RE: William Lane Craig denies the number zero.
October 25, 2016 at 8:22 am
(This post was last modified: October 25, 2016 at 8:22 am by Jehanne.)
(October 25, 2016 at 6:09 am)robvalue Wrote:(October 24, 2016 at 9:11 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I'm an ex-Catholic, by the way; came to that conclusion years ago that it was just a bunch of bullshit, purely man-made. "Zero" exists just as "1", "2", "3", etc. exists. Craig loves to rail against actual infinities; that's why he has a problem with "zero", because he does not accept the existence of actual infinities in the World, except, of course, when it comes to "God". But, if numbers exist in some Platonic sense, why is that such a problem? I can at least comprehend the number zero (say, when I have no money left), or even "negative" numbers (say, when my bank account overdrafts and I get all of those damn charges!), and certainly, a positive balance as well!! I can't, however, comprehend God; for all the time that I spent praying while growing up, God never spoke back to me, not once. Looking back on it, it was no different than me talking to myself.
Exactly, the concept of "infinity" exists as much as the concept of "zero" or "five". Whether or not there are actual infinities in reality is something that appears untestable to me.
I can imagine one apple in my left hand and two in my right, making a total of three. I can imagine borrowing four apples from a friend, and hence, owing them four applies, which would mean a "negative 4" balance on my apple accounting sheet. I can also imagine having no apples or zero apples.