Summer School: Mereology and Beyond

Monday 15

Welcome

Introduction and overview
Besides introducing the topic and previewing what lies ahead, this session lays out the necessary background: classical mereology.

Apero at TBD

Alternatives I: Restricted composition 

In this session we begin examining some alternatives to classical mereology that have been proposed over the years. We shall initially focus on theories that reject the principle of unrestricted composition, according to which any plurality of things whatsoever, no matter how disparate or dissimilar, composes something.

Coffee break

Alternatives II: Anti-extensionalism

Our second case study focuses on theories that challenge the extensional character of classical mereology, i.e., the view that no two objects can be mereologically indiscernible.

Lunch at TBD

Alternatives III: Non-wellfoundedness

Classical mereology is well-founded: it has no room for proper‑parthood loops. This third and final case study examines the development of part-whole theories that challenge that assumption—so‑called non-wellfounded mereologies.

Kate Lohnes Does Plenitude entail Universalism? 

Fernando Hurtado-Chaurand The Internal Question in Mereology: a Segmentational Approach

Strengthenings I: Atomism

Is everything ultimately composed of atoms—parts with no proper parts of their own—or is everything made up of atomless “gunk” that divides forever into smaller and smaller parts? Classical mereology is compatible with both options. In this section, we begin by considering the first—atomistic mereology.

Coffee break

Strengthenings II: Gunkiness

This section focuses on the second option, examining the philosophical motivations and main formal consequences of anti-atomism. We also consider some intermediate or hybrid views, according to which there are atomistic as well as gunky objects.

Lunch at TBD

Strengthenings III: Co-atomism and junkiness

Atomism and gunkiness concern mereological decomposition. There are parallel views regarding composition: Are there any co-atoms—things that are not proper parts of anything—or is everything part of co-atomless junk that extends indefinitely into larger and larger wholes? This session focuses on these questions. 

Apero at TBD

Extension I: Topology

The last two days are devoted to examining two important extensions of mereology (classical or non-classical). We begin with mereotopology, the result of integrating the mereological treatment of parthood with a topological account of wholeness. Does this require new primitives?

Coffee Break

Extension I: Topology (cont’d)

We continue with mereotopology, exploring its axiomatic formulations and principal applications.

Lunch at TBD

Extension I: Topology (cont’d)

We conclude our treatment of mereotopology with a concrete case study: the formal analysis of contact relations (and of various puzzles surrounding the very notion of contact).

Pietro Berardi Gili, Giovanni Codognato Embodiments Without Forms

Javah Xie, Pauliina Rumm The Form of the Mental

Extension II: Location

The second extension concerns the interaction between mereological relations and relations of spatio-temporal location. We begin by examining different ways of understanding location, and different views about how the mereological structure of located entities relates to the structure of their locations.   

Coffee Break

Extension II: Location (cont’d)

This final session explores several axiomatic mereolocative theories and considers how they extend to the richer framework of mereotopology.

Closing reception on USI Campus

Wrap-up