The two study areas you are referring to are epistemology and ontology.
- Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge, including how we acquire knowledge, what justifies beliefs, and what we can truly know.
- Ontology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of being, existence, and reality. It involves the study of what entities exist and their relationships.
In the context of soap making, epistemology would involve understanding the principles, techniques, and chemical reactions that produce soap, as well as the knowledge we have acquired about the materials and processes involved. Ontology would deal with the nature of soap itself, what constitutes soap as a substance, and the categories into which it falls (e.g., types of soap, properties, uses, etc.).
Thus, when you apply epistemology to the practice of making soap, you are using knowledge about its chemistry and processes to inform the ontological understanding of what soap is and how it functions in various contexts.