A proof of the impossibility of completing infinitely many tasks

Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 93 (1):1-7 (2012)
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Abstract

In this article, I argue that it is impossible to complete infinitely many tasks in a finite time. A key premise in my argument is that the only way to get to 0 tasks remaining is from 1 task remaining, when tasks are done 1-by-1. I suggest that the only way to deny this premise is by begging the question, that is, by assuming that supertasks are possible. I go on to present one reason why this conclusion (that supertasks are impossible) is important, namely that it implies a new verdict on a decision puzzle propounded by Jeffrey Barrett and Frank Arntzenius

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Citations of this work

Throwing Darts, Time, and the Infinite.Jeremy Gwiazda - 2013 - Erkenntnis 78 (5):971-975.

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References found in this work

Paradoxes From a to Z.Michael Clark - 2002 - New York: Routledge.
Tasks and Supertasks.James Thomson - 1954 - Analysis 15 (1):1--13.
Paradoxes from A to Z.Michael Clark - 2004 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 194 (3):374-375.
On Brouwer.Mark van Atten - 2004 - Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Infinite pains: the trouble with supertasks.John Earman & John Norton - 1996 - In Adam Morton & Stephen P. Stich (eds.), Benacerraf and His Critics. Blackwell. pp. 11--271.

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