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The Life and Works of a Democritus. Democritus: life without accidents What democritus consists of

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

Democritus of Abdera (Δημόκριτος; c. 460 BC, Abdera - c. 370 BC). The great ancient Greek philosopher, allegedly a student of Leucippus, one of the founders of atomism and materialistic philosophy.

Born in the city of Abdera in Thrace. During his life he traveled a lot, studying the philosophical views of various peoples (Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Persia, India, Ethiopia). He listened to the Pythagorean Philolaus and Socrates in Athens, was familiar with Anaxagoras.

Democritus spent a lot of money on these trips, inherited from him. However, the embezzlement of the inheritance in Abderah was prosecuted. At the trial, instead of his defense, Democritus read out excerpts from his work, "The Great World Construction", and was acquitted: fellow citizens decided that his father's money was well spent.

The lifestyle of Democritus, however, seemed incomprehensible to the Abderites: he constantly left the city, hiding in cemeteries, where, far from the bustle of the city, he indulged in reflections; sometimes Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason, so ridiculous were human affairs against the backdrop of the great world order (hence his nickname "The Laughing Philosopher"). Fellow citizens considered Democritus insane, and even invited the famous physician Hippocrates to examine him. He really met with the philosopher, but decided that Democritus was absolutely healthy both physically and mentally, and in addition, he affirmed that Democritus was one of the smartest people with whom he had to communicate. Among the disciples of Democritus, Bion from Abdera is known.

According to Lucian, Democritus lived for 104 years.

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 and metaphysical.

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 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”.

Democritus drew several important conclusions from the principle of isonomy:
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.

Democritus was a supporter of the concept of a plurality of worlds.

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, it is no longer a world, but just 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.

Democritus developed the general Hellenistic 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.

He 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.

Democritus denied the existence of gods and the role of everything supernatural in the emergence of the world. According to Sextus Empiricus, he believed that "we came to the idea of gods from the extraordinary phenomena taking place in the world."

Democritus compiled one of the first ancient Greek calendars.

Democritus was the first to establish that the volume of a pyramid and a cone is equal, respectively, to one third of the volume of a prism and a cylinder under the same height and with the same base area.

About 70 different works of Democritus are mentioned in the writings of ancient authors, none of which has survived to this day. Studies of the philosophy of Democritus are based on quotations and criticism of his ideas in the writings of later philosophers such as Aristotle, Sextus, Cicero, Plato, Epicurus and others.

The most significant work of Democritus should be considered the "Great World Construction", a cosmological work that covered almost all areas of knowledge available at that time. In addition, based on the lists of Diogenes Laertius, Democritus is credited with the authorship of such works as “On the Spiritual Disposition of the Sage”, “On Virtue”, “On the Planets”, “On Feelings”, “On the Difference of Forms”, “On Tastes”, “On colors", "On the mind", "On logic or canons", "Causes of celestial phenomena", "Causes of air phenomena", "Causes of terrestrial phenomena", "Causes of fire and fiery phenomena", "Causes of sounds", "Causes of seeds, plants and fruits", "Causes of living beings", "On the contact of the circle and the ball", "On geometry", "On irrational lines and bodies", "Numbers", "Projections", "Big Year", "Description of the sky", "Description of the Earth", "Description of the Poles", "Description of Rays", "On Rhythms and Harmony", "On Poetry", "On the Beauty of Poetry", "On Singing", "Medical Science", "On Diet", "On painting", "Agriculture", "About the military system", etc.

There is a legend that he ordered to buy up and destroy all the works of Democritus, his philosophical antagonist. The reliability of this legend is not too high. In addition, it is known that in the I century. n. e. Thrasyll published the works of Democritus and Plato, dividing them into tetralogy.

Introduction

According to most philosophers, Democritus was born in 460 BC, died in 360/370 BC. Originally from Abdera, considered in Greece not only as a deaf intellectual province, but even just a city of fools. But the common noun "abderit" - a simpleton, a simpleton, a fool - became the proper name of one of the greatest thinkers. Democritus came from a noble family and was rich, but he abandoned his wealth, spent his whole life in the poor, indulging exclusively in wisdom.

According to legend, Democritus was a student of some magicians and Chaldeans, whom King Xerxes provided to his father as teachers when he was visiting him, from whom Democritus adopted the science of gods and stars in childhood. He had connections with modern scientists. The ancients report that Democritus was a student of his predecessor and friend Leucippus, communicated with Anaxagoras, and was familiar with the works of scientists from the countries of the East.

There is evidence that he traveled to Egypt, Persia and even Ethiopia and India. Returning from his travels, he led a modest and secluded life, occupied with science and valuing it so highly that, as they say, "said that he would prefer one decent explanation to the dignity of the Persian king." Envious people accused him of having squandered his inheritance, contrary to the laws of Abdera; in response, he "read to the people his "Great World Construction", the best of all his works, and received five hundred talents as a reward (is it a lot or a little? Recall that all the property of Socrates cost 5 talents); moreover, they erected in his honor copper statues, and when he died, they buried him at the expense of the state - and he lived for more than a hundred years.

Numerous testimonies and legends speak of Democritus as a "laughing philosopher", "everything that was done seriously seemed to him so frivolous." The stories about him testify to the deep worldly wisdom of the philosopher, his powers of observation, extensive knowledge. Diogenes Laertius gives a list of more than 60 works by Democritus, the main place among which is occupied by the "Great Diacosmos", "Small Diacosmos", "On Logic, or Merilo". Of Abderit's writings, only fragments have survived, mixed with fragments and retellings of Leucippus into an almost indistinguishable whole. Apparently, ideological disputes played a significant role in the deplorable fate of the philosopher’s works: “Aristoxenus in his Historical Notes reports that Plato wanted to burn all the works of Democritus that he could collect, but the Pythagoreans Amikl and Kleniy prevented him, pointing out that it was useless: His books are already in the hands of many.

Democritus was the first in ancient Greek philosophy to introduce the concept of cause into scientific circulation. He denies chance in the sense of causelessness.

Democritus and his atomistic theory

The interpretation of being in the philosophy of Democritus

The famous Greek philosopher Democritus accepts the thesis that being is something simple, understanding by it the indivisible - the atom ("atom" in Greek means "uncut", "uncut"). He gives a materialistic interpretation of this concept, thinking of the atom as the smallest, further indivisible physical particle. Democritus admits an infinite number of such atoms, thereby rejecting the assertion that being is one. Atoms, according to Democritus, are separated by emptiness; emptiness is non-being and as such is unknowable: rejecting Parmenides' claim that being is not plural.

Democritus, along with Leucippus, is considered one of the founders of ancient Greek atomism. At first glance, the doctrine of atomism is extremely simple. The beginning of everything that exists is indivisible particles-atoms and emptiness. Nothing arises from the non-existent and is not destroyed into the non-existent, but the emergence of things is the union of atoms, and the destruction is the disintegration into parts, in the limit into atoms. Everything arises on some basis and out of necessity; the cause of occurrence is a whirlwind, which is called necessity. We feel because we get "vidiks", separating from things. The soul is a collection of special atoms. The ultimate goal of man is spiritual well-being, in which the soul is in peace and balance, not embarrassed by fear, superstition, or any other passion.

All that exists is atoms and the void. In the infinite emptiness-space move, combined with each other, infinite in number and form of the little body; the latter differ from each other in form, order, and rotation. The question arises - what makes us assert that there are some indivisible bodies, that matter is not divisible to infinity? Leucippus and Democritus were attentive listeners of Zeno, and neither the strengths nor the weaknesses of his reasoning escaped them, in particular, the content of the aporias against the set: if you divide the body into an infinite number of parts, then either these parts will not have a value - and then their sum, those. the original body will turn into nothing, or they will have a value - but then their sum will be infinitely large. But both are ridiculous. However, the aporia does not arise if we assume the existence of a divisibility limit - an atom that is further indivisible. Atoms are quite small, but after all, the simplest observation shows that matter is indeed divisible into very small particles that are not even visible to the eye. These are the dust particles visible in a beam of light falling into a dark room. "Democritus did not say that these dust particles, visible through the window, raised (by the wind) (and there are those particles) of which fire or the soul consists, or that in general these dust particles are atoms, but he said:" These dust particles exist in the air, but since they are not noticeable due to their too small size, it seems that they do not exist, and only the rays of the sun, penetrating through the window, discover that they exist. Similarly, there are indivisible bodies, small and indivisible because of too small a size" (Leucippus).

Thus, two problems are solved at once. The multiplicity of beings no longer leads to contradictions: any body can be divided into a finite set of particles that have magnitude, and then reassembled from them. And the "being" of the Eleatics is embodied in the atom: it is one, indivisible, unchanging, indestructible, meeting all the requirements of Parmenides' "being". There are just too many atoms. And in order for them to exist as a set, a void is needed that would separate one atom from another and make it possible for atoms to move - movement. The void is no longer the "non-existent" of the Eleatics, but the existing nothingness.

Democritus, however, agrees with the Eleatics that only being is knowable. It is also characteristic that Democritus distinguishes between the world of atoms - as true and therefore cognizable only by reason - and the world of sensible things, which are only an external appearance, the essence of which is atoms, their properties and movements. Atoms cannot be seen, they can only be thought. Here, as we see, the opposition of "knowledge" and "opinion" is also preserved. The atoms of Democritus vary in shape and size; moving in the void, they connect ("cling") to each other due to the difference in shape: Democritus has atoms that are round, pyramidal, curved, pointed, even "hooked". In this way, bodies are formed from them that are accessible to our perception.

Democritus proposed a well-thought-out version of a mechanistic explanation of the world: the whole is the sum of its parts, and the random movement of atoms, their random collisions are the cause of everything that exists. In atomism, the position of the Eleatics about the immobility of being is rejected, since this position does not make it possible to explain the movement and change that occurs in the sensory world. In an effort to find the cause of the movement, Democritus "splits" the single being of Parmenides into many separate "beings" - atoms, which he interprets materialistically.

The proof of the existence of emptiness by Democritus and the atomists in general boils down to the fact that, firstly, without emptiness, movement would not be possible, since something filled cannot perceive something else; secondly, its existence is evidenced by the presence of such processes as compaction and thickening, which are possible only if there are empty gaps between the bodies and their parts. The void is absolutely homogeneous and can exist both containing bodies and without them. At the same time, it exists both outside the bodies, containing them in itself, separating them from each other, and inside complex bodies, separating their parts from each other. Only atoms do not contain emptiness, which explains their absolute density - there is nowhere to insert a blade to cut an atom, or split it.

As for the number of atoms in the world, Democritus recognizes it as infinite. And consequently, the emptiness must also be infinite, because a finite space cannot contain an infinite number of atoms and an infinite number of worlds consisting of them. It is difficult to say what turns out to be the first assumption here - the infinity of the number of atoms or the infinity of emptiness. Both are based on the argument that both the number of atoms and the amount of emptiness are "no more than that." This argument also extends to the number of forms of atoms, which, according to Democritus, is also infinite.

The infinity of the world in space entails eternity in time and infinity (beginninglessness) of motion. Aristotle reports that Democritus stated: "the eternal and infinite has no beginning, but the cause is the beginning, the eternal is unlimited, therefore, to ask what is the cause of any of these things, according to Democritus, is the same as looking for the beginning of infinity." Thus, atomism recognizes the eternity of the world in time, the infinity in space, the infinity of the number of atoms and the worlds composed of them.

Democritus' views on the nature of the human soul

Democritus consistently takes a materialistic position on the question of the nature of the soul and knowledge. It is known that often the mental activity of a person is explained by the presence in his body of a specific substance or force - the "soul".

In inorganic nature, everything happens not according to goals and in this sense by chance, but the student can have both goals and means. Thus, Democritus' view of the nature of the soul is strictly causal, deterministic.

The summary of his works is no less interesting. If you have not met this thinker yet, we invite you to do so. Democritus is an ancient Greek philosopher whose years of life are from about 460 to 360 BC. e. He is known for being the founder of the atomistic doctrine. According to Democritus, only emptiness and atoms exist in the world.

Atomism of Democritus

Atoms are material indivisible elements ("figures", geometric bodies), impenetrable, indestructible, eternal. They differ in size, position in the void, shape. Atoms move in different directions. Thanks to these movements, both countless worlds and separate bodies are formed. Atoms are invisible to humans, but they act on our senses, thereby causing sensations. But we will not dwell on this in detail, since ahead is the biography of Democritus. About physics it can be read separately; if you are interested in it, it will not be difficult to find information today. We propose to get acquainted now with the philosopher himself.

When was Democritus born?

We will assume that an interesting biography of Democritus begins in 460 BC. e. Although even in ancient times, the date of birth of this philosopher was a controversial issue. According to Apollodorus, he was born in 460 or 457 BC. e. However, Thrasyll, who is the publisher of the writings of this philosopher, expressed a different opinion. He believed that Democritus was born in 470 BC. e. This question is still open.

Education and travel

A lot of dark spots are left by the biography of Democritus, a summary of whose works is of interest even today (what a pity that the originals have not been preserved!) This philosopher came from a wealthy family. According to the legend, transmitted by Diogenes Laertius, he studied with the Chaldeans and magicians, presented to his father. Xerxes allegedly made such a gift to him because he treated the Persian army passing through Thrace to dinner. Democritus spent the rich inheritance left after the death of his father on travel. He traveled to Babylon and Persia, Egypt and India. For some time the philosopher also lived in Athens, where he listened to Socrates incognito. It is possible that Democritus also met with Anaxagoras. His biography is filled with many assumptions, but do not forget how long ago he lived. Recreating the life path of many of his contemporaries is very difficult.

The behavior of Democritus

The biography of Democritus is filled with many curious details. The most interesting, perhaps, is connected with his way of life. The behavior of this philosopher seemed incomprehensible to many of his contemporaries. Democritus often left the city. In order to hide from the bustle of the city, he came to the cemetery. Here the philosopher indulged in reflections. Often, Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason: all human affairs seemed to him amusing against the backdrop of world order. Because of this feature, this thinker even received the nickname "laughing philosopher." Many fellow citizens considered him insane. They even invited Hippocrates, the famous physician, to examine him. He actually met with the philosopher, but decided that he was absolutely healthy both mentally and physically. Moreover, he claimed that one of the smartest people with whom he had to communicate was Democritus.

His biography is interrupted presumably in 370 BC. when this thinker died. Thus, he lived for about a hundred years.

Synthesis of three schools

It is believed that the atomist Leucippus had the greatest influence on this philosopher. Nevertheless, the emergence of atomism as a universal doctrine in philosophy, including ethics, psychology, epistemology, cosmology and physics, is associated precisely with Democritus. His teaching is a synthesis of the problems of the three schools of Greece: Pythagorean, Eleatic and Milesian. The philosophy of other countries visited by Democritus also left its mark. His biography, as you remember, is connected with many travels.

The writings of Democritus

It is believed that Democritus is the author of more than 70 different works. The titles of the works lead The thinker is credited with the authorship of works on physics, ethics, literature and language, mathematics, as well as applied sciences, including medicine. Moreover, Democritus was even considered the creator of the "Chaldean Book" and "On Sacred Inscriptions in Babylon" (within the framework of the "Chaldean" myth associated with the travels and education of this philosopher).

The beauty of the syllable of works

Democritus in antiquity gained fame not only because of the depth of his teaching, but also because of the beauty of the style of his works. Many thinkers have noted this, including Cicero, Timon of Phlius, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The signs of Democritus' style were: alliteration, rhythmic organization of the phrase, brevity, neologisms, assonances, the widespread use of rhetorical antitheses: "emptiness" and "atoms", "microcosm-man" and "macrocosm-Universe", etc.

We already talked about atoms and emptiness at the beginning of the article. What else interesting can be learned about such a philosopher as Democritus? His biography is also marked by works on ethics, which is a continuation of the atomistic physics of this thinker.

Ethics of Democritus

Just like the atom, man is a self-sufficient being. People are happier the more introverted they are. Democritus came up with several terms to express his own understanding of happiness: "well-being", "complacency", "equanimity", "fearlessness", and also used traditional terms - "regularity" and "harmony". Euthymia is the central concept of the ethics of this thinker. Even a separate book by Democritus is dedicated to her. The doctrine of euthymia - complacency - is associated with this thinker's criticism of beliefs in fate and traditional religion. The meaning of this term is associated primarily with the concept of measure. That is, a person must limit himself in bodily pleasures. Democritus believed that euthymia arises as a result of a measured life and moderation in pleasures. The wise man rejoices in what he has, not envying the fame and wealth of other people. He strives for lawful and just deeds.

Note that the main part of the fragments of Democritus, which have come down to our days, refers specifically to ethics. However, today it is difficult to judge the degree of accuracy with which the statements convey his words.

Cosmogonic representations

Democritus based them on the concept of the existence of many worlds in the universe. For him, time has no beginning, since it means a change of being that takes place forever. Democritus likened the human body to the cosmos and called it the microcosm. It is known that this thinker recognized the existence of the gods, however, in a very unusual form. For him they are compounds of fiery atoms. Democritus denied the immortality of the gods.

What is the soul according to Democritus?

The philosopher imagined the soul in the form of an atom. It is this atom, he believed, that explains the various features of mental life. The main one is movement. The moving soul must itself be mobile. Therefore, it must be represented in the form of fiery round atoms. Thinking is also movement. And when we breathe, together with the air we receive new fiery atoms that replace the spent atoms of our soul. That is why the cessation of this process leads to death. The soul, Democritus believed, is the most essential thing in a person. He advised to take care of her first, and not of the body. The philosopher believed that all objects are animated. The soul that fills the whole world is the deity. However, it obeys mechanical laws and does not differ qualitatively from material existence.

Aesthetics of Democritus

In it, the ancient Greek thinker, apparently, was the first to mark the line between the applied arts that require only skills and artistic creativity, which is impossible without inspiration. In addition, in ethics, Democritus developed the doctrine of immunity to affects (ataraxia).

Now you can also talk about that. A short biography and his discoveries can interest almost any person, so we recommend doing this. Surely many of your friends, relatives and acquaintances do not know what you know. Biography of Democritus, facts from and interesting information about him - all this can be discussed for a very long time.

Biography

Democritus of Abdera - an ancient Greek philosopher, presumably a student of Leucippus, one of the founders of atomistics and materialistic philosophy.

Born in the city of Abdera in Thrace. During his life he traveled a lot, studying the philosophical views of various peoples (Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Persia, India, Ethiopia). I heard in Athens the Pythagorean Philolaus and Socrates, was familiar with Anaxagoras.

They say that Democritus spent a lot of money on these travels, inherited from him. However, the embezzlement of the inheritance in Abderah was prosecuted. At the trial, instead of his defense, Democritus read out excerpts from his work, "The Great World Construction", and was acquitted: fellow citizens decided that his father's money was well spent.

The lifestyle of Democritus, however, seemed incomprehensible to the Abderites: he constantly left the city, hiding in cemeteries, where, far from the bustle of the city, he indulged in reflections; sometimes Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason, so ridiculous were human affairs against the backdrop of the great world order (hence his nickname "The Laughing Philosopher"). Fellow citizens considered Democritus insane, and even invited the famous physician Hippocrates to examine him. He really met with the philosopher, but decided that Democritus absolutely healthy, both physically and mentally, and in addition, he claimed that Democritus is one of the smartest people with whom he had to communicate. Among the disciples of Democritus, Bion from Abdera is known.

According to Lucian, Democritus lived for 104 years.

Philosophy of Democritus

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, είδος - “appearance, appearance”, a materialistic category, in contrast to the idealistic ideas of Socrates). 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 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 Galena ,

"[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”, 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 exist 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 in Physics writes:

... no one [of those who recognize the existence of emptiness, that is, atomists] will be able to say why [a body], set in motion, will stop somewhere, because 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 is a supporter of the concept of a plurality of worlds. As Hippolytus 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, in the third there are not one, but several of them. The distance between the worlds is not the same; besides, in one place there are more worlds, in another - less. Some worlds are growing, others have reached full bloom, others are already shrinking. In one place the worlds arise, in another they decline. 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, it is no longer a world, but just 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).

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 the fall of celestial bodies to Earth is prevented by centrifugal force. 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.

Ethics

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.

Contribution to other sciences

Democritus compiled one of the first ancient Greek calendars.

Writings and doxography

About 70 different works of Democritus are mentioned in the writings of ancient authors, none of which has survived to this day. Studies of the philosophy of Democritus rely on quotes and criticism of his ideas in the writings of later philosophers such as Aristotle, Sextus, Cicero, Plato , Epicurus and others.

There is a legend that Plato ordered to buy up and destroy all the works of Democritus, his philosophical antagonist. The reliability of this legend is not too high. In addition, it is known that in the I century. n. e. Thrasyll published the works of Democritus and Plato, dividing them into tetralogy.