Ontological security
Encyclopedia
Ontological security is a stable mental state derived from a sense of continuity in regard to the events in one's life. Giddens
Anthony Giddens
Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens is a British sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29...

 (1991) refers to ontological security as a sense of order and continuity in regard to an individual’s experiences. He argues that this is reliant on people’s ability to give meaning to their lives. Meaning is found in experiencing positive and stable emotions, and by avoiding chaos and anxiety (ibid; Elias, 1985). If an event occurs that is not consistent with the meaning of an individual's life, this will threaten that individual's ontological
security. Ontological security also involves having a positive view of self
Self (psychology)
The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology derived from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me, the...

, the world and the future.

Ontological Security Threatened by Death

Philip A. Mellor talks about this concept in regard to thanatology
Thanatology
Thanatology is the scientific study of death. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the post-mortem period, as well as wider social aspects related to death. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study offered as a course of...

, arguing that when death strikes, it causes people to “question the meaningfulness and reality of the social frameworks in which they participate, shattering their ontological security” (1993, p13).

Ontological Security Associated With Home Ownership

"It has been said that people need the confidence, continuity and trust in the world which comprise ontological security in order to lead happy and fulfilled lives, and furthermore that ontological security can be attained more through owner occupied than rented housing.".

Ontological Security of Children

Children are more likely to have a positive ontological security when the child's parents own their own home. Reportedly, home ownership also improves parenting and allows for a future transfer of assets, thus facilitating ontological security.

Ontological Security in Adult Learners

"Adult educators also must secure the learners’ ontological security against existential anxieties by associating learners’ network and groups based on trust".

See also

  • Depersonalization
    Depersonalization
    Depersonalization is an anomaly of the mechanism by which an individual has self-awareness. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Sufferers feel they have changed, and the world has become less real, vague, dreamlike, or lacking in significance...

  • Personal identity (philosophy)
  • Maslow's hierarchy of needs
    Maslow's hierarchy of needs
    Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity...

  • Thanatology
    Thanatology
    Thanatology is the scientific study of death. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the post-mortem period, as well as wider social aspects related to death. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study offered as a course of...

  • Anthony Giddens
    Anthony Giddens
    Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens is a British sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29...


External links

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