DOES EMPTY SPACE EXIST? On the Problem of Vacuum in Modern Philosophy and Science
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Abstract
This paper is dedicated to examining the problem of absolutely empty space (vacuum) in modern philosophy and science. The first part of the paper presents the
general context of the problem and two fundamental ways of resolving it, while the second part offers examples of specific arguments for and against the real existence
of empty space: those of Descartes, Gassendi, and Leibniz. The analyses in this paper demonstrate that the foundation of this physical problem lies in a metaphysicallogical
mode of reasoning, which defines empty space as nothing, that is, as nonbeing. The consideration of empty space also reveals the distinctive transformations of traditionally metaphysical concepts such as matter, being, and nothing, caused by their new role in the narrative of (modern) physics.
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