the swerve of atoms (clinamen)
E298887
The swerve of atoms (clinamen) is an Epicurean philosophical concept positing a spontaneous, unpredictable deviation in the motion of atoms to account for free will and the origin of events in an otherwise deterministic universe.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| the swerve of atoms (clinamen) canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2789504 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: the swerve of atoms (clinamen) Context triple: [Epicurus, notableIdea, the swerve of atoms (clinamen)]
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A.
The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature
The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature is Karl Marx’s 1841 doctoral dissertation, in which he critically compares the ancient atomist theories of Democritus and Epicurus to explore questions of materialism, freedom, and nature.
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B.
With the Grain of the Universe
With the Grain of the Universe is a theological work by Stanley Hauerwas that explores the nature and task of theology through engagement with figures like Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Hans Frei.
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C.
Of Vicissitude of Things
"Of Vicissitude of Things" is a philosophical essay by Francis Bacon reflecting on the inevitability of change and the cyclical nature of human affairs and history.
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D.
On the Origin of Inertia
"On the Origin of Inertia" is Dennis Sciama's influential doctoral thesis that explores the gravitational basis of inertial forces in the context of Mach's principle and general relativity.
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E.
Logic of Sense
Logic of Sense is a 1969 philosophical work by Gilles Deleuze that explores language, paradox, and the concept of sense through engagements with Stoicism, psychoanalysis, and literature.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: the swerve of atoms (clinamen) Target entity description: The swerve of atoms (clinamen) is an Epicurean philosophical concept positing a spontaneous, unpredictable deviation in the motion of atoms to account for free will and the origin of events in an otherwise deterministic universe.
-
A.
The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature
The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature is Karl Marx’s 1841 doctoral dissertation, in which he critically compares the ancient atomist theories of Democritus and Epicurus to explore questions of materialism, freedom, and nature.
-
B.
With the Grain of the Universe
With the Grain of the Universe is a theological work by Stanley Hauerwas that explores the nature and task of theology through engagement with figures like Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Hans Frei.
-
C.
Of Vicissitude of Things
"Of Vicissitude of Things" is a philosophical essay by Francis Bacon reflecting on the inevitability of change and the cyclical nature of human affairs and history.
-
D.
On the Origin of Inertia
"On the Origin of Inertia" is Dennis Sciama's influential doctoral thesis that explores the gravitational basis of inertial forces in the context of Mach's principle and general relativity.
-
E.
Logic of Sense
Logic of Sense is a 1969 philosophical work by Gilles Deleuze that explores language, paradox, and the concept of sense through engagements with Stoicism, psychoanalysis, and literature.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Epicurean philosophical concept
ⓘ
concept in ancient Greek philosophy ⓘ |
| addressesProblem |
causal necessity
ⓘ
determinism ⓘ free will ⓘ |
| associatedWithPhilosopher |
Epicurus
ⓘ
Lucretius ⓘ |
| category | theories of free will ⓘ |
| coreIdea |
atomic motion includes an element of indeterminacy
ⓘ
atoms sometimes deviate spontaneously from their straight-line paths ⓘ unpredictable deviations break strict determinism ⓘ |
| criticizedBy | ancient determinists ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
allegedly failing to secure rational agency
ⓘ
introducing uncaused events ⓘ |
| describedBy | Lucretius ⓘ |
| describedInWork | De rerum natura ⓘ |
| differsFrom | strict Democritean determinism ⓘ |
| feature |
swerve allows atoms to collide and form complex structures
ⓘ
swerve is minimal in magnitude ⓘ swerve is unpredictable ⓘ swerve occurs without prior cause ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
atomic swerve
ⓘ
clinamen ⓘ swerve of atoms ⓘ |
| historicalContext |
Hellenistic philosophy
ⓘ
ancient Greek atomism ⓘ |
| influenced |
early modern debates on determinism and indeterminism
ⓘ
later discussions of free will in Western philosophy ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Democritean atomism
ⓘ
linked to:
Atomism
|
| languageOfTerm | Latin ⓘ |
| modernInterpretation |
often compared to quantum indeterminacy
ⓘ
seen as an early theory of randomness in nature ⓘ |
| originatedInSchool | Epicureanism ⓘ |
| philosophicalDomain |
metaphysics
ⓘ
philosophy of action ⓘ philosophy of mind ⓘ philosophy of physics ⓘ |
| purpose |
to account for the origin of events in an otherwise deterministic universe
ⓘ
to avoid a fully deterministic atomic cosmos ⓘ to explain the possibility of free will ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Epicurean physics
ⓘ
atomism ⓘ chance ⓘ indeterminism ⓘ |
| roleInEpicureanism |
grounds the possibility of voluntary action
ⓘ
helps explain the emergence of worlds and living beings ⓘ supports the Epicurean rejection of fatalism ⓘ |
| termUsedBy | Lucretius ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: the swerve of atoms (clinamen) Description of subject: The swerve of atoms (clinamen) is an Epicurean philosophical concept positing a spontaneous, unpredictable deviation in the motion of atoms to account for free will and the origin of events in an otherwise deterministic universe.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.