THE GREAT .. IDEA.

S
811
INTRODUCTION
dise, Dante meets Piccarda Donati in the Heav-
en of the Moon. She explains to him that this
place "which appears so far down," is assigned
to those who have violated their vows in some
particular. Dante wonders why .she and the
others do not "desire a more exalted place, in
order to see more."Piccarda replies: "Brother,
virtue of charity quiets our will, and makes us
wish only for that which we have, and quickens
not our thirst for aught else.... So that as we
are, from seat to seat throughout this realm, to
all the realm is pleasing, as to the King who in-
,vilIs us with His will; and His will is our peace."
This speech of Piccarda's makes it clear to
Dante "how everyvlhere in Heaven is Paradise,
even if the grace of the Supreme Good does
not there rain down in one measure." These
different measures of beatitude in the diffusion
of God's love and light are represented by the
celestial spheres from the earth-adjacent moon
to the Crystalline Heaven, the outermost
bound of the physical universe, of which Dante
says that it "has no other Where than in the
Divine Mind."
WHEN THE WHOLE EXPANSE of physical space
or the boundary of the universe is considered,
Ne\vton no less than Dante conceives the omni-
presence and eternity of God as that which
somehow encompasses all space and time. God
"is not duration or space," Newton writes at
the end of the Principles, "but He endures and
is present .. and by existing always and every-
where, He constitutes duration and space." In
the concluding queries of the Optics, Newton
appears to think of infinite space as the Divine
Sensoriuln in which all things are at once pres-
ent to God, ,vho "being in all places is more
able by His will to move the bodies within His
boundless uniform sensorium, and thereby to
form and reform the parts of the Universe, than
Chapter 89: SPACE
. N the level of our everyday observations,
space and time seem to be the obvious,
common, and the connected properties of
sical things. We distinguish things from one
ther by their position in space, as we mark
penings by the date of their occurrence.
ewhere and ,v-hen of a thing is oftentused to
utify it, for it is generally agreed that t\VO
ies cannot occupy the same place at the
time, and that at the same time two dis-
t places cannot be occupied by the same
y. According to a theologian like Aquinas,
elimitations of space and time apply even
odiless things, i.e., to angels.
1\n angel and a body are said to be in .a
e," he \vrites, "in quite a different sense."
ereas a body is in the place which contains
la,n angel is said to be in a corporeal place by
iication of the angelic power ... not as be-
contained, but as somehow containing it."
Haws, nevertheless, that at a given time an
"is not every\vhere, nor in several places,
n only one place." Nor does the incorpo-
y of angels permit more than one angel to
the same time in the same place. Accard-
o the manner in which an angel is at a
-by the action of his po\ver-"there can
ly one angel in one place," Aquinas de-
s, even as there can be only one body in
lace at a time.
tation or position in space, and spatial re-
ships such as higher and lower, nearer and
er,are so familiar and intelligible that they
icle terms of reference whereby men speak
phoricallyofthe n10ral hierarchyand spirit-
istances. The whole of Dante's Divine C01n-
Jfor example, involves a spatial metaphor
sets forth the gradations of sin and the
es of blessedness in terms of places be-
the earth and in the heavens above.
he mounts from sphere to sphere in Para"
LAMETTRIE.Man a Machine
VOLTAIRE. "Soul," in A Philosophical.L./.j["H{)'nm",,,.
HELVETIUS. Traite de l'esprit
--. A Treatise on Alan
SCHELLING. Von der WeJtseele
EMERSON. "The Over-Soul," in Essays, I
GRATRY. Philosophie. De la connaissance de
BAIN. Mind and Body
CLIFFORD. "Body and Mind," in VOL II,
and Essays
LOTZE. Microcosmos, BK II-III
--. Metaphysics, BK III, CH I
--. Outlines of Psychology
FRAZER. The Golden Bough, PART II;
PART V, CH 16; PART VII, CH 10-1 I
BRADLEY. Appearance and Reality, BK I,
BK II, CH 23
--. Collected Essays, VOL 1 (20)
VONIER. The Human Soul and Its
Other Spirits
DRIESCH. Mind and Body
BERGSON. Matter and Men10ry, CH 4
._-. Mind-Energy, CH 2
WHITEHEAD. Religion in the Making, CH
--. Adventures of Ideas, CH 2
B. RUSSELL. Religion and Science, CH 5
JUNG. Modern Alan in Search of a Soul
--. Psychology and Religion
SANTAYANA. Scepticism and Animal
--. The Realm of Matter, CH 8-9
--. The Realm of Spirit, CH 1-3
I-II
MELANCHTHON. Comlnentarius de Anima
JOHN OF THE CROSS. Spiritual Canticle
--. Dark Night ofthe Soul
--. The Living Flame of Love
SUAREZ. Disputationes Metaphysicae, XIII (14),
XXXIV (5)
BURTON. The Anatomy of Melancholy, PART I,
SECT 1, MEMB II, SUB-SECT 5-1 I
JOHN OF SAINT THOMAS. Cursus Philosophicus Tho-
misticus, Philosophia Naturalis, PART IV, QQ 1-12
MARVELL. Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body
MALEBRANCHE. De la recherche de la verite, BK I,
CH 10 (I, 3)
--. Dialogues on jUetaphysics and Religion, 1
LEIBNITZ. Discourse on .i\1etaphysics, XXXIII-XXXIV
--. Philosophical Works, CH 12 (A New Syste1n of
the Interaction of Substances), 13 (The Reply of
M. Foucher Concerning the Interaction of Sub-
stances), 23 (Considerations on the Doctrines of a
Universal Spirit), 34 (The Principles of Nature and
of Grace)
--. New Essays Concerning Human Understanding,
BK IV, CH 9
--. Monadology, par 19-28
LAMETTRIE. Histoire naturelle de l' alne
810
PROCLUS. The Elements of Theology, (N)
SAADIA GAON. The Book of Beliefs and Opinions,
TREATISE VI-VII
A.LBERTUS MAGNUS. De Natura et Origine Animae
--. On the Intellect and the Intelligible, TREATISE
THE GREAT
EVER THESE QUESTIONS are answered, one
seems to be clear. Space, functioning as
can be identified only with matter
of form, not with the matter of three-
bodies. The relation of space to
seems to be differently conceived by
Space is for him not an antecedent
involved in the original production of
things, but rather-as the extension of
is inseparable in existence from them.
which signifies the. essence of
CHAPTER 89: SI)ACE 813
and imperceptible to the senses. Nor material substances, as thinking signifies the
they, as are the forms, genuinely intelligible essence of mind or soul. "By extension," Des-
reason. "The third nature, which is space, cartes \vrites, '\ve understand whatever has
is eternal,"Timaeus says, "admits not of length, breadth, and depth, not inquiring
struction and provides a home for all created \vhether it be a real body or merely space."
'ngs, and is apprehended without the help of Nevertheless, he goes on to say that "by exten-
nse, by a kind of spurious reason, and is hardly sion we do not here mean anything distinct
\vhich we beholding as in a dream, say of and separate from the extended object itself."
lJexistence that it must of necessi ty be in some Descartes. considers the significance. of three
lace and occupy a space, but that which is statements: "extension occupies place, body pos-
ither in heaven nor on earth has no existence." sesses extension, and extension is not body." The
The precise meaning of this conception. of first statement, he thinks, llleans no more than
ace is difficult to determine. Does it, for "that which is extended occupies place." The
ample, find an echo in Plotinus' statement secondstatement seems toimply that "the
at "space is a containet;, a container of body; ing of extension is not identical with that of body;
is the home of such things as consist of iso- yet," Descartes insists, '\ve do not construct two
ted parts"? But he also says that space "ina distinct ideas in our imagination, one of body,
fict sense is unembodied and is not, itself, the other of extension, but merely a single image
dy," and that "body is not a void," but ofextended body; and from the point ofthe view
ther that "the void must be that in \vhich of the thing it is exactly as if I had said: body is
dy is placed," seeming thereby to imply that extended, or better, the extended is extended."
Ce is essentially the void. The statement in Finally, in the statement that extension is not
Timaeus that "there can be no such thing body, the word "extension," according to Des-
a. vacuum," may apply only to the filled cartes, expresses a purely abstract conception-
Ce of the created heaven and earth. May it nothing which in itself has any sensible reality.
also be said that space is a void when it is So far as its existence is concerned, the thing
ntified \vith the formless matter of the re- conceived as extension cannot be separated
tacle prior to creation? from body. Those who think othernrise, Des-
his raises further questions. Is the receptacle cClrtes asserts, are involved in "the cantradic-
Ce or matter? And is the conception of space tion of saying that the same thing is at the sa1ne
he Tirnaeus rightly interpreted by Aquinas, tllne body and not body."
ommenting on Augustine's reading of "the point is summarized in his Principles of
h was void and empty" in Genesis I:2? Plulosophy by the statement that "the nature
ustine holds that by the word "earth" in of matter or of body in its universal aspect, does
passage formless matter is to be under- not consist in being hard, or heavy, or colored
d. Because of its formlessness, Aquinas ... but solely in the fact that it is a substance
es, "the earth is said to be void and empty, extended in length, breadth, and depth." But,
visible and shapeless," and, he adds, "that is it may be asked, are the dimensions of a body
Plato says matter is place." the same as space ?Descartes replies that "the
saine extension vvhich constitutes the nature of
a body constitutes the nature of space ... not
only that which is full of body, but also of that
\vhich is called a vacuum."
If there were a vacuum, or elnpty space, ex-
tension n1ight be separated from body. This
Descartes flatly denies. "As regards a vacuum
in the philosophic sense of the word, i.e., a
space in which there is no substance, it is evi-
dent that such cannot exist, because the exten-
sion of space or internal place is not different
from that of body." And even '\vhenwe take
PLATO'S THEORY OF SPACE is set forth
Timaeus as part of "the likely story"
Timaeus tells about the production and
stitution of the The sensible
which come into being and pass a\vay
cording to him, patterned after the
forms. To the eternal patterns and their
in the world of change, Timaeus finds it
sary to add a third factor in order to
for the physical elements and their lH...IIP9",,....,. __ "
This factor, he says, is "difficult to
dimly seen.... It is the receptacle,
manner the nurse, of all generation."
trast to the elements which are
changing into and out of one .......... '..., ......JL ........
ceptacle "never departs from her own
and never in any way assumes a form
of any of the things which enter into
The forms which enter into and go
are the likenesses of real existences
after their patterns in a wonderful
plicable manner."
Timaeus distinguishes the three 1"'1"11"\"" ....... 1,......
that \vhich comes to be and passes
process of generation, that in which the
tion takes place, and that which the
thing resembles and which is its
likens the receptacle or "receiving ........ I""
a mother, the source to a father,
Inediate nature to a child," and adds
the model is to take every
the matter in which the model is lasht()ne:d.
not be duly prepared, unless it is
free from the in1press of any of
which it is hereafter to receive from
. . . '\Therefore, that which is to
forms should have no form.... The
and receptacle of all created, visible,
way sensible things, is not to be .......
or air, or fire, or water, or any of
pounds, or any of the elements
these are derived, but is an invisible
less being \vhich receives all things,
mysterious way partakes of the Intelll.2:lr)l(
is most incomprehensible."
This third factor which Timaeus
calls "matter" as well as "receptacle,
sometimes calls "space." When
space are identifled with each other
conception of a receptacle for the
have the characteristics of being
812
we are by our \vill to move the parts of our own
bodies."
The physicist does not have to turn theolo-
gian, however, to be confronted \vith the
mysteries of space. Even without the mod-
ern complication of the relation of its three
dimensions to time as a fourth dimension, the
physical concept of space raises difficulties for
analysis.
In the tradi tion of western thought conflict-
ing definitions of space seem to result from a
fundamental difference in the object being de-
fined-\vhether it is an inseparable property of
bodies, perhaps even identical with unformed
matter, or a reality apart from the bodies \vhich
move and have their being in it. Sometimes this
difference is signified by a difference between
the meaning of the word "place" or "exten-
sion" and the meaning of "space." It appears
also to be involved in the contrast between
filled space and empty space (i.e., the void or
vacuum); and it bears some relation to Aris-
totle's distinction between space and place,
and to Ne\vton's distinction between absolute
and relative space.
The controversial character of space in physi-
cal theory may be appreciated in terms of these
oppositions in meaning, and the issues which
they raise. In addition, physical theory is con-
fronted with the problem of action-at-a-dis-
tance (i.e., action through a void or through an
ethereal medium), the problem of the infinity
of space (or the question of a bounded or un-
bounded universe), and the distinction be-
tween one physical space and the variety of
geometrical spaces.
Space, which at first seems easily apprehended
by sense and susceptible to measurement, be-
comes upon exatnination so subtle as to be al-
most a vanishing object. Reason finds it diffi-
cult to say precisely what space is in itself, and
ho\"\' it is related to matter and motion. Even
the familiar space of ordinary sense-perception
seems to have its puzzles. A psychologist like
James is concerned with how the different fields
of touch, vision, and hearing coalesce to form
the single space of our experience; and in deal-
ing with the process by which \ve learn to per-
ceive the spatial manifold of positions and di-
rections, he cannot avoid the issue of innate as
opposed to acquired space-perception.
THE GREAT IDEAS
CHAPTER 89: SPACE 815
that it is atomic or, in the language of "not the situation, nor the external surface of
an uncuttable bit of "solid single- the body. For the places of equal solids are al-
equal; but their surfaces, by reason of their
dissimilar figures, are often unequal."
Locke also distinguishes between space and
place, the one consisting in "the relation of dis-
tance between any two bodies or points," the
in "the relation of distance betwixt any
thIng and any two or more points which are
considered as keeping the same distance one
with another and, so considered, as at rest."
With this conception of place, he holds in. ap-
parent agreement with Aristotle that "we can
have no idea of the place of the universe, though
we can of all the parts of it.'.' Yet he goes on to
say that what lies beyond the universe is "one
uniform space or expansion, wherein the mind
finds .po variety or marks."
This seems to indicate that Locke's idea of
space, like that of Lucretius, conceives an in-
finite void. "Those who assert the impossibility
of space existing without matter tnust,"he
writes, "make body infinite." Furthermore
"those who dispute for or against a vacuum,
thereby confess that they have distinct ideas of
vacuum and plenum, i.e., that theyhave an idea
? void of solidity, though they deny
Its eXIstence, or else they dispute about nothing
a.t all. For they who so much alter the significa-
tIon of words, as to call extension, body, and
make the whole essence of body
to be nothIng but pure extension, .must. talk
absurdly whenever they speak of vacuum, since
it is impossible for extension to be \vithout ex-
for vacuum, whether we affirm or deny
It,. SIgnIfies space without body, whose very
eXIstence no one can deny to be possible who
will not make matter infinite, and take from
God a power to annihilate any particle of it."
Precisely because he thinks no one can affirm
an infinite body, and because he conceives space
to be a void, distinct from bodies, Locke finds
it necessary to affirm the infinity of space. "I
would ask," he says, "whether if God placed a
man at the extremity of corporeal beings, he
could not stretch his hand beyond his body. If
he could, then he would put his armwhere there
was before space without body." Furthermore,
if "it be impossible for any particle of matter to
but into empty space, the same possi-
bIlIty of a body's moving into a void space, be-=:
opposite theories ofspace
place seem to be connected vvith opposite
ries of matter or body. Space as the empty
or void between solid bodies goes along
atomism, whereas place as "the. boundary
e. containing body at which it is in contact
the contained body" goes along with the
ryof the world as a material plenum.
be atomic. theory -and the plenum theory
opposed in one other fundamental respect
space. According to Aristotle,. the
ssihili ty of an actually. infinite body. makes
tirgest place finite. According to Lucretius,
nfinite number of atoms requires an infinite
whether "the void that we have
vered, or room or space ... is altogether
ded or spreads out limitless and immeasur-
deep," Lucretius answers that "the whole
prse is boundedin no direction." His argu-
tseems to be like Aristotle's for an "un-
ded universe." Since there can be "nothing
de the whole sum," he writes, "it lacks
fore bound or limit. "But where Aristotle's
ing seems to be that the universe has no
since all places are inside it, Lucretius
rs to mean that empty space extends in-
y .in all directions.
ERN ATOMISTS like Newton and Locke
a theory. of space which accords with the
pfmatter existing in discontinuous units,
ated by intervals of emptiness. Newton's
. ction, for example, between absolute and
lve space acknowledges a space that is rela-
t() bodies, but also affirms an absolutely
endent space, which has being in. separa-
{rom matter or bodies. "Absolute space, in
n nature, without relation to anything
aI," he writes, "remains always similar
movable. Relative space is some movable
or measure of the absolute spaces,
senses determine by its position to
which is commonly taken for im-
space." As for place in distinction
Newton holds that it is "a part of
a body takes up, and is according
space, either absolute or relative." In
Aristotle's view, he adds that place is
Aristotle explains that by
"the extreme circumference of the
whole "composed of all natural
body." The two \vhich
when he discusses "the possibility of a
and yet 'unbounded' universe" seem
to Aristotle's conception of the
in body or matter, yet unbounded, i.e.,
anything outside itself to determine
its boundary.
Aristotle's view of the world
directly opposed to that of the
For them, the whole of matter is
existing in indivisible units or
which is a plenum-that is, a unit
absolutely continuous without void in
between which there is void or
For Aristotle, the material world as
plenum, i.e., continuous body
Hence if by "space" is meant not
void-a bodyless interval between
bodies-there is no space.
the arguments of Democritus that lXT11-.h..... '1F,
locallTIotion would be impossible,
"there is no necessity for there
there is ITIOVement. "
Following Democritus, Lucretius
other reason for positing void or
As the indivisibility of the
atoms consists in their absolute ..''""lo..rt....... T ....'"'----.
lack of void-so the rh"tT1C'1h111t- ... T
bodies derives from their being
both atoms and void. "Wherever
empty, which we call the void,"
writes, "body is not there;
body has its station, there is by
void. Therefore the first bodies '"" _r. .,..,...... ",
free from void.... If there were .... "'fh ....'l'rii
was empty and void, the whole
unless ... there were bodies rlp1h::>f'"1r'n1t"lPri
all the places that they held, the
would be but empty void space."
For Aristotle, in contrast, the
matter seems to depend upon its
uous. On his view, the composite
tuted by atoms separated from
void, is not divisible, but is
divided; whereas the very thing
tius regards as indivisible because
uous-the voidless atom-is for
visible. To call an atom divisible
IT IS PLACE RATHER THAN space which Aristotle
seeks to define, and place in the sense of the cir-
cumference of a body rather than its position
in space. He rejects the notion that place is the
extension of a magnitude, for that would,he
thinks, identify it with matter. Place belongs to
body, not as matter or a property of matter, but
as its boundary. It is, Aristotle \vrites, "the in-
nermost motionless boundary. '.. a kind of sur-
face and, as it ,,,ere, a vessel, i.e., a container of
the thing." This boundary is itself made at the
surface of a body by a surrounding body or
bodies. "If a body has another body outside it
and containing it," Aristotle writes, "it is in
place, and if not, not."
The consequences of this conception ofplace
are, first, a denial of space in the sense of void
or empty place, since place is always "coinci-
dent with the thing" contained or bounded;
second, a denial of any infinite place, since that
\vould presuppose an actually infinite body-to
Aristotle, an impossibility; and third, the con-
clusion that the whole universe itself does not
have a place, for outside the outermost heaven
which bounds the world, there can be no' con-
taining body by which the universe is bounded.
this \vord vacuum in its ordinary sense," Des-
cartes goes on, "we do not mean a place or
space in \:vhich there is absolutely nothing, but
only a place in "Yvhich there are none ofcthose
things ""vhieh vve expected to find there."
These points made in the Principles confirm
the identification of three-dimensional space or
extension with body \vhich appears in the Rules.
They seem to be further confirmed in the Dis-
course by the reference to "a continuous body,
or a space indefinitely extended -in length,
height or depth" which is "the object of the
geometricians." Descartes does not, however,
neglect the distinction bet,veen space as the ex-
tension of body, and place as the position one
body occupies in relation to another. According
to common usage, he says, the word "place"
signifies that "in virtue of which a body is said
to be here or there." He objects to those who,
like Aristotle, mean by "place" the surround-
ing surface of a body. Local motion or change
of place is not, he argues, a change in the body's
surrounding surface, but a change in its relative
position.
814
THE GREAT IDEAS CHAPTER 89: SPACE 816
yond the utmost bounds of body, as well as into
a void space interspersed amongst bodies, will
ahvavs remain clear and evident.... So that,
\vhe:ever the mind places itself by any thought,
either amongst or remote from all bodies, it can,
in this uniform idea of space, no where find any
bounds, any end; and so must necessarily con-
clude it ... to be actually infinite."
IT MAY SEE1vI PARADOXICAL that pure space-
space existing without matter-is denied by one
\vho also denies the existence of matter. "When
I speak of pure or empty space," Berkeley
\vrites, "it is not to be supposed that the word
'space' stands for an idea distinct from or con-
ceivable \vithout body or motion." What is
meant, he suggests, is merely that the resistance
one body gives to another in motion is absent
when space is relatively empty. But this is al-
ways relative. "In proportion as the resistance
is lesser or greater," Berkeley says, "the space is
more or less pure." There would be absolutely
pure space only if all bodies other than his own
were annihilated. "If that, too, were annihi-
lated," Berkeley concludes, "then there could
be no motion, and consequently no Space."
All these contradictions concerning space en-
ter into Kant's statement of the first cosmologi-
cal antinomy, in \rvhich the thesis that the
world is limited \rvith regard to space and the
antithesis that the world is infinite in space
seem to be equally susceptible to proof-and so
to disproof! Both alternatives violate our em-
pirical concepts.
If space "is infinite and unlimited," Kant
writes, "it is too large for every possible empiri-
cal concept. If it is finite and limited, you have
a perfect right to ask what determines that
limit. Empty space is not an independent cor-
reIate of things, and cannot be a final condition,
still less an empirical condition forming part of
possible experience-for how can there be ex-
perience of what is absolutely void? But in
order to produce an absolute totality in an
empirical synthesis, it is ahvays requisite that
the unconditioned should be an empirical con-
cept. Thus it follo\vs that a li1nited world would
be too small for your concept."
Space itself, however, is for Kant "not an
empirical concept \vhich has been derived from
external experience." Rather it "is a necessary
representation a priori fornling the very fo
dation of all external intuitions" and, as,
explains in his Proleg01nena, it establishes ge
try as an a priori sciooce. "Space is nothing
the form of all phenomena of the exte
senses; it is the subjective condition of our
sibility, \vithout which no external intuitio
possible for us.... Nothing which is see
space is a thing by itself," nor is "space a
of things supposed to belong to them by tl1
selves." The external objects which we perc
in space "are nothing but representation.
our senses, the form of which is space."
So far as the experience of space is cancer
vVilliam James seems to take an oppositeiV'l
Time and space relations, he says, "are
pressed from without" and "sta1np copi
themselves within.' , To the Kantian theory
space is "a quality produced out of the in
resources of the mind, to envelope sensat
which, as given originally, are not spat'
James replies that he can find "no introspe
experience of mentally producing or ctta.
space."
He proposes two other alternatives: "er
(I) there is no spatial quality of sensationa
and space is a mere symbol of succession; 0
there is an extensive quality given immediate
certain particular sensations. " The
to James best suited to explain the dey
ment of our perceptions of space, and he.
not think it inconsistent \vith the a pri
non-empirical character of geometry,
necessary truths refer to ideal objects,!l
experienced things in physical space.
THE CHAPTER on MATHEMATICS consider'
relation of the postulates of diverse geom.
to the diversi ty of Euclidean and non-E
ean spaces, such as that of the flat plan
surface of a sphere, and the surface of apS
sphere. Just as different parallel postula
lect different spaces for geometrical co
tion, so a postulate like Euclid's concerni
equality of all right angles seems to asS
unifonnity of space which permits geofil
figures to be transposed \vithout alterati
translation through space warped ornl
forms," James remarks, "then the rela
equality, etc., would always have to
pressed with a
with a variety of purely mathe-
spaces, the physicist is concerned with
problem of which geometry is, as Einstein
s, in "correspondence with a 'real' object,"
true of the real \vorld. "According to the
heral theory of relativity, the geometrical
operties of space are not independent," Ein-
'n writes, "but are determined by matter."
ollo\vs that our assumptions about the dis-
bution of matter determine the character of
world's space.
On the assumption of a world "not inhabited
matter everywhere," in whose infinite space
e average density of matter would necessa-
be nil," Einstein says \ve can imagine "a
si-Euclidean universe" analogous to "a sur-
ewhich is irregularly curved in its individual
ts, but which nowhere departs appreciably
a plane: something like the rippled sur-
e of a lake." But if the "average density of
Her . . . differs from zero, however small
y be that difference, then the universe can-
be quasi-Euclidean." It \vould be spherical
elliptical) if the matter were uniformly dis-
uted; but "since in reality the detailed dis-
ution of matter is not uniform," Einstein
eludes that "the real universe will deviate
hdividual parts from the spherical, i.e., the
\Terse will be quasi-spherical. But it will
I1ecessarily finite."
he nature of the actual space of the universe
seems to be related to the issue whether
sical as opposed to mathematical space is a
or filled with matter. Defining a vacuum
space empty of all bodies known to the
" Pascal insists that "there is as n1uch
between nothingness and space, as
is between empty space and a material
" so that "empty space occupies the
between matter and nothingness." Tor-
experiments seem to him complete
against the disciples of Aristotle, for
the belief that "nature abhors a
observations on magnetic influ-
Newton's observations on the transmis-
light and heat as well as gravitational
Faraday's on electrical phenon1ena, all
adn1it the possibility of action at a dis-
or through a vacuum. But the question
\vhether the so-called physical vacuum
817
is an absolute void or merely empty of "all
bodies known to the senses."
"Is not the heat of the warm room conveyed
through the vacuum," Newton asks, "by the
vibrations of a much subtiler medium than air
which after the air \vas drawn out remained in
the vacuu1n? And is not this medium the same
with that tnedium by which light is refracted
and reflected, and by whose vibrations light
communicates heat to bodies? ... And is not
this medium exceedingly more rare and subtile
than the air, and exceedingly more elastic and
active? And does it not readily pervade all
bodies? And is it not (by its elastic force) ex-
panded through all the heavens?"
Huygens also refers to an ethereal matter as
the medium for the propagation of light. "One
will see," he writes, "that it is not the same that
serves for the propagation of sound ... It is not
the same air, but another kind of matter in
which light spreads; since if the air is removed
from the vessel, the light does not cease to
traverse it as before." But this etherealtnedi-
um, \vithout \vhich bodies \vould act at a dis-
tance upon one another-gravitationally, mag-
netically, electrically-through an absolute
void, seems to have contrary properties. It is
not only "subtiler" than air, but, as Ne\vton
suggests, it may be "denser than quick-silver or
gold," since "planets and comets, and all gross
bodies perform their.motions more freely, and
with less resistance in this aethereal medium
than in any fluid, \vhich fills all space adequately
\vithout leaving any pores." And, in still another
place, he asks: "What is there in places almost
empty of matter, and \vhence is it that the Sun
and Planets gravitate to\vards one another,
without dense matter between thern?"
'Vhatever may be thought of the ether as a
physical hypothesis, the problem still renlains
\vhether action can take place at a distance
through a void or must employ what Faraday
calls "physical lines of force" through filled
space. Faraday thinks the evidences support
the latter alternative for both electricity and
magnetism. He quotes a letter from Ne\vton to
Bentley to show that Newton was "an unhesi-
tating believer in physical lines of gravitating
force."
In that letter, posthumouslydiscovered, New-
ton says: "That gravity should be innate, in-
6. The spiritual significance of place, position, and space
OUTLINE OF TOPres
5. The mode of existence of geometrical objects: their character as abstractions;
relation to intelligible matter
819
Ih.Place as the envelope or container of bod-
ies: place as a part of space or as relative
position in space
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH 1-'5 287a-292c
esp CH 4 289d..:291c / Heavens,BK I, CH 7
[275b5-I2] 366d
17 PLOTINUS: Fourth Ennead, TR HI, CH 20,
152b-c / Sz'xth Ennead, TR I, CH 14 260b-c
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 8, A
2, ANS and REP 3 35c-36b; Q 50, A I, REP 3
269b-270a; Q 52 278d-280d; Q 53, A I, ANS
280d-282a; Q66, A4, REP 5348d-349d
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q 83, A2, ANS and REP 5 976c-978c; A3, REP
3-4 978c-980d; A 5, ANS 981b-982c; Q 84, A
2, REP I 984c-985d
23 HOBBES: Leviathan, PART III, 172b;PART IV,
270d-271c
31 DESCARTES: Rules, XII, 23c-d; XIII,26b-c J".
Meditations, II, 78c-d / Objections a-nd Replz'es,
228c-229a
33 PASCAL: Vacuum, 375a-376a
34 NEWTON: Principks, DEFINITIONS, SCHOL, 9a;
IOa-I1a
35 LOCKE: Human Understanding, BK II, CH IV,
place, and matter
PAGE SECTIONS : When the text is printed in one column, the letters a and b refer to the
upper and lower halves of the page. For example, in 53 JAMES: Psychology, 116a-lI9b, the passage
begins in the upper half of page 116 and ends in the lower half of page 119. When the text is
printed in two columns, the letters a and b refer to the upper and lower halves of the left-
hand side of the page, the letters c and d to the upper and lower halves of the right-hand side of
the page. For example, in 7 PLATO: Symposium, 163b-164c, the passage begins in the lower half
of the left-hand side of page 163 and ends in the upper half of the right-hand side of page 164.
To find the passages cited, use the numbers in heavy type, which are the volume and page
numbers of the passages referred to. For example, in 4 HOMER: Iliad, BK II [265-283] 12d, the
number 4 is the number of the volume in the set; the number 12d indicates that the pas-
sage is in section d of page 12.
CHAPTER '89: SPACE
REFERENCES
AUTHOR'S DIVISIONS: One or more of the main divisions of a work (such as PART,BK, CH,
SECT) are sometimes included in the reference; line numbers, in brackets, are given in cer-
tain cases; e.g., Iliad, BK II [265-283] 12d.
BIBLE REFERENCES: The references are to book, chapter, and verse. When the King James
and Douay versions differ in title of books or in the numbering of chapters or verses, the King
James version is cited first and the Douay, indicated by a (D), follows; e.g., OLD TESTA-
MENT: Nehemiah, 7:45-(D) II Esdras, 7:46.
SYMBOLS: The abbreviation "esp" calls the reader's attention to one or more especially
relevant parts of a whole reference; "passim" signifies that the topic is discussed intermit-
tently rather than continuously in the w{)rk or passage cited.
For additional information concerning the style of the references, see the Explanation of
Reference Style; for general guidance in the use of The Great Ideas, consult the Preface.
or extension as the essence or prop-
erty of bodies: space, the receptacle, and
becoming
Timaeus, 455c-458b
Physics, BK I, CH 9 [I92a9-I4]
268a; BK IV, CH 2 [209b5-2IOaII] 288b-d; CH 4
[21 Ib5-212a2] 290c-291a
PLOTINUS: Third Ennead, TR VI, CH 13 114c-
115b; CH 19 118c-119a
AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q'66,
A I, REP I 343d-345c
HOBBES: Leviathan, PART IV, 270d-271a
.&..J.L,vv.n.,L'\.,L .lj.J. Rules, XIV, 29b-32a / Discourse,
IV, 52d-S3a / Meditations, II, 78c-d / Ob-
and Replies, DEF VII 130c-d; 135d-
154a
Vacuum, 370a
Human Understanding, BK II, CH XIII,
SECT 11-27 150d-154d; CH xv, SECT 4, 162d-
CH XVII, SECT 20 172d-173c; BK III, CH
SECT 5, 269b-c; SECT 21 273c-d; CH x,
6,293b
Pure Reason, 28b-33d
force may be conveyed from one to
to meso great an absurdity, that I
man who has. in philosophical
petentfacultyof thinking, can
THE GREAT IDEAS
2. Space, void, and motion
2a. The role of space or place in local motion: the theory of proper places;
and relative spa.ce
2b. The issue of the void or vacuun1
(I) distinction bet\veen empty and filled space
(2) The indispensability of void or vacuum for motion and division: the
of void in atoms
(3) The denial of void or vacuum in favor of a plenum
2C. Space as a medium of physical action: the ether and action-at-a-distance;
phenomena of gravitation, radiation, and electricity
I. Space, place, and matter
I a. Space or extension as the essence or property of bodies: space, the rec:ep1ta(:le.
and becoming
I b. Place as the envelope or container of bodies : place as a part of space or as
position in space
IC. The tridimensionality of bodies: the indeterminate dimensions of pure space
prime matter
Id. The exclusiveness of bodily occupation of space: impenetrability
3. Space, quantity, and relation
3a. The finitude or infinity of space: the continuity and divisibility of space I
3b. The relation of physical and mathematical space: sensible and ideal space
3C. Geometrical space, its kinds and properties: spatial relationships and
tions
3d. The measurement of spaces, distances, and sizes: trigonometry; the use of
lax
4. The kno\vledge of space and figures
4a. Space as the divine sensorium and space as a transcendental form of .I.\J.I."'.
the a priori foundations of geometry
4b. The controversy concerning innate and acquired space-perception
4C. The perception of space: differences between visual, auditory, and tactual
perspective and spatial illusions
818
herent and essential tomatter,so that one body
may act upon another at a distance through a
vacuum, without the mediation of anything
else, by and through which their action and
THE GREAT IDEAS
2b(3) The denial of void or vacuum in favor
of a plenum
7 PLATO: Timaeus, 460c-d; 470d-471c
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH 6-9 292c-
297c / Heavens, BK I, CH 9 [279aI2-18] 370b-c;
BK III, CH 2 [30Ib32-302a9] 393b; CH 6 [30Sa
14-22] 396b-c
10 GALEN: Natural Faculties, BK II,CH 6, 188c-
189c
12 LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK 1 [37-383]
5c-d
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 46,
A I, REP 4 250a-252d; Q 52, A3, REP 2 280a-d
23 HOBBES: Leviathan, PART III, 172b; PART IV,
269d
30 BACON: Novum Organurn, BK II, APH 8 140b;
APH 48, 180a; 187c
31 DESCARTES: Meditations, VI, lOOd
31 SPINOZA: Ethics, PART I, PROP IS, SCHOL,
361b-d
33 PASCAL: Vacuum, 376a-b; 379a-380a
35 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 116-117
435d-436a
42 !(ANT: Pure Reason, 71b-72a; 84b-c; 135d [fn
2]
45 FARADAY: Researches -in Electricity, 850b,d-
855a,c esp 854a-855a,c
2c. Space as a medium of physical action: the
ether and action-at-a-distance; the phe-
nomena of gravitation, radiation, and
electricity
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK VIII, CH 10 [266
b
2S-
267a20] 354b-d / }leavens, BK III, CH 2 [gOlb
16--31] 393a-b / Soul, BK II, CH 7 [418a27]-CH 8
[420a26] 649b-651c; BK III, CH 12 [434b22-
4.35aIO] 667c-668a / Dreal1'lS, CH 2 [4S9a28-34]
703b
12 LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK I [44-448]
6e; BK VI [96-141] 92b-94a
16 KEPLER: Epitome, BK IV, 897b-905a esp 900b-
901b; 906a-b; 922a-b; 934b; BK V, 965a-b
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 8, A
I, REP 3 34d-3Sc
28 GILBERT: Loadstone, BK II, 26d-40b esp 30a-
32c; 43a-c; 45d-47b; 51a-c; 54d-55c; BK v,
102d-104b; BK VI, 112d
28 GALILEO: Two Netv Sciences, THIRD DAY, 202d
30 BACON: Novum Organu1n, BK II, APH .36,
167b-c; APH 37 168d-169c; APH 45 176a-177c;
APH 48, 183a-e; 186a
31 DESCARTES: Rules, IX, 15c
33 PASCAL: Vacuu111, 366a-367a
34 NE\VTON: Principles, DEF V-VIII 6a-8a; BK I,
PROP 69, SCHOL 130b-131a;BK III, GENERAL
6, COROL
The issue of the void or vacuum
(1) The distinction between empty and
filled space
-S ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH I [208
b
2S-26]
287c; CH 6-9 292c-297c esp CH7 [213
b
30-
2I4a16] 293b-c / Heavens, BK I, CH 9 [279
aI2
-
18] 370b-c; BK III, CH 2 [30Ib32-302a9] 393b
2 LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK I [329-369]
Sb-c; [418-448] 6b-e; [503-550] 7b-d
"7 PLOTINUS: Fourth Ennead, TR III, CH 20, 152c
9. AQUINAS : Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 46, A
I, REP 4 250a-252d
oAQUINAS : Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q.83, A 2, ANS 976c-978c
rSPINOZA: Ethics, PART I, PROP 15, SCHOL,
361b-d
aPASCAL: Vacuum, 359b-361a; 363b-365b;
370a; 373b-376a
5LOCKE : Human Understanding, BK II, CH IV,
SECT 2-5 129c-131a; CH XIII, SECT II-27150d-
154d esp SECT 21-27 152d-154d; CH XIV, SECT
26160c-d; CH XV, SECT 1-4162b-163b passim;
CH XVII, SECT 4 168b-d; SECT 20 172d-173c
$.. BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 116--117
435d-436a
2KANT: Pure Reason, 71b-72a; 84b-c; 135d
[fn 2]; 152c-d
The indispensability of void or vacuum
for motion and division: the absence of
void in atoms
SARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH 6 292c-293b;
CH 7 [214aI6]-CH 8 [2I6
a
26] 293d-295d /
Heavens, BK I, CH 7 [27Sb30-276aS] 367a;
BK III, CH 2 [30Ib32-302a9] 393b; BK IV, CH 2
[308b29-3IOaI3] 400b-401c / Generation and
Corruption, BK I, CH 8 [325a24-bII] 423d-424b
LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK I [329-397]
Sb-6a; [418-448] 6b-c; [483-55] 7a-d; [988-
1007] 13b; [152-1082] 14a-c; BK VI [998-
141] 93c-94a
oAQUINAS : Summa Theologica, PART IIISUPPL,
Q 84, A 3, REP 2 985d-989b
8GALILEO: Two New Sciences, FIRST DAY, 138b-
141d; 151c-153a; 156d-160a passim
PBACON: Novum Organum, BK II, APH 48, 187c
SPINOZA: Ethics, PART I, PROP IS, SCHOL,
361b-d
Vacuum, 359a-381b / Wei'ght ofAir,
to 2c CHAPTER 89: SPACE 821
5 LOCKE: Human Understanding, BK II, CH XIII, 35 LOCKE: llunzanUnderstanding, BK II, CH XIII,
SECT 7-10 149d-lSOd; SECT 27, 154c; CH xv, SECT 23 153c-d; CH XVII, SEcT 4168b-d
SECT 5-8163b-164b 45 LAVOISIER: Elements of Chemistry, PART I,
35 BERKELEY: Hunzan Knowledge, SECT 110-117 9a-b
434b-436a 45 FARADAY: Researches in Electricitv, 850b,d-
42 KANT: Pure Reason, 29c-d; 31d-32a; 55c-56a; 855a,c esp 851a-b .-
84b-c; 135d [fn 2]
1TOLSTOY: War and Peace, BK XI, 469a-d
34 NEWTON: Principles, BK III, RULE III,
35 LOCKE: Human Understanding, BK
129b-131a; CH xv, SECT II 16Sa-b;
VII, SECT 5 338b
45 FARADAY: in Electricity,
2. Space, void, and motion
2a. The role of space or place in
the theory of proper places; ",U,;'UIUIP
relative space
7 PLATO: Timaeus, 453c; 455c-458b;
Laws, BK X, 762b-c
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK III, CH
206
a
s] 283b-284b; BK IV, CH I
287a-c; CH 2 [2IO
a
2-4] 288d; CH
290a; [212
a
20-28] 291c; CH
292b; CH 8 [2I4bI3-I8]
294c-d; BK VI 3l2b,d-325d passim
BK I, CH 2 [268
b
ll]-CH 3
CH 7 [274
b
30-3.3] 366a; CH 7
[277b25] 367a-369a; CH 9
370a-b; BK II, CH 2 376b-377c; BK
[304bll-23] 395d-396a; CH 6
BK IV, CH I 399a-d; CH 3-5
physics, BK V, CH 1.3 [1020
a
2S-3.3]
CH 10 [I067a8-.3.3] 595c-596a / Soul,
[406aI2-29] 635c-d
9 ARISTOTLE: Ethics, BK X, CH 4
428d
11 NICOMACHUS: Arithmetic, BK II,
12 LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK I
13b; [152-1082] 14a-c; BK II 110.0'1-2.'<01
18b
16 PTOLEMY: Almagest, BK I, lOb-lIb
16 COPERNICUS: Revolutions of the
Spheres, BK I, 517b-518a; 519b-520b
16 KEPLER: Epitome, BK
17 PLOTINUS: Third Ennead, TR VII, CH
124a
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica,
280d-284d
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART
Q 84, A 2, REP 1,4--5 984c-985d; A
REP 2-3 985d-989b
21 DANTE: Divine Comedy,
[22-33] 80a; PARADISE, I [94-142]
[73-87] 111b-c; XXIII [40-45] 141d
23 HOBBES: Leviathan, PART I, 50a;
III, 173a; PART IV, 271a-b; 271d
28 .GILBERT: Loadstone, BK VI,
28 GALILEO: Two New Sciences, FIRST
164a-c; THIRD DAY-FOURTH DAY
esp THIRD DAY, 197b-d, 200b-c,
208c
30 BACON: Novuln Organum, BK
163a-d; APH .36, 166b-c; APH 45
APH 48, 179d-180d; 181d
34 NEWTON: Principles, n.nDTl\,TT......
MOTION 5a-24a esp DEFINITIONS,
13a; BK I--II 25a-267a passim, esp
1-17, SCHOL 32b-50a, PROP 32-39
(1. Space, place, and matter. lh. Place as the en-
velope or container oj bodies.' place as a part
oj space or as relative position in space.)
SECT 2 129c-d; SECT 5 130d-131a; CH XIII,
SECT 7-10 149d-150d; CH xv, SECT 5.-8 163b-
164b
35 BERK.ELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT I I I, 434c
42 KANT: Judgement, 611d-612a
53 JAMES: Psychology, 139a-140a; 626b
lc. The tridimensionality of bodies: theinde-
terminate dimensions of pure space or
prime matter
7 PLATO: Timaeus, 455c-458b
8 ARISTOTLE: Topics, BK VI, CH 5 [I42b20-29]
196b / Physics, BK IV, CH I [209aS-7] 287d /
Heavens, BK I, CH I 359a-c / Metaphysics, BK
V, CH 6 [IOI6b2S-31] 537b; CH 13 [1020
a
7-14]
541b; BK VII, CH 3 [1029all-19] 551c-d
11 NICOMACHUS: Arithmetic, BK II, 832c
17 PLOTINUS: Second Ennead, TR IV 50a-57c esp
CH 7-9 52a-53b, CH IS 56c-57a
18 AUGUSTINE: Confessions, BK XII, par 3-4 99d..
100a; par IS 102b-c
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q3, A2,
CONTRARY 15c-16a; Q66, A I, REP 1343d-345c
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q 79, A I, REP 3 951b-953b; Q 80, A 5, REP 3
963a-964b; Q83, A2, ANS 976c-978c; A3, REP
1-2 978c-980d; AS, ANS 981h 982c
23 HOBBES: Leviathan, PART IV, 269d
31 DESCARTES: Rules, XIV, 29b-c; 31d / Medita...
tions, V, 93b
31 SPINOZA: Ethics, PART I, PROP IS, SCHOL, 360b
33 PASCAL: Vacuum, 370a
35 LOCKE: Human Understanding, BK II, CH IV,
SECT 5 130d-131a; CH XIV, SECT 26 160c-d;
CH xv, SECT 1-8 162b-164b passim; CH XVII
167d-174a passim
35 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 117436a
52 DOSTOEVSKY: Brothers Karamazov, BK v,
121a-b
ld. The exclusiveness of bodily occupation of
space: impenetrability
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH I [209
a
S-7]
287d; CH 6 [213b4-I2] 293a
17 PLOTINUS: Fourth Ennead, TR II, CH I, 139d
19 AQUINAS: Surama Theologica, PART I, Q8, A2,
ANS 35c-36b; Q'52, A3, REP I 280a-d
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q 8.3, AA 2-4 976c-98lb; A 5, ANS and REP 2
981b-982c; A6, ANS and REP 2 982c-983b
23 I-IOBBES: Leviathan, PART I, 54b-c; PART IV,
271b-c
28 GALILEO: Ttvo New Sciences, FIRST DAY, 153a;
156d-157b
30 BACON: Novlun Organum, BK II, APH36, 167b;
APH 48, 179d-180a
.31 DESCARTES: Meditations, II, 78c-d
33 PASCAL: Pensees, 512 262a / Vacuum, 370a
820
THE GREAT IDEAS
CHAPTER 89: SPACE
822
(2. Spac.e, void, and motion. 2c. Space as a me-
dium of physical action: the ether and ac-
tion...at-a-distance; the phenomena of gravi-
tation, radiation, and electricity.)
SCHOL, 371b-372a / Optics, BK III, 516a-b;
520a-S22b esp S21a-b; 525b-S29a; 531b-
542a passim, esp 531b
34 HUYGENS: Light, CH I, 553b-560b
35 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 102-108
432d-434a passim
35 HUME: Human Understanding, SECT VII, DIV
57, 475d [fn 2]
36 SWIFT: Gulliver, PART III, 118b-119a
42 KANT: Pure Reason, 8d [fn 2]; 227b
45 LAVOISIER: Elements ofChemistry, PART I, 9b-c
45 FARADAY: Researches in Electricity, 441a-442b;
451a-454a; 463d-465d; 513d-514c; 521a-524a;
528c-532a; 604b-c; 631b-c; 685d-
686c; 816b,d-819a,c; 819a-d; 824a-b; 832a-c;
840c-842c; 855a,c
51 TOLSTOY: War and Peace, EPILOGUEII,687d;
695c
3. Space, quantity, and relation
3a. The finitude or infinity of space: the con-
tinuity and divisibility of space
8 ARISTOTLE: Categories, CH 6 [5a6-:-23] 9b.. c /
Physics, BK III, CH 5 [205aIO-206a8] 283b-284b;
BK IV, CH 5 [212
b
II-2I] 292a / Heavens, BK I,
CH 9 [279aI2-b4] 370b-d / Metaphysics, BK V,
CH 13 [I020
a
25-33] 541c; BK XI, CH 10 [I067a8-
33] S95c-596a
11 Sand-Reckoner 520a-526b pas-
Slm
12 LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK 1 [951-107]
12d-13b; BKII [89-94] 16a-b; [148-1063]
28b-c; BK VI [647-652] 89a
16 PTOLEMY: Almagest, BK I,10b
16 COPERNICUS: Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres, BK I, 516a-517b
16 KEPLER: Epitome, BK IV, 882a-886b
18 AUGUSTINE: City of God, BK XI, CH 5 324d-
325c
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 8, A
4, REP 3 37c-38c; Q 46, A I, REP 8 250a-252d;
Q 52, A I 278d-279b; Q 53, A I, ANS and REP I
280d-282a; A 2, ANS and REP I 282a-283b
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q 84, A 3, CONTRARY 985d-989b
23 HOBBES: Leviathan, PART I, 54b-c; 61b; PART
II, 162b; PART IV, 271h
30 BACON: Novum Organum, BKI, APH 48 110d-
lIla
31 DESCARTES: Objections and Replies, 112b
33 PASCAL: Pensees, 121 195a; 25-206 211a I
Geometrical Demonstration, 434b-439b
34 NEWTON: Principles, DEFINITIONS, SCHOL, 8b-
l1a / Optics, BK III, 543a
35 LOCKE: Human Understanding,BK II, CH XIII,
SECT 4 149b;. SECT 21 152d-153b; CH XIV,
SECT 26 160c-d; CH xv, SECT 1-8
passim; CH XVI, SECT 8 167c; CH
174a passim, esp SECT 3-4 168b-d,
170e
35 BERKELEY:
436a
42 KANT: Pure Reason, 24c-d;
137a,c; 152a-d; 160b-163a esp
ment,501a-b
51 TOLSTOY: War and Peace, EPILOGUE
694a passim
53 JAMES: Psychology, 631a
54 FREUD: General Introduction, 562c-d
3b. The relation of physical and m,ltn:enl.a.t'i.+,
space: sensible and ideal space
8 ARISTOTLE: Physics, BK IV, CH I
287d; CH 8 [216
b
2-II] 296a-b /
BK XIV, CH 5 [I092aI8-2I] 625a
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica,
Q 83, A 2, ANS 976c-978c; A 3, REP
980d
31 DESCARTES: Rules, XIV 28a-33b /
PART IV, 52d-53a / Objections
169c-170a
33 PASCAL: Vacuum, 370a; 373a-374a
34NEWTON: Principles, DEFINITIONS,
13a esp 8b-9a, 12a-b
35 LOCKE: Human Understanding,
SECT 5 130d-131a; CH XIV, SECT
CH XV, SECT 1-8 162b-164b
35 BERKELEY: Human .K.r.wultet.t(!e.
434b-436a; SECT 124-128
42 KANT: Pure Reason, 24a-26b;
Judgement, 574b-575a
53 JAMES: Psychology, 877b
3c. Geometrical space, its kinds
ties: spatial relationships and
tions
8 ARISTOTLE: Categories, CH 6
Heavens, BK I, CH I 359a-c
V, CH 6 [IOI6b25--3I] 537b
11 EUCLID: Elements, BK I, -n T ....
1a; 14 Ib; POSTULATES esp 5
NOTIONS, 4 2a; PROP 4 4a-b;
PROP 16 10b-11a; PROP 26
18b-19a; BK x, PROP I
DEFINITIONS, I 30la
11 ARCHIMEDES: Sphere and Cylinder,
SUMPTIONS esp 5 404b / Spirals,
Quadrature ofthe Parabola, 527b
11 NICOMACHUS: Arithmetic, BK II,
I6I(EPLER: Epitome, BK IV, 865a-b
17 PLOTINUS: Sixth Ennead, TR III,
287d-289a
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica,
A 8, REP 2 460b-461b
31 DESCARTES: Rules, XIV 28a-33b
/ Discourse, PART IV, 52d-53a /
v, 93a-d; VI, 96h-d / Objections
217a-e; 228e-229a
35 LOCKE : Human Understanding, BK II, CH XIII,
SECT 5-6 149b-d
a5 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 123-132
437c-43ge
35 HUME: Hunzan Understanding, SECT XII, DIV
124-125 S06a-507a passim
Z KANT: Pure Reason, 24a-26b
2 DOSTOEVSKY: Brothers Karamazov, BK V,
121a-b
.3 JAMES: Psychology, 550b-551b [fn 1-2]; 876b-
878a esp 877b
The measurement of spaces, distances, and
sizes: trigonometry; the use of parallax
PTOLEMY: Almagest, BK V, 165a-176a; BK IX,
270a-b
COPERNICUS:. Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres, BK I, 516a-b; 521b-529a; BK IV, 705a-
714b
KEPLER: Epitome, BK IV, 861a-863b; 868b-
B87a /Harmonies ofthe World, 1016b-i018a
BACON: Novum Organum, BK I, APH 109, 129b;
BK II, APH 39, 170b-c; APH 45 176a-177c
1.DESCARTES: Rules, XIV, 31b-33b
NEWTON: Principles, BK III, LEMMA 4 333a..
337b
1 GIBBON: Decline and Fall, 299b-c
JAMES: Psychology, 551a-b; 673b
he knowledge of space and figures
Space as. the divine sensorium and space
as a transcendental form of intuition:
the a priori foundations of geometry
NEWTON: Principles, BK III, GENERAL SCHOL,
370a-371a / Optics, BK 542a-543a
I\.ANT: Pure Reason, 16a-c; 17d-18d; 23a-:26b;
31b-d; 46a-c; 55c-56a; 62a-d; 68a-69c; 86b-c;
94b-95a; 99a-101b; IIOa; 131a-c; 135d
[fn2]; 136c-I37c [antithesis]; 153c-155a; 186d.-
187a; 211c-218d esp 211c-212a, 213d-215a /
Practical Reason, 307d-308b; 312c"313d ./
Judgement, 471b-c; 551a-553c; 574b-575a
I.A.MEs: 629a-631a; 874a; 876b-
878a
'the controversy concernitlg innate and
acquired space-perception
KANT: Pure Reason, 23a-24a; 25c-26a; 31d-
.. IPractical Reason, 307d-308b
JAMES: Psychology, 474a-475a; 627a-635a esp
628b-631a, 633a-635a; 852b-B53a; 860b-861a
'rhe perception of space: differences be-
tween visual, auditory, and tactual space;
perspective and spatial illusions
ARISTOTLE: Sense and the Sensible, CH 6
[44Sb4-I8] 683b-d / Memory and Reminis-
cence, CH 2 [452b7-18] 694b-c
LUCRETIUS: Nature of Things, BK II [38-332]
19a-b; BK IV [230-255] 47b-c; [269-291] 47d-
48a; [353-452] 48d-50a
823
17 PLOTINUS: Second Ennead, TR VIn 64c-6Sc
35 LOCKE: HumanUnderstdnding, UK lI, CH XIII,
SECT 2 149a; SECT 5 149b-c
35 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, SECT 42-44
420c-421a
53 JAMES: Psychology, 318b; 400a; 406b; 410a-b;
471b-479a esp 474a-477h; 540a-635aesp
541a, 548b-552a, 560a-S75a,. 627a-635a
5. The mode of existence of geometrical ob-
jects: their character as abstractions
their relation to intelligible matter '
7 PLATO: Republic, BK VI, 3B7b-c; BK VII, 394b-c
/ Philebus, 636b-c I Seventh Letter, 80ge-810b
8 ARISTOTLE: Posterior Analytics, BK I, CH 13
[79
a6
- IO] 10Bc; CH 18 [8 Ia40-b5] 111b-c /
Topics, BK VI, CH 6 [I43bII-33] 197b-c /
Physics, BK II, CH 2 [I93b23-I94aII]'270a-c;
BK III, CH 5 [204aI7-I9] 282a-b; BK IV CH I
[208bI9-24] 287b-c / Heavens, BK III,' CH I
[299:1--1
7
] 390b-c / Metaphysics, BKI, CH 6
[987 14-19] 50Sd; CH 8 [989b29-33] 508a; CH
9 [99Ib9-992bI8] 509d-511a; BK III, CH I
[99S
bI
3-I8] 514a;. [996aI3-I5]514c;CH2
[997bI2-998aIg] 516b-d; CH 5 [IOOI
b
26]-CH 6
[I002
b
25] 520c-521c; BK VII,CH 2 [I028
b
I8-28]
551a-b; CH 10 [I035b32-I036aI2] 559b-c; CH
II . [I036b32-I037a4] 560b-c; BK XI, .CH 2
[I06o&36-
bI
9] 588c-d; CH: 3 (I06ra29--b4] S8ge;
BK XII, CH I [1069a30-37] 598b; BK XIII, CH
1-3 607a-610a; CH 6 [I080
b
23-30] 612c; CH 9
616d-618c; BKXIV, CH 3622d-623dpassim;
CH 5 [1092aI8-2I] 625a; CH 6 [1093b24,-29]
626d / Soul, BK III, CH 7 [43IbI3-19] 664b
9 ARISTOTLE: MotionofAnimals, CH I [698a24-
bI] 233b-c / Ethics, BKVI, CH 8 [II42aI6-Ig]
39Ih
11 NICOMACHUS: Arithmetic, BK I, 811a-812a
18 AUGUSTINE: Confessions, BK X, par 19 76a-b
19 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART I, Q 5, A
3, REP 4 2Sa-d; Q II, A 3, REP 2 49a":c; Q 44,
A I, REP 3 238b-239a; Q 85, A I, REP 2 451c-
453c
20 AQUINAS: Summa Theologica, PART III SUPPL,
Q83, A2, ANS 976c-978c; A3, REP 2 978c-980d
31 DESCARTES: Rules, XIV 2Ba-33b esp 30d-32a
/ Discourse, PART IV, 52d-53a / Meditations,
I, 76b-c; V, V-VI, 96a-d / Objections
and Replies, 169c-170a; 217a-d; 218c; 228c-
229a
35 LOCKE: I-Iun1an Understanding, BK II, CH XIII,
SECT 5-:-6 149b-d; BK III, CH III, SECT 19 259c-
260a; BK IV, CH IV, SECT 5-8 324d-325c
35 BERKELEY: Human Knowledge, INTRO, SECT
12-'16 408a-409d; SECT 12-16 41Sb-416a; SECT
123-128 437c-438d esp SECT 125-126 438a-c
35 HUME: Human Understanding, SECT IV, DIV 20
458a-b; SECT XII, DIV 122 S05c-d; DIV 124-125
506a-507a esp DIV 125, S07b [fn Il
42 KANT: Pure Reason, 16a-c; 17d-18d; 24d-25b
31b-d; 3Sb-36a; 46a-c; SSe; 62a-d; 68a-69c
86b-c; 87b-e; 91e-d; 94b-95a; 211e-213c
825
BRADLEY. Appearance and Reality,BK I, CH 4; BK II,
CH 18
HILBERT. The Foundations of Geolnetry
11ACH. Space and Geometry in the Light of Physio-
logical, Psychological and Physical Inquiry
POINCARE. Science and I-lypothesiJ, PART II
--. The Value of Science, PART I, CH 3-4
--. Science and lVlethod, BK II, CH I
CASSIRER. Substance and Function, PART I, CH 3;
sUP IV-V
J. \V. YOUNG. Lectures on Fundamental Concepts of
Algebra and Geometry, LECT XVI-XVII
ROBB. A Theory of Time and Space
WEYL. Space-Time--Matter
S. ALEXANDER. Space, Time, and Deity
EDDINGTON. Space, Time, and Gravitation
WHITEHEAD. The Organization of Thought, CH 8
--. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natu-
ral Knowledge, CH 14
--. The Concept of Nature, CH 5-6
BERGSON. l11ne and Free Will
--. Duree et simultaneite, apropos de la theorie
d'Einstein, CH 6
EINSTEIN. Relativity: The Special and the General
Theory
--. Sidelights on Relativity
--. The Meaning of Relativity
G. N. LEWIS. The Anatolny of Science, ESSAY II
SANTAYANA. The Realm of Alattcr, CH 4
LENZEN. The Nature of Physical Theory, PART II,
CH II
BORING. The Physical Dilnensions of Consciousness,
CH 4
B.RusSELL. An Essay on the Foundations ofGeometlY
--. Principles of Mathematics, CH 44-52
--. The Analysis of AIatter, CH 28-2 9, 32 , 36
--. Human Knowledge, Its Scope and Limits,
PART III, CH 6; PART IV, ClI 6-7
I.
The Principles of Philosophy, PART II,
An Essay Towards a New Theory of
II.
EMPIRICUS. Against the Physicists, BK II,
ADDITIONAL READINGS
CHAPTER 89: SPACE
Listed below are \vorks not included in Great Books ofthe T-Vestern T-Vorld, but relevant to the
idea and topics with which this chapter deals. These works are divided into two groups:
I. Works by authors represented in this collection.
II. Works by authors not represented in this collection.
For the date, place, and other facts concerning the publication of the works cited, consult
the Bibliography of Additional Readings which follows the last chapter of The Great Ideas.
21
Concerning Body, PART II, CH 7
A Treatise of Human Nature, BK I, PART
Siris
On the First Grounds of the Distinction of
in Space
lvlundi Sensibilis (Inaugural Dissertation)
Mt?taj'Jh\ISlcat Foundations of Natural Science
Essays and Reviews, XXI
. Outlines of Pyrrh0nism, BK III, CH I-20
AREZ. Disputationes Metaphysicae, XXX (7),
XL (7), LI-LIII
IBNITZ. New Essays Concerning Human Under-
tanding, BK II, CH 13
. Correspondence with Clarke
A.LEMBERT. Traite de dynamique
LTAIRE. "Space," in A Philosophical Dictionary
EWELL. The Philosophy ofthe Inductive Sciences,
I, BK II, CH 2-6
[;ber die Hypothesen welche der Geometrie
liegen (The Hypotheses of Geometry)
Time and Space
:. .... .L.. Popular Lectures on Scientific Subjects, II
The Comlnon Sense ofthe Exact Sciences,
4
Metaphysics, BK II, CH 1-2; BK III, CH 4
Concepts alJd Theories of Modern Physics,
19 AQUINAS: Sumlna Theologica, PART I,
I, REP 5 14b-15b; Q 8, A I, REP
61, A 4 316d-317c; Q 66, A .3
523d-527a,c
20 AQUINAS: Summa Th,fologica, PART III
Q 84, A2, REP 5
21 DANTE: Divine Comedy, HELL, V
VI [77-87] IX [16-33] 12b-c; PUl:tGA,T(1)",
IV [1-96] XVIII [22-33]
[124]-XXI [72] PARADISE, I
106d-l07d; III [34-90] IV
lIla; XXVIII XXX-XXXII
156a
32 MILTON: Paradise Lost, BK II [850-1009]
133a; BK III [523-539] 146b-147a;
130] 234b-235a
33 PASCAL: Pensees, 194, 207b; 25-206
42 KANT: Practical Reason,
46 HEGEL: Philosophy of History,

54 FREUD: General Introduction,
TI-IE GREAT IDEAS 824
(5. The tnode of existence of geometrical objects:
their character as abstractions,' their rela-
tion to intelligible matter.)
/ Practical Reason, / ]udgeraent,
551a-552c
53 JAMES: Psychology, 876b-878a;
6. The spiritual significance of place, position,
and space
7 PLATO:
8 ARISTOTLE: Heavens, BK I, CII 3 [27obI-I2]
BK II, CH I 375b,d-376a; CH 13
[293aI S_bI 5]
16 COPERNICUS: Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres, BK I, 520b;
16 KEPLER: Epitome, BK IV,
860b; / Harmonies of the World,
1080b-l 085b
18 A.UGUSTINE: Confessions, BK. VII, par 20-21
49d-SOa
For: Other discussions of the theory of the receptacle, see FORM Id( I); MATTER I;
Other discussions of extension as a property of bodies, see'BEING 7b(4); FORM 2d;
Other discussions of the doctrine of prime matter, see BEING 7C(3); CHANGE 2a;
INFINITY 4c; MATTER la.
role of space or place in, local motion, see CHANGE 7a; RELATION 6a.
Discussions bearing on the measurement of space, see MATHEMATICS sa; ...
QUANTITY 6b-6c.
l\1atters relevant to space as a transcendental form of intuition and to the related LJI'-,IIJlILIII
the foundations of geometry, see FORM IC; MATHEMATICS IC; l\1EMORY AND
&(2); MIND Ie(I), 4d(3); TIME 6c; and for other discussions bearing on S02lceoerceOUcli
see QUALITY 2b; SENSE 3c(3).
The problern of the mode of being\vhich is possessed by the objects of geometry,
7d(3); IDEA 2g; MATHEMATICS 2a-2b; MATTER IC.
The issue concerning a void or vacuum, and for the related problem of
see ASTRONOMY 3b; CHANGE 7a; ELEMENT 5c; MECHANICS Sd, 6d(2).
Other considerations of the infinity or continuity of space, see INFINITY 3d; .L"".LA
2C; ONE AND MANY 3a(4); QUANTITY 2, sa; and for discussions of ast:ro.no:mlcal
and the size of the universe, see ASTRONOMY S' ge ; \VORLD 6a, 7.
The analysis of geometrical space, spatial relationships and configurations, see
QUANTITY 3-3e(2).
The relation of spiritual being or action to place or space, see ANGEL 3;
GOD 7g; Il\1MORTALITY 5g; SOUL 3e, 4d (3)
CROSS-REFERENCES