Thread Links Date Links
Thread Prev Thread Next Thread Index Date Prev Date Next Date Index

Re: How about Self-Inconsistency



Rich,

The traditional notion of infinity is a limit
that is approached, but never completed.  Cantor
switched to the view that an infinite set could
be considered as a single entity.  But you can do
most of mathematics (except, of course, Cantor's
set theory) without that concept.

> A good mathematician I once knew well told me he
> likes the concept of sets without infinities.  Other
> than induction, most infinities are very messy.
> Is there any way to use WordNet's meronymy relations
> to properly form a basis of your 'mereology plus integer'
> foundations?

I wouldn't start with WordNet's definitions, but with
any decent set of axioms for mereology.  You can see
examples in Ch. 2 of my KR book, where I discuss that
point in further detail.  And there are lots of books
and papers about mereology.  Try Google.

John