more on this theme     |     more from this text

Single Idea 5720

[filed under theme 29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality ]

Full Idea

Spirit is mortal.

Gist of Idea

Spirit is mortal

Source

Lucretius (On the Nature of the Universe [c.60 BCE], III.542)

Book Ref

Lucretius: 'On the Nature of the Universe', ed/tr. Latham,Ronald [Penguin 1951], p.112

A Reaction

This is asserted at an historical moment when immortality is beginning to grip everyone's imagination.

The 42 ideas from Lucretius

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]
email your comments