Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
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Atomism (philosophy, logic): A) Atomism is the assumption that the facts can be represented by elementary sentences. Thus the question of the independence of facts is raised. See also Atomic sentences, Humean supervenience, Causality.
B) In relation to the world, the atomism of ancient philosophy assumes that there are smallest units, the atoms. These are sometimes thought of as having a particular shape._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
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P. Simons on Atomism - Dictionary of Arguments
I 44 VsAtomism/atomless mereology/Simons: here we need a basis instead: i.e. the objects that fall under the basic predicate. E.g. in the atom-free system, which consists of all regular subsets of real numbers, the open intervals with rational endpoints form a base. Several bases are possible. E.g. the open regular sets in the Euclidean plane can have open circular disks with rational centers and rational radii as base or e.g. open squares, etc. Practically every predicate is possible. This provides a simpler identity criterion and even works in atomism. Basis: e.g. cells are basis for organisms, e.g. functional parts form the basis of a machine. I 341 Monism/Simons: it is not a coincidence that he emphasizes interconnectedness and dependence more. This leads to the "Absolute", the "One True Substance". (>Substance/Hegel). Atomism: atomism stresses disconnectedness and independence and leads to a mere sum ("total") of small independent objects (>World/Leibniz, >World/Wittgenstein)._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Simons I P. Simons Parts. A Study in Ontology Oxford New York 1987 |