On December 11, we hosted the 4th SCOR online seminar, where it was our pleasure to welcome Prof. Achille C. Varzi as our guest speaker. Prof. Varzi delivered an insightful presentation on mereotopology, a core field of theoretical study within applied ontology. While the topic was at times quite technical due to the formal principles involved, Prof. Varzi made the complex concepts accessible and engaging, offering a range of illuminating examples to help clarify the ideas.
The abstract and recording of his talk are available below. If you’d like to stay updated about upcoming SCOR online seminars and other SCOR-related events, you can subscribe to our newsletter (at the bottom of the homepage) and/or follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swissonto/.
Achille C. Varzi (Columbia University)
“Open Questions in Mereotopology”
Abstract
This talk will address some open questions in the field of mereotopology, broadly understood as the study of theories that integrate mereological notions, such as parthood or overlap, with topological notions, such as boundary or connection. I will focus especially on questions arising from the idea that a mereotopological framework can ground the fundamental distinction between things that are “all of a piece”, such as a vase or a whistle, and scattered entities composed of discontinuous parts, such as a broken vase or a series of thunderclaps. Particularly, I will argue that (i) such a framework is necessary to ground the distinction, but (ii) it is not sufficient, even within strong axiomatic settings. I will close by outlining what additional structural or conceptual resources may be required.
Short bio
Achille Varzi is John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, New York, where he has been teaching since 1995. He has published widely on logic, analytic metaphysics, and formal ontology. His most recent book, Mereology (with Aaron J. Cotnoir), appeared with Oxford University Press in 2021.