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14164 | The only unities are simples, or wholes composed of parts [Russell] |
Full Idea: The only kind of unity to which I can attach any precise sense - apart from the unity of the absolutely simple - is that of a whole composed of parts. | |
From: Bertrand Russell (The Principles of Mathematics [1903], §439) | |
A reaction: This comes from a keen student of Leibniz, who was obsessed with unity. Russell leaves unaddressed the question of what turns some parts into a whole. |
14112 | A set has some sort of unity, but not enough to be a 'whole' [Russell] |
Full Idea: In a class as many, the component terms, though they have some kind of unity, have less than is required for a whole. | |
From: Bertrand Russell (The Principles of Mathematics [1903], §070) | |
A reaction: This is interesting because (among many other things), sets are used to stand for numbers, but numbers are usually reqarded as wholes. |