Proof that the "and" and the "or" underlie all that is

This proof will be based upon several premises, but hopefully they are premises upon which most would agree.

First, we note a priori that there is more than one thing, whether it be a person, atom, planet, ocean, sun etc.


Second, we must observe that all events, whether historical, biological, planetary or molecular, involve movement.  When speaking about historical events we can say that people go places and do things, whether to other people or other beings.  As for planetary events, there seems to be little doubt that planets, solar systems, asteroids, galaxies and constellations of galaxies are constantly in motion.  As for biological events, advances in biology have demonstrated that at any one time, thousands of processes are taking place within a cell; enzymes are transporting, digesting and expelling various substances; cells are multiplying, dividing etc., as we have already discussed in past posts.  Similarly, on an atomic level, electrons, other subatomic particles and atoms themselves are constantly in motion, often very rapid motion. Atoms of different elements are constantly binding together to form molecules, or separating from one another when exposed to energy.

Thus, there are things, and they are moving.  Under what conditions would the "and" and "or" not underlie all movement? Under what conditions would movement not consist of a  "moving toward each other" and coming together of two entities (the and), or the separation or "moving away from each other" of entities?

 One such condition would be if everything was moving together, in one group, in one direction and at the same speed.  Empirical observation establishes that this is not the case.

Another condition under which the "and" and the "or" would not underlie all events would be if all movement consisted primarily of perfectly circular orbital movement.  Orbital movement exists, but it certainly doesn't predominate.  Even most orbital movement does not consist of perfectly circular orbital movement, in which the distance of one thing from another remains the same throughout time.   The earth's orbit around the sun, and most other orbits, are elliptical.   Thus, planets inch closer to the sun, and further away from it at different times.   Accordingly, the "and" and the "or" is present in differing degrees in most orbital movement.  Furthermore, orbital movement is relatively uncommon on a planetary level.  Planets may orbit around the sun, but they certainly don't orbit around each other.  They are in different positions in relation to each other, and different distances from each other, at different times.  Moreover, the orbital movement that does exist is relatively short lived in universal time.  Solar systems come into being upon the birth of a sun, and likely drift out of existence upon the sun's demise.

"Mr. Philosopher !!" you may remonstrate.  "Isn't the movement of electrons around the nucleus orbital?" Well, not really.  Quantum physics shows that electrons are not perfectly determinate substances whose movements can be precisely traced.  They are quasi-particles/waves, and the precise position and momentum of an electron at any given time can never be known (The Heisenberg uncertaintly principle).   They do not orbit the nucleus in the same way a planet orbits the sun.  Their precise positions can't be known.  Only the probability that they are in any place is knowable, and their orbit of probability need not be circular.  Finally, even if we concede that the orbit of electrons is circular, most history, at least on an atomic level, occurs when electrons leave their orbit.  They may jump to another orbit, when excited by energy, they may actually orbit another nucleus, as occurs in some types of bonding, or they may, in some cases, stop orbiting nuclei all together, as when electricity flows through a wire.

In any event,  empirical observation seems to confirm that most movement is not perfectly circular orbital movement.

In sum, we have:

1) The world is composed of things or objects.

2) All history, whether human, biological, planetary or atomic,  consists of the movement of these objects.

3)  These objects don't all move in unison, in the same direction and at the same speed.

4) Most of this movement is not perfectly circular orbital movement.

If propositions 3 and 4 are true, then it would appear that things move either further apart or closer together.  Thus, the "and" and the "or" underlie most events.

When the "and" is fully actualized, formerly separate things coalesce into sets.  Sets can be homogenous or heterogenous.  Many if not most sets are heterogenous, but are composed of homogenous subsets.  For instance, amino acids consist of clusters of atoms of a few different elements.  Overall, the set that makes one amino acid is heterogenous, but it has more than one atom or each of the different elements of which it is composed, thus the homogenous subsets.