
Contents
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1. Modal Classical Mereology 1. Modal Classical Mereology
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2. The Necessity of Identity 2. The Necessity of Identity
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3. How to Extend Modal Classical Mereology 3. How to Extend Modal Classical Mereology
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4. The Contingency of Existence 4. The Contingency of Existence
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5. Conclusion 5. Conclusion
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Appendix: A summary of the chapter in words of one syllable Appendix: A summary of the chapter in words of one syllable
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Cite
Abstract
Do mereological fusions have their parts necessarily? The axioms of non-modal formulations of classical mereology do not appear to address this question. Many philosophers who take the part–whole relation to be governed by classical mereology seem to assume that they do. And many who make allowance for the part–whole relation to obtain merely contingently between a part and a mereological fusion tend to depart from non-modal formulations of classical mereology at least when it comes to the axiom of Unique Fusion, which states that no two different mereological fusions ever fuse exactly the same objects. This is no coincidence. There are reasons why one’s adherence to classical mereology should exert some pull towards the view that mereological fusions have their parts necessarily. There is, however, no direct route from the combination of classical mereology and propositional modal logic to the hypothesis that the part–whole relation obtains necessarily between a part and a mereological fusion. To bridge between a modal formulation of classical mereology and the hypothesis that fusions have their parts necessarily, one must strengthen the axiom of Unrestricted Fusion in a way that is agreeable to both sides of the debate.
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