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The Bound-State Answer to the Special Composition Question

Calosi, Claudio (2021) The Bound-State Answer to the Special Composition Question. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The paper provides the first thorough assessment of a physics-based answer, the so called Bound State Answer, (BSA) to the Special Composition Question (SCQ). According to the BSA some material objects compose something iff they are in a common bound state. The reasons to endorse such an answer, in particular motivations coming from empirical adequacy and conservativeness, precision, simplicity and parsimony are critically addressed. I then go on to compare the BSA to other moderate answers to the SCQ and consider whether objections raised against such answers can be raised against the BSA as well. I conclude with a plea for mereological pluralism, in the light of the many different wholes that physics seem to provide.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Calosi, Claudioclaudio.calosi@unige.ch0000-0001-5011-6296
Additional Information: Final Version to appear in Philosophy of Science
Keywords: Composition in Physics, Composition in Metaphysics, The Special Composition Question, Bound-States, Entanglement, Mereological Pluralism
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics
Depositing User: Dr Claudio Calosi
Date Deposited: 10 Jun 2021 03:42
Last Modified: 10 Jun 2021 03:42
Item ID: 19164
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics
Date: 8 June 2021
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19164

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