Book contents
- Approaches to Lucretius
- Approaches to Lucretius
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Text
- Part II Lucretius and his Readers
- Part III The Word and the World
- Part IV Literary and Philosophical Sources
- Chapter 8 Arguing over Text(s): Master-Texts vs. Intertexts in the Criticism of Lucretius
- Chapter 9 Lucretius and the Philosophical Use of Literary Persuasion
- Chapter 10 The Rising and Setting Soul in Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 3
- Part V Worldviews
- Works Cited
- Index Locorum
- Index Rerum
Chapter 9 - Lucretius and the Philosophical Use of Literary Persuasion
from Part IV - Literary and Philosophical Sources
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 June 2020
- Approaches to Lucretius
- Approaches to Lucretius
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Text
- Part II Lucretius and his Readers
- Part III The Word and the World
- Part IV Literary and Philosophical Sources
- Chapter 8 Arguing over Text(s): Master-Texts vs. Intertexts in the Criticism of Lucretius
- Chapter 9 Lucretius and the Philosophical Use of Literary Persuasion
- Chapter 10 The Rising and Setting Soul in Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 3
- Part V Worldviews
- Works Cited
- Index Locorum
- Index Rerum
Summary
The first part of this paper looks into the question of Lucretius’ philosophical sources and whether he draws almost exclusively from Epicurus himself or also from later Epicurean texts. I argue that such debates are inconclusive and likely will remain so, even if additional Epicurean texts are discovered, and that even if we were able to ascertain Lucretius’ philosophical sources, doing so would add little to our understanding of the DRN. The second part of the paper turns to a consideration of what Lucretius does with his philosophical sources. The arguments within the DRN are not original. Nonetheless, the way Lucretius presents these arguments establishes him as a distinctive philosopher. Lucretius deploys non-argumentative methods of persuasion such as appealing to emotions, redeploying powerful cultural tropes, and ridicule. These methods of persuasion do not undercut or displace reasoned argumentation. Instead, they complement it. Lucretius’ use of these methods is rooted in his understanding of human psychology, that we have been culturally conditioned to have empty desires, false beliefs and destructive emotions, ones that are often subconscious. Effective persuasion must take into account the biases, stereotypes and other psychological factors that hinder people from accepting Epicurus’ healing gospel.
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- Approaches to LucretiusTraditions and Innovations in Reading the <I>De Rerum Natura</I>, pp. 177 - 194Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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