Abstract
The paper is devoted to the analysis of two seminal definitions of points within the region-based framework: one by Whitehead (1929) and the other by Grzegorczyk (Synthese, 12(2-3), 228-235 1960). Relying on the work of Biacino & Gerla (Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, 37(3), 431-439 1996), we improve their results, solve some open problems concerning the mutual relationship between Whitehead and Grzegorczyk points, and put forward open problems for future investigation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bennett, B., & Düntsch, I. (2007). Axioms, algebras and topology. In M. Aiello, I. Pratt-Hartmann, & J. Van Benthem (Eds.), Handbook of Spatial Logics, chapter 3 (pp. 99–159). Springer.
Biacino, L., & Gerla, G. (1996). Connection structures: Grzegorczyk’s and Whitehead’s definitions of point. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, 37(3), 431–439.
Bostock, D. (2009). Whitehead and Russell on Points. Philosophia Mathematica, 18(1), 1–52.
Davis, S. W. (1978). Spaces with linearly ordered local bases. Topology Proceedings, 3, 37–51.
de Laguna, T. (1922). Point, line, and surface, as sets of solids. The Journal of Philosophy, 19(17), 449–461.
Del Piero, G. (2003). A class of fit regions and a universe of shapes for continuum mechanics. Journal of Elasticity, 70, 175–195.
Del Piero, G. (2007). A new class of fit regions. Note di Matematica, 27(2), 55–67.
Düntsch, I., Wang, H., & McCloskey, S. (2001). A relation-algebraic approach to the region connection calculus. Theoretical Computer Science, 255(1), 63–83.
Düntsch, I., & Winter, M. (2004). Construction of Boolean contact algebras. AI Communications, 13, 246.
Düntsch, I., & Winter, M. (2006). Weak contact structures. In W. MacCaull, M. Winter, & I. Düntsch (eds.), Relational Methods in Computer Science, (p 73–82), Berlin, Heidelberg. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Düntsch, I., & Winter, M. (2005). A representation theorem for Boolean contact algebras. Theoretical Computer Science, 347(3), 498–512.
Gerla, G. (2020). Point-free continuum. In G. Hellman & S. Shapiro (Eds.), The History of Continua: Philosophical and Mathematical Perspectives (pp. 427–475). Oxford University Press.
Gruszczyński, R. (2016). Niestandardowe teorie przestrzeni. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika.
Gruszczyński, R., & Menchón, P. (2022). From contact relations to modal operators, and back. to appear in Studia Logica.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2009). Space, points and mereology. On foundations of point-free euclidean geometry. Logic and Logical Philosophy, 18(2), 145–188.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2016). Grzegorczyk’s system of point-free topology. unpublished notes.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2018). A comparison of two systems of point-free topology. Bulletin of the Section of Logic, 47(3), 187–200.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2018). A study in Grzegorczyk point-free topology. Part I: Separation and Grzegorczyk structures. Studia Logica, 106, 1197–1238.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2019). A study in Grzegorczyk point-free topology. Part II: Spaces of points. Studia Logica, 107, 809–843.
Gruszczyński, R., & Pietruszczak, A. (2021). Grzegorczyk points and filters in Boolean contact algebras. The Review of Symbolic Logic, (p 1–20).
Grzegorczyk, A. (1960). Axiomatizability of geometry without points. Synthese, 12(2–3), 228–235.
Hart, K.P. (2023). A problem of non-emptiness of intersections of certain chains of regular open sets. MathOverflow. https://mathoverflow.net/q/349728 (version: 2023-01-10).
Lando, T., & Scott, D. (2019). A calculus of regions respecting both measure and topology. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 48(5), 825–850.
Roeper, P. (1997). Region-based topology. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 26(3), 251–309.
Shchepin, E. V. (1972). Real functions and near-normal spaces. Siberian Mathematical Journal, 13, 820–830.
Stell, J. G. (2000). Boolean Connection Algebras: A New Approach to the Region-Connection Calculus. Artificial Intelligence, 122(1–2), 111–136.
Varzi, A. C. (2020). Points as higher-order constructs. In G. Hellman & S. Shapiro (Eds.), The History of Continua: Philosophical and Mathematical Perspectives (pp. 347–378). Oxford University Press.
Whitehead, A. N. (1920). The Concept of Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Whitehead, A. N. (1929). Process and Reality. New York: MacMillan.
Acknowledgements
Rafał Gruszczyński’s work on this paper was funded by the National Science Center (Poland), grant number 2020/39/B/HS1/00216, “Logico-philosophical foundations of geometry and topology”. Santiago Jockwich Martinez would like to thank Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń for supporting him through the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” program. Both authors want to thank the anonymous referee whose remarks helped them eliminate errors and improve the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Gruszczyński, R., Martinez, S.J. Grzegorczyk and Whitehead Points: The Story Continues. J Philos Logic (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10992-024-09747-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10992-024-09747-6
Keywords
- Boolean contact algebras
- Region-based theories of space
- Point-free theories of space
- Points
- Spatial reasoning
- Grzegorczyk
- Whitehead