The Infinite Tortoise

Summary:

A clear, concise and fascinating guide to philosophical thought experiments and how they’ve shaped our understanding of the world.

From Plato’s Cave to Descartes' Demon, great thinkers have used thought experiments and paradoxes to try and work out complex ideas in the simplest way possible.

Among the most famous thought experiments is Zeno’s Achilles and the Tortoise: if Achilles is faster than the tortoise, why will Achilles never catch up with the tortoise when it starts ahead of him? Zeno proposes that, when Achilles reaches the point where the tortoise started the race, the tortoise will have already moved on. And as Achilles runs on to where the tortoise was last, when he reaches that point the tortoise has moved again. Therefore poor Achilles will never catch up with the tortoise as the distance he must run gets smaller and smaller and each time he has less and less time to run…

Starting in Ancient Greece, Joel Levy guides us through the mind-bending world of thought experiments and their role in revealing the complexity of morality, exploring the limitations and the infinite possibilities of the human mind.

A clear, concise and fascinating guide to philosophical thought experiments and how they’ve shaped our understanding of the world.

From Plato’s Cave to Descartes’ Demon, and from Zeno’s paradoxes to Hilbert’s Hotel, great thinkers have used thought experiments and paradoxes to try and work out complex ideas in the simplest way possible.

Perhaps the most famous thought experiment is that of Zeno’s Achilles and the tortoise. If both Achilles and the tortoise move at constant speed, why will Achilles never catch up with the tortoise when the tortoise starts ahead of him? Zeno argues that when Achilles reaches the point where the tortoise started the race, the tortoise will have already moved on. And as Achilles runs on to where the tortoise was last, when he reaches that point the tortoise has moved again. Therefore Achilles will never catch up with the tortoise as the distance he must run gets smaller and smaller and each time he has less and less time to run…

Starting in Ancient Greece, Joel Levy guides us through the mind-bending world of thought experiments and their role in revealing the complexity of morality, exploring the limitations and the infinite possibilities of the human mind.

Sales points:

An accessible approach to the problems of philosophy and science
Examines some of the greatest and most intriguing thought experiments, from ancient Greek philosophers to twentieth-century scientists, from Putnam’s Twin Earth to Galileo’s chained balls
By exploring the potential consequences of hypothetical questions, philosophers, scientists and mathematicians have used this technique to confirm or challenge ideas about ourselves and the universe
A brilliant new title from the author of Freudian Slips and Why We Do the Things We Do

About the Author:

Joel Levy

Joel Levy is a journalist and author specializing in science and history. He has written over a dozen books including: Scientific Feuds, Lost Histories, Poison: A Social History and Freudian Slips (Michael O'Mara 2013).