Historical Figures Codexery

Democritus

The laughing philosopher who developed atomism from Leucippus's ideas.

The pre-Socratic thinker from Abdera, Democritus, is most famous for developing an atomic theory of the cosmos.[1] All of Democritus's writings are lost; knowledge of them comes only from secondary sources.[2]

Quick Facts

Born
c. 460 BC
Birthplace
Abdera, Thrace
Died
c. 370 BC (aged approx. 90)
Era
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Region
Western philosophy
School of thought
Atomism
Main interests
Metaphysics
Academic advisors
Leucippus

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He was a student of Leucippus, who is said to have exercised the greatest influence upon his philosophical studies.[3][4] Ancient accounts claim that he lived to a very old age, with some writers claiming he was over a hundred years old.[5] Apollodorus set Democritus's birth in 460 BC, which corresponds to the first year of the 80th Olympiad.[6] To satisfy his great desire for knowledge, Democritus used the inheritance from his father to finance travels to far-off lands.[7]

His journeys took him through much of Asia, and some accounts claim he went as far as India and Aethiopia.[7] Democritus stated that no one of his time had traveled more extensively or visited more nations than he had.[8] A prolific author, Democritus composed close to eighty treatises on many different subjects.[1][9] His initial conception of the universe was that it consisted solely of minuscule atoms moving in chaos.[10]

For Democritus, the ultimate goal of human actions was to achieve peace of mind.[11]

What the cited sources add

The Suda states that Democritus was called "Dimple" because of his laughing at the empty ambition of mankind.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnes 1987; Kenny, "Ancient Philosophy", Oxford Publications, p. 27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Berryman 2016; "Democritus", 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Diog Laert. 9.38 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kenny, "Ancient Philosophy", p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Taylor 1999, p. 157-158; Lucian, Macrobii 18, Hipparchus ap. Diogenes Laërtius, ix.43.; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 24.17, 30.1); Clinton, F. H. ad ann. 357.; "Democritus" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: D. L. 9.34, &c.; Diog. Laert. l.c. § 41, with Menage's note; Gellius, 17.21; Clinton, F. H. ad ann. 460. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cic. de Fin. 5.19; Strabo, xvi. p 703; A. H. C. Geffers, Quaestiones Democrit. p. 15, &c.; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historia 1.98 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis I, p. 304) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aristotle, On the Heavens. III.4, Meteorology II.7; Taylor 1999, p. 157-158 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnes 1987 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Democritus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: D. L. 9.45; Cicero, de Finibus 5.29. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Suda, Gelasinois. facts only, no text reused. cs.uky.edu

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Democritus (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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