Lucretius carus: rational determinism vs irrational indeterminism

Rational determinism and irrational indeterminism meet in Lucretius’ materialism for the first time in the history of western philosophy. Having postulated the concept of clinamen, an unpredictable swerve of atoms in indeterminate space, he in fact explains matter’s ability to move by itself, which, in turn, creates fundamental ontological prerequisites for the concept of free will.