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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Late Latin ''extension''-, ''extensio'', from [[Latin]] ''extendere'' 'stretch out'.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 15th Century]
==Definitions==
*1a : the [[action]] of extending : state of being extended
:b : an enlargement in [[scope]] or operation <[[tools]] are extensions of human hands>
*2a : the total range over which something extends : [[compass]]
*3a : the stretching of a [[fractured]] or dislocated limb so as to restore it to its natural [[position]]
*b : an unbending movement around a joint in a limb (as the knee or elbow) that increases the [[angle]] between the bones of the limb at the joint
*4: a property whereby something occupies [[space]]
*5: an increase in [[length]] of [[time]]; specifically : an increase in time allowed under agreement or [[concession]]
*6: a program that geographically extends the [[educational]] resources of an [[institution]] by special arrangements (as correspondence courses) to persons otherwise unable to take [[advantage]] of such resources
*7a : a part constituting an addition
:b : a section or line segment forming an additional [[length]]
:c : an extra telephone connected to the principal line
:d : a [length] of natural or synthetic hair that is worn attached to one's natural hair
:e : a series of usually three or four characters following a dot at the end of the name of a [[computer]] file that specifies the file's [[format]] or [[purpose]]
*8: a [[mathematical]] set (as a field or group) that includes a given and similar set as a subset
==Description==
In [[metaphysics]], '''extension''' is, roughly speaking, the property of "taking up [[space]]". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descartes René Descartes] defines extension as the property of existing in more than one [[dimension]]. For Descartes, the primary characteristic of matter is extension, just as the primary characteristic of [[mind]] is [[consciousness]]. This can be contrasted with current conceptions in [[quantum]] physics, where the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_length Planck length], an almost unimaginably tiny [[quantity]], represents reaching that distance scale where, it has been theorized, all measurement seemingly breaks down to that which can be subsumed at this scale, as distance only, or extension.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke John Locke], in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding An Essay Concerning Human Understanding]'', defined extension as "only the Space that lies between the Extremities of those solid coherent Parts" of a [[body]]. It is the space possessed by a body. Locke refers to the extension in conjunction with [[solidity]] and impenetrability, the other primary characteristics of matter.
Extension also plays an important part in the philosophy of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza Baruch Spinoza], who says that substance (that which has extension) can be limited only by substance of the same sort, i.e. [[matter]] cannot be limited by [[ideas]] and vice versa. From this principle, he determines that substance is [[infinite]]. This infinite substance is what Spinoza calls [[God]], or better yet [[nature]], and it possesses both unlimited extension and unlimited [[consciousness]].
The property of extension has not played a significant role in [[philosophy]] roughly since the time of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant Immanuel Kant]. Kant maintained a [[distinction]] between the [[mind]] and the body, differentiating [[space]] as the realm of the [[body]] and time the realm of the [[mind]]. He makes only cursory mention of "extension," however, and no philosophers have dealt extensively with the [[topic]] since Kant's writing.
[[Category: Philosophy]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Late Latin ''extension''-, ''extensio'', from [[Latin]] ''extendere'' 'stretch out'.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 15th Century]
==Definitions==
*1a : the [[action]] of extending : state of being extended
:b : an enlargement in [[scope]] or operation <[[tools]] are extensions of human hands>
*2a : the total range over which something extends : [[compass]]
*3a : the stretching of a [[fractured]] or dislocated limb so as to restore it to its natural [[position]]
*b : an unbending movement around a joint in a limb (as the knee or elbow) that increases the [[angle]] between the bones of the limb at the joint
*4: a property whereby something occupies [[space]]
*5: an increase in [[length]] of [[time]]; specifically : an increase in time allowed under agreement or [[concession]]
*6: a program that geographically extends the [[educational]] resources of an [[institution]] by special arrangements (as correspondence courses) to persons otherwise unable to take [[advantage]] of such resources
*7a : a part constituting an addition
:b : a section or line segment forming an additional [[length]]
:c : an extra telephone connected to the principal line
:d : a [length] of natural or synthetic hair that is worn attached to one's natural hair
:e : a series of usually three or four characters following a dot at the end of the name of a [[computer]] file that specifies the file's [[format]] or [[purpose]]
*8: a [[mathematical]] set (as a field or group) that includes a given and similar set as a subset
==Description==
In [[metaphysics]], '''extension''' is, roughly speaking, the property of "taking up [[space]]". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descartes René Descartes] defines extension as the property of existing in more than one [[dimension]]. For Descartes, the primary characteristic of matter is extension, just as the primary characteristic of [[mind]] is [[consciousness]]. This can be contrasted with current conceptions in [[quantum]] physics, where the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_length Planck length], an almost unimaginably tiny [[quantity]], represents reaching that distance scale where, it has been theorized, all measurement seemingly breaks down to that which can be subsumed at this scale, as distance only, or extension.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke John Locke], in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding An Essay Concerning Human Understanding]'', defined extension as "only the Space that lies between the Extremities of those solid coherent Parts" of a [[body]]. It is the space possessed by a body. Locke refers to the extension in conjunction with [[solidity]] and impenetrability, the other primary characteristics of matter.
Extension also plays an important part in the philosophy of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza Baruch Spinoza], who says that substance (that which has extension) can be limited only by substance of the same sort, i.e. [[matter]] cannot be limited by [[ideas]] and vice versa. From this principle, he determines that substance is [[infinite]]. This infinite substance is what Spinoza calls [[God]], or better yet [[nature]], and it possesses both unlimited extension and unlimited [[consciousness]].
The property of extension has not played a significant role in [[philosophy]] roughly since the time of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant Immanuel Kant]. Kant maintained a [[distinction]] between the [[mind]] and the body, differentiating [[space]] as the realm of the [[body]] and time the realm of the [[mind]]. He makes only cursory mention of "extension," however, and no philosophers have dealt extensively with the [[topic]] since Kant's writing.
[[Category: Philosophy]]
