The Ontology of Inquiry: From Dialectical Doubt to Zero-Point Epistemology

This preprint proposes a philosophical model of inquiry titled Zero-Point Epistemology, based on selected dialogues in the Bhagavad Gita and in dialogue with deconstructive and non-dual approaches. Two operational definitions are introduced. Zero-Point Epistemology is proposed as a philosophical model in which inquiry progressively suspends inherited conceptual certainties until the distinction between the knower, the known, and the act of knowing is no longer treated as an unquestioned fixed structure. De-gurudom refers not to the rejection of teachers, but to the dissolution of personality-based epistemic dependence. The paper maintains a clear distinction between its proposed construct of Zero-Point (0) and the historical Madhyamaka concept of śūnyatā. Following Garfield 1995, śūnyatā is understood as the absence of svabhāva and as a caution against reifying emptiness itself. Zero-Point is not proposed as nothingness, nihilism, śūnyatā, metaphysical substance, primordial awareness, or empirical finding. It is proposed as the conceptual limit at which the question of who is knowing becomes inseparable from the inquiry itself, provisionally described as non-reifying witnessing. The study employs hermeneutic and phenomenological methods, focusing on Gita verses 2.7 and 18.63, where Krishna invites reflective autonomy - yathā icchasi tathā kuru. Original Contribution: Historical source: Arjuna-Krishna dialogue as dialogical pedagogy. Comparative dialogue: Nāgārjuna for conceptual deconstruction, J. Krishnamurti for critique of authority and conditioning. Original construct: Zero-Point Epistemology. Section 7.1 introduces an Epistemological Hypothesis: Where an institution defines questioning as sinful, disloyal, or illegitimate, epistemic autonomy may decline while personality-based dependence increases. This is presented as a narrow, defendable condition that may increase vulnerability to unquestioned authority, not as a singular causal explanation of India's historical subjugation. Theoretical Architecture:Suppressed Question → Reduced Epistemic Autonomy → Increased Authority Dependence → Personality-Based Gurudom → De-gurudom → Inquiry → Reflective Autonomy → Zero-Point Method: Interpretive, non-empirical.Claim type: Philosophical / conceptual.Status: Preprint V1.1 Keywords: Zero-Point Epistemology; Arjuna Dynamics; De-gurudom; Epistemic Autonomy; Śūnyatā; Svabhāva License: CC BY 4.0