Democritus biography philosophy
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The offspring is male or female according to which of the two seeds predominates in contributing material from the genitals. DK accepts both as relating to Democritus, but the authenticity of sayings in both collections is a matter of scholarly discussion, as is the relationship between Democritus’ atomism and his ethics.
2. They move about in an infinite void, repelling one another when they collide or combining into clusters by means of tiny hooks and barbs on their surfaces, which become entangled.
In this article, we will explore Democritus’ life, his philosophical beliefs, his impact on later philosophers, the criticisms he faced, and his enduring legacy.
Early Life and Education of Democritus
Born in the city of Abdera, located in ancient Thrace, Democritus grew up in a wealthy and influential family. The good is given many names, amongst them euthymia or cheerfulness, as well as privative terms, e.g.
Other than changing place, they are unchangeable, ungenerated and indestructible. Using a telescope, he observed that the Milky Way was indeed composed of a large number of stars. Void does not impede the motion of atoms because its essential quality is that of ‘yielding,’ in contrast to the mutual resistance of atoms.
ed., London and New York: Routledge.
Warren and F. Sheffield (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Ancient Philosophy, London: Routledge, pp. He spent time in Athens, where he learned from the likes of Socrates and Plato, absorbing their teachings and engaging in philosophical debates. In contrast to the evidence for his physical theories, many of the ethical fragments are lists of sayings quoted without context, rather than critical philosophical discussions of atomist views.
The ontological status of arrangement or combination of atoms for Democritus is a vexed question, that affects our understanding of his metaphysics, his historical relationship to Melissus, and the similarity of his views to the modern primary-secondary quality distinction (Wardy 1988; Curd 1998; Lee 2005; Mourelatos 2005; Pasnau 2007).
Moreover, the senses report properties that the atoms don’t really possess, like colors and tastes. In contrast to the Hesiodic view that the human past included a golden age from which the present day is a decline, an alternative tradition that may derive from Democritus suggests that human life was originally like that of animals; it describes the gradual development of human communities for purposes of mutual aid, the origin of language, crafts and agriculture.
460–370 BCE) would laugh heartily, and to those around him, this laughter seemed senseless, occasionally interpreted as a sign of madness. composed of an infinite number of parts. This is one of the fundamental achievements of atomist philosophy. Atoms with the same density differ in shape, size, and position. Several passages focus on the human ability to act on nature by means of teaching and art, and on a notion of balance and moderation that suggests that ethics is conceived as an art of caring for the soul analogous to medicine’s care for the body (Vlastos 1975, pp.
Democritus’ theory of taste, for example, shows how different taste sensations are regularly produced by contact with different shapes of atoms.
Theophrastus, who gives us the most thorough report of Democritus’ theory, criticizes it for raising the expectation that the same kinds of atoms would always cause similar appearances.
He died at the age of 90 years in 370 BC in Greece.
Contributions and Discoveries
The foundation works of science and philosophy trackback to Democritus. Anthropology
Although the evidence is not certain, Democritus may be the originator of an ancient theory about the historical development of human communities. The Soul and the Nature of Living Things
In common with other early ancient theories of living things, Democritus seems to have used the term psychê to refer to that distinctive feature of living things that accounts for their ability to perform their life-functions.
Some fragments suggest that moderation and mindfulness in one’s pursuit of pleasures is beneficial; others focus on the need to free oneself from dependence on fortune by moderating desire.