“Some new, ground-breaking ideas have very ancient precursors. It is still surprising, for example, how spot on yet old the atomistic hypothesis is: i.e., the idea that the world stems from the combination of a few elementary units through relatively simple combinatory mechanisms. And how incredibly revolutionary and fruitful it has been to apply this very idea beyond our material makeup, to human language and cognition. Andrea Moro undertakes an engaging voyage through one of the most fascinating voices of antiquity, Titus Lucretius Carus, who gave poetic expression to atomism through his “On the Nature of Things.” Moro first exposes the ‘generative insight’ of Lucretius, then tracks its influence on and development into some key moments in the history of thought, up to our current, biologically grounded understanding of language and the human mind. A fascinating reflection on fundamentals.”
—Gennaro Chierchia, Haas Foundations Professor of Linguistics, Harvard University
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