https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5424 2026-05-01T18:00:19Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5523 Epicurus on swerving atoms : a modern scientific appraisal Kirby-Hirst, Mark In an effort to distance himself from the Democritan conception of the atomic particle, Epicurus posited three essential characteristics to explain the movement of atoms in the void — mass, velocity and something that has puzzled ancient and modern thinkers, called the klinamen. This occurrence was an hypothesized shift in the linear trajectory of an atom at an entirely unexpected and random point in time, and explains how compounds came to be formed in the Epicurean universe, where atoms fall unhindered in parallel to one another. I argue that the klinamen is not an entirely random occurrence but is instead a phenomenon predicated upon the laws of modern physics, the Newtonian laws of motion and gravitation in particular. I further posit that the klinamen is an entirely necessary aspect of the development of the universe from its initial origins of ‘atoms and void’ (Epicur. Phys. 1.13,14; Ep. Hdt. 39). 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5522 A preliminary investigation of a family of cognitively significant emotions Ally, Mashuq In this paper I attempt a preliminary investigation of a family of cognitively significant emotions (which includes inter alia interest, attention, surprise) while focusing more specifically upon the philosophically richer curiosity and wonder. I examine them from various perspectives, primarily those that may be termed historical, phenomenological, and virtue-theoretical. My intention is to illuminate some of the vital functions that curiosity and wonder, in particular, fulfil. It is hoped that such an exploration may draw attention to this much-neglected family of cognitively significant emotions and encourage future studies. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z