The Infinity from Nothing paradox and the Immovable Object meets the Irresistible Force

European Journal for Philosophy of Science 8 (3):417-433 (2018)
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Abstract

In this paper I present a novel supertask in a Newtonian universe that destroys and creates infinite masses and energies, showing thereby that we can have infinite indeterminism. Previous supertasks have managed only to destroy or create finite masses and energies, thereby giving cases of only finite indeterminism. In the Nothing from Infinity paradox we will see an infinitude of finite masses and an infinitude of energy disappear entirely, and do so despite the conservation of energy in all collisions. I then show how this leads to the Infinity from Nothing paradox, in which we have the spontaneous eruption of infinite mass and energy out of nothing. I conclude by showing how our supertask models at least something of an old conundrum, the question of what happens when the immovable object meets the irresistible force.

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Nicholas Shackel
Cardiff University

Citations of this work

On Shackel’s nothing from infinity paradox.Amaia Corral-Villate - 2020 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 10 (3):1-13.
The Nothing from Infinity paradox versus Plenitudinous Indeterminism.Nicholas Shackel - 2022 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 12 (online early):1-14.
Framing the Epistemic Schism of Statistical Mechanics.Javier Anta - 2021 - Proceedings of the X Conference of the Spanish Society of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science.
Unmoved movers: a very simple and novel form of indeterminism.Jon Pérez Laraudogoitia - 2022 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 12 (3):1-23.

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References found in this work

Every thing must go: metaphysics naturalized.James Ladyman & Don Ross - 2007 - New York: Oxford University Press. Edited by Don Ross, David Spurrett & John G. Collier.
Every Thing Must Go: Metaphysics Naturalized.James Ladyman & Don Ross - 2007 - In James Ladyman & Don Ross (eds.), Every thing must go: metaphysics naturalized. New York: Oxford University Press.
Paradox without Self-Reference.Stephen Yablo - 1993 - Analysis 53 (4):251-252.
Thought experiments.Roy A. Sorensen - 1992 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Thought Experiments.Roy A. Sorensen - 1992 - Oxford and New York: Oup Usa.

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