ABSTRACT
Virtually nothing is known of Titus Lucretius Carus except his famous poem, On the Nature of the Universe. According to a secondhand report, he was driven insane by a love potion and eventually committed suicide. Apart from this story, our knowledge of his life can be gained only from his poem. In his poem, Lucretius embraces and expounds the philosophy of Epicurus. In particular, he develops his master’s atomistic materialism. Lucretius holds that in all nature there are only atoms moving in a void. Lucretius uses the theory to explain human activity as well. The human soul is made up of very fine atoms, and free will is simply the result of a “swerve” of atoms. Sensation occurs when thin films or “idols” are thrown off from objects and, entering through our sense organs, jostle the atoms of the mind. Consciousness is also explained atomistically as the motion of our soul atoms.
