Infinity is a fascinating but widely misunderstood subject. I hope to provide some clarity. The primary purpose of this book is to discuss and critique many of the philosophical and scientific arguments which use and sometimes misuse infinity, such as various forms of the cosmological argument. In the process the concept of infinity will be clarified and further explained. Authors whose work is discussed: Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Archimedes, Aristotle, John Philoponus, al-Kindi, al-Ghazali, Avicenna, Thomas Aquinas, Galileo Galilei, Immanuel Kant, Bertrand Russell, Adolf Grunbaum, Georg Cantor, David Hilbert, William Lane Craig, and many others.
While a good faith effort has been made to accurately represent the views of others, this work is not intended to be merely an exposition or a commentary on the views of others. (If that is what you are looking for you can find many other books that would fulfill that purpose better than this one.) I am a philosopher; my purpose is to make a significant philosophical contribution. I want to add to the conversation, and I argue for my own view just as the ancient philosophers did when they were presenting their views on the subject. Some of my ideas do differ from the current consensus, but arguments are provided which explain why. The reader will have to judge for himself or herself as to whether these arguments hold up.
Note: Written for a general audience. Does not require any particular background knowledge in math – most arguments are simple enough that even an English major could understand them. The focus is on the concept of infinity rather than solving math problems.
For those who are cheap (like me) a free copy of the electronic version can be read and downloaded here:
A print version can also be found on Amazon.com. Here is the link:
TITLE: Clarifying Infinity
AUTHOR: David Johnson
ASIN: B0DTQ4HXQY
ISBN-13: 979-8307413975