ABSTRACT The article explores the ontological premises of philosophizing. The author proves that these bases are key in the formation of a specific type of ontological reflection. The dominance of ontological reflection in the history of western philosophical tradition allowed many private sciences to take shape inside philosophy. The author shows that private sciences, separating from philosophy, alienate ontological reflection from it, which is the cause of the crisis state of modern philosophy and the exacerbation of problems of a metaphilosophical nature. The author formulates original concepts of ontological and deontic reflection, based on the ideas of Parmenides and Socrates.