All Questions
Tagged with infinity metaphysics
15
questions
3
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2
answers
151
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Final Steps and Zeno's Paradox
In the SEP article on supertasks, it states that:
Max Black (1950) argued that it is nevertheless impossible to complete the Zeno task, since there is no final step in the infinite sequence. The ...
- 695
2
votes
6
answers
602
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Is the B-theory of time only compatible with an infinitely renewing cyclical reality?
I'm not a mathematician and I may be misunderstanding some aspects of this concept.
According to the B-theory of time, the flow of time is an illusion, and every point in time exists equally. If this ...
- 217
0
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2
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105
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Constructing an infinite interval with a definite starting point given an infinite past [duplicate]
I had a question regarding constructing an infinite interval with a starting point given an an infinite past. I wish to model an infinite past in a non-formal non-rigorous set theoretic manner and was ...
- 17
4
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2
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143
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Is there a philosophical or mathematical proof for "For any observation or claim, there's an infinite number of assumptions we presume to be true?"
Is there a philosophical or mathematical proof for "For any observation or claim, there's an infinite number of assumptions we presume to be true?"
It doesn't seem to make any sense, but ...
- 4,249
3
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3
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463
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Is there a way to prove we live in a universe of infinite or finite “things”?
Sometimes I wonder if science has limits. On one hand; logically no; there will always be something that we don’t understand and when we create new things it leads to other new things. On the other ...
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1
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1
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76
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Does absolute eternality entail timelessness?
Assuming one is committed to the idea that an actual infinite amount of time can never pass, does eternality entail timelessness?
- 695
4
votes
4
answers
603
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How to understand the notion of majority when comparing infinite sets?
Suppose I make the argument:
It is very unlikely that in a naturalistic universe, the constants have life sustaining values, since the majority of metaphysically possible universes do not have such ...
- 261
0
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3
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448
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I have a premise about infinite timeline, how is it?
I think that in an infinite timeline without a start, if such a timeline could exist, the only way things could work is like this:
The only things that can happen are those that already happened an ...
- 17
3
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5
answers
423
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If something can’t come from nothing, then has an infinite period of time already passed?
Assuming that something really can’t come from nothing (I know it’s controversial but if it’s true)...
Then at any given point in time (t), something exists and therefore something also existed at t-1....
- 225
3
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10
answers
3k
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Does science require the exclusion of the "infinite"?
And if so, are there any interesting implications? According to the storyline, Galileo launched modern science by declaring the necessity of rendering physical events countable. What is countable must ...
- 13.6k
1
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1
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519
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Can the Universe Be Infinite?
Some think that the universe is infinite. To convince one in the creditability of the idea they point mainly at our inability to conceive of its spatial limits. Hence, here, I use 'infinity' (of the ...
- 25
1
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2
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177
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Perpetual Division
I recall a story about a philosopher who proposed an idea that everything is essentially perpetually divisible. That is to say, you can divide a whole into two halves and for each half (regarded as ...
- 119
2
votes
4
answers
609
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How many numbers does it take to describe conscious reality?
The set of all real numbers (ℝ) is uncountably infinite, yet all of the general theorems of math, all of the thoughts leading up to them, all of of the particles of the physical universe could be ...
- 424
23
votes
5
answers
4k
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What was Cantor's philosophical reason for accepting the infinite but rejecting the infinitesimal?
I have begun inquiring recently into mathematical aspects of Georg Cantor's theory of transfinite numbers and sets, which he developed between the years of 1874 and 1897. Throughout his theory, Cantor ...
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14
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3
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What is the difference between an Ordinal number and a Cardinal number?
I'm trying to understand the real difference between an Ordinal and a Cardinal, especially in relation with transfinite cardinals. The stuff on Wiki is a bit too complicated. Can anyone make it simple ...
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