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Single Idea 15846

[catalogued under 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 5. Composition of an Object]

Full Idea

At the heart of the 'Parmenides' puzzles about composition is the thesis that composition is identity. Considered thus, a whole adds nothing to an ontology that already includes its parts

Gist of Idea

In Parmenides, if composition is identity, a whole is nothing more than its parts

Source

report of Plato (Parmenides [c.364 BCE]) by Verity Harte - Plato on Parts and Wholes 2.5

Book Reference

Harte,Verity: 'Plato on Parts and Wholes' [OUP 2002], p.105


A Reaction

There has to be more to a unified identity that mere proximity of the parts. When do parts come together, and when do they actually 'compose' something?