives, experiences and meanings in vast ways. I would say that before my undergraduate degree I viewed the world from a realist ontological perspective. I did not recognize that connection between individuals and the structures around them instead, I regarded them as independent entities. Therefore, my epistemological stance would have been closest to objectivism before I began my post-secondary education. I believed that meanings were external to the individual and that there was one universal reality that everyone experienced the
The words ontology and epistemology seem like confusing and broad terms, however, an individual makes ontological assumptions and takes epistemological stances throughout their entire life, usually without realizing such. Ontology is "the study of being. It is concerned with 'what is ', with the nature of existence, with the structure of reality as such" (Crotty 1998). Our assumptions about the nature of being, create our epistemology which is defined as "the theory of knowledge embedded in the theoretical perspective and thereby in the methodology" (Crotty 1998). I personally employ the ontological assumption of relativism. This ontological assumption forms my epistemological stance of constructionism. My ontology and epistemology have …show more content…
Constructionism is defined as "meaning is not discovered but constructed. Meaning does not inhere in the object, merely waiting for someone to come upon it" (Crotty 1998). By this constructionism claims that the structures in which we engage with in the world create our meanings. Objects do not have a prescribed meaning within them, it is the human being who attributes their individualistic meaning of the source. So, while relativism claims that there is no set meaning for objects, constructionism compliments this assumption by arguing that there are no set meanings for entities because it is the individual who dictates their own meaning to structural elements of our world. A simple example of this is that I as someone who was trained in ballet for fifteen years see 's ballet as an art that takes great strength, endurance, and focus. Whereas someone who never took ballet may see it as a frivolous and easy past time for young girls. As Crotty states when speaking of the main aspects of constructionism, "Consciousness is directed towards the object; the object is shaped by the consciousness" (1998). This is to say that how we engage with the world shapes our meaning and understanding of the world. It is my opinion that we are born as blank slates and our meanings, understandings, and assumptions come from how we interact with one another and all …show more content…
Before beginning my undergraduate degree I did not think of how someone 's meaning of the world and that within it may be different than mine. I have taken many courses on women, gender, sex and race which have broadened my knowledge on how these aspects affect individual 's perspectives, experiences and meanings in vast ways. I would say that before my undergraduate degree I viewed the world from a realist ontological perspective. I did not recognize that connection between individuals and the structures around them instead, I regarded them as independent entities. Therefore, my epistemological stance would have been closest to objectivism before I began my post-secondary education. I believed that meanings were external to the individual and that there was one universal reality that everyone experienced the