His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from those of his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in texts. Of the mass of atoms, Democritus said, "The more any indivisible exceeds, the heavier it is." However, his exact position on atomic weight is disputed. The theory of Democritus held that everything is composed of "atoms," which are physically, but not geometrically, indivisible that between atoms, there lies empty space that atoms are indestructible, and have always been and always will be in motion that there is an infinite number of atoms and of kinds of atoms, which differ in shape and size. That atoms and the vacuum were the beginning of the universe and that everything else existed only in opinion. We have various quotes from Democritus on atoms, one of them being: See also: Atomism Democritus among the Abderites Philosophy and scienceĬhristopher Charles Whiston Taylor states that the relation between Democritus and his predecessor Leucippus is not clear while earlier ancient sources such as Aristotle and Theophrastus credit Leucippus with the invention of atomism and credit its doctrines to both philosophers, later sources credit only Democritus, making definitive identification of specific doctrines difficult. Ancient accounts of his life have claimed that he lived to a very old age, with some writers claiming that he was over a hundred years old at the time of his death. Democritus was said to be born in the city of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony of Teos. LifeĪlthough many anecdotes about Democritus' life survive, their authenticity cannot be verified and modern scholars doubt their accuracy. ![]() Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy. ![]() None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Atoms and the void as the fundamental constituents of the physical world ĭemocritus ( / d ɪ ˈ m ɒ k r ɪ t ə s/, dim- OCK-rit-əs Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people" c.
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