Parts: A Study in Ontology [Paperback]

Peter Simons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2000

Although the relationship of part to whole is one of the most fundamental there is, this is the first full-length study of this key concept. Showing that mereology, or the formal theory of part and whole, is essential to ontology, Simons surveys and critiques previous theories--especially the standard extensional view--and proposes a new account that encompasses both temporal and modal considerations. Simons's revised theory not only allows him to offer fresh solutions to long-standing problems, but also has far-reaching consequences for our understanding of a host of classical philosophical concepts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A clear and careful work both in metaphysics and in the history and logic of mereology....Simons's care and precision and his sensitivity to fine distinctions are what make the book a success."--The Philosophical Review

About the Author

Peter Simons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Leeds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199241465
• ISBN-13: 978-0199241460
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discover mereology: the mathematics of the future, November 11, 2002

By 

galloamericanus "galloamericanus" (Podunk, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parts: A Study in Ontology (Paperback)

Mereology is a theory of the relation of part to whole, one that deviates gently from Boolean algebra and set theory. This is the best book on mereology in existence.

Mereology is Boolean algebra with 1 but no 0, set theory with a universal set but no null set, a semilattice closed under meet but not join. Mereology also has interesting affinities to topology. The mathematical implications of all this have yet to be explored.

Mereology was developed in Poland between the wars. It is also central to Nelson Goodman's (1906-98) "Structure of Appearance."
Woodger at Oxford and Tarski at Berkeley were sympathetic to mereology. David Bostock's brilliant 1970s work on the foundations of numbers has an important mereological component.
The late David Lewis wrote a wonderful book, "Parts of Classes" (1991) in which he derived Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory from a handful of very primitive mereological concepts. Mereology will be part of the mathematics of the future, and "Parts" is an excellent place to begin this journey.

Simons is critical of what he calls "classical extensional mereology" (CEM), but the first 100 pages of his book are by far and away the best survey of CEM ever done. To understand Simons's reservations about CEM, you need to understand some nonclassical logics: free, modal, temporal.

If this book has a flaw, it is that it is more in the nature of a giant survey article than a monograph presenting a coherent body of new knowledge. At the very end of the book, however, the author does commit to an elegant and simple mathematical system. Also, the author claims only to be interested in mereology as a theory of material objects situated in time, disdaining mereology as theory of abstract objects. This would appear to rule out mereology as an alternative foundation for mathematics. Nevertheless, I confidently predict that the mental toolbox Simons has created will eventually be applied, very profitably, to abstractions, including foundational mathematics.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for students of mereology, March 3, 2010

By 

J. R. T. Grey - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parts: A Study in Ontology (Paperback)

I don't have much to add that the other reviewer hasn't already said, but I want to make a couple of points about this text.

First is that it is still the best survey of mereology to date. There have been some solid additions to the field that are more recent, but most of them spend more time arguing for a particular philosophical or ontological conclusion than discussing mereological theories and their relationships.

The second point is that this text is too often read solely as a survey of theories of mereology. While the early sections of the book do focus on the formal consequences of different systems, most of the latter part of the book is dedicated to ontological/philosophical questions. I would wager to say that if you are interested in the philosophical problems surrounding persistence or composition, you will find the author's discussion of these problems useful.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discover mereology: the mathematics of the future, November 11, 2002

By 

galloamericanus "galloamericanus" (Podunk, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parts: A Study in Ontology (Paperback)

Mereology is a theory of the relation of part to whole, one that deviates gently from Boolean algebra and set theory. This is the best book on mereology in existence.

Mereology is Boolean algebra with 1 but no 0, set theory with a universal set but no null set, a semilattice closed under meet but not join. Mereology also has interesting affinities to topology. The mathematical implications of all this have yet to be explored.

Mereology was developed in Poland between the wars. It is also central to Nelson Goodman's (1906-98) "Structure of Appearance."
Woodger at Oxford and Tarski at Berkeley were sympathetic to mereology. David Bostock's brilliant 1970s work on the foundations of numbers has an important mereological component.
The late David Lewis wrote a wonderful book, "Parts of Classes" (1991) in which he derived Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory from a handful of very primitive mereological concepts. Mereology will be part of the mathematics of the future, and "Parts" is an excellent place to begin this journey.

Simons is critical of what he calls "classical extensional mereology" (CEM), but the first 100 pages of his book are by far and away the best survey of CEM ever done. To understand Simons's reservations about CEM, you need to understand some nonclassical logics: free, modal, temporal.

If this book has a flaw, it is that it is more in the nature of a giant survey article than a monograph presenting a coherent body of new knowledge. At the very end of the book, however, the author does commit to an elegant and simple mathematical system. Also, the author claims only to be interested in mereology as a theory of material objects situated in time, disdaining mereology as theory of abstract objects. This would appear to rule out mereology as an alternative foundation for mathematics. I confidently predict that the mental toolbox Simons has created will eventually be applied, very profitably, to abstractions.