[ Home | Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: John van Hezewyk
Date: 10/5/2003
Time: 12:28:04 AM
Remote Name: 67.243.39.209
After seeing Adela's post, I went back and re-read the selections from Galileo, and I think I figured it out. Aristotle asserted that the universe must be infinite, since the finite must be made by something--if the universe is everything that exists, how could it be created? However, Aristotle also stated that infinite is impossible; therefore, an eternal universe is impossible. That said, on to Galileo: he first dismisses Aristotle's eternal universe as "opposed to the truth." He then works through the origins of the universe. Galileo argues that since the infinite is impossible, the universe must be finite; the finite must be created, therefore the universe must have been made in time. Also, he asserts that there must be an "uncreated and eternal being" that is the infinite cause of all things, and could therefore create the universe out of nothing. The terminal point of this argument is that God created the universe. So, the universe is finite and was created in time by God.