Democritus
E83879
Democritus was an ancient Greek philosopher best known for developing an early atomic theory of the universe, proposing that all matter is composed of indivisible atoms moving in the void.
Aliases (1)
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Greek philosopher
→
atomist philosopher → pre-Socratic philosopher → |
| approximateBirthDate |
c. 460 BCE
→
|
| approximateDeathDate |
c. 370 BCE
→
|
| birthPlace |
Abdera
→
Thrace → ancient Greece → |
| citizenship |
Ancient Greece
→
|
| contemporaryOf |
Socrates
→
|
| era |
5th century BCE philosophy
→
Classical Greek philosophy → |
| ethicalView |
highest good is cheerfulness (euthymia)
→
virtue and moderation lead to a tranquil life → |
| influenced |
Epicurus
→
Galen → Lucretius → modern atomic theory → |
| influencedBy |
Heraclitus
→
Leucippus → Parmenides → Pythagoreans → |
| knownFor |
atomic theory of the universe
→
doctrine that all matter consists of atoms and void → ethical teachings on cheerfulness → materialist philosophy → |
| language |
Ancient Greek
→
|
| mainInterest |
cosmology
→
ethics → mathematics → metaphysics → natural philosophy → |
| name |
Democritus
→
|
| notableConcept |
atoms and void as fundamental reality
→
determinism based on atomic motion → |
| philosophicalSchool |
Atomism
→
Pre-Socratic philosophy → |
| region |
Abdera in Thrace
→
|
| theory |
all things are composed of indivisible atoms moving in the void
→
perception is caused by effluences of atoms from objects → qualitative differences in objects arise from quantitative differences in atoms → the soul is composed of fine, spherical atoms → |
| viewOnGods |
gods, if they exist, are material and not creators of the world
→
|
| worksStatus |
survive only in fragments and testimonia
→
|
| wroteAbout |
anthropology
→
cosmology → ethics → mathematics → music → physics → |
Referenced by (13)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Epicureanism
→
Epicurus → Lucretius → Pyrrho → The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature → |
influencedBy |
|
Classical Greek philosophy
→
|
hasKeyFigure |
|
Classical Greece
→
|
hasNotablePhilosopher |
|
Presocratic philosophers
→
|
includes |
|
The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature
→
|
mainSubject |
|
Democritus
→
|
name |
|
Antoine Coypel
→
|
notable work |
|
Academy of Athens (ancient)
("Democritus Jr. (misattributed in tradition)")
→
|
notableStudent |
|
The Backbone of Night
→
|
subject |