The Whole Part

The Whole Part describes a basic model of cognition that uses parts, wholes, and references to analyze both our material and mental experience.


The framework of continuous epistemological space, rather than discrete symbolic logic, is used to provide a formal foundation for thinking about reality. Mereological analysis of that space examines things in terms of their whole/part relationships, and referential analysis of that space examines things in terms of their reference/referent relationships. These analyses are used to illustrate the structure of our minds. Since our mental structures determine how reality is sensed and conceptualized, understanding these structures clarifies which aspects of our experience are due to the world, and which are due to various facets of our cognition.


People interested in how our minds work will particularly enjoy this book, since it provides a detailed analysis of the structure and operation of our cognition. This analysis relies on a basic model of cognition to provide an understanding of the relationship of wholes to parts, references to referents, and how those relationships influence and are influenced by cognition. This model is largely independent of various complexities in neuroscience and physics, although it is both motivated by those sciences and entirely compatible with them.