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Single Idea 5707
[filed under theme 28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / c. Teleological Proof critique
]
Full Idea
The universe was certainly not created for us by divine power: it is so full of imperfections.
Gist of Idea
The universe can't have been created by gods, because it is too imperfect
Source
Lucretius (On the Nature of the Universe [c.60 BCE], II.180)
Book Ref
Lucretius: 'On the Nature of the Universe', ed/tr. Latham,Ronald [Penguin 1951], p.65
A Reaction
This is certainly a problem if God is 'supremely perfect', as Descartes proposed, because then the universe would also have to be supremely perfect. See Idea 2114 for a possible answer from Leibniz. Hume agrees with Epicurus about design.
Related Idea
Idea 2114
This is the most perfect possible universe, in its combination of variety with order [Leibniz]
The
42 ideas
from 'On the Nature of the Universe'
17004
|
Nothing can break the binding laws of eternity
[Lucretius]
|
5704
|
There can be no centre in infinity
[Lucretius]
|
5694
|
Nothing can be created by divine power out of nothing
[Lucretius]
|
5695
|
Only bodies can touch one another
[Lucretius]
|
5696
|
If there were no space there could be no movement, or even creation
[Lucretius]
|
5697
|
The only possible standard for settling doubts is the foundation of the senses
[Lucretius]
|
5693
|
Everything is created and fed by nature from atoms, and they return to atoms in death
[Lucretius]
|
5698
|
We can only sense time by means of movement, or its absence
[Lucretius]
|
5699
|
If matter wasn't everlasting, everything would have disappeared by now
[Lucretius]
|
5700
|
It is quicker to break things up than to assemble them
[Lucretius]
|
5701
|
If an object is infinitely subdivisible, it will be the same as the whole universe
[Lucretius]
|
5702
|
The senses are much the best way to distinguish true from false
[Lucretius]
|
5703
|
The universe must be limitless, since there could be nothing outside to limit it
[Lucretius]
|
5714
|
Even simple facts are hard to believe at first hearing
[Lucretius]
|
5715
|
This earth is very unlikely to be the only one created
[Lucretius]
|
5716
|
Nature runs the universe by herself without the aid of gods
[Lucretius]
|
5706
|
Atoms move themselves
[Lucretius]
|
5707
|
The universe can't have been created by gods, because it is too imperfect
[Lucretius]
|
5705
|
Nature only wants two things: freedom from pain, and pleasure
[Lucretius]
|
5708
|
In downward motion, atoms occasionally swerve slightly for no reason
[Lucretius]
|
5709
|
The actions of the mind are not determinate and passive, because atoms can swerve
[Lucretius]
|
5710
|
Gods are tranquil and aloof, and have no need of or interest in us
[Lucretius]
|
5711
|
The earth is and always has been an insentient being
[Lucretius]
|
5712
|
Particles may have sensation, but eggs turning into chicks suggests otherwise
[Lucretius]
|
5713
|
You needn't be made of laughing particles to laugh, so why not sensation from senseless seeds?
[Lucretius]
|
5718
|
The mind is in the middle of the breast, because there we experience fear and joy
[Lucretius]
|
5719
|
The mind moves limbs, wakes the body up, changes facial expressions, which involve touch
[Lucretius]
|
5721
|
The mind is very small smooth particles, which evaporate at death
[Lucretius]
|
21387
|
The separate elements and capacities of a mind cannot be distinguished
[Lucretius]
|
5720
|
Spirit is mortal
[Lucretius]
|
5722
|
For a separated spirit to remain sentient it would need sense organs attached to it
[Lucretius]
|
5723
|
If spirit is immortal and enters us at birth, why don't we remember a previous existence?
[Lucretius]
|
5724
|
Lions, foxes and deer have distinct characters because their minds share in their bodies
[Lucretius]
|
5725
|
An immortal mind couldn't work harmoniously with a mortal body
[Lucretius]
|
5726
|
The dead are no different from those who were never born
[Lucretius]
|
5717
|
The mind is a part of a man, just like a hand or an eye
[Lucretius]
|
5727
|
Most supposed delusions of the senses are really misinterpretations by the mind
[Lucretius]
|
5728
|
The concept of truth was originated by the senses
[Lucretius]
|
5729
|
If the senses are deceptive, reason, which rests on them, is even worse
[Lucretius]
|
6611
|
One man's meat is another man's poison
[Lucretius]
|
5730
|
Our bodies weren't created to be used; on the contrary, their creation makes a use possible
[Lucretius]
|
5731
|
Why does Jupiter never hurl lightning from a blue sky?
[Lucretius]
|