O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space were it not that I have bad dreams.
Shakespeares Hamlet (Act II, Scene II)
Infinity is the concept of forever. It is to extend on for eternity, never-ending. This concept, it cannot exist in reality, yet it thrives every day in todays culture. Religion, theories of space and time, the size of the universe, all of these have the concept of infinity tied to them. But what is infinity really? Can anything actually be infinite? Infinity is a paradox unto itself, existing, yet nonexistent at the same time, and affects our lives in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.
Infinity cannot even begin to exist. This is due to the fact that if something starts, it has not existed forever in time, and therefore cannot be infinite. For something to be infinite, it must extend beyond the constraints of space and time. As we know now by the aid of scientific instruments, the universe is not infinite, but has boundaries that are constantly extending outwards, and have been since the birth of the universe. With this information, we know that any material object, or a lack of material, cannot extend to infinity unless it extends beyond the barriers of space. By the same token, time is not infinite. Time is the measure of the length of existence, or a section of an objects existence. Since nothing existed before the creation of the universe, time began at the creation of the universe, and is therefore finite.
On the other hand, people cannot exist without this impossible idea. Every religion that has ever been practiced has a belief in some sort of power, whether it be a god, the human spirit, or some other medium, that has unlimited, or eternal, potential, power, or perfection. These religions have extended back to the first person capable of coherent thought. Only atheism, agnosticism, and humanism question the existence of eternity, and they are not actually religions because of their lack of a set of beliefs that all believers adhere to. Even without religion, we are compelled to believe in infinity. For example, the expanding universe theory which was presented earlier shows that the universe has definite boundaries. But what is outside these boundaries? Human nature makes it impossible for people to accept the concept of a finite existence. The fact of choice and chance also require us to believe in infinity. With choice, we make a decision that changes the universe, either subtly or distinctly. In chance, it is the possibility that something random will happen. These two ideas in conjunction force us to believe in the concept of infinity. It is the fact that anything can happen at any time, no matter how improbable it is, that forces us to accept infinity.
Infinity affects us every day in many different ways. One main influence of infinity is religion. As explained earlier, every religion has the concept of infinity embedded into it somehow. For many people, religion is the basis of beliefs, even before work and family. For example, modern Muslim terrorists sacrifice their lives for what they believe in. Also, every decision we make leads to a different reality, one of infinite possible realities. Every single thing a person does is based off of a choice, causing infinity to affect people every second of every day.
In conclusion, infinity cannot exist in reality. Even though it cannot exist, human beings require infinity as a base for their life. This presents an interesting paradox, for how can people survive on something that does not exist? We must explore this, in the words of Buzz Lightyear, to infinity, and beyond! The only question is, can we?
Note: This essay is not made to prove or disprove infinity. It is simply here to pose a question, not destroy beliefs. I try to make it clear that a material infinity cannot exist, but a nonmaterial infinity is necessary to exist. Please don't take this in the wrong way.
Shakespeares Hamlet (Act II, Scene II)
Infinity is the concept of forever. It is to extend on for eternity, never-ending. This concept, it cannot exist in reality, yet it thrives every day in todays culture. Religion, theories of space and time, the size of the universe, all of these have the concept of infinity tied to them. But what is infinity really? Can anything actually be infinite? Infinity is a paradox unto itself, existing, yet nonexistent at the same time, and affects our lives in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.
Infinity cannot even begin to exist. This is due to the fact that if something starts, it has not existed forever in time, and therefore cannot be infinite. For something to be infinite, it must extend beyond the constraints of space and time. As we know now by the aid of scientific instruments, the universe is not infinite, but has boundaries that are constantly extending outwards, and have been since the birth of the universe. With this information, we know that any material object, or a lack of material, cannot extend to infinity unless it extends beyond the barriers of space. By the same token, time is not infinite. Time is the measure of the length of existence, or a section of an objects existence. Since nothing existed before the creation of the universe, time began at the creation of the universe, and is therefore finite.
On the other hand, people cannot exist without this impossible idea. Every religion that has ever been practiced has a belief in some sort of power, whether it be a god, the human spirit, or some other medium, that has unlimited, or eternal, potential, power, or perfection. These religions have extended back to the first person capable of coherent thought. Only atheism, agnosticism, and humanism question the existence of eternity, and they are not actually religions because of their lack of a set of beliefs that all believers adhere to. Even without religion, we are compelled to believe in infinity. For example, the expanding universe theory which was presented earlier shows that the universe has definite boundaries. But what is outside these boundaries? Human nature makes it impossible for people to accept the concept of a finite existence. The fact of choice and chance also require us to believe in infinity. With choice, we make a decision that changes the universe, either subtly or distinctly. In chance, it is the possibility that something random will happen. These two ideas in conjunction force us to believe in the concept of infinity. It is the fact that anything can happen at any time, no matter how improbable it is, that forces us to accept infinity.
Infinity affects us every day in many different ways. One main influence of infinity is religion. As explained earlier, every religion has the concept of infinity embedded into it somehow. For many people, religion is the basis of beliefs, even before work and family. For example, modern Muslim terrorists sacrifice their lives for what they believe in. Also, every decision we make leads to a different reality, one of infinite possible realities. Every single thing a person does is based off of a choice, causing infinity to affect people every second of every day.
In conclusion, infinity cannot exist in reality. Even though it cannot exist, human beings require infinity as a base for their life. This presents an interesting paradox, for how can people survive on something that does not exist? We must explore this, in the words of Buzz Lightyear, to infinity, and beyond! The only question is, can we?
Note: This essay is not made to prove or disprove infinity. It is simply here to pose a question, not destroy beliefs. I try to make it clear that a material infinity cannot exist, but a nonmaterial infinity is necessary to exist. Please don't take this in the wrong way.
