Materialism vs Idealism
Materialism vs IdealismHistory tells us very little of Titus Lucretius Carus, but one can see
from reading his work that he has a strong dislike towards religious
superstition, which he claims is the root of human fear and in turn the
cause of impious acts. Although he does not deny the existence of a god,
his work is aimed at proving that the world is not guided or controlled by
a divinity. Lucretius asserts that matter exists in the form of atoms,
which move around the universe in an empty space. This empty space, or
vacuity, allows for the movement of the atoms and without it everything
would be one mass. He explains that matter and vacuity can not occupy the
same space, "...where there is empty space, there matter is not...", and
these two things make up the entire universe. These invisible particles
come together to form material objects, you and I are made of the same
atoms as a chair or a tree. When the tree dies or the chair is thrown into
a fire the atoms do not burn up or die, but are dispersed back into the
vacuity. The atoms alone are without mind or secondary qualities, but they
can combine to form living and thinking objects, along with sound, color,
taste, etc... Atoms form life, consciousness, and the soul, and when our
body dies there is nothing left of the latter except for its parts, which
randomly become parts of other forms.
Matter is never ending reality, only changing in its form. In the
philosophical system developed by Irish philosopher George Berkeley,
Idealism, Berkeley states that physical objects, matter, do not exist
independent of the mind. The pencil that I am writing this essay with
would not exist if I were not perceiving it with...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.