This book presents a theory of parts and wholes that is meant to improve over existing accounts. The goal is pursued through the introduction of a new kind of entity, so-called Integral Wholes, and by acknowledging the major role context plays in determining the properties of part structures that are relevant for language. After motivating and then discussing the formal details of the theory in the first chapter, Moltmann engages in a detailed discussion of the consequences of her theory for semantics, dealing with such problems as the count/plural and mass distinction, quantification, distributivity, etc. In this review we present the content of each chapter, offering comments for each of them. Given that the major innovations of the book concern the way part structures and wholes should be conceived for semantic purposes, and the way context dependence is captured, our main concern will be to provide elements for assessing how the proposed framework fares in these respects, and investigate how internally consistent the theory is
A Review of "Parts and Wholes in Semantics", by Friederike Moltmann
Pianesi, Fabio
2002-01-01
Abstract
This book presents a theory of parts and wholes that is meant to improve over existing accounts. The goal is pursued through the introduction of a new kind of entity, so-called Integral Wholes, and by acknowledging the major role context plays in determining the properties of part structures that are relevant for language. After motivating and then discussing the formal details of the theory in the first chapter, Moltmann engages in a detailed discussion of the consequences of her theory for semantics, dealing with such problems as the count/plural and mass distinction, quantification, distributivity, etc. In this review we present the content of each chapter, offering comments for each of them. Given that the major innovations of the book concern the way part structures and wholes should be conceived for semantic purposes, and the way context dependence is captured, our main concern will be to provide elements for assessing how the proposed framework fares in these respects, and investigate how internally consistent the theory isI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
