Lucretius III: A History of Motion

Thomas Nail

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2022

Lucretius III

A History of Motion

Thomas Nail

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474494984

Overview
Contents

About this book

A guidebook to living in a world that’s destined to die, through a new reading of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura

Presents a new theory of history based on movement, as opposed to time
Offers a unique theory of evolutionary materialism
Can be read separately or along with Lucretius I and Lucretius II
Puts Lucretius in conversation with contemporary physics and new materialism

For Lucretius, history means something surprisingly different than we ordinarily think. Instead of thinking of history in terms of time, he thought of it in terms of motion. This book unpacks the implications of this unique kinetic philosophy of history.

In the final volume of his trilogy on Lucretius, Thomas Nail argues that in books five and six of De Rerum Natura, Lucretius described a world born to die – long before humans theorised about thermodynamics or began to see the catastrophic consequences of man-made climate change. What does it mean to live in such a world; a world that is increasinly obviously our world? Nail shows us how De Rerum Natura provides a guidebook for us to answer this question.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
A Note on the Translation and Text Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface: Death in the Time of Covid Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
Introduction: The Birth of Death Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Book V
1. Making History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
2. The Birth of the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. The Death of the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
4. It’s a Turbulent Whirled Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
5. Evolutionary Materialism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
6. A Brief History of Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
7. Eros and Civilisation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Book VI
8. A Hymn to Ruin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
9. As Above, So Below Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
10. Of Poisons and Plagues Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Conclusion: Unmaking History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 232
Illustrations
- Other: 43 B/W illustrations
Keywords: Philosophy

eBook

Published: April 21, 2022
ISBN: 9781474494984