The ontological parsimony of mereology
Philosophical Studies 172 (12):3253-3271 (2015)
| Authors |
|
| Abstract |
Lewis famously argued that mereology is ontologically innocent. Many who have considered this claim believe he was mistaken. Mereology is not innocent, because its acceptance entails the acceptance of sums, new objects that were not previously part of one’s ontology. This argument, the argument from ontological parsimony, has two versions: a qualitative and a quantitative one. I argue that the defender of mereology can neutralize both arguments by holding that, given mereology, a commitment to the parts of an object is not an extra ontological commitment, made in addition to the commitment to the object; and that if the parts of an object are ‘ontologically innocent’, then sums cannot fail to be innocent either
|
| Keywords | Mereology Parthood Composition Ontological commitment Ontological innocence |
| Categories | (categorize this paper) |
| ISBN(s) | |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11098-015-0468-3 |
| Options |
Edit this record
Mark as duplicate
Export citation
Request removal from index
|
Download options
Our Archive
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy Papers currently archived: 47,299
External links
- From the Publisher via CrossRef (no proxy)
- dx.doi.org (no proxy)
- link.springer.com (no proxy)
- lup.lub.lu.se
(no proxy) - lup.lub.lu.se [2] (no proxy)
- lup.lub.lu.se [3] (no proxy)
- portal.research.lu.se (no proxy)
- lup.lub.lu.se [4] (no proxy)
- portal.research.lu.se [2] (no proxy)
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server
Configure custom proxy (use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy)
Through your library
- Sign in / register and customize your OpenURL resolver..
- Configure custom resolver
References found in this work BETA
The Four-Category Ontology: A Metaphysical Foundation for Natural Science.E. J. Lowe - 2005 - Clarendon Press.
View all 54 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Mereological Nihilism and Theoretical Unification.Andrew Brenner - 2015 - Analytic Philosophy 56 (4):318-337.
Similar books and articles
Ontological Innocence.Katherine Hawley - 2014 - In A. J. Cotnoir & Donald L. M. Baxter (eds.), Composition as Identity. Oxford University Press. pp. 70-89.
On the Ontological Commitment of Mereology.Massimiliano Carrara & Enrico Martino - 2009 - Review of Symbolic Logic 2 (1):164-174.
Grounding Megethology on Plural Reference.Massimiliano Carrara & Enrico Martino - 2015 - Studia Logica 103 (4):697-711.
Two Kinds of Ontological Commitment.Howard Peacock - 2011 - Philosophical Quarterly 61 (242):79-104.
A General Concept of Being a Part of a Whole.Andrzej Pietruszczak - 2014 - Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 55 (3):359-381.
Formal Theories of Parthood.Achille C. Varzi - 2014 - In Claudio Calosi & Pierluigi Graziani (eds.), Mereology and the Sciences: Parts and Wholes in the Contemporary Scientific Context. Springer Verlag. pp. 359–370.
Le strutture dell'ordinario.Achille C. Varzi - 1999 - In Luigi Lombardi Vallauri (ed.), Logos dell’essere, logos della norma. Editrice Adriatica. pp. 489–530.
Non-Wellfounded Mereology.Aaron J. Cotnoir & Andrew Bacon - 2012 - Review of Symbolic Logic 5 (2):187-204.
Notes on the Mereology of Classes.Joshua Phillip Finkler - 2000 - Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Analytics
Added to PP index
2015-03-10
Total views
115 ( #74,831 of 2,290,747 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
8 ( #119,771 of 2,290,747 )
2015-03-10
Total views
115 ( #74,831 of 2,290,747 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
8 ( #119,771 of 2,290,747 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads
