Democritus was a Greek philosopher who lived around the XNUMXth century BC. He was born in Abdera, a city located on the Aegean coast in what is now Greece. He was a mathematician and philosopher who, together with Leucippus of Miletus, made a great contribution to modern science with the atomic theory.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about moved, his biography and his exploits.
Biography
Democritus was from a wealthy family and received a good education in mathematics, music, poetry, and philosophy. He is considered one of the forerunners of scientific thought and natural philosophy. His main theory was based on the idea that everything in the universe was made up of very small particles called atoms. He believed that these atoms were eternal, indivisible, and invisible.
Democritus was somewhat younger than Protagoras, the famous compatriot with whom he once spoke, and according to authoritative sources, Democritus died around the age of one hundred. Apparently he made extensive study tours in Egypt and Asia. However, we know nothing about him, nor about his relationship with the followers of Pythagoras, the Athenian environment and the doctor Hippocrates, since the ancient sources only tell us about Democritus. Unlike Heraclitus, tradition paints him as a philosopher who ridicules human folly.
Democritus also defended the idea that the universe was constantly changing and that everything was in motion. He believed that knowledge was acquired through observation and experience and that truth was relative.
Despite his great contribution to philosophical thought, Democritus did not have as much recognition in his time as other philosophers such as Plato or Aristotle.. However, his legacy has been recognized in the history of philosophy and in modern science.
Democritus's atomic model
The atomic model is the most representative of this scientist. These are the basics of Democritus's atomic model:
- Atoms are physically indivisible.
- There is an empty space between each atom.
- Atoms are indestructible.
- Atoms are in constant motion.
- There are many kinds of atoms.
Due to these claims, Philosophers believe that the strength of a material depends on the types of atoms that make it up and the bonds between those atoms. So they assume that the atoms in water are different from those in rock, for example.
To explain his model, Democritus splits a stone, which means that if he cuts it in half, he will get two identical stones, and if he keeps repeating this operation, he will find a different stone within a stone up to a point where they no longer meet. could cut more. This unit is known as an atom. It can be seen that the model is completely mechanistic and only considers the bond between atoms.
However, the model was cool at the time, and it took 2200 years for the next atomic model to resonate with the scientific community. Democritus is considered the father of the atom, and although it is a very primitive model compared to what we currently know, comes surprisingly close to the contribution of the model we currently believe to be correct.
This model is especially interesting if we think that it comes from philosophers who could not experiment like modern scientists. The concept was taken up much later.
atomic theory
Democritus and his teacher Leucippus were the creators of this concept. This group of Greek philosophers founded a school of philosophy known as atomism, which asserted that all matter is made up of two things, atoms and emptiness. Although this model is entirely philosophical and has no basis in physics, it is a very good approximation. To account for the different materials, atomists believe that there are various types of atoms with variable spaces between them. Different types of atoms have different types of shapes.
Another central thesis of atomism is that atoms are physically indivisible, even though they are geometrically divisible. Furthermore, atoms are indestructible and are always in motion. Although Democritus and atomism were accepted in his time, there were some prominent philosophers who disagreed with his arguments.
Conflicts with Plato
Plato may have had some personal conflicts with Democritus, as he wanted all of his writings removed, regardless of the philosophical arguments against it. Instead, Plato's disciple, Aristotle, although he did not agree with the writings of Democritus, was aware that it could exist. Aristotle claimed that the basic elements earth, fire, air, and water were not made of atoms. Although his arguments were explicitly against Democritus' atomism, including them in his treatise shows that elite Greek philosophers took atomism very seriously.
Later, other philosophers, such as Epicurus and his disciple Lucretius, returned to atomism, but with some changes. Democritus was 90 years old and it is estimated that he died around 370 BC. Although some historians disagree and claim that he lived until 104 or even 109 BC. Regardless of the date of his death, Democritus was admired by scientists of all stripes in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, who were struck by the similarities between his philosophical currents and the original discoveries and theories of the atom.
Works of Democritus
The works of Democritus are rarely rescued and it is difficult to know what part of atomism corresponds to him and what was created by his teacher Leucippus of Miletus, so in many texts they are referred to as co-creators of the theory. However, important philosophers of the time such as Plato or Aristotle mainly mentioned Democritus. Although there is not much information, it is fair to say that there was another current on atoms in ancient times, in India, the Vaisha school of philosophy and Jainism had an atomic idea similar to that of Democritus.
As you can see, today we have great knowledge about atoms thanks to technology and the advancement of science. However, it is surprising that Democritus had such a view more than 2.000 years ago. I hope that with this information you can learn more about the biography of Democritus and what his exploits were.