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Australasian Journal of Philosophy· 2026Q1

Fragmenting the Paradox of Material Constitution

Nikk Effingham

Short summary

A fragmentalist metametaphysics offers a viable solution to the Paradox of Material Constitution by identifying constituted objects with their constituent parts.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Key points

  • Fragmentalism is proposed as a metametaphysical framework to tackle the Paradox of Material Constitution.
  • The solution of identifying constituted objects with their constituent parts is critiqued and rejected.
  • A fragmentalist version of standard constitution theory is presented as a successful resolution to the paradox.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

This paper brings fragmentalism to bear on the Paradox of Material Constitution. It begins by outlining a fragmentalist metametaphysics before presenting the Paradox and considering two fragmentalist solutions. The first solution identifies constituted objects with their constitutors. I argue that it does not work. The second solution is a fragmentalist version of standard constitution theory. I argue in favour of this theory.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Field: History and Philosophy of Science

History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities