(October 10, 2018 at 8:00 am)polymath257 Wrote:(October 9, 2018 at 9:41 am)RoadRunner79 Wrote: Where you not just recently saying that these axioms are just made up, and need to see if they correspond to the real world? As well; how does this show that the issue with the logic against having an acutal infinity and against an infinite regress? It seems that you just assume that the numbers and axioms (which you admittedly make up) so; I don't see how this is supersedes anything and gets around the issues of traversing an infinite regress.
Once again, there is no *logical* contradiction with an actual infinity or infinite regress. It is a question of science whether either turns out to be the case. But that goes beyond mere logic to a question of observation.
The axioms and their lack of self-contradiction show that there is no *logical* issue with infinities.They differ from finite quantities, clearly, but there is no actual contradiction. So, assuming standard two-valued logic along with quantifiers, there is no logical issue with there being infinities that are 'completed'. That said, there is a lot of very poor philosophy about infinity that was done prior to Cantor's work. ANYTHING concerning infinity should take that work into consideration.
If the underlying assumptions or premises are illogical or have a contradiction, then there is a problem at the very foundation. Now I will agree, that we can have an abstract concept of and actual infinity, and you can extrapolate out an infinite process. We must have an abstract notion of an actual infinity as we are discussing it. It would seem that you are either modifying the terms, and thus talking about something else, or that you have contradiction. You cannot have a quantity of things, that is both endless, and complete. It cannot exist You can have a process that goes on without any bounds, but that is a potential infinite.
It doesn't matter how strong the house is, if it is built on sand.
It is said that an argument is what convinces reasonable men and a proof is what it takes to convince even an unreasonable man. - Alexander Vilenkin
If I am shown my error, I will be the first to throw my books into the fire. - Martin Luther
If I am shown my error, I will be the first to throw my books into the fire. - Martin Luther