Democritus biography summary
Democritus
1. Life and Works
According to ancient reports, Democritus was born about 460 BCE (thus, he was a younger contemporary of Socrates) and was a citizen of Abdera, although some reports mention Miletus. As well as his associate or teacher Leucippus, Democritus is said to have known Anaxagoras, and to have been forty years younger than the latter (DK 68A1). A number of anecdotes concern his life, but their authenticity is uncertain.
The work of Democritus has survived only in secondhand reports, sometimes unreliable or conflicting: the reasoning behind the positions taken often needs to be reconstructed. Much of the best evidence is that reported by Aristotle, who regarded him as an important rival in natural philosophy. Aristotle wrote a monograph on Democritus, of which only a few passages quoted in other sources have survived. Democritus seems to have taken over and systematized the views of Leucippus, of whom little is known. Although it is possible to distinguish some contributions as those of Leucippus, the overwhelming majority of reports refer either to both figures, or to Democritus alone; the developed atomist system is often regarded as essentially Democritus’.
Diogenes Laertius lists a large number of works by Democritus on many fields, including ethics, physics, mathematics, music and cosmology. Two works, the Great World System and the Little World System (see the entry on doxography of ancient philosophy), are sometimes ascribed to Democritus, although Theophrastus reports that the former is by Leucippus (DK 68A33). There is more uncertainty concerning the authenticity of the reports of Democritus’ ethical sayings. Two collections of sayings are recorded in the fifth-century anthology of Stobaeus, one ascribed to Democritus and another ascribed to an otherwise unknown philosopher ‘Democrates’. DK accepts both as relating to Democritus, but the authenticity of sayings in both collections is a matter of schol Democritus of Abdera (ca. 460–361) was a pre-socratic Greek philosopher who traveled widely as a youth and developed a philosophy and some rather forward-looking ideas about how the universe worked. He was a bitter rival of both Plato and Aristotle. Democritus was born about 460 BCE at Abdera in Thrace, the son of a wealthy, well-connected man named Hegesistratus (or Damasippus or Athenocritus—sources vary.) His father had large enough parcels of land that he was said to be able to house the Persian king Xerxes' formidable army in 480 when he was on his way to conquer Greece. When his father died, Democritus took his inheritance and spent it traveling to distant lands, slaking his nearly endless thirst for knowledge. He traveled over much of Asia, studied geometry in Egypt, went to the Red Sea and Persia regions to learn from the Chaldeans, and may have visited Ethiopia. After returning home, he traveled widely in Greece, meeting many of the Greek philosophers and becoming friends with other pre-socratic thinkers such as Leucippus (died 370 BCE), Hippocrates (460–377 BCE), and Anaxagoras (510–428 BCE). Although none of his dozens of essays on everything from mathematics to ethics to music to natural science have survived to the present day, pieces and second-hand reports of his work are convincing evidence. Democritus was known as the Laughing Philosopher, in part because he Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC) For other uses, see Democritus (disambiguation). Democritus (, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greekpre-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. Democritus was born in Abdera, on the coast of Thrace. He was a polymath and prolific writer, producing nearly eighty treatises on subjects such as poetry, harmony, military tactics, and Babylonian theology. He traveled extensively, visiting Egypt and Persia, but wasn't particularly impressed by these countries. He once remarked that he would rather uncover a single scientific explanation than become the king of Persia. Although many anecdotes about Democritus' life survive, their authenticity cannot be verified and modern scholars doubt their accuracy. Ancient accounts of his life have claimed that he lived to a very old age, with some writers claiming that he was over a hundred years old at the time of his death. Democritus wrote on ethics as well as physics. Democritus was a student of Leucippus. Early sources such as Aristotle and Theophrastus credit Leucippus with creating atomism and sharing its ideas with Democritus, but later sources credit only Democritus, making it hard to distinguish their individual contributions. See also: Atomism We have various quotes from Democritu Biography of Democritus, Greek Philosopher
Key Takeaways: Democritus
Early Life
The Epicurean
Biography
Democritus of Abdera is best known for his atomic theory but he was also an excellent geometer. Very little is known of his life but we know that Leucippus was his teacher.
Democritus certainly visited Athens when he was a young man, principally to visit Anaxagoras, but Democritus complained how little he was known there. He said, according to Diogenes Laertius writing in the second century AD [5]:- I came to Athens and no one knew me.
Democritus was disappointed by his trip to Athens because Anaxagoras, then an old man, had refused to see him.
As Brumbaugh points out in [3]:- How different he would find the trip today, where the main approach to the city from the northeast runs past the impressive "Democritus Nuclear Research Laboratory".
Certainly Democritus made many journeys other than the one to Athens. Russell in [9] writes:- He travelled widely in southern and eastern lands in search of knowledge, he perhaps spent a considerable time in Egypt, and he certainly visited Persia. He then returned to Abdera, where he remained.
Democritus himself wrote (but some historians dispute that the quote is authentic)(see [5]):- Of all my contemporaries I have covered the most ground in my travels, making the most exhaustive inquiries the while; I have seen the most climates and countries and listened to the greatest number of learned men.
His travels certainly took him to Egypt and Persia, as Russell suggests, but he almost certainly also travelled to Babylon, and some claim he travelled to India and Ethiopia. Certainly he was a man of great learning. As Heath writes in [7]:- ... there was no subject to which he did not notably contribute, from mathematics and physics on the one hand to ethics and poetics on the other; he even went by the name of 'wisdom'.
Although little is known of his life, quite a lot is known of his physics and philosophy. There are two main sources for our knowledge of his of physical and philosophical theories. Firstl Democritus
Life
Philosophy and science
Atomic hypothesis