Democritus
Sign in to saveDemocritus (, ; , Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Democritus wrote extensively on a wide variety of topics.
AI overview
Democritus was an ancient Greek philosopher from Abdera who is best known for developing the idea that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms. His atomic theory and his wide-ranging writings on many subjects made him an influential thinker in the history of philosophy and science.
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Person
- Born
- 0460-01-01
- Died
- 0360-01-01
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 18
- Total plays
- 22
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Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
Article
22 sectionsContents
- Life
- Philosophy
- Atomism
- Epistemology
- Mathematics
- Anthropology
- Ethics
- Aesthetics
- Works
- Legacy
- Classical antiquity
- Renaissance and early Modern Period
- Modern atomism
- The Laughing Philosopher
- See also
- Notes
- Citations
- References
- Ancient testimony
- Translations
- Further reading
- External links
Democritus (, ; , Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Democritus wrote extensively on a wide variety of topics.
None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy. He was known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of cheerfulness.