Alexander Pruss's Blog

We have an infinite future. If eternalism is true, then anything that has an infinite future is infinite. We are finite. So, eternalism ...

We have a simple procedure for recognizing finite sequences. We start at the beginning and go through the sequence one item at a time (e.g.,...

Three is a finite number. How do we know this? Here’s a proof that three is finite: 0 is finite. (Axiom) For all n , if n is finite, th...

The existence of non-standard models of arithmetic makes defining finitude problematic. A finite set is normally defined as one that can be ...

Causal finitism lets you give a metaphysical definition of the finite . Here’s something I just noticed. This yields a metaphysical definiti...

Consider this fun “proof” that 0=1:       … So, 3=4 So, 2=3 So, 1=2 So, 0=1. What’s wrong with the proof? Each step follows from the...

Causal finitism says that nothing can have infinitely many causes. Interestingly, we can turn causal finitism around into a definition of th...

Mathematical Platonists say that sets and numbers exist. But there is a standard epistemological problem: How do we have epistemic access to...

In conversation last week, I said to my father that my laptop battery has a “finite number of charge cycles”. Now, if someone said to me th...

Voting involves compromise on two levels. On the ground level, a vote involves coming to a compromise decision. But on the meta leve...