Abstract
A point is that which has no part. (Euclid, 1956, Book I, Def. 1)
Euclid was born ca. 300 BCE at Alexandria, Egypt, so why worry about his definition? Here’s
why: Euclid’s point is a natural kind defined by the absence of parts. Bizarre! Just imagine an
object lacking of natural parts! Think of a cat and try to ‘‘put a blind eye’’ to its head. Now
go on with its tail and any other part you can imagine. What you end up with is a cat without
parts. Cheshire cat (Carroll, 1865) perhaps? More likely you lost the cat in the process. Truly
atomic objects are nothing. But, according to Democritus (Bakalis, 2005), reality itself is
nothing but ‘‘atoms and void,’’ pretty much our modern perspective. Such a reality can’t
account for much!
Euclid was born ca. 300 BCE at Alexandria, Egypt, so why worry about his definition? Here’s
why: Euclid’s point is a natural kind defined by the absence of parts. Bizarre! Just imagine an
object lacking of natural parts! Think of a cat and try to ‘‘put a blind eye’’ to its head. Now
go on with its tail and any other part you can imagine. What you end up with is a cat without
parts. Cheshire cat (Carroll, 1865) perhaps? More likely you lost the cat in the process. Truly
atomic objects are nothing. But, according to Democritus (Bakalis, 2005), reality itself is
nothing but ‘‘atoms and void,’’ pretty much our modern perspective. Such a reality can’t
account for much!
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 969-972 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Perception |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2016 |