tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post5984451266259990856..comments2024-03-28T19:56:42.305-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: Extension and mereological universalismAlexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-54600375479138821382015-07-10T15:50:07.895-05:002015-07-10T15:50:07.895-05:00Suppose that it turns out that elementary particle...Suppose that it turns out that elementary particles are extended, but very tiny as compared to the empty space between them. Then on your definition of size, we are much smaller than intuitively we are.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-33841659259077185702015-07-09T12:44:05.360-05:002015-07-09T12:44:05.360-05:00Sure, but in your example A and B are both extende...Sure, but in your example A and B are both extended. So, just substitute 'extended object' for 'object' and 'extended parts' for 'parts' in my previous comment - and the point I made is still valid.Emanuel Ruttenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01094736689000363856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-86886862404262335762015-07-09T10:56:52.146-05:002015-07-09T10:56:52.146-05:00If the particles we are made of turn out to be poi...If the particles we are made of turn out to be point particles, then by this account our size is zero. But that seems false.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-59393547092680043092015-07-09T02:52:01.860-05:002015-07-09T02:52:01.860-05:00Plausibly, the size (magnitude, volume) of an obje...Plausibly, the size (magnitude, volume) of an object is the sum of the sizes (magnitudes, volumes) of its disjoint parts. So the fusion of A and B would have a size, namely the sum of the size of A and the size of B. That is, we can still apply (Jordan, Lebesgue or Borel) measure theory.Emanuel Ruttenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01094736689000363856noreply@blogger.com