The Structural Occupancy Model: A Critique of Tolerance and Sharp Boundaries

This paper proposes a structural occupancy model to challenge the principle of tolerance in the Sorites paradox. By introducing a third dimension representing structural location, I argue that what counts as a "small change" is context-dependent and unstable. Furthermore, I show that any attempt to ground tolerance in structural similarity leads to explanatory circularity. The model also undermines the idea of a sharp boundary, which emerges as an artefact of oversimplified representations rather than a genuine feature of vague predicates.