Mereological Syntax

An argument for replacing Chomsky’s set-theoretic Merge view of syntax with a theory of syntax based on mereological objects.

Mereology is the study of parthood—what it means for one thing to be part of another. David Adger argues that a theory of syntax based on mereological objects should replace Chomsky’s set-theoretic Merge view of syntax. He shows how this new perspective solves some of the problems that have bedeviled minimalism, while opening a path to a unified approach to islands, o...