Can We Understand Infinity? ~ Adrian Moore
Podcast: On HumansPublished On: Mon Mar 25 2024
Description: Infinity is a puzzling idea. Even young children ponder its various manifestations: What is the biggest number? Does the universe have an edge? Does time have a beginning?Philosophers have tried to answer these questions since time immemorial. More recently, they have been joined by scientists and mathematicians. So what have we learned? Can we finally understand infinity? And what has this quest taught us about ourselves? To explore this topic, I am joined by philosopher Adrian W. Moore. Professor Moore is a special guest for two reasons. First, he is a world expert on infinity, known for an excellent BBC series, "History of the Infinite". More personally, he is the head tutor of Philosophy at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, where I studied my BA in Philosophy and Psychology. It has now been ten years since Prof Moore interviewed me and, for whatever reason, accepted me as a student. I feel honoured to mark the occasion with this episode.In this episode, we discuss:(02:35) Why infinity fascinates(12:20) Greeks on infinity(20:05) A finite cosmos? (25:00) Zeno’s paradoxes(32:35) Answering Zeno(42:35) Measuring infinities? Georg Cantor(54:05) Infinity vs human understanding(66:20) Mystics on infinityAs always, we finish with Prof Moore’s reflections on humanity.LINKSWant to support the show? Checkout Patreon.com/OnHumansWant to read and not just listen? Get the newsletter on OnHumans.Substack.comMENTIONSNames: Aristotle; Zeno; Archytus; Ludwig Wittgenstein; Kurt Gödel; Alan Turing; Georg Cantor; William Blake; Immanuel Kant Terms: Pythagoreans; Zeno’s paradoxes; calculus; transfinite arithmetic; counting numbers, i.e. positive integers; absolute infinities, or inconsistent totalitiesBooks: The Infinite (Moore) Other scholarship: For games on infinite boards, see e.g. the work of Davide Leonessi: https://leonessi.org/
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