An Introduction to PhilosophyFullerton, George Stuart
Philosophy
An Introduction to Philosophy
Fullerton, George Stuart
Philosophy
For it is possible to argue that, under the conditions given, the point
must move over one half of the line in half a second; over one half of
the remainder, or one fourth of the line, in one fourth of a second;
over one eighth of the line, in one eighth of a second, etc. Thus the
portions of line moved over successively by the point may be
represented by the descending series:
1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, . . . [Greek omicron symbol]
Now, it is quite true that the motion of the point can be described in
a number of different ways; but the important thing to remark here is
that, if the motion really is uniform, and if the line really is
infinitely divisible, this series must, as satisfactorily as any other,
describe the motion of the point. And it would be absurd to maintain
that _a part_ of the series can describe the whole motion. We cannot
say, for example, that, when the point has moved over one half, one
fourth, and one eighth of the line, it has completed its motion. If
even a single member of the series is left out, the whole line has not
been passed over; and this is equally true whether the omitted member
represent a large bit of line or a small one.
The whole series, then, represents the whole line, as definite parts of
the series represent definite parts of the line. The line can only be
completed when the series is completed. But when and how can this
series be completed? In general, a series is completed when we reach
the final term, but here there appears to be no final term. We cannot
make zero the final term, for it does not belong to the series at all.
It does not obey the law of the series, for it is not one half as large
as the term preceding it--what space is so small that dividing it by 2
gives us [omicron]? On the other hand, some term just before zero
cannot be the final term; for if it really represents a little bit of
the line, however small, it must, by hypothesis, be made up of lesser
bits, and a smaller term must be conceivable. There can, then, be no
last term to the series; _i.e._ what the point is doing at the very
last is absolutely indescribable; it is inconceivable that there should
be a _very last_.
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