1. Democritus : The Man, The Myth, The Philosopher by: Mike Kurban

2. The Basics  460 BC-370 BC (Died at the age of ninety)‏  Pre-Socratic Philosopher  Main Focus: metaphysics, mathematics, and astronomy  Noted for: Atomism, Distant Star Theory  Influenced by: Leucippus  Influenced: Epicurus, Lucretius, Santayana, Nietzsche

3. Background Information  Democritus' wealthy father contributed a lot of money to the campaign of the Persian Emperor Xerxes. In return, the conqueror sent wise theologists and astronomers to Democritus' family, where the boy had a very educational childhood.  Democritus then traveled around the world, studying at each influential city, learning things from each experience.  It was through this journey that he met Leucippus, the scholar who would return with him to Abdera and would be his mentor and partner in many groudbreaking and contraversial hypotheses

5. Atomism  Democritus is most widely known as the co- creator of the theory of atomism. Along with his tutor Leucippus, Democritus hypothesized that every physical object is composed of different arrangements of microscopic objects known as “atoms” and “void.”  The void makes up the space in which the atoms arrange themselves in different patterns of organization. The specifics of these packages determine all characteristics of the objects. For example, Democritus stated that something is neither hot nor cold, but rather the arrangements of the atoms causes one to interpret them as being either hot or cold.

6. Atomism Continued  Along with the idea of atoms and void, the philosophers supported the belief that these components are neither created nor destroyed.  This created great controversy, as some citizens believed that Democritus was being sacrilegious in saying that man created God, and not the other way around  Democritus believed that the workings of the universe were mechanical in nature. He called this the vibrations of the atoms.

7. The Soul/Senses  Coinciding with his theory of atoms, Democritus believed that certain atoma existed within humans that shaped their beliefs and personalities.  The same was said for ones senses. He believed that when certain atom combinations came in contact with the tongue, the mind registers them as being “bitter” or “sweet” etc.

8. Mathematics  Besides the concept of atoms, one of Democritus' contributions that is best known to students is his discovery and subsequent publication of the idea that a cone or a pyramid has one third of the volume of a cylinder or prism if the base and height are the same.

9. Plant Life  Late in life, Democritus devoted a lot of time to the study of plants and herbs.

10. Astronomy  Democritus was also a groundbreaking astronomer. He hypothesized that the Milky Way is composed of many distant stars. He also announced his belief that the universe is made of many different worlds, including other inhabited planets.

11. The Laughing Philosopher  Democritus is fondly known as “The Laughing Philosopher” as he often preached of the value of happiness.

12. Legacy Democritus, perhaps the most famous and prolific of all the Pre-Socratic philosophers recieves well deserved respect for his multitude of advancements in science, mathematics, and metaphysics. Though his ideas may have been controversal at the time they were presented, he is retrospectively recognized as being brilliant for his unconvential theories that led to new paths and ideas. The idea of the atom, one Democritus thought of without the aid of any advanced instrument, still holds a heavy influence in the world of science. Intellectuals respect him for his hypothesis, and every day, hundreds of students learn of the man who was willing to defy conventional thought and propose the idea that the entire world is composed of small objects that are invisible to the naked eye. At the time, this may have made him look like a fool. We know, today, however, that he was a genius. Even Aristotle, a successor to his role as world-famous philosopher, praised Democritus for introducing new ideas while “arguing from sound conditions appropriate to natural philosophy. The idea of the Atom, though his chief theory, is not the only idea produced by this prolific thinker. It is astounding to consider the possibility that many of this philosopher's theories are being proven true thousands of years later. Perhaps one day extraterrestrial life will be found, and the man who went against convential beliefs will be correct again. ap