Ventilation
Democritus and his philosophical views. Philosophy according to Democritus of Abdera

Democritus and his philosophical views. Philosophy according to Democritus of Abdera

Democritus (he was also called Democritus from Abder by his place of birth) is an ancient Greek philosopher, the first consistent materialist, one of the first representatives of atomism. His achievements in this area are so great that for the entire era of modernity, any fundamentally new conclusions have been added to them in a very small amount.

From his biography, we know only fragmentary information. Even ancient researchers could not come to a consensus on exactly when Democritus was born. It is believed that this happened around 470 BC. e. His homeland was Thrace, a region of Eastern Greece, the seaside city of Abdera.

The legend says that the father of Democritus received as a gift from the Persian king Xerxes for his hospitality and cordiality (his army passed through Thrace, and the father of the future philosopher allegedly fed the soldiers with dinner) some Chaldeans and magicians. Democritus, according to legend, was their student.

It is not known whether this was the end of his education, but the store of knowledge and experience increased significantly in the course of numerous trips and travels, which, in turn, became possible due to the receipt of a rich inheritance after the death of his father. It is known that he visited such countries as Persia, Egypt, Iran, India, Babylonia, Ethiopia, got acquainted with the culture and philosophical views of the peoples living there. For some time he lived in Athens, listened to the lectures of Socrates, it is likely that he met with Anaxagoras.

In the hometown of Democritus, embezzlement of parental inheritance was considered a crime and punished by the court. The case of the philosopher was also considered at the court session. Legend has it that as a defense speech, Democritus read several excerpts from the “Great Worldbuilding”, his work, after which the fellow citizens issued a verdict of not guilty, thereby recognizing that he had found a worthy use for his father's money.

Indeed, Democritus possessed such an encyclopedic, extensive and versatile knowledge that he deserves the title of the predecessor of the famous Aristotle. In his contemporary era, there were no sciences that he would not be engaged in: these are astronomy, ethics, mathematics, physics, medicine, technology, music theory, philology. As for philosophy, in this area his mentor was the atomist Leucippus, about whom there is practically no information in our time. Nevertheless, the emergence of such a universal philosophical doctrine as atomism is usually associated with the theories of Democritus. It was a synthesis of cosmology, physics, epistemology, ethics and psychology - areas of knowledge that were dealt with by the oldest philosophical Greek schools.

From the point of view of the inhabitants, Democritus led a rather strange way of life, for example, he liked to meditate, moving away from the hustle and bustle of the cemetery. He was given the nickname "The Laughing Philosopher", in particular, for the manner of laughing in public for no apparent reason (the philosopher could not look without laughing at how sometimes petty and absurd human concerns were compared to the greatness of the world order). According to legend, the townspeople turned to Hippocrates to examine Democritus, who was moved by the mind, but the famous doctor recognized the philosopher as completely healthy and called him one of the smartest people he had to deal with. He died approximately in 380 BC. e.

Diogenes Laertes claimed that Democritus wrote about 70 works devoted not only to philosophy, but also to other sciences and arts. Most often there is a mention of the "Big World" and "Small World". Until our time, his legacy has come down in the form of 300 fragments. In the era of antiquity, Democritus gained fame not only for his philosophical views, but also for his ability to express thoughts in his writings beautifully, but at the same time short, simple and clear.

Democritus of Abdera (Δημόκριτος; c. 460 BC, Abdera - c. 370 BC). The great ancient Greek philosopher, allegedly a student of Leucippus, one of the founders of atomism and materialistic philosophy.

Born in the city of Abdera in Thrace. During his life he traveled a lot, studying the philosophical views of various peoples (Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Persia, India, Ethiopia). He listened to the Pythagorean Philolaus and Socrates in Athens, was familiar with Anaxagoras.

Democritus spent a lot of money on these trips, inherited from him. However, the embezzlement of the inheritance in Abderah was prosecuted. At the trial, instead of his defense, Democritus read out excerpts from his work, "The Great World Construction", and was acquitted: fellow citizens decided that his father's money was well spent.

The lifestyle of Democritus, however, seemed incomprehensible to the Abderites: he constantly left the city, hiding in cemeteries, where, far from the bustle of the city, he indulged in reflections; sometimes Democritus without apparent reason burst out laughing, human affairs seemed so ridiculous to him against the backdrop of the great world order (hence his nickname "The Laughing Philosopher"). Fellow citizens considered Democritus insane, and even invited the famous physician Hippocrates to examine him. He really met with the philosopher, but decided that Democritus was absolutely healthy both physically and mentally, and in addition, he affirmed that Democritus was one of the smartest people with whom he had to communicate. Among the disciples of Democritus, Bion from Abdera is known.

According to Lucian, Democritus lived for 104 years.

In his philosophical views, he spoke with an opposition point of view to the Eleatics regarding the conceivability of a multitude and the conceivability of movement, however, he completely agreed with them that a truly existing being can neither arise nor disappear. The materialism of Democritus, which is characteristic of almost all scientists of that time, is contemplative and metaphysical.

The main achievement of the philosophy of Democritus is considered to be the development of Leucippe's doctrine of the "atom" - an indivisible particle of matter that has true being, does not collapse and does not arise (atomic materialism). He described the world as a system of atoms in a void, rejecting the infinite divisibility of matter, postulating not only the infinity of the number of atoms in the Universe, but also the infinity of their forms (ideas, είδος - “view, appearance”, a materialistic category, in contrast to the idealistic ideas of Socrates).

Atoms, according to this theory, move randomly in empty space (the Great Void, as Democritus said), collide and, due to the correspondence of shapes, sizes, positions and orders, either stick or fly apart. The resulting compounds hold together and thus produce complex bodies. Movement itself is a property naturally inherent in atoms. Bodies are combinations of atoms. The diversity of bodies is due both to the difference in the atoms that compose them, and to the difference in the order of assembly, just as different words are made up of the same letters. Atoms cannot touch, since everything that does not have emptiness inside it is indivisible, that is, a single atom. Therefore, there are always at least small gaps of emptiness between two atoms, so that even in ordinary bodies there is emptiness. It also follows from this that when atoms approach at very small distances, repulsive forces begin to act between them. At the same time, mutual attraction between atoms is also possible according to the principle “like attracts like”.

The main methodological principle of the atomists was the principle of isonomy (literal translation from Greek: equality of all before the law), which is formulated as follows: if a particular phenomenon is possible and does not contradict the laws of nature, then it must be assumed that in unlimited time and in unlimited space it either has already taken place, or someday will come: in infinity there is no boundary between possibility and existence. This principle is also called the principle of lack of sufficient reason: there is no reason for any body or phenomenon to exist in this rather than in any other form. It follows, in particular, that if a phenomenon can in principle occur in various types, then all these species exist in reality.

Democritus drew several important conclusions from the principle of isonomy:
1) there are atoms of any shape and size (including the size of the whole world);
2) all directions and all points in the Great Void are equal;
3) atoms move in the Great Void in any direction with any speed. The last provision is very important for the theory of Democritus. In essence, it follows from it that the movement itself does not need to be explained, the reason needs to be sought only for changing the movement.

Democritus was a supporter of the concept of a plurality of worlds.

The multiplicity of worlds follows from the principle of isonomy: if a process of some kind can take place, then in infinite space somewhere, sometime, it is bound to take place; what is happening in a given place at a given time must also be happening in other places at one time or another. Thus, if a vortex-like movement of atoms arose in a given place in space, which led to the formation of our world, then a similar process should occur in other places, leading to the formation of other worlds. The resulting worlds are not necessarily the same: there is no reason why there should not be worlds without a sun and a moon at all, or with three suns and ten moons; only the earth is a necessary element of each world (probably simply by the definition of this concept: if there is no central earth, it is no longer a world, but just a clot of matter). Moreover, there are no grounds for the fact that somewhere in the boundless space exactly the same world as ours would not be formed. All worlds move in different directions, because all directions and all states of motion are equal. In this case, the worlds can collide, collapsing. Similarly, all moments of time are equal: if the formation of the world is taking place now, then somewhere it must take place both in the past and in the future; currently different worlds are at different stages of development. In the course of its movement, the world, the formation of which has not ended, may accidentally penetrate the boundaries of the fully formed world and be captured by it (this is how Democritus explained the origin of the heavenly bodies in our world).

Since the Earth is in the center of the world, then all directions from the center are equal, and it has no reason to move in any direction (Anaximander held the same opinion about the reason for the immobility of the Earth). But there is also evidence that, according to Democritus, the Earth initially moved in space, and only subsequently stopped.

However, he was not a supporter of the theory of a spherical Earth. Democritus cited the following argument: if the Earth were a ball, then the sun, setting and rising, would be crossed by the horizon along an arc of a circle, and not in a straight line, as it really is. Of course, this argument is untenable from a mathematical point of view: the angular diameters of the Sun and the horizon are very different, and this effect could be noticed only if they were almost the same (for this, obviously, one would have to move a very large distance from the earth).

According to Democritus, the order of the luminaries is as follows: the Moon, Venus, the Sun, other planets, stars (as the distance from the Earth increases). Moreover, the farther away from us the luminary, the slower (in relation to the stars) it moves. Following Empedocles and Anaxagoras, Democritus believed that centrifugal force prevents the fall of celestial bodies on Earth. Democritus came up with the brilliant idea that the Milky Way is a multitude of stars located at such a small distance from each other that their images merge into a single faint glow.

Democritus developed the general Hellenistic concept of measure, noting that measure is the correspondence of a person's behavior to his natural capabilities and abilities. Through the prism of such a measure, pleasure already appears as an objective good, and not just a subjective sensory perception.

He considered the basic principle of human existence to be in a state of benevolent, serene disposition of the spirit (euthymia), devoid of passions and extremes. This is not just a simple sensual pleasure, but a state of "peace, serenity and harmony."

Democritus believed that all evil and misfortune happens to a person due to the lack of the necessary knowledge. From this he concluded that the elimination of problems lies in the acquisition of knowledge. The optimistic philosophy of Democritus did not allow the absoluteness of evil, deducing wisdom as a means of achieving happiness.

Democritus denied the existence of gods and the role of everything supernatural in the emergence of the world. According to Sextus Empiricus, he believed that "we came to the idea of gods from the extraordinary phenomena taking place in the world."

Democritus compiled one of the first ancient Greek calendars.

Democritus was the first to establish that the volume of a pyramid and a cone is equal, respectively, to one third of the volume of a prism and a cylinder under the same height and with the same base area.

About 70 different works of Democritus are mentioned in the writings of ancient authors, none of which has survived to this day. Studies of the philosophy of Democritus are based on quotations and criticism of his ideas in the writings of later philosophers such as Aristotle, Sextus, Cicero, Plato, Epicurus and others.

The most significant work of Democritus should be considered the "Great World Construction", a cosmological work that covered almost all areas of knowledge available at that time. In addition, based on the lists of Diogenes Laertius, Democritus is credited with the authorship of such works as “On the Spiritual Disposition of the Sage”, “On Virtue”, “On the Planets”, “On Feelings”, “On the Difference of Forms”, “On Tastes”, “On colors", "On the mind", "On logic or canons", "Causes of celestial phenomena", "Causes of air phenomena", "Causes of terrestrial phenomena", "Causes of fire and fiery phenomena", "Causes of sounds", "Causes of seeds, plants and fruits", "Causes of living beings", "On the contact of the circle and the ball", "On geometry", "On irrational lines and bodies", "Numbers", "Projections", "Big Year", "Description of the sky", "Description of the Earth", "Description of the Poles", "Description of Rays", "On Rhythms and Harmony", "On Poetry", "On the Beauty of Poetry", "On Singing", "Medical Science", "On Diet", "On painting", "Agriculture", "About the military system", etc.

There is a legend that he ordered to buy up and destroy all the works of Democritus, his philosophical antagonist. The reliability of this legend is not too high. In addition, it is known that in the I century. n. e. Thrasyll published the works of Democritus and Plato, dividing them into tetralogy.

The summary of his works is no less interesting. If you have not met this thinker yet, we invite you to do so. Democritus is an ancient Greek philosopher whose years of life are from about 460 to 360 BC. e. He is known for being the founder of the atomistic doctrine. According to Democritus, only emptiness and atoms exist in the world.

Atomism of Democritus

Atoms are material indivisible elements ("figures", geometric bodies), impenetrable, indestructible, eternal. They differ in size, position in the void, shape. Atoms move in different directions. Thanks to these movements, both countless worlds and separate bodies are formed. Atoms are invisible to humans, but they act on our senses, thereby causing sensations. But we will not dwell on this in detail, since ahead is the biography of Democritus. About physics it can be read separately; if you are interested in it, it will not be difficult to find information today. We propose to get acquainted now with the philosopher himself.

When was Democritus born?

We will assume that an interesting biography of Democritus begins in 460 BC. e. Although even in ancient times, the date of birth of this philosopher was a controversial issue. According to Apollodorus, he was born in 460 or 457 BC. e. However, Thrasyll, who is the publisher of the writings of this philosopher, expressed a different opinion. He believed that Democritus was born in 470 BC. e. This question is still open.

Education and travel

Many dark spots are left by the biography of Democritus, summary whose works are of interest even today (what a pity that the originals have not been preserved!) This philosopher came from a wealthy family. According to the legend, transmitted by Diogenes Laertius, he studied with the Chaldeans and magicians, presented to his father. Xerxes allegedly made such a gift to him because he treated the Persian army passing through Thrace to dinner. Democritus spent the rich inheritance left after the death of his father on travel. He traveled to Babylon and Persia, Egypt and India. For some time the philosopher also lived in Athens, where he listened to Socrates incognito. It is possible that Democritus also met with Anaxagoras. His biography is filled with many assumptions, but do not forget about how long ago he lived life path many of his contemporaries is very difficult.

The behavior of Democritus

The biography of Democritus is filled with many curious details. The most interesting, perhaps, is connected with his way of life. The behavior of this philosopher seemed incomprehensible to many of his contemporaries. Democritus often left the city. In order to hide from the bustle of the city, he came to the cemetery. Here the philosopher indulged in reflections. Often, Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason: all human affairs seemed to him amusing against the backdrop of world order. Because of this feature, this thinker even received the nickname "laughing philosopher." Many fellow citizens considered him insane. They even invited Hippocrates, the famous physician, to examine him. He actually met with the philosopher, but decided that he was absolutely healthy both mentally and physically. Moreover, he claimed that one of the most smart people with whom he had occasion to communicate is Democritus.

His biography is interrupted presumably in 370 BC. when this thinker died. Thus, he lived for about a hundred years.

Synthesis of three schools

It is believed that the atomist Leucippus had the greatest influence on this philosopher. Nevertheless, the emergence of atomism as a universal doctrine in philosophy, including ethics, psychology, epistemology, cosmology and physics, is associated precisely with Democritus. His teaching is a synthesis of the problems of the three schools of Greece: Pythagorean, Eleatic and Milesian. The philosophy of other countries visited by Democritus also left its mark. His biography, as you remember, is connected with many travels.

The writings of Democritus

It is believed that Democritus is the author of more than 70 different works. The titles of the works lead The thinker is credited with the authorship of works on physics, ethics, literature and language, mathematics, as well as applied sciences, including medicine. Moreover, Democritus was even considered the creator of the "Chaldean Book" and "On Sacred Inscriptions in Babylon" (within the framework of the "Chaldean" myth associated with the travels and education of this philosopher).

The beauty of the syllable of works

Democritus in antiquity gained fame not only because of the depth of his teaching, but also because of the beauty of the style of his works. Many thinkers have noted this, including Cicero, Timon of Phlius, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The signs of Democritus' style were: alliteration, rhythmic organization of the phrase, brevity, neologisms, assonances, the widespread use of rhetorical antitheses: "emptiness" and "atoms", "microcosm-man" and "macrocosm-Universe", etc.

We already talked about atoms and emptiness at the beginning of the article. What else interesting can be learned about such a philosopher as Democritus? His biography is also marked by works on ethics, which is a continuation of the atomistic physics of this thinker.

Ethics of Democritus

Just like the atom, man is a self-sufficient being. People are happier the more introverted they are. Democritus came up with several terms to express his own understanding of happiness: "well-being", "complacency", "equanimity", "fearlessness", and also used the traditional terms - "regularity" and "harmony". Euthymia is the central concept of the ethics of this thinker. Even a separate book by Democritus is dedicated to her. The doctrine of euthymia - complacency - is associated with this thinker's criticism of beliefs in fate and traditional religion. The meaning of this term is associated primarily with the concept of measure. That is, a person must limit himself in bodily pleasures. Democritus believed that euthymia arises as a result of a measured life and moderation in pleasures. The wise man rejoices in what he has, not envying the fame and wealth of other people. He strives for lawful and just deeds.

Note that the main part of the fragments of Democritus, which have come down to our days, refers specifically to ethics. However, today it is difficult to judge the degree of accuracy with which the statements convey his words.

Cosmogonic representations

Democritus based them on the concept of the existence of many worlds in the universe. For him, time has no beginning, since it means a change of being that takes place forever. Democritus likened the human body to the cosmos and called it the microcosm. It is known that this thinker recognized the existence of the gods, however, in a very unusual form. For him they are compounds of fiery atoms. Democritus denied the immortality of the gods.

What is the soul according to Democritus?

The philosopher imagined the soul in the form of an atom. It is this atom, he believed, that explains various features spiritual life. The main one is movement. The moving soul must itself be mobile. Therefore, it must be represented in the form of fiery round atoms. Thinking is also movement. And when we breathe, together with the air we receive new fiery atoms that replace the spent atoms of our soul. That is why the cessation of this process leads to death. The soul, Democritus believed, is the most essential thing in a person. He advised to take care of her first, and not of the body. The philosopher believed that all objects are animated. The soul that fills the whole world is the deity. However, it obeys mechanical laws and does not differ qualitatively from material existence.

Aesthetics of Democritus

In it, the ancient Greek thinker, apparently, was the first to mark the line between the applied arts that require only skills and artistic creativity, which is impossible without inspiration. In addition, in ethics, Democritus developed the doctrine of immunity to affects (ataraxia).

Now you can also talk about that. A short biography and his discoveries can interest almost any person, so we recommend doing this. Surely many of your friends, relatives and acquaintances do not know what you know. Biography of Democritus, facts from and interesting information about him - all this can be discussed for a very long time.

These teachings in ancient Greek philosophy and in Roman.

Practice:

Philosophy as a system includes various elements - components: the doctrine of being (about substance, essential properties) - ontology. The doctrine of knowledge - about the truth - gnosiology. The doctrine of thinking (forms and laws of thinking) - logic. Aesthetics- the doctrine of the beautiful and the ugly. Philosophical doctrine of man-philosophical anthropology. Philosophical doctrine of values - axiology.

The question of the relationship between matter and consciousness is called the BASIC QUESTION of PHILOSOPHY.

This question has 2 sides:

1. PARTY OVF.

The question is what is primary and what is secondary - matter or consciousness? Depending on the answer, there are 2 schools of philosophy: materialism and idealism.

2 types of idealism:

1. Objective idealism (as a primary spiritual, existing independently of a person, objective idealism is the teaching of Plato)

2. Subjective (the spiritual ideal principle depends on the person - the will - that is, the initial principle depends on the subject).

2. PARTY OF OVF.

The question is how our knowledge of the world relates to the world: whether they correspond to this world or not. In essence, this is a question about the cognizability of the world: if knowledge corresponds to the surrounding world, then it is true and the world is cognizable by man. If knowledge does not correspond to the state of affairs, then the world is unknowable by man. For the most part, philosophical teachings (both materialistic and idealistic) recognize the cognizability of the world, although the process of cognition itself is interpreted in different ways. However, in philosophy there are teachings that affirm the fundamental unknowability of the world. Such a philosophical movement is agnosticism.

Colleagues of the thinker Democritus gravitated towards a certain current of philosophical thought, occasionally being distracted by related theories. The life attitude of the Abdera philosopher was absolutely opposite - the sage tried to understand many mysterious phenomena, expressed a weighty opinion about the opposing disciplines, and was interested in a wide range of sciences. Therefore, the philosophy of Democritus is a valuable contribution to the development of ancient Greek society, is the basis for subsequent world intellectual concepts.

The life path of a sage

Speaking about the biography of ancient philosophers, it should be remembered that reliable facts about their lives that have come down to our time are practically reduced to zero. It's about millennia ancient history when there were no state-of-the-art devices capable of saving important information(which, moreover, at that time, was not such). We can draw conclusions on the basis of tales, retellings, legends, which to some extent interpret reality. The biography of Democritus is no exception.

Antique manuscripts claim that the ancient Greek philosopher was born in 460 BC. on the east coast of Greece (city of Abder). His family was rich, since most of his life the thinker was busy traveling and thinking, which required considerable expenses. He visited many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe. I saw ways different peoples. He made philosophical conclusions from careful observations. Democritus could just burst into laughter for no apparent reason, for which he was taken for a lunatic. Once, for such tricks, he was even taken to the famous doctor Hippocrates. But the doctor confirmed the complete emotional and physical health of the patient, and also noted the exclusivity of his mind. Just the everyday bustle of the townspeople seemed funny to the sage, so he was nicknamed the "laughing philosopher."

Ultimately, the family's fortune was squandered, for which, in ancient Greece, a trial was due. The Thinker appeared before the court, delivered an acquittal speech and was pardoned, the judge considered that his father's money had not been spent in vain.

Democritus lived a respectable life, died 104 years old.

Atomistic materialism through the eyes of Democritus

The predecessor of Democritus, Leucippus, was not well known in the scientific community, but he put forward the theory of the "atom", which was later developed by the Abdera philosopher. It became his most important work. The essence of the teaching comes down to the study of the smallest indivisible particle, which has a unique natural property - movement. Atoms, the philosopher Democritus, considered as infinity. The thinker, being one of the first materialists, believed: thanks to the chaotic movement of atoms, the variety of shapes and sizes, bodies are combined. Hence comes the atomistic materialism of Democritus.

The scientist assumed the presence of natural interatomic magnetism: “The atom is indivisible, integral. Everything that does not have emptiness inside has at least a small amount of emptiness outside. From the foregoing, they conclude that the atoms still repel each other a little, at the same time they attract. This is a materialistic paradox."

In the words of a materialistically inclined sage, atoms are “what”, vacuum is “nothing”. From this it follows that objects, bodies, sensations have no color, taste, smell, this is just a consequence of a diverse combination of atoms.

The principle of lack of sufficient reason - isonomy

Democritus in his atomistic teaching relied on the methodological principle of isonomy, that is, the absence of a sufficient basis. In more detail, the formulation boils down to the following - any possible phenomenon has ever been or will ever be, because there is no logical proof that any phenomenon existed in an established form, and not some other. The following conclusion follows from democratic atomism: if a particular body has the ability to exist in various forms, these forms are real. The isonomy of Democritus suggests:

Atoms have unimaginably different sizes and shapes;
Each space point of vacuum is equal in relation to another;
The cosmic motion of atoms has a versatile direction and speed.

The last rule of isonomy means that the movement is an independent inexplicable phenomenon, only its changes are subject to explanation.

Cosmology of the "laughing philosopher"

Democritus called the cosmos the "Great Void". According to the theory of the scientist, the primordial chaos gave rise to a whirlwind in the great void. The result of the vortex was the asymmetry of the Universe, later the appearance of the center and the outskirts. Heavy bodies, displacing light ones, accumulate in the middle. The cosmic center, according to the philosopher, is the planet Earth. The earth consists of heavy atoms, the upper shells of light ones.

Democritus is considered an adherent of the theory of the plurality of worlds. The concept implies their infinite number and magnitude; growth trend, stop and decrease; different density of worlds in various places great emptiness; the presence of luminaries, their absence or multiplicity; lack of animal, plant worlds.

Since our planet is the center of the universe, it does not need to move. Although in the previous theory, Democritus believed that she was in motion, but for certain reasons she stopped her path.

The cosmologist suggested that the Earth has a centrifugal force that prevents the collapse of celestial bodies on it. The scientific view of the thinker considered the relationship between the removal of celestial objects from the Earth and the slowdown in their speed.

It was Democritus who suggested that the Milky Way is nothing more than a cluster of a huge number of microscopic stars that are in such close proximity to each other that they form a single glow.

Ethics of Democritus

The philosophers of ancient Greece had a special attitude to ethics, each dwelling on his own favorite virtue. For the Abder thinker, it was a sense of proportion. The measure reflects the behavior of the individual, based on his inner potential. Satisfaction, measured by a measure, ceases to be a sensual sensation, develops into good.

The thinker believed that in order to achieve harmony in society, a person must experience euthymia - a state of serene disposition of the soul, devoid of extremes. The idea of euthymia promotes sensual pleasures, extols blissful peace.

Even the Greek philosopher believed that an important aspect of finding happiness is wisdom. Wisdom can only be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge. Anger, hatred, and other vices breed in ignorance.

Democritus and his theory of atoms

The atomistic materialism of the ancient atomist comes from his theory of atoms, which strikingly reflects the conclusions of the materialists of the twentieth century.

The ability of an ancient thinker to construct a theory about the structure of elementary particles, not being able to confirm it with scientific research, is admirable. How talented, what a genius this man was. Living thousands of years ago, he almost unmistakably penetrated one of the hard-to-justify mysteries of the universe. An atom, a molecule, being in continuous chaotic movement within outer space, contribute to the formation of hurricane whirlwinds, material bodies. The difference in their properties is explained by the shape and size diversity. Democritus put forward a theory (not having empirically possible provability) about changes in the human body when exposed to atomic radiation.

Atheism, the meaning of the soul

In ancient times, people attributed the explanation of mysterious phenomena to divine participation; it was not without reason that the Olympic Gods became famous in the civilized world. In addition, a specific sphere of human activity was associated with a certain mythological hero. For Democritus, such legends were subjective. Being an educated materialist, he easily debunked such misunderstandings, explaining them as ignorance, predilection for an easy explanation of complex issues. The deadly argument of the doctrine was the similarity of the celestials with ordinary people, which implies the artificiality of the created deities.

But the "atheism" of the scientist is not so obvious. The philosopher did not have serious problems with the many-sided spiritual community, did not oppose the state ideology. It has to do with his relationship with the soul. Democritus believed in its existence, in his own way. As the thinker believed, the soul was a cluster of atoms, fusion with the physical body, and leaving it during a period of protracted illness, old age, or before death. The soul is immortal, as an energy clot endlessly wanders through the universe. In short, Democritus proposed the law of conservation of energy.

Ataraxic philosophy of Democritus

It was previously described that the ancient Greek sage showed interest in many areas of human activity, medicine was no exception.

The concept of ataraxia was burning for the philosopher. Ataraxia is defined as a mental state of a person characterized by absolute fearlessness against the background of an emotional upheaval. Democritus attributed this state of mind to the acquisition of wisdom and experience by a person. It can be achieved with the help of the desire for self-improvement, penetration into the mysteries of the universe. Philosophical ancient schools became interested in the ataraxic philosophical thought of the thinker (Epicurean, skeptical, Stoic schools).

But Democritus offers not only to study, to learn, to improve himself, but also to think. He compares the thought process with knowledge, where the former still dominates.

The philosopher's ataraxia reasonably explains the pattern of events. Teaches you how to use the ability to remain silent, which takes precedence over talkativeness. The above dogmas are correct.