Lucretius II

A pathbreaking new reading of Lucretius' materialist ethics

Human suffering, the fear of death, war, poverty, ecological destruction and social inequality: almost 2,000 ago Lucretius proposed an ethics of motion as simple and stunning solution to these ethical problems. Thomas Nail argues that Lucretius was the first to locate the core of all these ethical ills in our obsession with stasis, our fear of movement and our hatred of matter.

Instead of trying to transcend nature with our minds, escape it with our immortal souls and dominate it with our technologies, Lucretius was perhaps the first in the Western tradition to forcefully argue for a completely materialist, immanent and naturalistic ethics based on moving well with and as nature. If we want to survive and live well on this planet, Lucretius taught us, our best chance is not to struggle against nature but to embrace it and facilitate its movement.

Lucretius II is the second installment in Thomas Nail's transformative reading of Lucretius' didactic poem De Rerum Natura, which can be read individually or as a trilogy. Lucretius I covered books 1 and 2 of De Rerum Natura and looked at Lucretius' ontology; this volume covers books 3 and 4 and Lucretius' ethics. The third and final volume will cover books 5 and 6.

O noua lectura revolutionara a eticii materialiste a lui Lucretius Suferinta umana, frica de moarte, razboiul, saracia, distrugerea ecologica si inegalitatea sociala: acum aproape 2.000, Lucretius a propus o etica a miscarii ca o solutie simpla si uimitoare la aceste probleme etice. Thomas Nail sustine ca Lucretius a fost primul care a localizat miezul tuturor acestor boli etice in obsesia noastra pentru staza, frica noastra de miscare si ura pentru materie. In loc sa incercam sa transcendem natura cu mintea noastra, scapam-o cu sufletele noastre nemuritoare si dominati-l cu tehnologiile noastre, Lucretius a fost probabil primul din traditia occidentala care a sustinut cu forta o etica complet materialista, imanenta si naturalista, bazata pe miscarea buna cu si ca natura.