1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910255449803321

Autore

Needham Paul

Titolo

Macroscopic Metaphysics : Middle-Sized Objects and Longish Processes / / by Paul Needham

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2017

ISBN

9783319709994

3-319-70999-2

3-319-70998-4

Edizione

[1st ed. 2017.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xv, 224 p.) : illustration

Collana

Synthese Library, Studies in Epistemology, Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science, , 0166-6991 ; ; 390

Disciplina

501

Soggetti

Philosophy and science

Analytical chemistry

Physics

Metaphysics

Chemistry—History

Philosophy of Science

Analytical Chemistry

History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics

History of Chemistry

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Ch. 1 Mereology -- Ch. 2 Occupying Space -- Ch. 3 Constitution -- Ch. 4 Distributivity and Cumulativity -- Ch. 5 The Ancients’ Ideas of Substance -- Ch. 6 The Nature of Matter -- Ch. 7 The Relation of Macroscopic Description to Microstructure -- Ch. 8 Longish Processes -- Ch. 9 Modal Properties of Quantities.

Sommario/riassunto

This book is about our ordinary concept of matter in the form of enduring continuants and the processes in which they are involved in the macroscopic realm. It emphasises what science rather than philosophical intuition tells us about the world, and chemistry rather than the physics that is more usually encountered in philosophical discussions. The central chapters dealing with the nature of matter



pursue key steps in the historical development of scientific conceptions of chemical substance. Like many contemporary discussions of material objects, it relies heavily on mereology. The classical principles are applied to the mereological structure of regions of space, intervals of time, processes and quantities of matter. Quantities of matter, which don’t gain or lose parts over time, are distinguished from individuals, which are typically constituted of different quantities of matter at different times. The proper treatment of the temporal aspect of the features of material objects is a central issue in this book, which is addressed by investigating the conditions governing the application of predicates relating time and other entities. Of particular interest here are relations between quantities of matter and times expressing substance kind, phase and mixture. Modal aspects of these features are taken up in the final chapter.