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“Atomic” Philosophers, Leucippus and Democritus

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“Atomic” Philosophers, Leucippus and Democritus Historical Review The philosophic and biological views of the “atomic” philosophers, Leucippus and Democritus 1 stratios Moralidis , MD, PhD, Abstract Tryfon Spyridonidis 2,, MD, The purpose of this study was to describe and highlight the work of the so called “atomic” philosophers Leucippus and in particular, his student Democritus, after an 3 extensive research of works written by numerous ancient Greek philosophers and Georgios Arsos , MD, PhD, historians. The work of these two philosophers is groundbreaking, covers a wide spectrum of science and humanities and shows their high level of scholarship, 4 Vassilios Skeberis , MD, PhD, erudition, and analytical thinking. Their ideas are often mentioned by other ancient Greek philosophers, with positive and sometimes negative criticism. Their theories Const antinos Anagnostopoulos were spread later, in ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Medieval Western Europe and in our times. 5, MD, PhD, Stavros Gavrielidis 6 , MD, PhD Hell J Nucl Med 2010; 13(2):111-117 Published on line: 22-6-2010 Introduction The city of Avdera in Thrace, close to Chalkidiki, in northern Greece and 1. Department of Nuclear opposite the island of Thasos is considered as the birthplace of Democritus. Medici ne, We are not sure if Leucippus was also born there. Anyhow, Avdera, holds a very important place in ancient history, philosophy and science and was AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle also the birthplace of other key figures of ancient Greece such as Nikenetos the epic poet and Protagoras, as mentioned by Stephen of Byzantium in his University Medical School, treatise De urbibus [1]. The philosopher Anaxarhos, the grammarian Ekateos, the mathematician Vionas and the historian and engineer Thessalonik i, Greece Dioclides were also born in Avdera. 2. Department of Nuclear Leucippus: Democritus’ teacher Medicine, The life of Leucippus Rio University Hospital, Leucippus was probably born in the city of Avdera, while others mention as Emmanouil Magiorkinis MD, BSc, his birthplace the island of Milos or Elea, a Greek colony in Italy, or Miletus Patras,PhD, Greece in Asia Minor [2-5]. He may have been a student of the philosopher Zeno of Apostolos Beloukas BSc, MSc, Elea (490-430 B.C.) [2], of Pythagoras of Samos (570-495 B.C.) [3], and of 3.Aristidis Department Diamantis of Nuclea MD, rPh MedicinD. e Parmenides of Elea [6]. His major works include the Great World System and (“Μέγας Διάκοσμος”) and About the Mind (περί Νου), from which Office for the Study of History of the Democritus borrowed his terminology and developed his own theories in a 4.Hel Cardiologylenic Naval Unit, Medicine,Second Naval book under the same title [6]. Hospital of Athens, Greece The work: Great World System constitutes rather a collection of Propedeuti philosophical theories of the School of Avdera, as was the Hippocratic *** collection used for the class of philosophy of the Hippocratic school [7]. Keywords: Many of these theories were adopted by other philosophers such as -Atomic theory - Medicine Diogenes of Apollonia (fl. 425 B.C.) and Epicurus of Samos (341-270 B.C.) Psycology -Biology -The soul [8]. Correspondence address: Emmanouil Magiorkinis, BSc, MD, The work of Leucippus - The beginning of the atomic PhD, theory Leoforos Aianteiou 3- PO.B:1541, It appears that the formulation of the atomic theory began as an effort to Salamina, 18900, Greece. overturn “Eleatic monism”, doctrine of “one alone”, as established by Tel: +30-210-7486382 Parmenides from Elea and his successors, who refused to accept any Fax: +30-210-7486382 evidence coming from the human senses and the world of physical e-mail: [email protected] phenomena. The Eleatic school accepted the notion of “One” which is the only existing entity, is global, always complete, including everything in the Received: world, and beyond which nothing exists. Unlike the Eleatics, the atomic 20 April 2010 philosophers studied genesis, deterioration of all beings and phenomena Accepted revised: which can be observed by human senses. Leucippus (Fig. 1) and 31 May 2010 Democritus (Fig. 2) supported the view that the elements are “complete” and “void.” They called the full and solid: “complete”or “being,” and the empty and diluted: “void” or “not being”; they therefore certified that being does not exist more than the non being, since non-void cannot exist any www.nuclmed.gr Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine May - August 2010 111 Historical Review less than void [9]. Leucippus explains that being “is not one, but is infinite in numbers of beings, and invisible” [10], and “movement is eternal” [11]. He calls “atoms” the “minimal bodies” [12], that “they cannot be divided because of their size” [13] and that “movement is necessary for all things beings and non-beings, i.e. invisible things” [14]. Leucippus and his followers believed that indivisible atoms must be on move, and therefore, they have to be separated by void and that atoms “are unchangeable Figure 1. Leucippus (probably 480-420 BC). Public domain. Obtained by http://www.de-bric-et-de-broc.com/dico.html. because they are compact, solid and do not have any void.” Also: “the division of matter depends on whether there is void and on its quantity within various bodies” [15]. understandable “except for the basic elements, which According to Leucippus, there are innumerable are: atoms and void” [17]. Everything “happens according worlds consisting of innumerable elements emanating to imagination and opinion,” which according to from and dissolving into these elements [16]. According Leucippus seem to function as “paddles immersed in to Leucippus, the process of separation from an infinite water” [18]. mass created atoms of various forms and shapes. These Vision, according to Leucippus, starts as a mirror atoms were assembled within the great void, and then image of the object in the pupil of the eye [19]. The the lighter ones were separated from the heavier ones various color tints emanate from the juxtaposition through the process of continuous spin; the lighter ones between the various colorful atoms [17]. This is also our occupied the most exterior layer, while the heaviest ones present view about vision. remained implicated and thus, formed the first spheroid As for sleep, Leucippus argues that it “occurs when world. These theories of Leucippus accepted by the output of thin elements is greater than the inflow of Democritus later can be considered as predecessors of mental heat.” the recent Big Bang theory. Finally, the sperm is an extract of the soul, while Atoms are eternal, unalterable, not subjected to the gender differentiation is due to “variation of the molecules processes of birth and deterioration and through various of the genitals” [20]. Today, it is known that genes carried combinations and segregations they have created by the Y chromosome are responsible for gender everything that is subjected to change. It was very differentiation! difficult for these philosophers to overlook as they did the theory of Parmenides on the characteristics of the entity of “One.” Leucippus wanted to exclude the factor of chance, implying instead that every phenomenon has or must have a deterministic interpretation. This was based on the initial assumptions about atoms and the constant movement or “αεικίνητον” of everything in the world. This movement caused collision of atoms, which then unite or repel from each other. This repulsion-attraction type of movement is the basis for the atomic philosophers’ explanation of all physical phenomena. There is no need to interpret the primordial principle of motion; they thought, that since motion is eternal and has no obvious Figure 2. Democritus (460-370 BC). Bust of Democritus, Naples starting point, it simply does exist. Atoms acquire the National Museum, Italy. ability to move, simply because that ability exists within the void. In contrast to Parmenides, who excluded the Democritus possibility of non-being, the atomic philosophers believed that the void or non-being exists equally with the being, The life of Democritus but in a very different manner. Geometric forms, for th example, are immaterial, but nevertheless exist, as the Democritus was born in Avdera, during either the 70 Olympiad (500-497 B.C.), according to Eusebius of Pythagoreans also had stated. th Historians do not agree on what the atomic Caesarea [21], or the 80 Olympiad (460-457 B.C.), philosophers ment by “void.” Some share the view of according to Apollodorus of Athens as reported by Aristotle that it is the empty space, whereas others Diogenes Laertius [22]. The name of his father, believe that the gap implied by “void” marks only the according to Laertius, was Igistratos, Athinokritos, or absence of being, while atoms represent being. In other Damasippos [18]. He was a very wealthy man. This words, the gap is identified with the absence, which, in enabled him to be well educated. Democritus was a student of Anaxagoras [23] and according to Herodotus, turn is defined by the oposite of being, which is 1 connected with the meaning of presence. In fact, the he also studied under Chaldean magicians . non-being is the space that exists between the atoms. According to Demetrius and Antisthenes, Democritus traveled to many countries. In Egypt he learned the Leucippus’ biological theories sacred geometry of the Egyptians, and in India and Leucippus’ theories on biology basically project his initial theory on atoms and the atomic structure of the matter. Leucippus claimed that “feeling” and the “intellect” come from the outside, whereas nothing is true or 1 Chaldeans was an Assyrian tribe who lived in the marshy lands in the far south of Mesopotamia, at the head of the Persian Gulf. www.nuclmed.gr Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine May - August 2010 112 Historical Review Ethiopia he met the Gymnosophists2 [24]. It is that he died at the age of 100 [32], Lucian mentions, at reasonable to suppose that he stayed for some time in the age of 104 [33], and Censorinus, at the age of 108 the Greek city of Teo in Ionia, Asia Minor.
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