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Democritus: Philosophies
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A comprehensive study of Democritus is Cyril Bailey, The Greek Atomists and Epicurus (1928). More recent discussions can be found in William Keith Chambers Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy (3 vols., 1962-1969); Andrew Thomas Cole, Democritus and the Sources of Greek Anthropology (1967); David J. Furley, Two Studies in the Greek Atomists (1967); and G. F. Parker, A Short Account of Greek Philosophy from Thales to Epicurus (1967).
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Democritus thought simple people, wrongly, invoked the gods to explain purely natural phenomena like thunder, lightning, and earthquakes. His ethics ... found supernatural explanations redundant. In common with much Greek philosophy, Democritus' ethics was about the individual achieving a happy life, in this world, through rational thinking. He sought a cheerfulness, peace and tranquilly undisturbed by fear, superstition or any other negative feelings or thoughts.
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The details of Democritus’ explanations of natural phenomena have long ago been superseded. Improvement in techniques of observation and the development of the habit of experimentation made that inevitable. Democritus’ more lasting influence is his attempt to explain the behavior of complex entities in terms of the behavior of their constituents (reductionism) and to explain the qualitative distinctions of everyday experience as mere by-products of purely quantitative distinctions that can be found at the fundamental level of reality (mathematicization of nature). These more general features of his philosophy of nature continue to serve as an inspiration for many modern scientists.
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Although Democritus is best known as the propounder of atomism, most of his extant fragments actually relate to the field of ethics. The excerpts are notably fragments quoted by other authors (mostly Stobaeus) and attributed to Democritus, who is ... known as "The Laughing Philosopher" (for laughing at human follies) and by his fellow citizens as "The Mocker". Among numerous examples some include:
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This web version of "The Atomism of Democritus" is based on an article designed for use by Introduction to Philosophy students. Its most recent substantial revision was no later than July 1995.
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After Leucippus and Democritus, philosophy made a major turn towards ethics and politics. The atomists were the last in the line of true natural philosophers whose primary subject was the composition and order of the physical universe.
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