Ontology Through a Mindfulness Process

Abstract

Traditionally, when ontology is taught in a graduate studies course on social research, there is a tendency for this concept to be examined through the process of lectures and readings. Such an approach often leaves graduate students to grapple with a personal embodiment of this concept and to comprehend how ontology can ground their research. This paper proposes a supplemental pedagogical method that employs a mindfulness process to move students from the definition of ontology and its theoretical perspective to a practical understanding of the concept and how it is a part of the research paradigm. Mindfulness strategies are used to explore ontology in an accessible and meaningful way. This mindfulness approach includes a contemplative “being” exercise, a personal reflective writing, and a collective dialogic sense-making.