Zeno Beach.

On Zeno Beach there are infinitely many grains of sand, each half the size of the last. Supposing Aristotle denied the possibility of Zeno Beach, did he have a good argument for the denial? Three arguments, each of ancient origin, are examined: (1) the beach would be infinitely large; (2) the beach...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Phronesis Vol. 65; no. 4; pp. 467 - 501
Main Author: Rosen, Jacob
Format: Article
Published: Brill Academic Publishers 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:On Zeno Beach there are infinitely many grains of sand, each half the size of the last. Supposing Aristotle denied the possibility of Zeno Beach, did he have a good argument for the denial? Three arguments, each of ancient origin, are examined: (1) the beach would be infinitely large; (2) the beach would be impossible to walk across; (3) the beach would contain a part equal to the whole, whereas parts must be lesser. It is attempted to show that none of these arguments was Aristotle's. Indeed, perhaps Aristotle's finitism applied to magnitude only, not plurality.