Introduction
The essay will compare the skepticism of two ancient philosophers concerning popular religious, spiritual and superstitious beliefs. The first philosopher we will look at is Lucretius who was a well-educated Roman popularly known for his poem “On the Nature of Things.” The second philosopher is Wang Ch’ung who was born in China and studied at Loyang academy in the capital. He is said to have had remarkable memory and gained a lot of knowledge in Chinese literature. The two philosophers did not believe in the religious beliefs and came up with arguments to convince the masses that they were indeed right in being skeptical.
Lucretius
Lucretius in his writing “Fear of Death” says that atoms are the life force behind all things. As such, Lucretius tries to drive away the fear of death that has shaken many men to their roots clouding their lives fear leaving them with no pleasure. Lucretius argues that some men say that disease and a life of disgrace should be feared more than death, but this is just empty talk and not their true belief. These men when stained with crime and exiled from their country, facing imminent death show their true nature as they cling on to life as they make sacrifices and give offerings to gods of the dead (Latham, 1951). Lucretius says that this fear should not be dealt with through impartial view of inner laws of nature.
Lucretius argument is a bit complicated and argues that the mind is the guiding power of life and is part of the body. He proves his point by saying even those wretched in mind may feel pleasure in other parts of the body. He adds that the body cannot feel the soul but it is in the limbs. Lucretius says that when a big part of the body is removed, life remains in the limbs but when heat leaves the body and the air is driven out through the mouth then the life abandons the bones and veins. Lucretius argues that not all elements play an equal part in supporting life but it is the warmth and wind atoms that nurture life and abandon our frames upon our deaths.
Wang Ch’ung
The ancient Chinese believed in divination of shell and weeds. Diviners insisted that they questioned heaven, milfoil was spiritual, tortoises were divine, and omens and signs responded. People ignored what was right and wrong and put their full trust in lucky and unlucky portents because they believed heaven and earth made their wishes known. Wang Ch’ung argues that is not true and that the idea is conceptualized by common scribblers. Wang Ch’ ung uses the conversation between Lu and Confucius where Lu asks what the need of tortoises and milfoil were, if sheep’s legs and pig’s shoulders could act as omens. Confucius replied that milfoil’s name meant old and tortoise’s name mean aged, and that in order to clear doubtful matters one has to ask the old and the aged. Wang Ch’ung argues that due to the fact that importance is placed in the portents names then they do not possess any special qualities.
Wang Ch’ung’s approach to the argument is simple and gives the example of lice living between on the human body and desiring of to learn man’s opinion. However, because of the difference in size, then man would not hear the lice’s utterances even if it did so near man’s ears. The same applies to man and Heaven or Earth, both Heaven and Earth are so enormous that they could not hear man’s words (Luzac, 1907).
He also gave the example of the interpreters predicting great calamity after King Wu destroyed Chou. Kung threw the milfoil away and stepped on the tortoise asking how could dried bones and dead herbs know the future.
Comparison between the Roman and Chinese Culture
The Chinese believed in portents and used tortoises, milfoils, pig’s shoulders, and sheep’s feet as divine omens. The Romans believed in sacrifices and offerings and gave them to the gods to get their favor.
Materialistic Skeptics and Confrontation of Spiritual and Religious Beliefs
Materialism is the process of thought that argues that everything are mere phenomena of matter and can be explained without using any notion of immaterial principle. Materialist skeptics argue using facts of organization where some of the phenomena of organic life like definite plan growth and preservation of form that cannot be explained without the theory of a force greater than matter (Owen, 2014). It is here that materialist skeptics meet religion and concur that there is indeed a God who is the creator of all things.
The freedom of speech and cultural respect dictates that all societies must respect all diverse religious beliefs with any conflict between freedom of speech and religious beliefs solved peacefully through lasting solutions. However, I am of the opinion that the freedom of expression should be decreased to meet the increasing sensitivity of some religious groups. Acts like blasphemy should not be protected under freedom of speech and should be dealt with by the law.
References
Latham, R. E. (1951). Lucretius. Retrieved June 3, 2016, from Humanistic texts, http://www.humanistictexts.org/lucretius.htm
Luzac, A. F. (1907). Wang Ch’ung. Retrieved June 3, 2016, from Philosophical Essays of Wang Ch’ung, http://www.humanistictexts.org/wangchung.htm#OnNotFlying to Heaven
Owen, J. (2014). Materialistic skepticism, philosophy and religion, Augustus Hopkins strong, Christian classics books at BibleStudyTools.Com. Retrieved June 3, 2016, from http://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/strong-philosophy-religion/materialistic-skepticism.html
