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Single Idea 2315

[from 'Mind in a Physical World' by Jaegwon Kim, in 7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 5. Supervenience / b. Types of supervenience ]

Full Idea

Mereological supervenience is the doctrine that wholes are fixed by the properties and relations that characterise their parts.

Gist of Idea

Mereological supervenience says wholes are fixed by parts

Source

Jaegwon Kim (Mind in a Physical World [1998], §1 p.018)

Book Reference

Kim,Jaegwon: 'Mind in the Physical World' [MIT 2000], p.18


A Reaction

Presumably this would be the opposite of 'holism'. Personally I would take mereological supervenience to be not merely correct, but to be metaphysically necessary. Don't ask me to prove it, of course.