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Single Idea 14031
[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 4. Substantival Space
]
Full Idea
If there did not exist that which we call void and space and intangible nature, bodies would not have any place to be in or move through, as they obviously do move.
Gist of Idea
Space must exist, since movement is obvious, and there must be somewhere to move in
Source
Epicurus (Letter to Herodotus [c.293 BCE], 40)
Book Ref
Epicurus: 'The Epicurus Reader', ed/tr. Inwood,B. /Gerson,L. [Hackett 1994], p.6
A Reaction
The observation that 'they obviously do move' must be aimed at followers of Parmenides. The idea of the void seems to contain a Newtonian commitment to absolute space.
The
16 ideas
with the same theme
[space that exists in its own right]:
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5097
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If everything has a place, this causes an infinite regress, because each place must have place
[Aristotle]
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5099
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The universe as a whole is not anywhere
[Aristotle]
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14031
|
Space must exist, since movement is obvious, and there must be somewhere to move in
[Epicurus]
|
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17013
|
Absolute space is independent, homogeneous and immovable
[Newton]
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2103
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The idea that the universe could be moved forward with no other change is just a fantasy
[Leibniz]
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17543
|
So-called 'empty' space is the carrier of geometry and kinematics
[Heisenberg]
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15981
|
Absolute space either provides locations, or exists but lacks 'marks' for locations
[Alexander,P]
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8592
|
Empty space is measurable in ways in which empty time necessarily is not
[Bennett, by Shoemaker]
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18220
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Both philosophy and physics now make substantivalism more attractive
[Field,H]
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3904
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Measuring space requires no movement while I do it
[Scruton]
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19035
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General Relativity allows substantivalism about space-time - that it has independent properties
[Hoefer]
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22923
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Absolute space explains actual and potential positions, and geometrical truths
[Le Poidevin]
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14991
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Space has real betweenness and congruence structure (though it is not the Euclidean concepts)
[Sider]
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20659
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Space and its contents seem to be one stuff - so space is the only existing thing
[Wolfram]
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21160
|
The Higgs field means even low energy space is not empty
[New Sci.]
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20458
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The world is just particles plus fields; space is the gravitational field
[Rovelli]
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