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It is contrary to reason to say that there is a vacuum or space in which there is… — Rene Descartes

Philosophical literature

It is contrary to reason to say that there is a vacuum or space in which there is absolutely nothing.

In the original Latin

Repugnare ut detur vacuum, sive in quo nulla plane sit res

Rene Descartes
Principles of Philosophy · 1644
★ 2.0
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
Nothingness
Genre
Philosophical literature
Time
1644Age of Enlightenment
Person
Rene Descartes
Provenance
Citation
Descartes, René. Principia Philosophica [Principles of Philosophy]. Amsterdam: Ludovicum Elzevirium, 1644, pt. 2, sect. 16.

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What do you mean, less than nothing? I don't think there is any such thing as less than nothing. Nothing is absolutely the limit of nothingness. It's the lowest you can go. It's the end of the line. How can something be less than nothing? If there were something that was less than nothing, then nothing would not be nothing, it would be something-even though it's just a very little bit of something. But if nothing is nothing, then nothing has nothing that is less than it is.

E.B. White
Charlotte's Web · 1952
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