Further stuff showing that B&T made the original error and MikeB
simply repeated it credulously, deleted.
Wheeler's "Many Worlds" hypothesis isn't about the number of
planets in the universe, which the Democritus quote appears
to address.
I don't have a problem with the questions of teleology being
discussed by the ancients. I do have a problem with ancient
quotes that don't connect to the modern counterpart being
put forward as examples. Perhaps further context in Democritus
would show that he was not talking about planets and their
number, but rather whole universes. But until such information
becomes available, I will continue to be a skeptic of the claim
that Democritus prefigured Wheeler in any significant sense.
Wesley
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