Ordered
Whole
An ordered whole is a complex
whose existence depends upon all its parts existing and being related in the
right way. Ordered wholes can play the role of facts—that
is, they can be objects to which true propositions may correspond. Although
every ordered whole may be a fact, some ordered wholes are also propositions, which are arrangements of individual
essences.
I offer a
theory of ordered wholes, which I call ‘arrangements’, here. Included in that theory is the following:
(1) A
precise definition of ‘arrangement’
(2) An
answer to the ‘special arrangement question’ of when things in general form an
arrangement
(3) Some
identity conditions of arrangements