Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Herodotus, Edward Conze and Friedrich Nietzsche

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2 ideas

6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / a. Numbers
Numbers enable us to manage the world - to the limits of counting [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: Numbers are our major means of making the world manageable. We comprehend as far as we can count, i.e. as far as a constancy can be perceived.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Unpublished Notebooks 1885-86 [1886], 34[058])
     A reaction: I don't agree with 'major', but it is a nice thought. The intermediate concept is a 'unit', which means identifying something as a 'thing', which is how we seem to grasp the world. So to what extent do we comprehend the infinite. Enter Cantor…
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / a. Units
Counting needs unities, but that doesn't mean they exist; we borrowed it from the concept of 'I' [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: We need unities in order to be able to count: we should not therefore assume that such unities exist. We have borrowed the concept of unity from our concept of 'I' - our oldest article of faith.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Writings from Late Notebooks [1887], 14[79])
     A reaction: Personally I think that counting derives from patterns, and that all creatures can discern patterns in their environment, which means discriminating the parts of the pattern, which are therefore real and existing entities.