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

of the epistemology followed, e.g. whether it tends towards the objectivist or the
subjectivist, if this is the particular epistemological dialectic used.
2.4.2.02 Bonjour’s [1998] idea of epistemic justification has been outlined in section
2.1.1.08. How can this epistemic justification be shown in my model? In order to better
depict the relationship between ontology and epistemology I have treated the discipline in
Model A in Graphic 2a to be a sphere. Rotating this sphere 90 degrees on a vertical axis
makes it possible to visualize the aspects of ontology (assuming the domains have been
constructed), and epistemic justification.
2.4.2.03 In model H, shown in Graphic 2g, there are four examples of epistemic
justifications; number ‘1’ is an objective epistemic justification of an ontological domain,
numbers ‘2’ and ‘3’ are respectively subjective and objective justifications of the same
domain, while ‘4’ is a less subjective justification bridging two ontological domains.
2.4.2.04 In Model H in Graphic 2g, the subjective / objective epistemological axis may
be considered to be one of many possible axes. As per O’Brien [2006] here are numerous
ways of look ing at the ‘hows’ of epistemic justification: externalism-internalism,
contextualisation, empirical-rational (a priori-a posteori distinctions), foundationalism,
coherentism, scepticism, and so forth. Some of these are ‘source’ [O’Brien, 2006] based
for example on a priori - a posteori distinctions, others are based upon relationships
between ideas. It is feasible that the particular process of epistemic justification used may
have a conjunct influe nce on the ontology. O’Brien’s work shows the wide diversity of
what are acceptable standards in the process of determining what is knowledge. Some
standards are obviously dialectic, others are developed in dialectic opposition to an
existing idea. Which dialectic is inserted as the axis is dependent upon the epistemology
selected for the justification and this, feasibly, has an influence on the ontological
construction.
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