Lucretius Essay, Research Paper

Lucretius: Books I-II

If Lucretius believes that everything in the universe is made up of either matter or space, then what are emotions and feelings?

In book I, Lucretius states that all nature as it is in itself consists of two things-bodies and the vacant space in which the bodies are situated and through which they move in different directions . (Lines 419-422) If this were true, then where would emotions be classified? They are neither made up of a physical substance and they are certainly not space, so what can they be?

Perhaps Lucretius takes this position; emotions are caused by an experience, and that experience could be made up of matter, that could make emotions matter, but I do not think so. I think that Lucretius is wrong in his statement that everything is either matter or space. I think that there is a third thing that he is missing. Because if there were no third thing in the universe, then where does love and hate come from? What makes people cry when they sad, or yell when they are angry. There must be a third entity that causes feeling and drives people to do what they do. Also what are thoughts? People s thoughts and ideas are not physical and they are not empty space, so what are they? I think that Lucretius did not consider everything in the universe when he made his statement.

If Lucretius believes that everything in nature consists of either matter or empty space, then what are emotions and feelings?