Levels of Infinity

Peter Lynch
School of Mathematics & Statistics
University College Dublin

Berkeley Lecture
Maynooth, 29 September 2022
Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

“Levels of Infinity”

The above title is from an essay (in 1930)

by Hermann Weyl. His opening statement is:

Mathematics is the science of the infinite.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Enigma of Infinity
I The enigma of infinity has a long history.
I The stars in the sky seem beyond number.
I It has preoccupied and perplexed philosophers.
I It has mystified mathematicians for millennia.
I Children counting find no largest number.
I Given n, we have a larger number, n + 1.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Enigma of Infinity
I The enigma of infinity has a long history.
I The stars in the sky seem beyond number.
I It has preoccupied and perplexed philosophers.
I It has mystified mathematicians for millennia.
I Children counting find no largest number.
I Given n, we have a larger number, n + 1.

Preoccupation with the infinite was originally in

the domains of philosophy and theology.
Today, mathematics plays a central role.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinity in Ancient Greece

I Greeks from the time of Pythagoras.

I Anaximander used term απιρoν
(unlimited, infinite, unbounded.)
I Aristotle distinguished between
potential and actual infinity:
The numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . are
potentially infinite, but we can
never complete the count.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Euclid and Infinity
The word “infinite” does not appear
anywhere in Euclid’s Elements.

Euclid proved that there is no limit to the

number of primes, but he never stated that
there is an infinity of prime numbers.

“Given any prime number, there is a greater prime”.

Parallel straight lines are straight lines which,

being produced indefinitely, do not meet.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Euclid and Infinity
The word “infinite” does not appear
anywhere in Euclid’s Elements.

Euclid proved that there is no limit to the

number of primes, but he never stated that
there is an infinity of prime numbers.

“Given any prime number, there is a greater prime”.

Parallel straight lines are straight lines which,

being produced indefinitely, do not meet.

This resonates with Aristotle’s potential infinity.

“You can keep going but you can never arrive.”

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Ancient Indian Texts

Infinity treated in ancient texts from India and China.

Fascination with large numbers in Indian thought.

In the Jain mathematical manuscript Surya Prajnapti

(C4th BC), there are three degrees of unboundedness:
Enumerable, Innumerable and Infinite.

This sounds like three “Levels of Infinity”.

In Jaina cosmology, time cycles eternally,

with a period of 10177 years (or 2588 years).

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinity in the Early Church

Aristotle’s ideas were taken up and developed

by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

More paradoxes: God is omnipotent / omniscient.

Can He set Himself a task that He cannot perform?

? ? ?

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Potential or Actual?

Most philosophers and mathematicians

did not accept the concept of actual infinity.
Only potential infinity was accepted.

We mention a few key savants [there are many more]:

Galileo, Spinoza, Newton and Gauss all rejected it.

The first person to change things was Bernhard

Bolzano. But Georg Cantor went much farther,
constructing an entire hierarchy of infinities.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinity in Mathematics and Physics
Mathematics
I The sequence of natural numbers, 1, 2, 3, . . .
I The points on a continuous line.
I The continuum of real numbers.
I Sets of sets, and the class of all sets.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinity in Mathematics and Physics
Mathematics
I The sequence of natural numbers, 1, 2, 3, . . .
I The points on a continuous line.
I The continuum of real numbers.
I Sets of sets, and the class of all sets.

Physics
I Is there an infinitude of stars?
I Is space infinite in extent?
I Is space indefinitely divisible?
I Did time have a beginning?
I Does it endure forever?

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Zermelo-Fraenkel Axioms

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Zermelo-Fraenkel Axioms

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

David Hilbert on “The Infinite!”

“No other question has ever moved

so profoundly the spirit of man;

“no other idea has so fruitfully

stimulated his intellect;

“yet no other concept stands in

greater need of clarification
than that of the infinite . . . ”.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Philosophy. Metaphysics. Theology

Wovon man nicht

sprechen kann,
darüber muß
man schweigen.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Whereof one cannot speak,

thereof one must be silent.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Philosophy. Metaphysics. Theology

Wovon man nicht

sprechen kann,
darüber muß
man schweigen.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Whereof one cannot speak,

thereof one must be silent.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Philosophers who Contemplated Infinity

Bruno, Descartes, Kant, Voltaire

Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Hegel.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Zeno of Elea

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Zeno’s Paradoxes
The first paradox is the race between Achilles and the
tortoise. Since he must run an unlimited number of
catch-ups, Achilles can never overtake the tortoise.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Zeno’s Paradoxes
The first paradox is the race between Achilles and the
tortoise. Since he must run an unlimited number of
catch-ups, Achilles can never overtake the tortoise.

In the second paradox, Achilles must

complete a race of a fixed distance.

To do so, he must first reach the half-way point.

Before that, he must reach the quarter-point. ...
He must arrive at an infinite number of midpoints.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Zeno’s Paradoxes
The first paradox is the race between Achilles and the
tortoise. Since he must run an unlimited number of
catch-ups, Achilles can never overtake the tortoise.

In the second paradox, Achilles must

complete a race of a fixed distance.

To do so, he must first reach the half-way point.

Before that, he must reach the quarter-point. ...
He must arrive at an infinite number of midpoints.

Zeno concludes that he cannot even begin to move:

Motion is impossible!

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinite Sums
The Greeks could not imagine that the overall sum
of an infinite number of distances could be finite.

James Gregory and, later, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

found an infinite series for π:
π 1 1 1
= 1 − + − + ···
4 3 5 7
This series was actually discovered much earlier by
the mathematicians of the Kerala School in India.

But it was not until 1821 that Augustin Cauchy

defined mathematical limits in a rigorous way.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinite Sums
Cauchy showed what it means to say that

1
1 + x + x2 + x3 + · · · = for |x| < 1 .
1−x

In particular, when x = 12 , this gives the finite sum of

the infinite number of stages that Achilles must run:
 
D 1 1 1 1
1+ + + + + ··· = D
2 2 4 8 16

Bertrand Russell described Zeno’s ideas

as “immeasurably subtle and profound”.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Galileo’s Number Paradox

Galileo discovered that the counting numbers can

be matched, one for one, with the perfect squares.

1 2 3 4
n ←→ n2 or l l l l ···
1 4 9 16

This result is in direct conflict with Euclid:

The whole is greater than the part.

Galileo argued that concepts like “equal to” and

“greater than” are meaningless for infinite sets.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Galileo’s Circle Paradox

Another paradoxical
result of Galileo is that:

Two concentric circles

of different radii contain
the same number of
points.

A simple diagram illustrates this paradox.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Galileo’s Circle Paradox

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Georg Cantor

Inventor of Set Theory

Born in St. Petersburg,

Russia in 1845.

Moved to Germany in
1856 at the age of 11.

His main career was at

the University of Halle.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Dauben’s Biography of Cantor

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Georg Cantor (1845–1918)

I Invented Set Theory.

I One-to-one Correspondence.
I Infinite and Well-ordered Sets.
I Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers.
I Proved Rational Numbers are countable.
I Proved Real Numbers are uncountable.
I Infinite Hierarchy of Infinities.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

A Passionate Mathematician

In 1874, Cantor married Vally Guttmann.

They had six children.

According to Wikipedia:

“During his honeymoon in the Harz mountains,

Cantor spent much time in mathematical
discussions with Richard Dedekind.”
[Cantor had met the renowned mathematician Dedekind
two years earlier while he was on holiday in Switzerland.]

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Potential versus Actual Infinity
Cantor argued that a potentially infinite
concept always arises from, and depends
upon, a pre-existing actually infinite concept.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Potential versus Actual Infinity
Cantor argued that a potentially infinite
concept always arises from, and depends
upon, a pre-existing actually infinite concept.

Cantor’s contributions were revolutionary.

He showed that there is an unlimited
hierarchy of infinite numbers.

Infinite sets do not all have the same size:

Some infinities are more infinite than others.

Cantor’s ideas have had an enormous impact,

on both mathematics and philosophy.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Origins of Set Theory
Since the 5th century BC, ancient Greek
mathematicians and early Indian mathematicians
wrestled with the concept of infinity.

In the early 19th century, Bernard Bolzano

made some tentative advances:
I He wrote a book called Paradoxes of the Infinite

I He identified the characteristic property:

an infinite set can be mapped 1 − 1
onto a proper subset of itself.
This was similar to Galileo’s discovery.
It was later used by Cantor as a definition.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Cantor’s Theorem
Cantor’s theorem states that, for any set A,
the set of all subsets of A — P(A) — has a
strictly greater cardinality than A itself.

This implies that there is no “largest infinity”.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Large Cardinals

Set theorists are producing ever-larger cardinals:

inaccessible, ethereal and remarkable cardinals.
There are even numbers called Berkeley cardinals.

These were introduced by Hugh Woodin in a seminar

at The University of California, Berkeley in 1992.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Absolute

The Absolute Infinite (Ω) was proposed by Cantor.

It lies beyond all the ordinal numbers

and is not itself an ordinal number.

“I envisage the system of all

ordinals and denote it Ω”.

Ω is bigger than any conceivable or

inconceivable number, finite or transfinite.

Cantor, a deeply pious man, linked Ω with God.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Infinitely Large and Infinitely Small

There are two complementary aspects of infinity:

I Something may be infinite in terms of extension.

I Something may be infinite in terms of divisibility.

Can a time interval be sub-divided without limit?

Can a interval in space be so sub-divided?

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Calculus
Line segments of infinitesimal length are
considered in calculus (mathematical analysis).

Velocity is the rate of change of position:

x(t + ∆t) − x(t)

v (t) =
∆t
when ∆t is indefinitely small: v (t) = dx(t)/dt.

Quantities like “dt” were not sharply defined.

Infinitesimals were treated as non-zero in

some circumstances and as zero in others.

Controversy was rife and confusion abounded.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Bishop Berkeley (1685–1753)
Bishop Berkeley raised some pointed objections that
were not satisfactorily answered for a century.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Bishop Berkeley
Berkeley, denied the existence of material
substance: to exist is to be perceived.
“All the choir of heaven and furniture of
earth have no substance without a mind.”

? ? ?

In 1734, Berkeley published “The Analyst”, subtitled

“A Discourse addressed to an Infidel Mathematician”,
a devastating critique of infinitesimals.

It was a direct attack on the foundations of calculus,

specifically on the notion of infinitesimal change.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

“Ghosts of Departed Quantities”
Berkeley had learned that Edmund Halley had
dismissed Christian doctrine as inconceivable.

He argued that religious doctrines and beliefs were

no more mysterious than the methods of analysis.

He devised the clever description of infinitesimals

as “the ghosts of departed quantities”.

These difficulties were not resolved for more

than a century, when the epsilon-delta approach
eliminated infinitesimals completely. 1

1
David Wilkins, Trinity College Dublin,
maintains a website devoted to Berkeley.
Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology
Topological Calculus
The Abstract for this presentation mentioned a
new formulation of Calculus, based on continuity.

I realised later that it was somewhat ‘off-topic’.

An Article on Topological Calculus was posted

today on my mathematical blog, thatsmaths.com.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Outline

Introduction

Zeno’s Paradoxes

Galileo’s Paradoxes

Georg Cantor

Infinitesimals

The Shape of Space

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Shape of Space

The ultimate size of space is unknown:

We do not know whether space is limited

in extent or whether it is unbounded.

We do not know whether time had a

beginning or was “always there”.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Divisibility of Space and Time
It is possible that quantum mechanics may
rule out an infinitely divisible space.

Planck’s constant ~ may provide a

measure of the granularity of space.

Using the physical constants, we can construct

fundamental units of mass, length and time:
p
I Planck length: l P = ~G/c 3 ≈ 1.616 × 10−35 m.
p
I Planck mass: m P = ~c/G ≈ 2.176 × 10−8 kg.
p
I Planck time: t P = ~G/c 5 ≈ 5.391 × 10−44 s.

But could there be realms of physics below this level?

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Aristotle’s Universe of Celestial Spheres

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Archytas (428–350 BC)

Aρχυτ ας.
Born in Tarentum, son of Hestiaeus.
Mathematician and philosopher.
Pythagorean, student of Philolaus.
Formalised the Quadrivium
Provided a solution for the Delian
problem of doubling the cube.
May have tutored Plato
in mathematics.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Archytas and the size of the Universe
In a finite universe, what lies “beyond it”?

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Newton. Leibniz. Kant

Newton argued that space could not be infinite:

“Only God could be infinite”.

Leibniz argued that space could not be finite:

No Divine reason for it “here” rather than “there”.

Kant argued that they were both correct:

We can never know whether it is one or the other.
Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology
Bounded and Unbounded Manifolds

A finite space can be unbounded:

I The surface of a sphere.

I A solid 3-sphere.

An infinite space can be bounded:

I Poincaré Disk.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Poincaré’s Hyperbolic Disk

A bounded
universe can
be infinite
in extent:

This is the
Poincaré Disk.

The boundary
is an infinite
distance from
the centre.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Shape of Space: a 3-Sphere?

Imagine two solid spheres “glued together”.

As we exit from one, we enter the other.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Dante’s Universe: a 3-Sphere

The Universe as described in Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

The Empyrean

Dante and
Beatrice
gazing into the
Empyrean.

God
at the centre,
surrounded by
choirs of angels.

[Illustration by Gustave Doré]

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

Jean Charles de Borda (1733–1799)

“Without mathematics, we do not

get to the bottom of philosophy;

“without philosophy, we do not

get to the bottom of mathematics;

“without both, we do not

get to the bottom of anything.”

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology

 Thank you

Intro Zeno Galileo Cantor Infinitesimals Cosmology