What is Mereological reductionism?
Mereological reductionism is a doctrine to say that the whole can be reduced to the parts. But the mereological reductionist encounters at least two serious objections. One is dilemma style objection, and the other is so-called sinkhole objection.
What is the central philosophy of nihilism?
Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.
Is nihilism a metaphysical?
Metaphysical nihilism is the philosophical theory that there might have been no objects at all—that is, that there is a possible world in which there are no objects at all; or at least that there might have been no concrete objects at all, so that even if every possible world contains some objects, there is at least …
Is nihilism a Western philosophy?
Nihilism is often associated with the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who provided a detailed diagnosis of nihilism as a widespread phenomenon of Western culture. Though the notion appears frequently throughout Nietzsche’s work, he uses the term in a variety of ways, with different meanings and connotations.
What is a Mereological simple?
In contemporary mereology, a simple is any thing that has no proper parts. Sometimes the term “atom” is used, although in recent years the term “simple” has become the standard. Simples are to be contrasted with atomless gunk (where something is “gunky” if it is such that every proper part has a further proper part).
Is nihilism an ontology?
Ontological Nihilism is the radical-sounding thesis that there is nothing at all. Almost everyone believes that it is false. By better understanding what Ontological Nihilism is — and what problems beset it — we can better understand just what we say when we say that there is something in the world.
What is material objects in philosophy?
A thing made or consisting of matter, a physical object; (Philosophy) an object having a real physical existence independent of mind or consciousness.
What is the mereological theory of identity?
According to Plato, Heraclitus maintains that nothing retains its identity for any time at all: Plato’s interpretation requires that Heraclitus held what might be called the Mereological Theory of Identity (MTI), i.e., the view that the identity of an object depends on the identity of its component parts.
Who championed the theory of Organicism?
At the turn of the 18th-century, Immanuel Kant championed a revival of organicisitic thought by stressing, in his written works, “the inter-relatedness of the organism and its parts[,] and the circular causality” inherent to the inextricable entanglement of the greater whole.
Can nihilists have morals?
Moral Nihilism. Nihilism comes from the Latin word “nihil” — which means, nothing. Nihilists assert that there are no moral values, principles, truths. A nihilist has a particular reason for being a skeptic — we cannot know moral realities for the very simple reason that there is nothing to know.
What is mereological nihilism?
In philosophy, mereological nihilism (also called compositional nihilism) is the metaphysical thesis that there are no objects with proper parts. Equivalently, mereological nihilism says that mereological simples, or objects without any proper parts, are the only material objects that exist.
What is the meaning of nihilism?
In philosophy, mereological nihilism (also called compositional nihilism, or rarely simply nihilism) is the mereological position that objects with proper parts do not exist. Only mereological simples, those basic building blocks without proper parts, exist.
Who are some philosophers who are nihilistic?
Philosophers in favor of something close to pure mereological nihilism are Peter Unger, Cian Dorr, and Ross Cameron. There are a few philosophers who argue for what could be considered a partial nihilism, or what has been called quasi-nihilism, which is the position that only objects of a certain kind have parts.
What is meant by mereology?
Mereology (from the Greek μερος, ‘part’) is the theory of parthood relations: of the relations of part to whole and the relations of part to part within a whole.