Mapping the aliran of the academic discipline of entrepreneurship: A ...

• God is an uncreated substance;
• There is a dualism of two created substances that differ in essence, mind is
thinking, matter is extension;
• Volitions, passions, sensations, and ideas are the (only) properties, that is,
modifications of mind;
• Size, shape, and motion and rest are the (only) properties, that is modifications of
matter; and
• There is an all inclusive ontological type - distinction between substance and
property; substance is essentially independent; prope rties, that is, modifications, are
dependent upon substance [Watson, 1998, p51].
2.4.1..02 As per Watson’s categories, epistemology relates to the process of what is
considered (even to the sequent ial orders – first order, second order, etc.) knowledge. In
Cartesian epistemology, there is the pr imary necessity of ‘direct acquaintance’; however
this is specific to the context of this particular epistemology. On the ot her hand, ontology
conceptualizes the domains of reality in that the elements of taxonomy are defined and the
relationship between these elements is outlined. As can be seen by Watson’s de finition of
the five ontological principles there is less concern with establishing the process of what
constitutes knowledge but more concern with the conceptualisation of taxonomic domains
and what are the defining features of those domains.
2.4.1.03 Re-citing Perkins [2007, p120] “the primary epistemological task is not
construction, but analysis”, I would argue would seem plausible that ontology is therefore
about construction. Perkins does state (in an attempt to epistemologically differentiate
between Leibniz and Locke) that for Locke the “fundamental epistemological issue centers
on construction” [Perkins, 2007, p120]; however I believe that Perkins does face Gruber’s
stated problem in that ontology and epistemology are being confused and the construction
Perkins refers to relates to ontology, not epistemology. Epistemologically Locke and
Leibniz differ as an empiricist and a rationalist respectively. Construction is more of an
ontological issue; inasmuch as engineers separate the design process from the analysis
process, I use the same separation to suggest that ontology relates more to design and
epistemology to analysis. While this aspect of construction may not be so appa rent in
regards to the Cartesian mode l it should be noted that the Cartesian ontology is a simple
dualism with a high level of mutual exclusivity between ‘substances.’ In more complex
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