---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When there is only one thing, what can be…"
description: "\"“When there is only one thing, what can be added or subtracted? If there are no circles, can pi find an ideal existence? What is logically possible whe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg"
---

#  When there is only one thing, what can be added or…

![“When there is only one thing, what can be added or subtracted? If there are no circles, can pi find an ideal existence? What is logically possible when there is no contrary?” quote by Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg)

> ““When there is only one thing, what can be added or subtracted? If there are no circles, can pi find an ideal existence? What is logically possible when there is no contrary?””

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He questions how concepts like addition, subtraction, circles, and pi exist without opposites or contradictions.

**In simple terms:** Exploring logical foundations of mathematics.

Key Takeaway

Consider the role of opposites in defining concepts.

Themes

logic mathematics philosophy existence

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical analytical

When to use this quote

- academic seminars
- research discussions
- teaching sessions

Key Concepts

paradox ideal forms logical possibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines a concept without its opposite?
- Can something exist without contradiction?

A Different Perspective

Mathematical concepts often rely on defined opposites.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Logically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-logically-591516/) [Ideal Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-existence-591515/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Logically Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logically-possible-591517/) [Possible Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-contrary-463919/)

## Related quotes

> [If then it be possible that one contrary should exist, or be called into existence, the other contrary will also appear to be possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-then-it-be-possible-that-one-contrary-should-exist-or-be-called/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Get to the heart of what is before you and continue to express yourself as logically as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/get-to-the-heart-of-what-is-before-you-and-continue-to-express/)

[Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/)

> [It's an ideal existence. Out in the open. Berating the president of he United States... I'm free to thwart and torment the authorities -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/it-s-an-ideal-existence-out-in-the-open-berating-the-president-of-he/)

[Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/)

> [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/)

[David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/)

[Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/)

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/)

[L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

## More by Steven L Peck

> [“What if the eternities are open? What if there is no set eternity to which we are heading? No teleology, as Bergson argued, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/what-if-the-eternities-are-open-what-if-there-is-no-set-eternity-to/)

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

> [“I cannot imagine God is up there following some rulebook (or cookbook) that maps out all that must or should happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/i-cannot-imagine-god-is-up-there-following-some-rulebook-or-cookbook/)

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

> [“Freedom, if it emerges like magic from consciousness (like the conjuring of consciousness itself!) seems best recognized in the choices made for love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/freedom-if-it-emerges-like-magic-from-consciousness-like-the/)

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

> [“We boast about our individuality and hold up our independence like a plucked bird bragging that now without the weight of all those feathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/we-boast-about-our-individuality-and-hold-up-our-independence-like-a/)

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

> [ “To me, wherever \[God\] are, they are. I just know them through encounters. Claiming that I have to know about them before I know… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/to-me-wherever-god-are-they-are-i-just-know-them-through-encounters/)

[Steven L Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

[Explore all 6 Steven L Peck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/)

## More Existence quotes

> [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/)

[Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/)

> [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/)

[L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/)

> [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/)

[David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/)

> [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/)

[Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/)

> [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

[Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“When there is only one thing, what can be added or subtracted? If there are no circles, can pi find an ideal existence? What is logically possible when there is no contrary?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steven L Peck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be-added-or-subtracted-if-there/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Existence"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be-added-or-subtracted-if-there/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/steven-l-peck-2-55449_life_when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be_1643881.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When there is only one thing, what can be added or subtracted? If there are no circles, can pi find an ideal…” — Steven L Peck",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Steven L Peck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-l-peck-2/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“When there is only one thing,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be-added-or-subtracted-if-there/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-l-peck-2/when-there-is-only-one-thing-what-can-be-added-or-subtracted-if-there/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
