Ontology is a branch of philosophy focused on the study of being. The same must be understood from the particularity of each being as to what “is” in general. Its beginnings were in philosophy itself, in classical Greece, even though the term was used much later. It is a kind of generic philosophy that seeks to produce knowledge or questions about existence at a basic level.
A good example of this circumstance is shown by Leibniz with the following question: “Why is there something instead of nothing?” Ontology seeks to provide answers in this sense, following a development that starts from circumstances we take for granted.
Plato made a distinction between the area of the intelligible and the observable by the senses
Both areas are part of reality , but the second, which is what we perceive through the senses, is a reflection of the first. Thus, there is a clear dependence of the perceptible in relation to the rational for this philosopher . This kind of dichotomy is easily observable in the “cave allegory.” In it, he describes men tied up who can only observe the shadows projected against a wall, which originate from a fire and the movements of other men. Ontology
With this example, we try to convey this relationship between the world of ideas and the perceptible.
Perhaps it may have been Aristotle who managed to develop this discipline to the point where its influence survived for many years.
He speaks of the existence of substances and matters to explain the universe and the particular. An object whichever is the union of matter with its accidents and substantially. Aristotle‘s observations were widely used in the Middle Ages, with the added bonus of adding faith to the equation. In this context, the discipline of ontology would be the creation of God, the first cause and end of all things.
The 20th century was a fruitful period for this discipline. In fact, the works of Husserl and Heidegger can be cited as the most significant in this regard. In general, it can be said that they tried to develop ontology based on human existence, derived from the most fundamental experiences of man. Heidegger, in particular, seeks to make a distinction between “being” and “being”. This kind of consideration led Sartre to claim that existence precedes essence.
