Some Rudimentary Problems Pertaining to the Construction of an Ontology and Epistemology of Shamanic Journeying Imagery
Adam J. Rock, Stanley Krippner
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2008 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2008.27.1.12 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key points | Argues that inductive and deductive reasoning, the private language argument, and reification each complicate the ontological and epistemological questions about shamanic journeying images, and proposes a method to preliminarily formulate an ontology and epistemology of such imagery. |
Abstract
Attempts to elucidate the kinds of "thing" or "things" to which the term shamanic journeying image is referentially linked must grapple with two related questions: what is the fundamental nature of shamanic journeying images, and how might the origin of a shamanic journeying image be found? The first question is ontological, concerned with the nature and essence of shamanic journeying images. In contrast, the second is epistemological and methodolgical, concerned with how to acquire knowledge of shamanic journeying images. We demonstrate how inductive and deductive reasoning, the private language argument, and reification render problematic the resolution of both. Finally, we present a method to preliminarily formulate an ontology and epistemology of shamanic journeying imagery.