Popis: |
The aim of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive introduction to classical mereology. It examines this theory by providing a clear and perspicuousaxiom system that isolates several important elements of any mereological theory. The chapter examines, algebraic, and set-theoretic models of classical mereology, sketching proofs of their equivalence. The new axiom system facilitates algebraic comparisons, showing that models of these axioms are complete Boolean algebras without a bottom element. Then set-theoretic models are presented, and are shown to satisfy the axioms. The chapter explains the important relationship between models and powersets, and the role of Stone’s Representation Theorem in this connection. Finally, a number of significant rival axiom systems using different mereological primitives are introduced. |