Infinity

Do we depend on infinity for our awareness of the finite?  Could infinity itself be directly observed and fully understood?

Dependent on infinity?

The concept of infinity provides the transcendence necessary for finite awareness.  Suppose someone wants to look at a table: in order to gain the necessary perspective, one must station oneself from it at length, such that the

whole table is in one's field of vision.  If one is too close to it, there will not be enough perspective to view it in its entirety and thus, we will not be able to fully comprehend it as a table.  

This holds true through all succeeding levels of perception - from the room where the table sits, to the building, neighborhood, city, country, planet, solar system, galaxy, and ultimately, the universe itself.  Each level of perception is dependent on a greater level beyond it.

But once we reach the universe, how are we able to remove ourselves from it so as to apprehend it as the entire cosmos which it is?  We do this by stepping beyond its bounds as well, except now we now step into something which has no boundaries whatsoever: infinity itself.  And if we reverse ourselves and subtract infinity, we would not be able to comprehend the universe, galaxy, solar system, right back down to the table.  Thus, without the concept of infinity, we would not be able to step outside finitude to perceive it, we would not be aware of finitude at all.

Infinity unseen?

Infinity, if it exists, could never be seen directly.  We can step past each level of perception up to and including the universe, but we could not step past infinity, since it would have no boundaries beyond which one could go.  What would happen to our perception of finite reality were it not for the concept of infinity, happens with infinity itself: the viewpoint necessary to perceive it becomes unattainable.  Thus, we become aware of the infinity only indirectly, through the limit that appears on the rest of reality.

Thus, infinity probably can never be entirely understood, since it would always tend to move beyond all attempts to capture or enclose it.  

By Truthseeker

Resources

Counting to Infinity: Infinity and mathematics.  

• Infinity: explanation of the mathematical and philosophical concept.

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