Article: Gunk and continuous variation (1).

I Introduction

Let us say that a thing is gunky just in case every part of that thing has proper parts (i.e., parts that are not identical to it). The idea that all physical objects are gunky seems sufficiently sweeping, interesting, and plausible that it is worth examining. However, there is a difficulty. The features of an extended object can surely vary continuously (in time and/or space). If an object is gunky then it cannot have point-sized parts which have no further parts. But how can one conceive of a continuous variation in features other than as the obtaining of different features at different point sized locations?

Addressing this matter will ...