The Appreciative Ontology of the Human, Social, Natural and Cosmic Worlds

Appreciative Ontology refers to our understanding of human beings, the organizational world, and the natural and cosmic worlds, shaped through the development of theories that explain them. It is one facet of the Appreciative Paradigm, along with appreciative research (epistemology), transformation (praxis), values (axiology) and language. In this final article in the series, the author identifies the fundamental characteristics of the three components of Appreciative Ontology and argues that every appreciative inquiry and every human activity aimed at personal and social change is inspired by and grounded in an ontology.