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Single Idea 24302

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / a. Units]

Full Idea

Without oneness it is impossible to conceive of many.

Gist of Idea

Without oneness we can't conceive of many

Source

Plato (Parmenides [c.366 BCE], 166b)

A Reaction

This is the culmination of a long discussion of the nature of the One (of Parmenides), so it ties that concept to the standard Greek idea that counting, and hence all of arithmetic, is grounded in the concept of a unit. Primitive processes?

Book Reference

Plato: 'Parmenides', ed/tr. Gill,M.L./Ryan,P. [Hackett 1996], p.175