ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

Contextual explanation · NAV-G03-005

Whole

This explanation addresses the term in its originating context. It is not an additional canonical Atlas profile.

Explanation

A whole is the reference entity to which a part belongs. In the context of holonymy, the issue is how expressions encode such relations, not a claim that all wholes are composed in the same way. A component belongs to a device differently from a member belonging to a group. The distinction from classification is especially important: a wheel can be part of a bicycle, while a bicycle is a kind of vehicle. Collapsing these relations confuses composition with category membership.

Movement of thought

1. Identify the entity presented as a whole. 2. Identify the proposed part. 3. Test the kind of belonging involved. 4. Check whether the relation instead means kind of. 5. Record the precise relation type.

Example

“Pedal–bicycle” expresses a component relation. “Bicycle–vehicle” instead connects a subtype with a broader category.

Counter-test

An individual bicycle is not a component of the abstract concept vehicle.

Scientific use case

Terminologies and knowledge graphs need distinct relations for components, membership and subtypes.

Effect

The distinction makes different forms of belonging intelligible.

Resonance

A part points beyond itself; the whole gives that belonging a particular shape.

Distinction

Do not equate holonymy with hyperonymy, spatial proximity or an arbitrary collection.

Sources