The Concept of Nature: The Tarner Lectures Delivered in Trinity College, November 1919Whitehead, Alfred North
Philosophy
The Concept of Nature: The Tarner Lectures Delivered in Trinity College, November 1919
Whitehead, Alfred North
Knowledge, Theory of; Nature; Science -- Philosophy
The locus of intersection of two moments is the assemblage of
abstractive elements covered by both of them. Now two moments of the
same temporal series cannot intersect. Two moments respectively of
different families necessarily intersect. Accordingly in the
instantaneous space of a moment we should expect the fundamental
properties to be marked by the intersections with moments of other
families. If M be a given moment, the intersection of M with another
moment A is an instantaneous plane in the instantaneous space of M; and
if B be a third moment intersecting both M and A, the intersection of M
and B is another plane in the space M. Also the common intersection of
A, B, and M is the intersection of the two planes in the space M, namely
it is a straight line in the space M. An exceptional case arises if B
and M intersect in the same plane as A and M. Furthermore if C be a
fourth moment, then apart from special cases which we need not consider,
it intersects M in a plane which the straight line (A, B, M) meets. Thus
there is in general a common intersection of four moments of different
families. This common intersection is an assemblage of abstractive
elements which are each covered (or 'lie in') all four moments. The
three-dimensional property of instantaneous space comes to this, that
(apart from special relations between the four moments) any fifth moment
either contains the whole of their common intersection or none of it. No
further subdivision of the common intersection is possible by means of
moments. The 'all or none' principle holds. This is not an _à priori_
truth but an empirical fact of nature.
It will be convenient to reserve the ordinary spatial terms 'plane,'
'straight line,' 'point' for the elements of the timeless space of a
time-system. Accordingly an instantaneous plane in the instantaneous
space of a moment will be called a 'level,' an instantaneous straight
line will be called a 'rect,' and an instantaneous point will be called
a 'punct.' Thus a punct is the assemblage of abstractive elements which
lie in each of four moments whose families have no special relations to
each other. Also if P be any moment, either every abstractive element
belonging to a given punct lies in P, or no abstractive element of
that punct lies in P.
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