Composition as Identity

Composition is the relation between a whole and its parts--the parts are said to compose the whole; the whole is composed of the parts. But is a whole anything distinct from its parts taken collectively? It is often said that 'a whole is nothing over and above its parts'; but what might we mean by that? Could it be that a whole just is its parts? This collection of essays is the first of its kind to focus on the relationship between composition and identity. Twelve original articles--written by internationally renowned scholars and rising stars in the field--argue for and against the controversial doctrine that composition is identity. An editor's introduction sets out the formal and philosophical groundwork to bring readers to the forefront of the debate.

A. J. Cotnoir is a Lecturer in the Department of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of St Andrews, member of the Arché Philosophical Research Center, and an Associate Fellow of the Northern Institute of Philosophy. He received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Connecticut in 2010. He works primarily in Metaphysics and Philosophical Logic. ; Donald L. M. Baxter is Professor and Head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Connecticut. He received his Ph.D. in 1984 from the University of Pittsburgh and first taught at Princeton University. He works mainly in Metaphysics and in Early Modern Western Philosophy. His monograph, Hume's Difficulty: Time and Identity in the Treatise, was published by Routledge in 2008.

- List of Contributors - Part I: Introduction and history - 1: A. J. Cotnoir: Composition As Identity: Framing The Debate - 2: Calvin G. Normore and Deborah J. Brown: On Bits and Pieces in the History of Philosophy - Part II: Ontological commitments of CAI - 3: Achille C. Varzi: Counting and Countenancing - 4: Katherine Hawley: Ontological Innocence - 5: Ross P. Cameron: Parts Generate The Whole, But They Are Not Identical To It - Part III: Metaphysical commitments of CAI - 6: Meg Wallace: Composition As Identity, Mereological Essentialism, and Modal Parts - 7: Kris McDaniel: Compositional Pluralism and Composition As Identity - 8: Einar Duenger Bohn: Unrestricted Composition As Identity - Part IV: Logical commitments of CAI - 9: Byeong-Uk Yi: Is There A Plural Object? - 10: Paul Hovda: Logical Considerations On Composition As Identity - 11: Theodore Sider: Consequences Of Collapse - Part V: Indiscernibility and CAI - 12: Jason Turner: Donald Baxter's Composition As Identity - 13: Donald L. M. Baxter: Identity, Discernibility, and Composition - Index