![]() Aristotle proves that both length and time are infinitely divisible, refuting atomism. Atomism is explored in Plato's dialogue Timaeus. Another Indian philosopher, Pakudha Katyayama, elaborated this doctrine and said that these particles normally exist in a combined form which gives us various forms of matter. Ultimately, a time will come when we shall come across the smallest particles beyond which further division will not be possible. Around 500 BC, he postulated that if we go on dividing matter ( padarth), we shall get smaller and smaller particles. The Indian philosopher, Maharshi Kanada also proposed an atomistic theory, however there is ambiguity around when this philosopher lived, ranging from sometime between the 6th century to 2nd century BCE. The origin of the idea in the Western tradition can be traced to the 5th century BCE starting with the Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Democritus and his teacher Leucippus, who theorized matter's divisibility beyond what can be perceived by the senses until ultimately ending at an indivisible atom. One may speak of infinite divisibility, or the lack thereof, of matter, space, time, money, or abstract mathematical objects such as the continuum. Infinite divisibility arises in different ways in philosophy, physics, economics, order theory (a branch of mathematics), and probability theory (also a branch of mathematics).
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