In 

metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such

as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these
entities exist on the most fundamental level. Ontologists often try to determine what the categories or
highest kinds are and how they form a system of categories that encompasses the classification of
all entities. Commonly proposed categories include substances, properties, relations, states of
affairs, and events. These categories are characterized by fundamental ontological concepts,
including particularity and universality, abstractness and concreteness, or possibility and necessity.
Of special interest is the concept of ontological dependence, which determines whether the entities
of a category exist on the most fundamental level. Disagreements within ontology are often about
whether entities belonging to a certain category exist and, if so, how they are related to other
entities.[1]
When used as a countable noun, the words ontology and ontologies refer not to the science of being
but to theories within the science of being. Ontological theories can be divided into various types
according to their theoretical commitments. Monocategorical ontologies hold that there is only one
basic category, but polycategorical ontologies rejected this view. Hierarchical ontologies assert that
some entities exist on a more fundamental level and that other entities depend on them. Flat
ontologies, on the other hand, deny such a privileged status to any entity.