Ideas from 'On the Nature of the Universe' by Lucretius [60 BCE], by Theme Structure
[found in 'On the Nature of the Universe' by Lucretius (ed/tr Latham,Ronald) [Penguin 1951,0-14-044018-6]].
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3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 1. Truth
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5728
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The concept of truth was originated by the senses
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12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 4. Pro-Empiricism
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5702
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The senses are much the best way to distinguish true from false
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5729
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If the senses are deceptive, reason, which rests on them, is even worse
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13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 4. Foundationalism / c. Empirical foundations
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5697
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The only possible standard for settling doubts is the foundation of the senses
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13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 3. Illusion Scepticism
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5727
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Most supposed delusions of the senses are really misinterpretations by the mind
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14. Science / C. Induction / 1. Induction
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5714
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Even simple facts are hard to believe at first hearing
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15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / d. Location of mind
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5718
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The mind is in the middle of the breast, because there we experience fear and joy
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5717
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The mind is a part of a man, just like a hand or an eye
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15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 5. Unity of Mind
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21387
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The separate elements and capacities of a mind cannot be distinguished
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16. Persons / F. Free Will / 2. Sources of Free Will
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5709
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The actions of the mind are not determinate and passive, because atoms can swerve
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17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 2. Interactionism
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5695
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Only bodies can touch one another
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17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 3. Panpsychism
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5712
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Particles may have sensation, but eggs turning into chicks suggests otherwise
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5711
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The earth is and always has been an insentient being
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17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 1. Physical Mind
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5719
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The mind moves limbs, wakes the body up, changes facial expressions, which involve touch
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5724
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Lions, foxes and deer have distinct characters because their minds share in their bodies
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17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 2. Reduction of Mind
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5713
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You needn't be made of laughing particles to laugh, so why not sensation from senseless seeds?
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21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 5. Objectivism in Art
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6611
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One man's meat is another man's poison
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22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
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5730
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Our bodies weren't created to be used; on the contrary, their creation makes a use possible
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22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / e. Death
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5726
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The dead are no different from those who were never born
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22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 3. Pleasure / e. Role of pleasure
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5705
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Nature only wants two things: freedom from pain, and pleasure
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 1. Nature
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5716
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Nature runs the universe by herself without the aid of gods
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 5. Infinite in Nature
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5704
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There can be no centre in infinity
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5703
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The universe must be limitless, since there could be nothing outside to limit it
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / g. Atomism
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5693
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Everything is created and fed by nature from atoms, and they return to atoms in death
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5701
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If an object is infinitely subdivisible, it will be the same as the whole universe
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5708
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In downward motion, atoms occasionally swerve slightly for no reason
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 7. Strictness of Laws
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17004
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Nothing can break the binding laws of eternity
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27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / a. Explaining movement
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5696
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If there were no space there could be no movement, or even creation
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5706
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Atoms move themselves
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27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 2. Thermodynamics / d. Entropy
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5700
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It is quicker to break things up than to assemble them
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27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / a. Experience of time
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5698
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We can only sense time by means of movement, or its absence
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27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 1. Cosmology
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5715
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This earth is very unlikely to be the only one created
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27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 2. Eternal Universe
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5694
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Nothing can be created by divine power out of nothing
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28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / a. Cosmological Proof
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5699
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If matter wasn't everlasting, everything would have disappeared by now
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28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / c. Teleological Proof critique
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5707
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The universe can't have been created by gods, because it is too imperfect
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28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 3. Deism
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5710
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Gods are tranquil and aloof, and have no need of or interest in us
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28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 5. Atheism
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5731
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Why does Jupiter never hurl lightning from a blue sky?
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29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
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5722
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For a separated spirit to remain sentient it would need sense organs attached to it
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5725
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An immortal mind couldn't work harmoniously with a mortal body
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29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / b. Soul
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5721
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The mind is very small smooth particles, which evaporate at death
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5723
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If spirit is immortal and enters us at birth, why don't we remember a previous existence?
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