A Rational Cosmology: The Requirements for Homogeneous Entities

Essay IX

This is Essay IX of Mr. Stolyarov's series, "A Rational Cosmology," which seeks to present objective, absolute, rationally grounded views of terms such as universe, matter, volume, space, time, motion, sound, light, forces, fields, and even the higher-order concepts of life, consciousness, and volition. See the index of all the essays in "A Rational Cosmology" here.

Before we explore the properties of homogeneous entities, mention must be made of the fact that man does not yet know of any homogeneous entity that really exists! Even the smallest subatomic particle currently perceptible is thought to possess distinct components that can be studied as entities in themselves. The qualifications for being a homogeneous entity are the following:

1) Uniform distribution of every quality possessed. For example, the density of a homogeneous entity must be uniform throughout.

2) Impossibility of complete spatial separation. Neither a homogeneous nor a heterogeneous entity can have its components separated by distances over which parts of the entity are not encountered.

Were a homogeneous entity thus separable, this would imply that the measurements of its qualities would necessarily not be uniform throughout. Thus, every component of a homogeneous entity must be spatially connected to every other component by stretches of distance that encompass the same homogeneous entity. (A more comprehensive discussion of space and distance will follow in further essays.)

3) Inability to act to alter itself. A thing that is something cannot spontaneously become something else without undergoing definite physical transformations. These physical transformations entail nothing more than an alteration in a given entity's qualities. (Such qualities could change in their measurements or in the very fact of their applicability to the entity.)