Context Science & Society

Murray Gell-Mann’s ‘totalitarian principle’ is the modern version of Plato’s plenitude

Idea that whatever can exist does exist can guide scientific pursuits

Plato and Murray Gell Mann

Plato’s principle of plenitude is reborn in the modern belief, credited to Murray Gell-Mann (right), that whatever can exist must exist.

Left: © Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY 2.5); Right: Joi/Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY 2.5)

By Tom Siegfried

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