Holes and Other Superficialities by Roberto Casati - ISBN: 9780262531337
Paperback
Holes are among the entities that many philosophers would like to expel from their ontological inventory. This work argues in favour of the existence of holes, examining their ontology, geometry, part-whole relations, identity, causal roles and the ways they are perceived.

Holes and Other Superficialities

$70.86

  • Paperback

    263 pages

  • Release Date

    28 August 1995

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Summary

This investigation on the borderlines of metaphysics, everyday geometry and the theory of perception seeks to answer two basic questions: Do holes really exist? If they do, what are they? Holes are among entities that down-to-earth philosophers would like to expel from their ontological inventory. Casati and Varzi argues in favour of holes’ existence, examining their ontology of holes, their geometry, their part-whole relations, their identity, their causal role and the ways we perceive them.

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780262531337
ISBN-10:026253133X
Author:Roberto Casati, Achille C. Varzi
Publisher:MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:MIT Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:263
Release Date:28 August 1995
Weight:454g
Dimensions:227mm x 152mm x 15mm
Series:Bradford Bks.
What They're Saying

Critics Review

– Douglas Hofstadter, author of “G??del, Escher, Bach” – Valentino Braitenberg, Director, Max-Planck-Institut f??r Biologische Kybernetick “ This is an exciting epistemological experiment. It is wonderful to see how intelligent philosophers can take a modest concept, such as that of the hole, as a starting point for an immense and brilliant exercise…. The writing is delightful.” – Valentino Braitenberg, Director, Max-Planck-Institut fA 1⁄4 r Biologische Kybernetick “ The idea of “Holes and Other Superficialities” is wonderfully counterintuitive: The authors want us to think of absences as full-fledged cognitive entities. The book describes a grand variety of holes – holes in doughnuts, tunnels through blocks, flowing gaps in regularly-spaced flowerbed, and hundreds more. There are an enormous number of beautifully-rendered illustrations of every imaginable (and often never-before-imagined) type of hole….The overlap with philosophical issues of every sort is marvelous, and the authors have a delightful sense of humor.” – Douglas Hofstadter, author of “GA del, Escher, Bach” & quot; This is an exciting epistemological experiment. It is wonderful to see how intelligent philosophers can take a modest concept, such as that of the hole, as a starting point for an immense and brilliant exercise…. The writing is delightful.& quot; – Valentino Braitenberg, Director, Max-Planck-Institut f& Atilde; & frac14; r Biologische Kybernetick & quot; The idea of Holes and Other Superficialities is wonderfully counterintuitive: The authors want us to think of absences as full-fledged cognitive entities. The book describes a grand variety of holes – holes in doughnuts, tunnels through blocks, flowing gaps in regularly-spaced flowerbed, and hundreds more. There are an enormous number of beautifully-rendered illustrations of every imaginable (and often never-before-imagined) type of hole….The overlap with philosophical issues of every sort is marvelous, and the authors have a delightful sense of humor.& quot; – Douglas Hofstadter, author of G& Atilde; & para; del, Escher, Bach “The idea of “This is an exciting epistemological experiment. It is wonderful to see how intelligent philosophers can take a modest concept, such as that of the hole, as a starting point for an immense and brilliant exercise…. The writing is delightful.”–Valentino Braitenberg, Director, Max-Planck-Institut fa1/4r Biologische Kybernetick “The idea of “Holes and Other Superficialities” is wonderfully counterintuitive: The authors want us to think of absences as full-fledged cognitive entities. The book describes a grand variety of holes–holes in doughnuts, tunnels through blocks, flowing gaps in regularly-spaced flowerbed, and hundreds more. There are an enormous number of beautifully-rendered illustrations of every imaginable (and often never-before-imagined) type of hole….The overlap with philosophical issues of every sort is marvelous, and the authors have a delightful sense of humor.“–Douglas Hofstadter, author of “Gadel, Escher, Bach”

About The Author

Roberto Casati

Roberto Casati is the Director of the Jean Nicod Institute and Professor at EHESS in Paris. He is the coauthor of Holes and Other Superficialities and Parts and Places: The Structures of Spatial Representation, both published by the MIT Press.

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