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Work #512 · Mid

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Titus Lucretius Carus
c. 55 BCE · Latin
Didactic philosophical poem · Roman Epicurean philosophy

Lucretius's 1st-c. BCE foundational Latin poem expounding Epicurean atomist philosophy

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

The mortal-temporal time of finite life.

Space

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

The infinite void in which atoms move.

Matter

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Atoms and void — the foundational materialism.

Observer

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

The mortal Epicurean observer.

Energy

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Energies of atomic motion and swerve (clinamen).

Information

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Six-book systematic Epicurean cosmology.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Lucretius's rediscovery in 1417 catalyzed Renaissance humanism and the eventual scientific revolution.