Parts: A Study in Ontology (Paperback)

~ Peter Simons (Author)

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

Product Description

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.

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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 (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #443,624 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 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

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 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discover mereology: the mathematics of the future, November 12, 2002

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

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.