Work

There is overlap in letters: a mereological definition of word types

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Classical mereology seems unable to characterise the identity conditions of word types. For example, the same letter types ordered differently result in different word types; but mereological fusions of the same letters are identical, regardless of the order of the letters. We show, however, that by combining classical mereology with plural logic one can give a definition of word types that satisfies the identity criteria of word types. This means that it is not necessary to abandon classical mereology in order to give an analysis of the mereological structure of word types.

Source: Synthese

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-022-03664-4

Authors: Massimiliano Carrara, Jeroen Smid

Institutions: University of Padua, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Philosophy and Theoretical Science

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,990

Funders: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vetenskapsrådet