Sceptical Reflections About Ontology

Ontologies (and Metaphysics) are floating around since Plato and Aristotle. Although these things have often been declared as non-existent, or as outright nonsense and frauds, nevertheless, rigorous, cold-blooded and definite proofs for these unfriendly judgements seem still to be lacking. The adjective sceptical in the title of the present paper is, of course, a polite euphemism. For we can show: (1) If any theory at all is an ontology, then every theory, however modest or however bright, is also an ontology. (2) If any entity (concept, relation,...) at all is ontological or ontic, then every entity etc.,... is ontic or ontological. (3) On the other hand, the ontologists have claimed and are still claiming that there exist proper ontologies, and intrinsically ontic entities (relations, concepts,...). These ontologists are, unfortunately, right concerning this claim; for these proper ontologies and intrinsically ontic entities are nothing else than the wrong and nonsensical theories, and the purely surreptitious entities (like immaterial and spiritual substances, or mortal sins), properties, relations and events of the proper ontologists in question, respectively. The same holds true of the splendid titles metaphysics, metaphysician, and metaphysical. Therefore, almost all of Western Philosophy (in the proper sense) will (in the near future, viz. after the benevolent reception of the present paper) rush down into nothingness. Eastern Philosophy, including Her daughter Western Theology (i.e. the ontological theory about a certain deified despotic sultan who permitted his only son to be crucified, and Giordano Bruno to be burnt at the stake), will follow suit. From this, it already follows that there are no ontologies (or metaphysics)— provided, e.g., Euclidean geometry is no ontology (or no metaphyiscs). It even suffices to assume that the tiny theory {2 + 3 = 5} is no ontology (or no metaphysics). Again, the concept rat or the geometric relation of betweenness have nothing ontological or metaphysical in them. Therefore, ...