At the most basic level of subconscious thought, every living animal possesses the desire to stay alive. Usually this instinct remains dormant, although in dire situations we may be led to do unexpected things. In addition to this subconscious drive, there is a socially constructed motivation to fear death. Thanks to the pervasive nature of religion throughout history, much of humanity has, at one time or another, feared the prospect of eternal damnation and torture during its life after death. Although not all religions have a negative afterlife aspect, or even a semblance of an afterlife, religions that contain such a construct receive much more attention in this regard. Throughout history, many scholars have countered the irrational fear of the unknown by pointing out that there is no definitive evidence proving the existence of such a postmortem experience. According to Lucretius, this fundamental fear of death is completely speculative and totally illogical; he argues that we have no reason to fear death because there is nothing after death. What makes Lucretius' argument so significant is not how he opposes religion, but how he grounds it in his own revision of atomism. It is because of this foundation of logical thinking that Lucretius' writings on the nature of death can still be considered a solid hypothesis. Although atomism was certainly not a new philosophy at the time Lucretius was writing, or even at the time of the rise of Rome. in power, the original propositions on the nature of matter were not sufficient to construct a philosophy similar to that presented by Lucretius. Over time, atomism evolved from a binary view that the world consisted only of atoms and void, ...... middle of paper ...... physically present. Although it seems intimidating, it shouldn't be uncomfortable; it is simply a reminder of the fleeting nature of life and that no one can avoid death. In addition to describing how and why the soul leaves a body at the moment of death, Lucretius argues that the soul is only just arriving and is bound to the body. body at the time of birth. Although this seems like somewhat circuitous logic out of context, it is only a condensed conclusion of his previous argument. The basis of this part of his argument arises, once again, from the central principle of atomism. Because nothing is created or destroyed, the atoms that make up the soul must have existed before birth, even if the fusion of the two only occurs upon entry into the world. Only by understanding the ephemeral nature of the soul and body, says Lucretius, can we accept the inevitable.