Lucretius On The Nature Of The Universe Analysis

Great Essays
On the Nature of Privilege & Accessibility As I read Lucretius’ On the Nature of the Universe, I found myself struck by my own inability to relate to the concepts he was presenting; I consider myself someone who is constantly in awe over the power of words and the way they interact with each other in order to convey a point. Truthfully, this text left me with the exact opposite impression of enjoying what I was reading- I had very little understanding of the different scientific concepts Lucretius took great pleasure in detailing for us readers. The passage that stood out to me the most, though, had to do with a topic that is very near and dear to my heart: knowledge through education and how accessible it is. As I read Lucretius’ views …show more content…
Though the quoted passage does not sit well with me, I find trouble connecting with an author who is so into the importance of himself and his own work that he puts down others in order to assert his dominance. This quote continues with Lucretius mentioning that aside from pitting their wits against one another, the people he refers to are also “disputing for precedence” (59). By speaking this way, Lucretius ascertains that, from his sanctuary, he is inherently better than everyone who lives this way. As a scientist, one might venture to say that he believes there is no need to pit his wits against his colleagues because there is no need to question his own work or work towards anything less than the greater good. In turn, there would be no need for someone like Lucretius to need to be part of a dispute for precedence as his work is not just benefiting him but every human. Or in this case, anyone in the first century and beyond who can read and has a foundational understanding of atoms and how they fit into and comprise our lives. The idea of “the greater good,” while usually associated with religion, politics, or philosophy, speaks to the idea scientific learning as a whole seems to reflect that the results of research and experiments are not solely for the scientist’s curiosity …show more content…
Could this be a result of people “struggling night and day with unstinted effort to scale the pinnacles of wealth and power” (59)? Perhaps. But, it is important to remember that only a select few, both then and now, had the option to live solely pursuing wealth and power. In order to be able to even think about pursuing the two, one has to already be living comfortably in the sense that their basic needs are met and that they have the resources to be able to want (and achieve) more. People who can think this way do because they’re in the position to do so. Even today, people who think that education is accessible for all think so due to the relationship they’ve had with education thus far. Within the context of my own life, I often see these views reflected in the ideologies my peers verbalize both in and out of the classroom. This isn’t a knock on them for thinking this way, but speaks to the role popular culture has in perpetuating these ideas and the mere fact that these ideas existed during Lucretius’ time as

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