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    Lucretius invoked 'nothing from nothing' to deny divine c... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The causal principles that everything must have a cause and that no effect can have perfections not in its cause are foundational and cannot be denied without rejecting that nothing can come from nothing

    Lucretius invoked 'nothing from nothing' to deny divine creation entirely, meaning the principle is compatible with naturalism and does not uniquely support theistic causal claims.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    • 1.Lucretius explicitly used 'ex nihilo nihil fit' to argue atoms and void require no creator, showing the principle predates theistic monopoly.
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    • 2.If nothing can come from nothing, the universe's existence requires either eternal matter or a necessary being—both compatible with naturalism.
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    • 3.The principle constrains all worldviews equally: theists must explain God's necessity just as naturalists explain matter's necessity.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Lucretius's use of the principle doesn't establish its metaphysical truth—ancient rhetorical deployment differs from logical validity.
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    • 2.The principle actually favors theism: if nothing produces nothing, only a necessary being or eternal substance avoids absurdity.
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    • 3.Naturalism must assume matter's eternal existence without justification, whereas theism explains necessity through God's nature.
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    Key Terms

    'nothing from nothing'(as a foundational principle being discussed)
    A Latin principle (ex nihilo nihil fit) meaning you can't create something out of absolutely nothing—everything must come from something that already exists.
    Divine creation(as used in theology and philosophy of religion)
    The idea that God brought the universe and everything in it into existence.
    Lucretius(as a key philosopher in the Epicurean tradition)
    A Roman philosopher and poet (lived around 99-55 BCE) who wrote about Epicurean ideas and argued that we shouldn't fear death because non-existence before birth didn't harm us.
    naturalism(Mill's philosophical framework as characterized in the passage)
    A substantive theoretical doctrine offering a systematic and coherent way of thinking about the world and the history of human theoretical engagement with it
    theistic causal claims(as the type of religious argument the principle doesn't uniquely support)
    Arguments that God or gods are the cause or explanation for why things exist or happen the way they do.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Causation1 linkedNatural Theology1 linked

    Related

    If nothing can come from nothing, the universe's existence requires either etern...Lucretius explicitly used 'ex nihilo nihil fit' to argue atoms and void require ...Lucretius's use of the principle doesn't establish its metaphysical truth—ancien...Naturalism must assume matter's eternal existence without justification, whereas...
    +3 moreShow less
    The causal principles that everything must have a cause and that no effect can h...The principle actually favors theism: if nothing produces nothing, only a necess...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    The principle constrains all worldviews equally: theists must explain God's nece...