Room for Improvement: Why Finitist Arguments Do Not Check Out
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We examine several new and underexplored arguments for the finitude of the past and the impossibility of Hilbert's Hotel. The first argument concludes that Hilbert's Hotel is impossible due to an alleged contradiction arising from the causal powers of infinitely many guests. A second argument contends that if the past is infinite, then it would be possible to construct Hilbert's Hotel. Since that's not possible, the past is finite. A third argument is based on a thought experiment involving Methuselah's diary and likewise concludes that the past is finite. Each argument fails, but their flaws are quite instructive. We also develop novel future‐oriented parodies for each argument with the implausible conclusion that the future will (and perhaps must) come to an end.
Source: Analytic Philosophy
DOI: 10.1111/phib.70006
Authors: Joseph C. Schmid, Troy Dana
Institutions: Princeton University, University of Ottawa
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
OpenAlex ID: W7134232543