Buitendag, Johan2011-06-212011-06-212011-06Buitendag, J., 2011, ‘”Epistemology models ontology”− In gesprek met John Polkinghorne’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 67(1), Art. #897, 9 pages. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v67i1.897 [http://www.hts.org.za]0259-942210.4102/hts.v67i1.897http://hdl.handle.net/2263/16906The famous premise of John Polkinghorne, ‘epistemology models ontology’, has been assessed in this article. It is interpreted that its logic is based on a linear trajectory of knowledge → being. Polkinghorne places much emphasis on the fact that he pursues a ‘bottom-up’ approach, that is, an inductive way of going about with reality. He opts for a ‘critical realist’ view of reality that leads him to interpret indeterminacy (Heisenberg) as a sign of actual ontological openness to the future and not primarily as an epistemological deficit. He applies subsequently the doctrine of the Trinity as a hermeneutical tool to understand reality. The author argues that Polkinghorne is inconsistent in this venture and that he should consider a multidimensional approach, where epistemology and ontology model each other mutually, that is, knowledge ↔ being. In order to acknowledge the stratification of reality and the pluriformity of epistemologies, it is suggested that a rather ‘constructive-realist’ approach would serve better the theology of Polkinghorne; this is a shift from epistemology to hermeneutics.Afrikaans© 2011. The Authors. Licensee: OpenJournals Publishing. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.EpistemologyPolkinghorne, J.C. (John Charlton), 1930- -- Criticism and interpretationOntologyKnowledge, Theory ofRealityArticle