FiatObjectPart

[Stefan Schulz]

Hi everybody,

can anybody explain me why "FiatObjectPart" occupies such a prominent
position in BFO? It is defined as:

"An independent continuant that is part of an object but is not
demarcated by any physical discontinuities"

What about the following example:

Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na
Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na
Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na
Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na
Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na
Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl
Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na Cl Na

This is the building principle of a salt crystal.
Let's assume an ideal cube with 1bi x 1bi x 1b Na ions
and 1 bi x 1bi x 1bi chloride ions.

With the naked eye or under the microscope you
do not see any physical discontinuity.
The upper half of this crystal would then be a
FiatObjectPart according to BFO.
But on the atom level there is, of course, a physical
discontiuity between each pair of neighbor particles.
So there is a clear-cut discontinuity between the
layer 1.000.000.000 and the layer 1.000.000.001
According to this view the upper half of the crystal
is NOT a FiatObjectPart.

The ontological category of a particular therefore depends on the
granularity of the view. This is, however, clearly an
epistemological issue, which should not have any relevance
in a realist ontology.

Any suggestion how to solve this puzzle ?

Best regards

Stefan

--
PD Dr. Stefan SCHULZ [stsc...@uni-freiburg.de]
Universitätsklinikum - Abt.Medizinische Informatik
Stefan-Meier-Strasse 26 D-79104 Freiburg
[home: Eschholzstr. 70 D-79115 Freiburg]
+49 (0)761 2033252, 2036702, 2049089, FAX 2033251
www.imbi.uni-freiburg.de/medinf/schulz
Skype: stschulz

[Smith, Barry]

yes; but each of these discontinuities represents
a small bona fide boundary in its own right; how
do these bona fide boundaries become joined
together to create the single boundary that
separates the upper and lower halves of the
crystal; by fiat, I would suggest. (Analogous, if
you look at the map, to the case of the boundary
between the Marshall Islands and the Federated
States of Micronesia:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Sa.nsf/luFullMap/AF5A0B915A57EF59852571F700600538/$File/ocha_REF_asi180806.pdf?OpenElement
)
BS