Endless and Infinite
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10692235 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alex Malpass (0000-0001-8845-4944, University of Bristol), Wes Morriston (0000-0002-6182-2644, University of Colorado, USA) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 281 |
| Pages | 830-849 |
| Publication date | 2020-09-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pq/pqaa005 |
| OpenAlex | W3011744644 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 15 |
It is often said that time must have a beginning because otherwise the series of past events would have the paradoxical features of an actual infinite. In the present paper, we show that, even given a dynamic theory of time, the cardinality of an endless series of events, each of which will occur, is the same as that of a beginningless series of events, each of which has occurred. Both are denumerably infinite. So if (as we believe) an endless series of events is possible, then the possibility of a beginningless series of past events should not be rejected merely on the ground that it would be an actual infinite. What would be required to rebut our argument is a symmetry breaker – something that motivates treating the past relevantly differently to the future. We consider several attempts to provide a symmetry breaker and show that none of them is successful
Argument (complex analysis) · Calculus (dental) · Circuit breaker · Epistemology · Geometry · Mathematical economics · Physics · Series (stratigraphy) · Symmetry (geometry) · Theoretical physics · Computer Science · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Quantum Mechanics and Applications
The Teleological and Kalam Cosmological Arguments Revisited
A Beginning without End
Branching actualism and cosmological arguments
Andrew Loke’s indirect defence of the successive addition argument
Counting to infinity, successive addition, and the length of the past
Infinity, Time, and Successive Addition
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |