Mereotopology faces problems when its methods are applied to objects which lose and gain parts yet preserve their identities over time. We offer a new solution to these problems, based on a theory of partitions of reality of finite grain. This theory is extended to a theory of coarse- and fine-grained histories (or finite sequences of partitions evolving over time), drawing on machinery developed within the framework of the so-called 'consistent histories' interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Keywords: mereotopology, granularity, ontology, presentism, partitions, histories, interpretation of quantum mechanics

Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligience , 35/1-2 (2002), 153-175.

PDF File

PDF File: Conference Version