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Nothing To Be Gained Here
Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only in the spaces between the invisibly small atoms. For them, all space was filled with atoms. Aristotle took the view that there exists matter and there exists space, a receptacle into which matter objects can be placed. This became the paradigm for classical scientists of the modern age like Newton. Nevertheless, some philosophers, like Descartes, continued to argue against the existence of empty space until the scientific discovery of a physical vacuum. Existentialists like Sartre and Heidegger (as interpreted by Sartre) have associated ''nothing'' with consciousness. Some writers have made connections between Heidegger's concept of ''nothing'' and the nirvana of Eastern religions. Modern science does not equate ''vacuum'' wi ...
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Atomism
Atomism (from Greek , ''atomon'', i.e. "uncuttable, indivisible") is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its atoms appeared in both ancient Greek and ancient Indian philosophical traditions. Leucippus is the earliest figure whose commitment to atomism is well attested and he is usually credited with inventing atomism. He and other ancient Greek atomists theorized that nature consists of two fundamental principles: ''atom'' and ''void''. Clusters of different shapes, arrangements, and positions give rise to the various macroscopic substances in the world.Berryman, Sylvia, "Ancient Atomism", ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)online/ref> The particles of chemical matter for which chemists and other natural philosophers of the early 19th century found experimental evidence were thought to be indivisibl ...
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Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre. Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape. Plato's dialogues are among the most co ...
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Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest mathematical work was on conic sections; he wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of 16. He later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social sciences, social science. In 1642, while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal's calculators and later Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of the mechanical calculator. Like his contemporary René Descartes, Pascal was also a pioneer in the natural and applied sciences. Pascal wrote in defense of the scientific method and produced several controversial results. He made important contribu ...
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Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science and various areas of analytic philosophy, especially philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy"Bertrand Russell" 1 May 2003. He was one of the early 20th century's most prominent logicians, and a founder of analytic philosophy, along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, his friend and colleague G. E. Moore and his student and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. Russell with Moore led the British "revolt against idealism". Together with his former teacher A. N. Whitehead, Russell wrote ''Principia Mathematica'', a milestone in the development of classical logic, and a major attempt to reduce the whole ...
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Democritus
Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. None of his work has survived. Life Although many anecdotes about Democritus' life survive, their authenticity cannot be verified and modern scholars doubt their accuracy. Democritus was said to be born in the city of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony of Teos,. Ancient accounts of his life have claimed that he lived to a very old age, with some writers claiming that he was over a hundred years old at the time of his death. Philosophy and science states that the relation between Democritus and his predecessor Leucippus is not clear; while earlier ancient sources such as Aristotle and Theophrastus credit Leucippus with the invention of atomism and credit its doctrines to both philosophers, later sources only credit Democritus, making defi ...
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Plenum
Plenum may refer to: * Plenum chamber, a chamber intended to contain air, gas, or liquid at positive pressure * Plenism, or ''Horror vacui'' (physics) the concept that "nature abhors a vacuum" * Plenum (meeting), a meeting of a deliberative assembly in which all members are present; contrast with quorum * Plenum space, enclosed spaces (in buildings) used for airflow * Plenum cable, electrical wire permitted in plenum spaces per building codes * Plenum Publishing Corporation, a publisher of scientific books and journals * Plenum (physics), a space completely filled with matter * Undergravel filters, in aquarium filtration, an open space under a layer of gravel or sand * Air-mixing plenum In building services engineering and HVAC, an air-mixing plenum (or mixing box) is used for mixing air from different ductwork systems. Usage The most common application for an air-mixing plenum is the mixing of ''return air'' (or ''extract ai ..., a place where ducts meet See also * Plenar ...
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Something (concept)
Something and anything are concepts of existence in ontology, contrasting with the concept of nothing. Both are used to describe the understanding that what exists is not nothing without needing to address the existence of everything. The philosopher, David Lewis, has pointed out that these are ''necessarily'' vague terms, asserting that "ontological assertions of common sense are correct if the quantifiers—such words as "something" and "anything"—are restricted roughly to ordinary or familiar things." The idea that "something" is the opposite of "nothing" has existed at least since it was proposed by the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry in the 3rd century. One of the most basic questions of both science and philosophy is: why is there something rather than nothing at all? A question that follows from this is whether it is ever actually possible for there to be nothing at all, or whether there must always be something. Grammatically, "''something'' and ''anything'' are co ...
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Atomists
Atomism (from Greek , ''atomon'', i.e. "uncuttable, indivisible") is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its atoms appeared in both ancient Greek and ancient Indian philosophical traditions. Leucippus is the earliest figure whose commitment to atomism is well attested and he is usually credited with inventing atomism. He and other ancient Greek atomists theorized that nature consists of two fundamental principles: ''atom'' and ''void''. Clusters of different shapes, arrangements, and positions give rise to the various macroscopic substances in the world.Berryman, Sylvia, "Ancient Atomism", ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)online/ref> The particles of chemical matter for which chemists and other natural philosophers of the early 19th century found experimental evidence were thought to be indivisible ...
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Leucippus
Leucippus (; el, Λεύκιππος, ''Leúkippos''; fl. 5th century BCE) is a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who has been credited as the first philosopher to develop a theory of atomism. Leucippus' reputation, even in antiquity, was obscured by the reputation of his much more famous pupil, Democritus, who is also credited with the first development of atomic theory. Few details about Leucippus' life are known, and even his historical existence has on occasion been questioned. Biography Leucippus's dates are not recorded and he is often mentioned in conjunction with his more well-known pupil Democritus. Diogenes Laertius lists possible birthplaces as Miletus, Abdera and Elea. Some sources claim that around 440 or 430 BCE Leucippus founded a school at Abdera, with which his pupil, Democritus, was closely associated. There is mention that a Leucippus founded the city of Metapontum, which honored this Leucippus with a coin. Philosophical views Leucippus is typically associ ...
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Gary R
Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida * Gary, Maryland *Gary, Minnesota *Gary, South Dakota *Gary, West Virginia *Gary – New Duluth, a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota *Gary Air Force Base, San Marcos, Texas * Gary City, Texas Ships * USS ''Gary'' (DE-61), a destroyer escort launched in 1943 * USS ''Gary'' (CL-147), scheduled to be a light cruiser, but canceled prior to construction in 1945 * USS ''Gary'' (FFG-51), a frigate, commissioned in 1984 * USS ''Thomas J. Gary'' (DE-326), a destroyer escort commissioned in 1943 People and fictional characters *Gary (surname), including a list of people with the name *Gary (rapper), South Korean rapper and entertainer *Gary (Argentine singer), Argentine singer of cuarteto songs Other uses *'' Gary: ...
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Michele Besso
Michele Angelo Besso (Riesbach, 25 May 1873 – Geneva, 15 March 1955) was a Swiss-Italian engineer best known for working closely with Albert Einstein. Biography Besso was born in Riesbach from a family of Italian Jewish (Sephardi) descent. He was a close friend of Albert Einstein during his years at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, (today known as ETH Zurich) and then at the patent office in Bern, where Einstein helped him to get a job. Besso is credited with introducing Einstein to the works of Ernst Mach, the sceptical critic of physics who influenced Einstein's approach to the discipline. Einstein called Besso "the best sounding board in Europe" for scientific ideas. In Einstein's original paper on special relativity, he ended the paper stating, "In conclusion, let me note that my friend and colleague M. Besso steadfastly stood by me in my work on the problem here discussed, and that I am indebted to him for many a valuable suggestion." Besso died in Geneva, ...
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Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favour of empirical falsification. According to Popper, a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can (and should) be scrutinised with decisive experiments. Popper was opposed to the classical justificationist account of knowledge, which he replaced with critical rationalism, namely "the first non-justificational philosophy of criticism in the history of philosophy". In political discourse, he is known for his vigorous defence of liberal democracy and the principles of social criticism that he believed made a flourishing open society possible. His political philosophy embraced ideas from major democratic political ideologies, inc ...
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