Considering Time II - Zeno
Zeno of Elea was one of those ancient philosophers who greatly impacted classical thought, yet was survived by none of his works. This, it seems, was a common theme in those days, when students ardently scribbling notes saved the legacies of their teachers. In this case, Zeno’s legacy was preserved by Aristotle and Simplicius . (Cajori, 1920) While Zeno had many interesting theories and teachings, the ones on which I am focusing today is his concept of instants and motion as is illustrated in his “Dichotomy Paradox” and “Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise”. It was on an overcast, slightly rainy afternoon much like this current one, when I was first introduced to what, at the time, was merely stated as “Zeno’s Paradox” (I had little idea at the time that there were even more paradoxes). On that afternoon, I had chosen to remain indoors during r...