Atomism

Atomism: Democritus and Epicurus      In the Atomists, we see pluralism taken as far as it could possibly go. We see Democritus and Epicurus divide all the world, as well as the universe, into two categories; atoms and empty space. Everything else is merely thought to exist. The atoms are eternal, infinite in size and number and they are moving through the empty space. There is no motion without empty space. Both Democritus and Epicurus agreed that motion was

acquaintances. However, in Metaphysics, Aristotle refers to Democritus as Leucippus’ “disciple”, equating the two philosophers’ ideas of “full” and “void” (the idea of atoms and the space in which they move). But whatever their relationship, their legacy of atomism is an important one, and it has influenced philosophy and science down to the present day. There is comprehensive access to primary sources on these philosophers and their ideas through both the Perseus Digital Library and the Online Loeb Classical

Does the void exist?      One of the main controversies in Pre-socratic philosophy is the dispute of the existence or non-existence of the void. Two groups of philosophers argue this idea. The first group, namely Parmenides, argues that the void does not exist. This is the opinion of the Monist philosophers. The other group is the atomists who argue this thesis and believe there is a void. This group is primarily represented by the philosophers, Democritus and Leucippus

It has always been difficult to overcome the established schools of thought; whenever a particular school of thought and philosophy is challenged it is the challenger who faces discrimination and hardships. The person who is challenging established philosophy will always have to bring with them conviction, foolproof evidence. It is through rigorous thought and experimentation that many controversial ideas are proven, but what do those who do not have the ability to perform experimentations do when

is the whole of the human body (both tangible parts, like organs, and intangible concepts, like the soul) created from distinct types of atoms, but that this is the basis upon which an afterlife may be disproved. One of the principle tenets of atomism is that the atoms people are comprised of provide the basis for physical sensations we might experience, such as heat, touch, smell, et cetera. Lucretius provides the corollary to this view by noting that without some mechanism for processing these

philosophers were important early contributors to the theory of logical atomism, and although they would both go on to reject many of the ideas central to logical atomism, their work nevertheless represented an important break from philosophical Idealism and set the stage for the developments of the twentieth century (Hylton 105, 116). However, despite the general agreement between Russel's The Philosophy of Logical Atomism and Wittgenstein's Tractatus, the philosophers disagree on the question of

Logic can be defined as the study of the methods and principles of correct reasoning or arguments. Logic teaches the techniques and methods for the correctness of different kinds of reasoning. It helps to detect errors in reasoning by examining and analyzing the various reasons. Logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inferences and through the study of arguments in natural language. It deals only with propositions that

Throughout the years the human race has come a very long way. We have made many advancements and have mastered and discovered incredible things. Part of the reason we have become so advanced is because of the many great people who have questioned things and tried to figure things out. One thing that people have tried to figure out for many years now is what everything is made of and how it works. At first, people thought that everything on earth was made of four main elements; fire, earth, air,

Democritus was an exciting and cheerful ancient Greek philosopher. He studied the natural world around him with wonders, observations, and questions always coming to him. He believed that every individual should have something to smile about and be happy; that’s why he was always so cheerful. One of his stimulating nicknames was the “laughing philosopher.” He was the significant symbol and founder of the development of the ancient atomic theory of the universe. Since he was a bright person every

who had taken over the area, he and his family moved to Colophon in Asia minor and lived there for ten years. It was in Colophon under the tutelage of Nausiphanes, a philosophy that he learned a version of atomism. His version was quite different from his predecessors. Epicurus version of Atomism states that the universe is composed of only two kinds of things; Bodies and the Void. That Bodies exist is a matter of Conservation, that the existence of the Void or empty space is necessary in order for