the-many-may-never-cohere-back-into-one

# The many may never cohere back into one Reality may keep no single order. Each level holds its own first principles, with no law running unbroken from the source down to matter, only sealed orders that touch lightly or not at all. Then our craving for one explanation is elegance mistaken for truth, and the many never gather: what we take for one world could be several, coinciding only where we happen to stand. Provenance: Speusippus (4th c. BCE), known only through a hostile Aristotle; followed by no one. The "take it seriously" framing is Sledge's, not ancient. Related: [[unity-opens-into-multiplicity-and-coheres-again]], [[unity-and-multiplicity-are-perpendicular]]