date

26 Sept. 1814 Logic 1
26 Sept. 1814

Logic

1

Ch. Ontology

Entities classed

10

4

Space is the negation or absence of body.

Of any determinate individual portion of space, as clear an idea is capable of being formed as of any body, or of any portion of any body; and besides, being equally determinate as that of body, the idea of space is much more simple.

To space it is difficult either to ascribe or to deny /refuse/ existence without a contradiction in terms; to consider it as nothing or as distinct from nothing.

Body /Of body/ that is of all bodies, whatsoever, - the annihilation may be conceived without difficulty. Why ? Because, in whatsoever place, - that is, within whatsoever portion of space, within whatsoever receptacle, composed of mere space, any body is, at any given time conceived to be, it may thenceforward be conceived to be removed from that place, and so successively from any and every other portion of space.

Of Space - that is, of all portions of space whatever, indeed of so much as any one portion of space, the annihilation cannot easily be conceived. Why ? Because in mere space there

is nothing to remove; nothing that can be conceived capable of being removed. In so far as matter is annihilated, there is less matter than there was before. But, suppose space to be annihilated; is there less space than there was before ?

As /accordingly/ taken in the aggregate no bounds no limits can be assigned to space, so neither can any form or any quantity. It cannot be removed; it cannot be moved; for there is nothing of it or in it to remove; there is no place to which it can be removed.

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