Ontological analysis applies to constructed entities like the self
Evidence
- By “ontological” here I do not mean a pregiven, independent order of existence, since such an order cannot exist without a particular form of knowledge that makes it what it is. The self, for instance (modern or premodern), is a particular formation that may lend itself to an analysis of quiddity, although it is a constructed entity. Which is also to say that the “ontological” is not a stable or fixed “natural” quality, incapable of mutation. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 712
Categorization
- DEFINE: Clarifies Hallaq’s distinctive use of ‘ontological’ against the standard pregiven-order meaning — worth keeping for future citations of his method.
- XREF: connects to: Ontology describes the conditions under which a world and human reality exist; the MOC “The Forge and the Other: How Power, Discourse, and Encounter Cast the Self”