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Summary Of Lucretius On The Nature Of Things

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Summary Of Lucretius On The Nature Of Things
There is no biographical writing about Lucretius which must tell us that he was a private person. Poggio had found short biographical sketch at the Church Father St. Jerome but one should look at it with caution do to the fact is was written so long after this death and Christians would tell tales about philosophers. Lucretius looked up to Epicurus and thought he was all knowing and helped power his own vision. His main vision is the existence of atoms and how they make up everything around us. Epicurus said that the one should pursue pleasure during their life time. Also, Epicurus did not believe that God did not exist, but that thought that the gods would not have time for normal people because of them pursuing their own pleasure. Do to this, …show more content…
One topic of the book is that everything in the world is made up of invisible particles which Lucretius called “the seeds of things” but also known as atoms. He believes that these seeds are eternal particles that are infinite in number but limited to shape and size, that have the capability to move around. Another topic is that the universe does not have a creator because the particles that we are made up of can not me made or destroyed. Lucretius talked about how everything happening is a result of a swerve and that it is the source of free will. The swerve is the smallest of motions that can set of a large amount of collisions. He believes that all living creatures have evolved of a long period of time through trial and error. Along with evolution he speaks how the world was not created for human nor are they unique, and that they began in a battle of survival. Also, he talks about how the soul dies leaving there to be no afterlife but it is alright because Lucretius says in death there in so pain or pleasure. His view on religions are that what they promise is not what they get and that angels, demons or ghost do not exist because their spirits are dead. Another one of his views is that delusion is an obstacle to pain because of the thought of infinite pleasure or

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