Single Idea 22744

[catalogued under 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / c. Wholes from parts]

Full Idea

If the whole is nothing more than the sum of the parts, the parts will not be parts.

Gist of Idea

Parts are not parts if their whole is nothing more than the parts

Source

Sextus Empiricus (Against the Physicists (two books) [c.180], I.343)

Book Reference

Sextus Empiricus: 'Against the Physicists/Against the Ethicists', ed/tr. Bury,R.G. [Harvard Loeb 1997], p.167


A Reaction

Nice. Bricks lying on the ground are not parts of a wall. For them to be parts of a wall there has to be a wall which is not just the bricks. Nihilists like Van Inwagen can deny the wall in ontology, but in thought we need walls. Conceptual dependence.