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Full Idea
There is surely no number n such that "n grains of sand do not make a heap, although n+1 grains of sand do" is true.
Gist of Idea
Surely there is no exact single grain that brings a heap into existence
Source
Michael Dummett (Truth and the Past [2001], 4)
Book Ref
Dummett,Michael: 'Truth and the Past (Dewey Lectures)' [Columbia 2004], p.60
A Reaction
It might be argued that there is such a number, but no human being is capable of determing it. Might God know the value of n? On the whole Dummett's view seems the most plausible.
| 1512 | Zeno is wrong that one grain of millet makes a sound; why should one grain achieve what the whole bushel does? [Aristotle on Zeno of Elea] |
| 6008 | Removing one grain doesn't destroy a heap, so a heap can't be destroyed [Eubulides, by Dancy,R] |
| 8194 | Surely there is no exact single grain that brings a heap into existence [Dummett] |
| 17583 | There are no heaps [Inwagen] |
| 9117 | The smallest heap has four objects: three on the bottom, one on the top [Hart,WD, by Sorensen] |
| 21599 | A sorites stops when it collides with an opposite sorites [Williamson] |