The basis of being according to Democritus are. Democritus of Abdera. Disputes with the Eleatics

The ancient Greek philosopher Democritus was born around 460 BC. e. in Thrace, in the city of Abdera. Before there was Ancient Greeks associated the appearance of the city with Hercules, who erected it in honor of his best friend Abdera, torn to pieces by the mares of Diomedes.

Biographical information

Unfortunately, the biography of Democritus has many white spots. It is known that his father was a high-ranking official, who was famous for his services to the ruler. For this, the ruler presented the nobleman with several magicians and scientists. It was they who were involved in the education of Democritus. As a child, he studied astrology and theology. Dying, the father bequeathed the fortune to his three sons. Democritus was the youngest of them and took the smallest share.

The young man became interested in science and was focused only on his studies, practically not paying attention to everyday problems or expenses. consists entirely of various studies and the journeys intended for them. Often he sat for days on end in his gazebo, in which he completely isolated himself from what was happening outside. Democritus was a long-liver. He died around 370 BC. e. a deep old man. The ancient Greek writer Lucian (also interested in cosmology) wrote that the thinker lived for more than a hundred years.

The doctrine of atoms

Most of all, the biography of Democritus is known for the fact that it was this ancient researcher who developed the doctrine of the smallest particle - the atom. This theory was laid down by his teacher Leucippus. Democritus continued the research of the ancient Greek philosopher and came to the conclusion that the whole world consists of microscopic atoms. These particles do not arise and are not destroyed, they have a certain shape and are impenetrable. In addition to atoms, there is also emptiness, which is completely opposite to them. These two matters were the main objects of study of Democritus. The ancient Greek scientist concluded that all whole things consist of countless small particles, which, in addition, also determine the properties of the whole. Depending on the interaction of atoms and their impact on the human senses, the qualities of objects and things also change. Concepts such as color or taste exist only in our minds, but in reality there are only the smallest particles and emptiness.

Atoms cannot touch each other - there is always space between them. And this means that there is also emptiness. The atomistic doctrine of Democritus included the concepts of repulsion and attraction of particles that approached each other at too close a distance. All these conclusions he made only as assumptions. Subsequently, science confirmed his theses.

Disputes with the Eleatics

The philosopher Democritus became an opponent of the Eleatic school. They declared that the world is still. Democritus put forward the opposite thesis. It can be voiced in the form of a question: "If the world is motionless, then how can one explain all the changes that occur around?" Atomism had both opponents and ardent supporters. For example, this doctrine was supported in the future by Plato and Epicurus.

The biography of Democritus and his theses caused a new wave of interest during the European Renaissance of the 16th century, when numerous scientists tried to explain the world around. Atomism was supported by Galileo, Giordano Bruno, Pierre Gassenly, Isaac Beckmann and other famous thinkers of the era. The doctrine of the microscopic particles of everything that exists has become a reliable tool for chemists, for example, for

Principle of inosomia

The atomistic doctrine of Democritus gave philosophy the principle of inosomia. This rule was derived by the ancient researcher himself. It can be formulated as follows: if any phenomenon does not contradict the principles and laws of nature, then sooner or later it will happen or has already taken place.

The principle of isonomy allowed us to draw several conclusions that Democritus adhered to. The main ideas of this theory consist in several theses. First, atoms can be of any size and shape. Second, there is the Great Void. Thirdly, a great many atoms move along it, differing in speed and direction. This process does not have any rules. Everything moves in chaos and disorder. It was from this position that the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus concluded that each phenomenon or object is unique. Already in modern times, the great scientist Galileo formulated the principle of inertia. It was largely based on the knowledge of isonomy.

Great Void

The concept of the Great Void had a great influence on the development of cosmology. The biography of the thinker Democritus inspired many philosophers who tried to explain the place of our world in the Cosmos (this term also has Greek roots).

According to atomic teaching, at the very beginning of time in the Great Void there was initial chaos. A whirlwind formed in it, which carried heavy and light bodies, which occupied different positions. The Earth formed in the center. It was composed of heavy bodies that rushed into the core of the vortex. From the remaining substance, a protective film was formed, separating the cosmos from the Great Void.

Theses about the universe

Democritus (physics and natural sciences were founded by him) was a supporter of the theory that there are many different universes and worlds. They are infinite and radically different from each other. In other worlds, there are several suns and moons. Somewhere they do not exist at all, but there is only an analogue of the Earth in a lonely space. Some worlds collide and collapse. Their multiplicity follows from the principle of isonomy. All these theses were formulated and expounded by the philosopher Democritus. The biography of the thinker includes a variety of research in the natural sciences.

Some of his theses were wrong. For example, Democritus believed that the Earth is motionless (since it is in the center of the world). In addition, the thinker believed that our planet cannot be round. He explained this by the fact that in this case the Sun would set differently (along the arc of a circle, and not along a continuous straight line).

Cosmology

The biography (many monographs have been written about Democritus) contains the amazing conclusions of the scientist. So, he came to the conclusion that the Milky Way in the sky is nothing but a colossal cluster of stars. Due to the fact that at a great distance the distance between them merges into one spot, an amazing picture is obtained over the head of the Greeks. Democritus devoted much time to the study of centrifugal force. In his works, one can find the thesis that it is thanks to this phenomenon that meteorites and other celestial bodies do not fall to Earth.

Reflection in sources

Most of all, the biography of the physicist Democritus is surprising in that none of his written works have survived to this day. This can be explained by several reasons. First of all, this was due to the negligent attitude towards the monuments of antiquity during the early Middle Ages. Treatises and books of Democritus were deliberately destroyed with the sanction of the Church or were kept in the terrible conditions of the then libraries.

That is why modern science and philosophy can operate only with those facts that were reflected in the works of other scientists who argued with the ancient Greek thinker. Mentions of Democritus are found in Aristotle, Cicero, Sextus, Epicurus, Plato, etc.

Most often, the name “Great Worldbuilding” appears in the sources. This work of Democritus was devoted to cosmology. In it, he tried to summarize the results of all his scientific activities. In addition, Democritus is known as the creator of one of the first ancient Greek calendars. He did not shy away from geometry, about which he left several works. In particular, he was the first to formulate some theorems and rules for determining the area of ​​figures.

A mechanical explanation of nature was carried out in the teachings of the atomists. Aristotle and Theophrastus call Leucippus the founder of this doctrine, about whom, apart from this, we have almost no information. Epicurus even said that Leucippus was a fictitious person, and many modern scholars find that Epicurus was right. But regardless of whether Leucippus was a real person or not, the most important representative of the atomistic doctrine was Democritus of Abdera (about 460-370), according to some - the founder of this doctrine, according to others - a student of Leucippus.

Democritus was a man of extensive learning, who traveled extensively in the East. He wrote a lot of works and had a great literary talent. He rejected the teaching of Empedocles and Anaxagoras that primitive matter consists of different substances; according to his teaching, the basic particles of matter are simple, indivisible bodies (ατομοι, atoms) and differ from each other only in size and shape. The second essential idea of ​​his teaching is the recognition of the presence of empty space in the world: without emptiness, movement would be unthinkable.

Philosopher Democritus

Atoms, according to Democritus, are in perpetual motion, which constantly either connects or separates them. This process of connection and separation produces the appearance and disappearance of individual objects; their interaction produces all the infinite variety of what exists. The center of the universe is occupied by the motionless earth. It has the shape of a flat cylinder and is surrounded by air in which celestial bodies move. Democritus considered them to be masses of matter similar to the earth, carried away by a rapid circular motion in height and in a red-hot state. All parts of the universe are permeated with atoms of fire, which are very small, round and smooth; these atoms animate the universe. There are especially many of them in a person who was the main subject of research by Democritus. He argued that the human body is arranged very expediently; he considered the brain as the receptacle of thinking, the heart as the receptacle of passions, but the body, in his opinion, was only a “vessel of the soul”; he considered concern for mental development to be the main duty of a person.

The changing world of phenomena is a ghostly world; the study of the phenomena of this world cannot lead to true knowledge. Recognizing the sensual world as illusory, Democritus, like Heraclitus, says that a person must, under all changes in circumstances, maintain peace of mind. He who knows how to distinguish the essential from the accidental, the truth from the ghost, he seeks happiness not in sensual pleasures, but in giving his spiritual life the right course. The purpose of life, according to Democritus, is happiness; but it does not consist in external benefits and pleasures, but in contentment, in the unchanging peace of mind, and is achieved by abstinence, purity of thoughts and deeds, mental education; a man's happiness depends on how he carries himself; the gods give man only good things, only by his own recklessness does he turn good into bad. The application of these thoughts to matters of public and private life is the main content of the moral philosophy of Democritus. Divine forces are, according to his teaching, the forces of nature in the human mind; the deities of folk religion are either ghosts created by fantasy, which personified in them their ideas about the forces of nature and moral concepts, or spirits (“demons”), mortal beings.

Weeping Heraclitus and laughing Democritus. Italian fresco 1477

With the breadth of knowledge, the insight of the mind and the consistency of conclusions, Democritus surpassed almost all previous and contemporary philosophers. His literary activity was very versatile. He wrote treatises on mathematics, natural science, moral sciences, aesthetics, grammar, technical arts. Democritus rendered great services to the development of natural science; we have only vague information about them, because his writings have perished; but it must be assumed that, as a naturalist, he was the greatest of all the predecessors of Aristotle, who was very much indebted to him and speaks of his works with the deepest respect.

Colleagues of the thinker Democritus gravitated towards a certain current of philosophical thought, occasionally being distracted by related theories. The life attitude of the Abdera philosopher was absolutely opposite - the sage tried to understand many mysterious phenomena, expressed a weighty opinion about the opposing disciplines, and was interested in a wide range of sciences. Therefore, the philosophy of Democritus is a valuable contribution to the development of ancient Greek society, is the basis for subsequent world intellectual concepts.

The life path of a sage

Speaking about the biography of ancient philosophers, it should be remembered that reliable facts about their lives that have come down to our time are practically reduced to zero. We are talking about millennia of ancient history, when there were no cutting-edge devices capable of storing important information (which, moreover, at that time, was not such). We can draw conclusions on the basis of tales, retellings, legends, which to some extent interpret reality. The biography of Democritus is no exception.

Antique manuscripts claim that the ancient Greek philosopher was born in 460 BC. on the east coast of Greece (city of Abder). His family was rich, since most of his life the thinker was busy traveling and thinking, which required considerable expenses. He visited many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe. I saw the ways of different peoples. He made philosophical conclusions from careful observations. Democritus could just burst into laughter for no apparent reason, for which he was taken for a lunatic. Once, for such tricks, he was even taken to the famous doctor Hippocrates. But the doctor confirmed the complete emotional and physical health of the patient, and also noted the exclusivity of his mind. Just the everyday bustle of the townspeople seemed funny to the sage, so he was nicknamed the "laughing philosopher."

Ultimately, the family's fortune was squandered, for which, in ancient Greece, a trial was due. The Thinker appeared before the court, delivered an acquittal speech and was pardoned, the judge considered that his father's money had not been spent in vain.

Democritus lived a respectable life, died 104 years old.

Atomistic materialism through the eyes of Democritus

The predecessor of Democritus, Leucippus, was not well known in the scientific community, but he put forward the theory of the "atom", which was later developed by the Abdera philosopher. It became his most significant work. The essence of the teaching comes down to the study of the smallest indivisible particle, which has a unique natural property - movement. Atoms, the philosopher Democritus, considered as infinity. The thinker, being one of the first materialists, believed: thanks to the chaotic movement of atoms, the variety of shapes and sizes, bodies are combined. Hence comes the atomistic materialism of Democritus.

The scientist assumed the presence of natural interatomic magnetism: “The atom is indivisible, integral. Everything that does not have emptiness inside has at least a small amount of emptiness outside. From the foregoing, they conclude that the atoms still repel each other a little, at the same time they are attracted. This is a materialistic paradox."

In the words of a materialistically inclined sage, atoms are “what”, vacuum is “nothing”. From this it follows that objects, bodies, sensations have no color, taste, smell, this is just a consequence of a diverse combination of atoms.

The principle of lack of sufficient reason - isonomy

Democritus in his atomistic teaching relied on the methodological principle of isonomy, that is, the absence of a sufficient basis. In more detail, the formulation boils down to the following - any possible phenomenon has ever been or will ever be, because there is no logical proof that any phenomenon existed in an established form, and not some other. The following conclusion follows from democratic atomism: if a particular body has the ability to exist in various forms, these forms are real. The isonomy of Democritus suggests:

• Atoms have unimaginably different sizes and shapes;
• Each space point of vacuum is equal in relation to another;
• The cosmic motion of atoms has a versatile direction and speed.

The last rule of isonomy means that the movement is an independent inexplicable phenomenon, only its changes are subject to explanation.

Cosmology of the "laughing philosopher"

Democritus called the cosmos the "Great Void". According to the theory of the scientist, the primordial chaos gave rise to a whirlwind in the great void. The result of the vortex was the asymmetry of the Universe, later the appearance of the center and the outskirts. Heavy bodies, displacing light ones, accumulate in the middle. The cosmic center, according to the philosopher, is the planet Earth. The earth consists of heavy atoms, the upper shells of light ones.

Democritus is considered an adherent of the theory of the plurality of worlds. The concept implies their infinite number and magnitude; growth trend, stop and decrease; different density of worlds in different places of the great void; the presence of luminaries, their absence or multiplicity; lack of animal, plant worlds.

Since our planet is the center of the universe, it does not need to move. Although in the previous theory, Democritus believed that she was in motion, but for certain reasons she stopped her path.

The cosmologist suggested that the Earth has a centrifugal force that prevents the collapse of celestial bodies on it. The scientific view of the thinker considered the relationship between the removal of celestial objects from the Earth and the slowdown in their speed.

It was Democritus who suggested that the Milky Way is nothing more than a cluster of a huge number of microscopic stars that are in such close proximity to each other that they form a single glow.

Ethics of Democritus

The philosophers of ancient Greece had a special attitude to ethics, each dwelling on his own favorite virtue. For the Abder thinker, it was a sense of proportion. The measure reflects the behavior of the individual, based on his inner potential. Satisfaction, measured by a measure, ceases to be a sensual sensation, develops into good.

The thinker believed that in order to achieve harmony in society, a person must experience euthymia - a state of serene disposition of the soul, devoid of extremes. The idea of ​​euthymia promotes sensual pleasures, extols blissful peace.

Even the Greek philosopher believed that an important aspect of finding happiness is wisdom. Wisdom can only be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge. Anger, hatred, and other vices breed in ignorance.

Democritus and his theory of atoms

The atomistic materialism of the ancient atomist comes from his theory of atoms, which strikingly reflects the conclusions of the materialists of the twentieth century.

The ability of an ancient thinker to construct a theory about the structure of elementary particles, not being able to confirm it with scientific research, is admirable. How talented, what a genius this man was. Living thousands of years ago, he almost unmistakably penetrated one of the hard-to-justify mysteries of the universe. An atom, a molecule, being in continuous chaotic movement within outer space, contribute to the formation of hurricane whirlwinds, material bodies. The difference in their properties is explained by the shape and size diversity. Democritus put forward a theory (not having empirically possible provability) about changes in the human body when exposed to atomic radiation.

Atheism, the meaning of the soul

In ancient times, people attributed the explanation of mysterious phenomena to divine participation; it was not without reason that the Olympic Gods became famous in the civilized world. In addition, a specific sphere of human activity was associated with a certain mythological hero. For Democritus, such legends were subjective. Being an educated materialist, he easily debunked such misunderstandings, explaining them as ignorance, predilection for an easy explanation of complex issues. The deadly argument of the doctrine was the similarity of the celestials with ordinary people, from which the artificiality of the created deities follows.

But the "atheism" of the scientist is not so obvious. The philosopher did not have serious problems with the many-sided spiritual community, did not oppose the state ideology. It has to do with his relationship with the soul. Democritus believed in its existence, in his own way. As the thinker believed, the soul was a cluster of atoms, fusion with the physical body, and leaving it during a period of protracted illness, old age, or before death. The soul is immortal, as an energy clot endlessly wanders through the universe. In short, Democritus proposed the law of conservation of energy.

Ataraxic philosophy of Democritus

It was previously described that the ancient Greek sage showed interest in many areas of human activity, medicine was no exception.

The concept of ataraxia was burning for the philosopher. Ataraxia is defined as a mental state of a person characterized by absolute fearlessness against the background of an emotional upheaval. Democritus attributed this state of mind to the acquisition of wisdom and experience by a person. It can be achieved with the help of the desire for self-improvement, penetration into the mysteries of the universe. Philosophical ancient schools became interested in the ataraxic philosophical thought of the thinker (Epicurean, skeptical, Stoic schools).

But Democritus offers not only to study, to learn, to improve himself, but also to think. He compares the thought process with knowledge, where the former still dominates.

The philosopher's ataraxia reasonably explains the pattern of events. Teaches you how to use the ability to remain silent, which takes precedence over talkativeness. The above dogmas are correct.

DEMOCRITES from Abdera in Thrace (c. 470/60 - 360 BC) - Greek philosopher, founder of the atomistic doctrine. He was from a wealthy family and in his youth he studied with "some magicians and Chaldeans", presented by the Persian king Xerxes to the father of Democritus for feeding the Persian army passing through Thrace with dinner. After the death of his father, he spent his part of the rich inheritance on travel, visiting Persia and Babylon, India and Egypt. Lived for some time in Athens, where at that time he could listen to Socrates and Anaxagoras. After returning home, fellow citizens sued the philosopher for embezzlement of his father's inheritance, but Democritus read to them his two main books: Big Mirostroy And Small Mirostroy and was fully justified. In total, Democritus was credited with the authorship of more than 70 works, today known from fragments.

The atomism of Democritus became the summarizing teaching of pre-Socratic philosophy, which reflected the problems posed in Ionian natural philosophy, Eleatic ontology, and Pythagorean numerical metaphysics.

The philosophy of Democritus is based on the doctrine of atoms and emptiness as two principles that give rise to the diversity of the cosmos. An atom is the smallest "indivisible" body, not subject to any changes. The indivisibility of the atom is analogous to the indivisibility of Parmenides' "being": division presupposes the presence of emptiness, but inside the atom, by definition, there is no emptiness. Emptiness in the system of Democritus acts as a principle of discreteness, set and movement of atoms, as well as their infinite "receptacle". Calling emptiness "non-existence", Democritus clearly abandoned the Eleatic postulate of the non-existence of non-existence, however, the concepts of being and non-being are included in his more general concept of "what is in fact", thanks to which reality was also recognized for emptiness (equal to non-being) .

All atoms have the property of continuous movement, and even inside macrobodies, which are formed due to the adhesion of atoms to each other, they make oscillatory movements. The primary cause of this movement is the collisions of atoms that began during the spontaneous “Vortex”, due to which our cosmos arose: in the cosmogonic Vortex, the primary sorting of atoms (similar to similar) took place, larger atoms ended up in the center, and the Earth originated from them. A “wet and mud-like” shell initially rotated around it, which gradually dried up and the wet matter went down, and the dry matter ignited from friction and stars formed from it.

From each other, atoms, the number of which is infinite, differ in three properties: "figure", "size" and "rotation" (position in space). For example, "B" differs from "b" in size, "B" from "P" - by a figure, and "P" from "b" - by rotation; the fourth distinguishing characteristic, “order,” refers to the way in which atoms are connected to each other (BRR as opposed to PVR, etc.), as a result of which macrobodies composed of atoms have various qualities.

Democritus was one of the first to point out the dependence of the qualities of things on the way they are known. All the concepts that make up the language of our description of the external world do not “truly” correspond to anything, therefore all our knowledge, in essence, has the character of an agreement: “according to custom, sweetness, according to custom, bitterness, according to custom, cold, color, warmth, but in fact - atoms and emptiness. According to Democritus, since atoms do not have qualities (color, smell, taste, etc.), then things do not have these qualities either, because “nothing comes from nothing”. All qualities are reducible to the formal-quantitative differences of atoms: a body consisting of "round and moderately large" atoms seems sweet, and from "rounded, smooth, oblique and small in size" - bitter, etc. Qualities are formed in the course of the act of perception, the reason for their occurrence is the interaction of the atoms of the soul and the atoms of the object that have unfolded in one way or another.

The soul, like fire, consists of the smallest atoms of a spherical shape, therefore it gives the body heat and movement (the ball is the most mobile of all figures). Democritus did not introduce special distinctions between the soul and the mind, and explained the process of thinking also through the "imprinting of images." Democritus explained sensory perception with the help of “outflows” from bodies: a certain thin material film flies off the surface of bodies, having the shape of a perceived body, it penetrates through the eye into the soul, in which it is imprinted - this is how our ideas arise.

The ethics of Democritus is a kind of continuation of his atomistic physics: just as an atom is a complete and self-sufficient being, so a person is a self-sufficient being, the happier the more self-contained. To express his understanding of happiness, Democritus coined several terms: "complacency", "well-being", "fearlessness", "ataraxia" (equanimity). The central concept of his ethics is complacency (euthymia), which "arises due to moderation in pleasures and measured life." The sage who possesses complacency knows how to rejoice in what he has; not envying someone else's wealth and glory, he strives for just and lawful deeds; he works to the best of his ability, but is wary of being "too active in private and public affairs."

It is traditionally believed that Democritus was the teacher of Protagoras and, accordingly, influenced the formation of the relativistic teachings of the sophists. It is also considered one of the sources of the formation of the skeptical tradition. But most significant is the comparison of the atomism of Democritus with the teachings of Epicurus.

Maria Solopova

Philosophy of Democritus

In his philosophical views, he spoke with an opposition point of view to the Eleatics regarding the conceivability of a multitude and the conceivability of movement, however, he completely agreed with them that a truly existing being can neither arise nor disappear. The materialism of Democritus, which is characteristic of almost all scientists of that time, is contemplative, metaphysical, material.

Atomistic materialism

The main achievement of the philosophy of Democritus is considered to be the development of Leucippe's doctrine of the "atom" - an indivisible particle of matter that has true being, does not collapse and does not arise (atomic materialism). He described the world as a system of atoms in a void, rejecting the infinite divisibility of matter, postulating not only the infinity of the number of atoms in the Universe, but also the infinity of their forms (ideas, Greek είδος - “view, appearance”, a materialistic category, as opposed to the idealistic ideas of Plato) . Atoms, according to this theory, move randomly in empty space (the Great Void, as Democritus said), collide and, due to the correspondence of shapes, sizes, positions and orders, either stick together or fly apart. The resulting compounds hold together and thus produce complex bodies. Movement itself is a property naturally inherent in atoms. Bodies are combinations of atoms. The diversity of bodies is due both to the difference in the atoms that compose them, and to the difference in the order of assembly, just as different words are made up of the same letters. Atoms cannot touch, since everything that does not have emptiness inside it is indivisible, that is, a single atom. Therefore, there are always at least small gaps of emptiness between two atoms, so that even in ordinary bodies there is emptiness. It also follows from this that when atoms approach at very small distances, repulsive forces begin to act between them. At the same time, mutual attraction between atoms is also possible according to the principle “like attracts like”.

The various qualities of bodies are completely determined by the properties of atoms and their combinations and the interaction of atoms with our senses. According to Galen,

"[Only] in general opinion there is color, in opinion - sweet, in opinion - bitter, in reality [there are only] atoms and emptiness." So says Democritus, believing that all perceptible qualities arise from the combination of atoms [existing only] for us who perceive them, but by nature there is nothing white, black, yellow, red, bitter, or sweet. The fact is that “in the general opinion” [with him] means the same as “according to the generally accepted opinion” and “for us”, [but] not by the nature of things themselves; the nature of the things themselves, he, in turn, designates [by the expression] "in reality", composing the term from the word "real", which means "true". The whole point of [this] teaching itself should be this. [Only] among people is something white, black, sweet, bitter, and everything else of that kind recognized, but truly everything is "what" and "nothing." And these are again his own expressions, namely, he called the atoms “what”, and the void - “nothing”.

Principle of isonomy

The main methodological principle of the atomists was the principle of isonomy (literal translation from Greek: equality of all before the law), which is formulated as follows: if a particular phenomenon is possible and does not contradict the laws of nature, then it must be assumed that in unlimited time and in unlimited space it either has already taken place, or someday will come: in infinity there is no boundary between possibility and existence. This principle is also called the principle of lack of sufficient reason: there is no reason for any body or phenomenon to be in this rather than in any other form. It follows, in particular, that if a phenomenon can in principle occur in various forms, then all these types exist in reality. Democritus made several important conclusions from the isonomy principle: 1) there are atoms of any shape and size (including the size of the whole world); 2) all directions and all points in the Great Void are equal; 3) atoms move in the Great Void in any direction with any speed. The last provision is very important for the theory of Democritus. In essence, it follows from it that the movement itself does not need to be explained, the reason needs to be sought only for changing the movement. Describing the views of the atomists, their opponent Aristotle writes:

None [of those who recognize the existence of emptiness, i.e. atomists] will not be able to say why [a body], set in motion, will stop somewhere, for why will it stop here rather than there? Therefore, it must either be at rest or move indefinitely, unless something stronger interferes.

In essence, this is a clear statement of the principle of inertia - the basis of all modern physics. Galileo, who is often credited with the discovery of inertia, was quite clearly aware that the roots of this principle go back to ancient atomism.

Cosmology

The Great Void is spatially infinite. In the initial chaos of atomic movements in the Great Void, a whirlwind spontaneously forms. The symmetry of the Great Void is broken inside the whirlwind, where the center and periphery appear. Heavy bodies formed in a vortex tend to accumulate near the center of the vortex. The difference between light and heavy is not qualitative, but quantitative, and this is already a significant progress. Democritus explains the separation of matter inside the vortex as follows: in their striving for the center of the vortex, heavier bodies displace lighter ones, and they remain closer to the periphery of the vortex. In the center of the world, the Earth is formed, consisting of the heaviest atoms. Something like a protective film is formed on the outer surface of the world, separating the cosmos from the surrounding Great Void. Since the structure of the world is determined by the aspiration of atoms to the center of the vortex, the world of Democritus has a spherically symmetrical structure.

Democritus was a supporter of the concept of a plurality of worlds. As the early Christian author Hippolytus of Rome describes the views of the atomists,

The worlds are infinite in number and differ from each other in size. In some of them there is neither sun nor moon, in others the sun and moon are larger than ours, and thirdly, there are not one, but several of them. The distance between the worlds is not the same; moreover, in one place there are more worlds, in another there are fewer. Some worlds are growing, others have reached full bloom, others are already shrinking. In one place the worlds arise, in another they subside. They are destroyed by colliding with each other. Some of the worlds are devoid of animals, plants, and any kind of moisture.

The multiplicity of worlds follows from the principle of isonomy: if a process of some kind can take place, then in infinite space somewhere, sometime, it is bound to take place; what is happening in a given place at a given time must also be happening in other places at one time or another. Thus, if a vortex-like motion of atoms arose in a given place in space, which led to the formation of our world, then a similar process should occur in other places, leading to the formation of other worlds. The resulting worlds are not necessarily the same: there is no reason why there should not be worlds without a sun and a moon at all, or with three suns and ten moons; only the earth is a necessary element of each world (probably simply by the definition of this concept: if there is no central earth, this is no longer a world, but simply a clot of matter). Moreover, there are no grounds for the fact that somewhere in the boundless space exactly the same world as ours would not be formed. All worlds move in different directions, because all directions and all states of motion are equal. In this case, the worlds can collide, collapsing. Similarly, all moments of time are equal: if the formation of the world is taking place now, then somewhere it must take place both in the past and in the future; different worlds are currently at different stages of development. In the course of its movement, the world, the formation of which has not ended, may accidentally penetrate the boundaries of the fully formed world and be captured by it (this is how Democritus explained the origin of the heavenly bodies in our world).

Since the Earth is in the center of the world, then all directions from the center are equal, and it has no reason to move in any direction (Anaximander held the same opinion about the reason for the immobility of the Earth). But there is also evidence that, according to Democritus, the Earth initially moved in space, and only subsequently stopped.

However, he was not a supporter of the theory of a spherical Earth. Democritus cited the following argument: if the Earth were a ball, then the sun, setting and rising, would be crossed by the horizon along an arc of a circle, and not in a straight line, as it really is. Of course, this argument is untenable from a mathematical point of view: the angular diameters of the Sun and the horizon are very different, and this effect could be noticed only if they were almost the same (for this, obviously, one would have to move a very large distance from the earth).

According to Democritus, the order of the luminaries is as follows: the Moon, Venus, the Sun, other planets, stars (as the distance from the Earth increases). Moreover, the farther away from us the luminary, the slower (in relation to the stars) it moves. Following Empedocles and Anaxagoras, Democritus believed that centrifugal force prevents the fall of celestial bodies on Earth. Democritus came up with the brilliant idea that the Milky Way is a multitude of stars located at such a small distance from each other that their images merge into a single faint glow.

In his theory, Democritus develops the general Hellenic concept of measure, noting that measure is the correspondence of a person's behavior to his natural capabilities and abilities. Through the prism of such a measure, pleasure already appears as an objective good, and not just a subjective sensory perception.

Democritus considered the basic principle of human existence to be in a state of benevolent, serene disposition of the spirit (euthymia), devoid of passions and extremes. This is not just a simple sensual pleasure, but a state of "peace, serenity and harmony."

Democritus believed that all evil and misfortune happens to a person due to the lack of the necessary knowledge. From this he concluded that the elimination of problems lies in the acquisition of knowledge. The optimistic philosophy of Democritus did not allow the absoluteness of evil, deducing wisdom as a means of achieving happiness.

Atomists are a materialistic philosophical school, whose philosophers (Democritus, Leucippus) considered microscopic particles - "atoms" to be the "building material", the "first brick" of all things.

Democritus (c. 460 - c. 370 BC). Coming from a wealthy family, even in his youth, Democritus decided to devote himself to science. Renouncing a significant part of the inheritance, Democritus set off on a journey to the East, seeking to study the wisdom there. He traveled to Egypt, Babylon, India and even Ethiopia.

Democritus was considered the founder of the materialistic direction in philosophy ("the line of Democritus" - the opposite of "Plato's line" - the idealistic direction).

In the teachings of Democritus, the following main provisions can be distinguished:

The entire material world is made up of atoms;

An atom is the smallest particle, the "first brick" of everything that exists;

The atom is indivisible (this position was refuted by science only today);

Atoms have a different size (from the smallest to large), a different shape (round, oblong, curves, "with hooks", etc.);

Between the atoms there is a space filled with emptiness;

Atoms are in perpetual motion;

There is a cycle of atoms: things, living organisms exist, decay, after which new living organisms and objects of the material world arise from these same atoms;

Atoms cannot be "seen" by sensory knowledge.