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Single Idea 15838

[filed under theme 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / b. Sums of parts ]

Full Idea

For my money, the real problem with the term 'sum' is that it is singular.

Gist of Idea

The problem with the term 'sum' is that it is singular

Source

Verity Harte (Plato on Parts and Wholes [2002], 1.1)

Book Ref

Harte,Verity: 'Plato on Parts and Wholes' [OUP 2002], p.11

A Reaction

Her point is that the surface grammar makes you accept a unity here, with no account of what unifies it, or even whether there is a unity. Does classical mereology have a concept (as the rest of us do) of 'disunity'?

The 7 ideas from 'Plato on Parts and Wholes'

15838 The problem with the term 'sum' is that it is singular [Harte,V]
15837 What exactly is a 'sum', and what exactly is 'composition'? [Harte,V]
15839 If something is 'more than' the sum of its parts, is the extra thing another part, or not? [Harte,V]
15841 Mereology began as a nominalist revolt against the commitments of set theory [Harte,V]
15842 An ad hominem refutation is reasonable, if it uses the opponent's assumptions [Harte,V]
15848 Mereology treats constitution as a criterion of identity, as shown in the axiom of extensionality [Harte,V]
15858 Traditionally, the four elements are just what persists through change [Harte,V]