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Single Idea 12877

[from 'Parts' by Peter Simons, in 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / b. Sums of parts ]

Full Idea

Cross-categorial sums are not unknown in philosophy. A body and the events which befall it are intimately connected, and the mysterious four-dimensional blocks might be mereological sums of the body and its life.

Gist of Idea

Sums of things in different categories are found within philosophy.

Source

Peter Simons (Parts [1987], 8.1)

Book Reference

Simons,Peter: 'Parts: a Study in Ontology' [OUP 1987], p.291


A Reaction

Simons here ventures into the territory of abstracta, which he said he wouldn't touch. Presumably his first example has 'a biography' as its whole, which is not just a philosophical notion. Why will some categories sum, and others won't?