metaphysicist comments on Can infinite quantities exist? A philosophical approach - Less Wrong

-9 Post author: metaphysicist 03 January 2013 10:52PM

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Comment author: metaphysicist 05 January 2013 10:06:33PM 0 points [-]

What makes you think there's some equivocation in my usage of "exists"? (Which is where taboo is useful.) If I were pushing the boundaries of the concept, that would be one thing. I'm not taking any position on whether abstract entities exist; what I mean by exist is straightforward. If the universe has existed for an infinite amount of time, the infinity is "actually realized," that is, infinite duration is more than an abstract entity or an idealization. If I say, the universe is terribly old, so old we can approximate it by regarding it as infinitely old, then I am not making a claim about the actual realization of infinity.