Humpty seems to be pondering a relativist / constructivist ontology of language.
Selected text and imagery from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll (public domain).
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Beginning With the Words Themselves
Beginning With the Words Themselves
One of the ways I make sense of complex ideas is by examining the words used to describe them. Understanding a word’s origins — its morphology and etymology — often helps me grasp not only its definition, but the assumptions embedded within it. This week, as I was introduced to the foundational concepts of ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology, I found myself drawn first to the structure of the words themselves as an entry point into their meanings.
Ontology
Ontology
Ontology comes from the Greek ontos, meaning “being,” and -logia, meaning “study of.” Literally, it is the study of being. Approaching ontology from this linguistic perspective helped clarify why the questions in the picture exercise felt both broad and unsettling. Ontology is not asking what I know, but what is. In relation to my research interests, this raises questions about whether concepts like learning, knowledge, or professional growth are fixed entities or evolving states of being. The word itself suggests that ontology precedes evidence — it asks me to consider what I assume exists before I attempt to study it.
Epistemology
Epistemology
Epistemology combines epistēmē (knowledge) with logos (reasoned explanation or study). Framed this way, epistemology becomes the study of how we justify knowing. This linguistic breakdown helped me recognize why these questions felt more procedural than ontological ones. If ontology asks what is, epistemology asks how I am convinced it is so. In educational research, this highlights tensions between measurable evidence and experiential knowing. The morphology of the word reinforces that knowledge is not merely accumulated, but reasoned and defended.
Axiology
Axiology
Axiology derives from axios, meaning “worth” or “value.” This was perhaps the most revealing word for me. The presence of “value” at the root made explicit something that is often hidden in research: that our inquiries are never value-neutral. What we choose to study, whose voices we center, and which outcomes we prioritize are shaped by what we deem worthwhile. Seeing axiology as the study of value helped me recognize my own assumptions about why certain forms of learning and professional development matter more than others.
Methodology
Methodology
Methodology comes from methodos — a “way through” or “pursuit”— paired again with logos. Unlike the other terms, this word feels action-oriented. Its structure emphasizes movement and process rather than abstract classification. Understanding methodology as a “way through” knowledge reinforced that methods are not detached tools but chosen pathways shaped by ontological, epistemological, and axiological commitments.
What This Reveals About My Research Assumptions
What This Reveals About My Research Assumptions
Reflecting on these terms through their morphology echoes my approach to research as an interconnected system rather than a linear process. I am drawn to meanings embedded in language, and I view knowledge as constructed, layered, and shaped by context. My uncertainty during the picture exercise emerged not from the questions themselves, but from an awareness that the words framing them carry philosophical weight.
Beginning with etymology helped ground my thinking and provided a structure for navigating ambiguity. It also made visible that my research approach values interpretation, reflection, and intentional choice over certainty or final answers. In this way, my engagement with the words themselves becomes a mirror of my broader assumptions about learning and inquiry: that understanding emerges over time through careful attention to meaning.
References
Carroll, L. (2013). Alice’s adventures in Wonderland and through the Looking-Glass. Modern Library.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Fifth Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Hoad, T. F. (2003). The concise oxford dictionary of English etymology edited by T.F. Hoad. Oxford Univ. Press.
Online etymology dictionary. Etymonline. (n.d.). https://www.etymonline.com/
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