A natureza da alma e o clinamen: ação e liberdade em Lucrécio

Abstract

The concept of freedom and his presupposition, the free will or libera voluntas in Lucretius relies on the notion of clinamen (declination), an occasional and random motion of atoms, inaccessible to experience. It is endowed with a complex movement provided by spontaneity, without the need for mechanical causes. The action of perceiving (sensus) is selfconsciousness, according to which this will, illuminated by previous experiences (sensory, intellectual or emotional) of the soul, takes advantage of the freedom and own spontaneity of atomic motions to drive them to a perceived direction and chosen. On the other hand, if we consider that the declination has a predominant role for the acts of will, we are facing other problems and questions. There is always the choice of a determined action and, therefore, even if the individual is facing a need to act, is possible choose to do not continue finish this action. Thereby, the will is related to conditions that are originate, ultimately, from the images formed randomly in space and impress the soul: the simulacra of desire and pleasure. The declination itself is a very important notion in this research, in order to emphasize the relationship between the freedom and the kinetic of elements. The approach developed in this work had as main objective to investigate the philosophy of nature and the soul in Lucretius, their constituents and movement, as well as demonstrating how the notion of clinamen articulates with the concepts of image, desire and pleasure, proposing a possible interpretation for the declination as an indeterminate and ethical foundation of freedom