LessonsThe Indivisible Atom: Arguments, Infinite Division and ObjectionsQuiz

Unbounded divisibility can mean that wherever one marks a boundary in a magnitude, a further subdivision remains possible. It does not by itself mean the magnitude has already been assembled from infinitely many independent substances.

Example: a line may be halved repeatedly; performing or imagining further halvings is not the same as discovering a pre-existing physical particle at every potential boundary.

This is a central response: indefinite potential division is not interchangeable with an actually constituted infinite aggregate of parts.

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Divisibility does not imply an actual infinity of atoms

The Indivisible Atom: Arguments, Infinite Division and Objections

Unbounded divisibility can mean that wherever one marks a boundary in a magnitude, a further subdivision remains possible. It does not by itself mean the magnitude has already been assembled from infinitely many independent substances.

Example: a line may be halved repeatedly; performing or imagining further halvings is not the same as discovering a pre-existing physical particle at every potential boundary.

This is a central response: indefinite potential division is not interchangeable with an actually constituted infinite aggregate of parts.