The Implicit Ontology of Formalists
Paul Diesing · 2017
The implicit onotology of formalists is characterized by a sharp distinction between two aspects of reality, the empirical and the logical. In its logical aspect reality is orderly, systematic, and general, while in its empirical aspect it is haphazard and particular. This chapter discusses the connections between the implicit ontology of formalists and some explicit ontological positions in the history of philosophy. The formalist develops the idea of an ecosystem. This is a relatively closed system in which balanced internal exchanges of various components occur and in which exchange takes place through a neutral medium, critical variables regulate or maintain the whole system, departures from equilibrium are controlled by negative feedback, and irreversible changes produce a gradual ecological succession. Metaphysical issues that arise in a formalist ontology include the questions of how the empirical and the logical aspects of reality are related and how sharply they are to be distinguished.