Atoms, combs, syllables and organisms

Alessandro Giordani*, Claudio Calosi

*Autore corrispondente per questo lavoro

Risultato della ricerca: Contributo in rivistaArticolo in rivistapeer review

Abstract

Mereological atomism is the thesis that everything is ultimately composed of atomic parts, i.e., parts without proper parts. Typically, this thesis is characterized by an axiom stating that everything has atomic parts. The present paper argues that the success of this standard characterization depends on how the notions of sum and composition are defined. In particular, we put forward a novel definition of mereological sum that: (i) is not equivalent to existing definitions in the literature, if no strong decomposition principle is assumed; (ii) can be used to argue that the standard characterization of atomism fails, because having atomic parts is not sufficient to be a sum of atoms; and (iii) provides a purely mereological distinction between structured and unstructured wholes, contributing to the ongoing debate on this crucial topic.
Lingua originaleEnglish
pagine (da-a)1995-2024
Numero di pagine30
RivistaPhilosophical Studies
Volume180
DOI
Stato di pubblicazionePubblicato - 2023

Keywords

  • atomism
  • composition
  • extensionality
  • matter

Fingerprint

Entra nei temi di ricerca di 'Atoms, combs, syllables and organisms'. Insieme formano una fingerprint unica.

Cita questo