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Anaxagoras on Matter, Motion, and Multiple Worlds
Author(s) -
Sisko John E
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00313.x
Subject(s) - extant taxon , motion (physics) , divisibility rule , set (abstract data type) , theoretical physics , possible world , epistemology , physics , philosophy , classical mechanics , mathematics , computer science , pure mathematics , biology , evolutionary biology , programming language
In this article, both Anaxagoras’ theory of multiple worlds and the principles of his theory of matter are examined. It is argued that the five principles, which are set out explicitly in the extant fragments, (No Becoming, Indefinite Types, Universal Mixture, Predominance, and Infinite Divisibility) form a consistent set. Further, it is argued that the principle of Homoeomereity, which Anaxagoras attributes to Anaxagoras, is consistent with Anaxagoras’ other principles and is likely to be a genuine principle of Anaxagoras’ physics.