Democritus pages 43-48

Democritus:

Born: 460 BC

Died: Age 90

Region: Western Philosophy

School: Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Main Interests: Metaphysics/mathematics/ astronomy

Democritus("chosen of the people")

*Plato is said to have disliked him so much that he wished all his books burned.

Many consider Democritus to be the "Father of Modern Science".

TERM WORDS:

Milesian School: first presocratic pholosphersd were from Miletus.

Indivisible: incapable of being divided

Materialist: believed in nothing but material things.

Immortal: living forever

Atomic Hypothesis:

The theory of Democritus and Leucippus held that everything is composed of "atoms"

Which are physically, but not geometrically, indivisible; that between atoms lies empty space; that atoms are indestructible, have always been, and always will be, in motion; that there are an infinite atoms, Democritus said "The more any indivisible exceeds, the heavier it is" .

Pre-Socratic Philosophy: Is Greek philosophy before Socrates (but includes schools contemporary with Socrates which were not influenced by him.)

*The presocratic philosopers rejected traditional mythological explanations more rational explanations. These philosophers asked questions about " the essence of things"

• From where does everything come?
• From what is everything created?
• How might we describe nature mathematically?

Immortal Soul:

Everyone needs to know that life has purpose, that death isn't the permanent end of our existence.

Afterlife is that people posses souls and at death their consciousness in the form of that soul departs from the body and heads for heaven or hell.

Chapter 5: Democritus page 43-48 NOTES:

• Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world?
• The Atom Theory:
• Democritus assumed that everything was built up of tiny invisible blocks, each of which was eternal and immutable. Democritus called these smallest units atoms. page 45
• The word "a-tom" means un-cuttable"
• He believe atoms were firm and solid
• When a body- a tree or an animal for instance -died and disintegrated, the atoms dispersed and could be used again in new bodies.