display all the ideas for this combination of philosophers
4 ideas
4224 | If motion is change of distance between objects, it involves no intrinsic change in the objects [Lowe] |
Full Idea: If motion just is change of distance between two objects, it does not involve any kind of intrinsic change in the objects in question. | |
From: E.J. Lowe (A Survey of Metaphysics [2002], p.242) | |
A reaction: It sound respectably relativistic, but I doubt the definition. x is moving relative to y, then y attains x's velocity, so x ceases to move? Maybe. |
8269 | Points are limits of parts of space, so parts of space cannot be aggregates of them [Lowe] |
Full Idea: Points are limits of parts of space, in which case parts of space cannot be aggregates of them. | |
From: E.J. Lowe (The Possibility of Metaphysics [1998], 3.9) | |
A reaction: To try to build space out of points (how many per cc?) is fairly obviously asking for trouble, but Lowe articulates nicely why it is a non-starter. |
4227 | Surfaces, lines and points are not, strictly speaking, parts of space, but 'limits', which are abstract [Lowe] |
Full Idea: Surfaces, lines and points are not, strictly speaking, parts of space at all, but just 'limits' of certain kinds, and as such 'abstract' entities. | |
From: E.J. Lowe (A Survey of Metaphysics [2002], p.254) | |
A reaction: This is fairly crucial when dealing with Zeno's paradoxes. How many points in a line? How long to get through a point? |
4228 | If space is entirely relational, what makes a boundary, or a place unoccupied by physical objects? [Lowe] |
Full Idea: If space does not exist at all, but is only relations between objects, what could one possibly mean by saying that there is a place which is unoccupied by any material object? And what determines whether space is bounded? | |
From: E.J. Lowe (A Survey of Metaphysics [2002], p.264) | |
A reaction: Correct. People who assert that space is only relational have been misled by what we can know about space, not what it is. |