THE FIRST ISSUE - IS THERE SUCH A THING AS "SPACE"?
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First. Assume that the adjacent square is the entire universe and
that all of reality is within its perimeter. Further, assume that there
is no thing in this reality - this universe is completely empty, there are
no objects. Question: is there any space in this reality? |
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Second. Next, imagine that there is one, and only one, thing in this
reality. Question: now, is there any space in this reality? |
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Third. Finally, imagine that there are now at least two objects in
this reality. Question: now, is there any space in this reality? |
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| Discussion. In the first instance, it cannot be said there is or is not
any space. There is no thing; and, there is no way to determine if there
is any space. In the second instance, there still is no way to determine
whether or not there is any space. There is just one object without any
frame of reference. However, in the third instance, space begins to exist
because now there is a distance between two points of reference; and that
is the definition of space - i.e. the distance between objects. With two
things, space is only two dimensional and is defined entirely by the distance
between those two points. However, as we add things (i.e. points), space
becomes broader, more complex and full, and three dimensional. Space, therefore,
is a product of objects and is not a thing, per se. Space is a way
of relating or describing two or more things. Again, space does not exist
in and of itself but is merely a way of describing an aspect of things -
i.e., their respective distance from each other. |
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