Friday, December 17, 2004

Ad infinitum?

So, as I was driving a couple days ago, I had this random thought. Well, it wasn't too random because my mind is often occupied by somewhat philosophical musings when I drive. But anyways, I suddenly thought, "What is the world is an infinite regress?" In philosophy, you cn try to prove a though wrong by showing that it is an infinite regress (this is one of the big objections against the big bang theory). An infinite regress happens when you can find no founding cause for something. Its like an endless chain.

Anyways, I was thinking about quantum indeterminancies and other really small things (it seems that's what my semester was made of: quantum things), and thought to myself, what if the smallness just keeps going? Would it really matter? I mean, it almost seems that it has to keep going, for I sure have trouble imagining something so small that its not made up of parts. But then I thought, what if everything is an infinite regress. I mean, there's a theory out there in science that certain things don't really exist until you discover or observe them. So its like the act of observance makes them metaphysically real. So what if by looking for things we keep making new things. Or God keeps making new things for us to discover, or made them in the beginning of the world to be a regress.

But at the same time, could we ever prove an infinite regress which travels forward through time? Most arguments about them have to do with the past or foundational stuff, but we could never prove the infinite regress of matter or space, because who's to say that there is a next step after the current one? You have to investigate it to find out, and you can just keep on investigating.

Anyways, this was one of the things that occupied my mind as I drove. More musings to come, I hope.

No comments: