Mereology and the Sciences

Parts and Wholes in the Contemporary Scientific Context

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Mathematics, Logic, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Epistemology
Cover of the book Mereology and the Sciences by , Springer International Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9783319053561
Publisher: Springer International Publishing Publication: June 2, 2014
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9783319053561
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Publication: June 2, 2014
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

This volume is the first systematic and thorough attempt to investigate the relation and the possible applications of mereology to contemporary science. It gathers contributions from leading scholars in the field and covers a wide range of scientific theories and practices such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, computer science and engineering. Throughout the volume, a variety of foundational issues are investigated both from the formal and the empirical point of view.

The first section looks at the topic as it applies to physics. The section addresses questions of persistence and composition within quantum and relativistic physics and concludes by scrutinizing the possibility to capture continuity of motion as described by our best physical theories within gunky space times.

The second part tackles mathematics and shows how to provide a foundation for point-free geometry of space switching to fuzzy-logic. The relation between mereological sums and set-theoretic suprema is investigated and issues about different mereological perspectives such as classical and natural Mereology are thoroughly discussed.

The third section in the volume looks at natural science. Several questions from biology, medicine and chemistry are investigated. From the perspective of biology, there is an attempt to provide axioms for inferring statements about part hood between two biological entities from statements about their spatial relation. From the perspective of chemistry, it is argued that classical mereological frameworks are not adequate to capture the practices of chemistry in that they consider neither temporal nor modal parameters.

The final part introduces computer science and engineering. A new formal mereological framework in which an indeterminate relation of part hood is taken as a primitive notion is constructed and then applied to a wide variety of disciplines from robotics to knowledge engineering. A formal framework for discrete mereotopology and its applications is developed and finally, the importance of mereology for the relatively new science of domain engineering is also discussed.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This volume is the first systematic and thorough attempt to investigate the relation and the possible applications of mereology to contemporary science. It gathers contributions from leading scholars in the field and covers a wide range of scientific theories and practices such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, computer science and engineering. Throughout the volume, a variety of foundational issues are investigated both from the formal and the empirical point of view.

The first section looks at the topic as it applies to physics. The section addresses questions of persistence and composition within quantum and relativistic physics and concludes by scrutinizing the possibility to capture continuity of motion as described by our best physical theories within gunky space times.

The second part tackles mathematics and shows how to provide a foundation for point-free geometry of space switching to fuzzy-logic. The relation between mereological sums and set-theoretic suprema is investigated and issues about different mereological perspectives such as classical and natural Mereology are thoroughly discussed.

The third section in the volume looks at natural science. Several questions from biology, medicine and chemistry are investigated. From the perspective of biology, there is an attempt to provide axioms for inferring statements about part hood between two biological entities from statements about their spatial relation. From the perspective of chemistry, it is argued that classical mereological frameworks are not adequate to capture the practices of chemistry in that they consider neither temporal nor modal parameters.

The final part introduces computer science and engineering. A new formal mereological framework in which an indeterminate relation of part hood is taken as a primitive notion is constructed and then applied to a wide variety of disciplines from robotics to knowledge engineering. A formal framework for discrete mereotopology and its applications is developed and finally, the importance of mereology for the relatively new science of domain engineering is also discussed.

More books from Springer International Publishing

Cover of the book Computational Logistics by
Cover of the book Financial Environment and Business Development by
Cover of the book Orthopedic Biomaterials by
Cover of the book Currency Cooperation in East Asia by
Cover of the book Disc Winds Matter by
Cover of the book A Changing Climate for Science by
Cover of the book Progress in Clean Energy, Volume 2 by
Cover of the book Supreme Courts in Transition in China and the West by
Cover of the book Ceramic Membranes Applied in Separation Processes by
Cover of the book The Jew as Legitimation by
Cover of the book Progress in Motor Control by
Cover of the book Toward a Small Family Ethic by
Cover of the book Branching Random Walks by
Cover of the book Homomorphic Encryption and Applications by
Cover of the book Statics of Historic Masonry Constructions by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy