Democritus, whose atomism and biography we will consider, is a famous Greek philosopher from antiquity. The years of his life are 460-371 BC. e. It was he who was the first to understand that the world has no end and that it is a collection of atoms - the smallest particles that make up every grain of sand on our planet and every star in the sky.

Homeland of Democritus, personal qualities of the philosopher

Democritus was born in Thrace, in the ancient Greek city of Abdera. This place in Greece was considered not just a remote province, but even a city of fools. However, the common noun "abderit", translated meaning "fool", "simpleton", "simpleton", became the proper name of one of the outstanding minds of antiquity, Democritus. From numerous legends and testimonies we learn that Abderit was a “laughing philosopher.”

Everything that was done seriously seemed frivolous to him. The surviving stories about him indicate that Democritus was characterized by deep worldly wisdom, extensive knowledge, and observation.

Getting to know the achievements of philosophers

Damasippus, his father, was one of the richest citizens. Therefore, Democritus received a good education for his time. The philosopher was the Persian sages who lived in Abdera when Democritus was there. However, the real teacher of Democritus is Leucippus, the head of the local philosophical school. It was thanks to him that I became acquainted with the works Greek philosophers Democritus His atomism is based on a careful study of the achievements of his predecessors. His education was not limited to studying the works of Greek philosophers. Democritus, whose atomism will be discussed below, wanted to get acquainted with the achievements of world thought, so he went on a trip.

First voyage of Democritus

Some time later his father died. He left a significant inheritance to his son, and Democritus decided to go on a journey. The philosopher went to Babylon, and then to Egypt. Everywhere he met with thinkers, and also became acquainted with Babylonian magicians and Egyptian priests. It follows from this that his worldview was formed under the influence of many cultures of both the ancient and new worlds. Democritus took some elements from each of them and created his own philosophical system.

Teaching, major essays

Returning to Abdera, he began teaching philosophy and also creating his own works. later compiled a catalog of the works of Democritus. It includes the titles of more than 70 works. Among them, the main place is occupied by the following works: “On Logic, or Measurement”, “Small Diakosmos”, “Great Diakosmos”. The breadth of interests of this philosopher is simply amazing. There was no area of ​​knowledge that he would ignore.

The philosopher Democritus, as is known, enjoyed great fame in his city during his lifetime. In gratitude for his services, the people of Abdera erected a bronze statue of him. In addition, it was said that he was one of the most famous speakers of his time. It is known that Democritus studied philology and created a manual on eloquence.

Second trip

After some time, he decided to make another trip, this time to Athens. At that time, the most people worked here famous philosophers Greece. Diogenes said that Democritus met with Socrates and Anaxagoras. However, they did not share his views. After all, Democritus categorically denied the existence of gods. His atomism is completely inconsistent with deities in the generally accepted sense.

"Great Diacosmos"

Returning to his hometown, the philosopher created the work “The Great Diacosmos”. This work sets out the concept of the structure of the world. Democritus believed that all objects consist of atoms, the smallest particles. While there were few of them, they moved freely. Gradually, the atoms began to attract each other, like birds gathering in flocks - cranes with cranes, doves with doves. This is how the Earth appeared.

Atomism of Democritus: basic provisions

Democritus distinguished two types of properties of phenomena. Some are “things in themselves” - image, size, hardness, movement, mass. Other properties of phenomena are associated with various human senses - smell, sound, brightness, color. According to the philosopher, the movements of atoms can explain everything that happens in our world. The atomism of Democritus is built on this statement. Let's briefly talk about the philosopher's main ideas that follow from this thought.

Democritus believed that atoms are in constant motion, constantly separating and connecting them. The process of separation and connection leads to the disappearance and appearance of individual objects. As a result of their interaction, all the diversity of existing things is obtained. The motionless earth is the center of the universe. It is shaped like a flat cylinder surrounded by air. Various celestial bodies move in this air. The philosopher considered these bodies to be masses of matter that are in a heated state and are carried upward in a rapid circular motion. They consist of matter similar to that on earth. All parts of the universe are permeated with atoms of fire. They are smooth, round and very small. These atoms perform an important role - they bring the universe to life. There are especially many of them in humans.

Of course, we have described Democritus' atomism briefly. We can talk about him for a long time, but we need to talk about the rest of the achievements of this philosopher.

Man in the works of Democritus

It should be noted that it is man who is the main subject of research by the ancient Greek philosopher. He argued that the structure of our body is very expedient. The seat of thinking is the brain, the seat of passions is the heart. However, the body, according to Democritus, only the Philosopher considered the most important duty of every person to take care of his mental development.

Democritus argued that the changing world of phenomena is a ghostly world. The study of its phenomena cannot lead people to true knowledge. Democritus, recognizing the sensory world as illusory, believed, like Heraclitus, that a person should maintain peace of mind, no matter what the circumstances. Anyone who can distinguish the essential from the accidental, the genuine from the illusory, seeks happiness not in sensual pleasures, but, first of all, in giving the correct course to his spiritual life.

According to Democritus, the purpose of our existence is happiness. However, it does not lie in pleasures and external benefits, but in constant peace of mind, in contentment. This is achieved by purity of deeds and thoughts, abstinence, and mental education. According to Democritus, the happiness of each of us depends on how he behaves. The gods give us only good, only through our own recklessness does man turn it into bad. Application to private and public life These thoughts form the basis of the moral philosophy of Democritus.

Divine powers in the teachings of Democritus

Naturally, the gods had no place in the world as this thinker imagined it. Deomkrit's atomism denies the possibility of their existence. The philosopher believed that people themselves invented them, that they are embodiments of human properties and natural phenomena. Zeus, for example, was identified by Democritus with the Sun, and Athena, as he believed, was the personification of reason.

According to his teaching, divine powers are the powers of the human mind and nature. And deities created by religion, or ghosts who personify people’s ideas about the forces of nature, or spirits (“demons”) are mortal beings.

Mathematical works

This philosopher, as evidenced by ancient sources, wrote many mathematical works. Unfortunately, only a few fragments have survived to this day. They contain formulas for the volume of a number of figures, for example, pyramids and cones, derived by him.

Social problems considered by Democritus

Democritus also thought a lot about social problems. Both the philosophy of atomism, briefly outlined above, and his other ideas were subsequently adopted by many thinkers. For example, the most best shape The structure of the state, according to this philosopher, is the state-polis. Democritus saw the goal of human life in achieving euthymia - a special state in which people do not experience passions and are not afraid of anything.

Diverse interests of Democritus

In the consistency of his conclusions, the insight of his mind, and the vastness of his knowledge, Democritus surpassed almost all philosophers, both previous and his contemporaries. His activities were very versatile. He created treatises on natural science, mathematics, aesthetics, natural sciences, technical arts, and grammar.

Influence on other thinkers

Democritus and the philosophy of atomism in particular greatly influenced the development of natural science. We have only vague information about this influence, since many of his works were lost. However, it can be considered that as a naturalist, Democritus was the greatest of Aristotle's predecessors. The latter owed him a lot and spoke of his work with deep respect.

As we have already said, many of the thinker’s works were subsequently lost; we know about them only from the works of other philosophers who shared or challenged his views. It is known that the ancient atomism of Democritus and the views of this philosopher greatly influenced Titus Lucretius Cara. In addition, Leibniz and Galileo Galilei, who are considered the founders of the new concept of earthly structure, relied on his works. Moreover, the creator of atomic physics, Niels Bohr, once noted that the structure of the atom, proposed by him, follows entirely from the works of the ancient philosopher. The theory of atomism of Democritus, thus, far outlived its creator.

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Introduction

Atomism is a natural philosophical and physical theory, according to which sensory (material) things consist of chemically indivisible particles - atoms. Originated in ancient times Greek philosophy. IN in a broad sense atomism is any doctrine about atoms, in a narrow sense - the ancient Greek philosophical school of the 5th-4th centuries BC. e., whose teaching is the earliest historical form of atomism.

The premise of atomism was the need to provide a material explanation for the observed properties of things - their multitude, movement and change. After Zeno, who proved that the hypothesis of the infinite divisibility of things, space and time leads to irremovable contradictions and paradoxes, any attempt to substantiate the reality of plurality, separateness of things and their mobility had to take this into account. The doctrine of atomism was a brilliant attempt to resolve these difficulties. According to this teaching, only atoms and emptiness exist. Atoms are the smallest indivisible, non-emerging and non-disappearing, qualitatively homogeneous, impenetrable (not containing emptiness) entities (particles) that have a certain shape. Atoms are countless because emptiness is infinite. The shape of atoms is infinitely varied. Atoms are the origin of all things, all sensible things, the properties of which are determined by the shape of their constituent atoms. Atomism was created by Leucippus and continued by his student Democritus of Abdera - he was the first to understand that the world has no end and that it is a collection of atoms - the smallest particles, of which consists of every grain of sand on our planet, and every star in the sky. Democritus proposed a thoughtful version of the mechanistic explanation of the world: for him, the whole is the sum of its parts, and the random movement of atoms, their random collisions are the cause of all things. 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 occurring in the sensory world. Trying to find the cause of movement, Democritus “splits” the single being of Parmenides into many separate “beings” - atoms, thinking of them as material, bodily particles.

Democritus' atomism answered the questions of his time better than any contemporary theory. It is the culmination of a mental movement aimed at rational cognition world and began in Greece with the activities of Ionian natural philosophers. Atomism was based on the results of simple observations and a few experiments, its strength as a theory lies in its maximum agreement with these observations.

The philosophy of Democritus paved the way for future science and philosophy.

The atomic theory of the structure of matter formed the basis for all further development of theoretical natural science; the idea of ​​the indivisibility of the atom was stopped by physics only at the threshold of the 20th century, when it received new powerful experimental means at its disposal.

Theories of the origin of life have arisen many times. They confirmed the opinion expressed by Democritus: living things arise from non-living things. In the deep essence of living things, in the DNA molecule, lies, like “at the bottom of a deep well,” the secret of life, which (like Democritus) depends on the order of arrangement of particles - nucleotides. Consciousness is inseparable from matter, it reflects the world - the materialist Democritus spoke about this.

The comprehensive laws of living and inanimate nature - the law of conservation of matter and the law of causality - were discovered already in antiquity at the level of simple observation and formed the basis of the philosophy of Democritus. In our time they are the fundamental laws of science.

The philosophy of Democritus is a completed stage in the development of knowledge about the world and man. Once found, the truth develops from ancient times to the distant future. Humanity is again exploring the atoms of matter and the atoms of society; before each new riddle, it repeats with Democritus: “Truth is at the bottom of a deep well!”

The purpose of this work: to study the basic principles of Democritus’ atomism.

The work consists of an introduction, two main chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

1. Democritus: brief biographical information

One of greatest representatives classical ancient Greek philosophy is Democritus (c. 460-370 BC), the founder of atomistic teaching. His teaching is one of the most holistic, consistent and stable traditions in world philosophy. Democritus was the first encyclopedic mind among the Greeks.

Democritus was born in the city of Abdera, a Greek colony on the Thracian coast. He was from a rich family. Damasippus, his father, was one of the richest citizens. Therefore, Democritus received a good education for his time. The teachers of the future philosopher were the Persian sages who lived in Abdera when Xerxes, the Persian king, was there. As they write, “in his youth he studied with “some magicians and Chaldeans”, given by the Persian king Xerxes to the father of Democritus for feeding the passing through Thrace the Persian army had lunch." However, Democritus's real teacher is Leucippus, the head of the local philosophical school. It was thanks to him that Democritus became acquainted with the works of Greek philosophers. His teaching is based on a careful study of the achievements of his predecessors, but his education was not limited to the study of the works of Greek philosophers. Democritus wanted to get acquainted with the achievements of world thought. Therefore, after the death of his father, having received his part of the rich inheritance, he went on a journey.

He spent about a dozen years traveling, the purpose of which was to acquire knowledge and gain wisdom. Democritus visited the Chaldeans in Babylon, as well as the priests in Egypt, where he mastered geometry. For some time he lived in Athens, where at that time he could listen to Socrates and Anaxagoras. There is information about his stay in India and Ethiopia. It follows from this that his worldview was formed under the influence of many cultures of both the ancient and new worlds. Democritus took some elements from each of them and created his own philosophical system. Stories about the journey testify to the deep worldly wisdom of the philosopher, his powers of observation and extensive knowledge.

Democritus spent most of his inheritance on these travels. However, embezzlement of inheritance in Abdera was prosecuted. After returning to his homeland, his fellow citizens sued the philosopher for wasting his father's inheritance. However, Democritus managed to regain the respect of his fellow citizens. At the trial, instead of defending himself, Democritus read excerpts from his work, “The Great World Building,” and was acquitted: his fellow citizens decided that his father’s money had not been spent in vain and was completely acquitted.

However, the way of life of Democritus seemed incomprehensible to the Abderites: he constantly left the city, hid in cemeteries, where, far from the bustle of the city, he indulged in reflection; sometimes Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason, human affairs seemed so funny to him against the backdrop of the great world order (hence his nickname “The Laughing Philosopher”). According to Seneca, Democritus' laughter was caused by the frivolity of everything that people do quite seriously. Democritus himself considered the most serious pursuit of science.

Fellow citizens considered Democritus insane, and even invited the famous physician Hippocrates to examine him. He actually met with the philosopher, but decided that Democritus was absolutely healthy both physically and mentally, and in addition claimed that Democritus was one of the smartest people with whom he had to communicate.

According to Lucian, Democritus lived for 104 years. There is a legend about how he delayed the time of his death by inhaling the smell of warm rolls. In order not to die on the holiday, he did this for three days, and then died peacefully.

Democritus had extensive knowledge. He wrote several dozen essays in various fields of contemporary science. There are works of Democritus covering issues of philosophy, logic, psychology, ethics, politics, pedagogy, art theory, linguistics, mathematics, physics, cosmology. The titles of some of his works are enough to show the breadth of his interests - “The Great Diacosmos”, “ Medical science”, “About what after death”, “About the structure of nature”, “About the world order and the rules of thinking”, “About rhythm and harmony”, “About poetry”, “About agriculture”, “About mathematics”, “About correct speech and incomprehensible words”, “On euphonious and dissonant letters”, etc. Democritus surpassed almost all previous and contemporary philosophers in the vastness of his knowledge, the insight of his mind and the consistency of his conclusions.

The greatest merit of Democritus is the concept of atomism he developed, the doctrine of the “atom” - an indivisible particle of matter that has true existence, does not collapse and does not arise (atomistic materialism), the problems of which he outlined in the works “Small World Building”, “Big World Building”, etc. .He described the world as a system of atoms in the 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. According to the philosopher, the movements of atoms can explain everything that happens in our world. The atomism of Democritus is built on this statement.

2. Atomism of Democritus

As a philosopher, Democritus is interested in the problem of the foundations of existence. The world, according to Democritus, is based on two principles - atoms and emptiness. All things existing in the world consist of atoms and emptiness. An atom (in Greek - “indivisible”) is an indivisible, completely dense, impenetrable particle of matter that does not contain any emptiness due to its small size. The atom is the material cause of all things. The atom has the properties that the Eleatics attributed to existence. It is indivisible, eternal, unchanging, identical to itself, has no parts, no movements occur within it. The infinite number of forms of atoms explains the infinite variety of things and phenomena in the surrounding world. In addition to their shapes, atoms differ in order and position, which is the reason for the diversity of atomic compounds. Atoms have mobility in the void.

Atomists were the first to teach about emptiness as such. The emptiness is motionless, limitless, united and formless; it does not have any influence on the bodies located in it. Democritus introduces emptiness, believing that “motion is impossible without emptiness.” Atoms float in the void like specks of dust that we see in a sunbeam, colliding with each other and changing the direction of their movement. Movement is inherent in atoms by nature. It is eternal. Movement is an eternal property of eternal atoms.

As for the atoms of Democritus, he considered them to be the smallest, indivisible particles that rush around in the void and differ from each other only in shape, size and position. Atoms are infinite in number. Colliding and interlocking with each other, they form bodies and things with which we deal in Everyday life. We perceive the things around us, Democritus believed, with the help of the senses, while atoms are comprehended by the mind, that is, they are at the pre-sensory level of existence.

The indivisibility of the atom is similar to the indivisibility of Parmenides’ “being”: division presupposes the presence of emptiness, but by definition there is no emptiness inside the atom. Emptiness in the Democritus system acts as the principle of discreteness, multitude and movement of atoms, as well as their infinite “container”. Calling emptiness “non-being”, Democritus clearly abandoned the Eleatic postulate about the non-existence of non-being, however, the concepts of being and non-being are included in his more general concept“what really is”, thanks to which reality was also recognized behind emptiness (equal to non-existence).

Democritus was one of the first to point out the dependence of the qualities of things on the way of knowing them. All the concepts that make up the language of our description of the external world do not correspond to anything “truly”, which is why 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 reality - atoms and emptiness."

Atoms are devoid of any qualities. Qualities arise in the subject due to the interaction of atoms and sense organs. According to Democritus, since atoms do not have qualities (color, smell, taste, etc.), then things do not have these qualities, for “out of nothing nothing comes.” All qualities are reducible to formal quantitative differences between atoms: a body consisting of “round and moderately large” atoms seems sweet, and one consisting of “rounded, smooth, oblique and small in size” seems bitter, etc. Qualities are formed during the act of perception, the reason for their occurrence is the interaction of the atoms of the soul and one way or another unfolded atoms of the object.

Qualities exist only by establishment, but by nature only atoms and emptiness exist, says the philosopher. Nothing arises from a non-existent and nothing goes into nothing. Atoms do not transform into each other. The creation and destruction of things is the result of the cohesion and separation of atoms. Everything arises on some basis and out of necessity.

The weakness of the atomism advocated by Democritus is that it cannot explain why atoms combine in the way they do to form a cat with four legs rather than, say, five. In other words, Democritus, being an atomist, explains where all things come from and how this happens, but why it happens this way and not otherwise, he does not explain. For Democritus, everything happens out of necessity, but nothing is predetermined to be one way and not another, and in this sense, everything in the world is accidental. In general, atomists can reduce the complex to the simple, but cannot produce the opposite. And this position is called reductionism in science and philosophy.

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

As Democritus believed, fire-like atoms, whirling around the Universe in whirlwinds, can themselves combine into images that can exist for quite a long time. It is these images that people call gods, since the latter can influence their lives for the better or for the worse. Approaching people closely, these images predict the future with their appearance and sounds. As a result, they begin to worship them and make sacrifices.

Among other things, people, according to Democritus, worship air as a container of fire-like atoms, calling it supreme god Olympus - Zeus. As we see, the views of Democritus are consistent atomism, and due to this consistency, his gods are bodily. At the same time, he believes that the worship of gods is the result of ignorance, namely ignorance of the atomic structure of the world. Otherwise, people would understand that there are no eternal and immortal gods, but only mortal compounds of fire-like atoms, along with, for example, “eidols.” Moreover, both of them move freely in the void, influencing the people who perceive them. True, unlike gods and demons, “eidols” do not arise on their own, but are emitted by things. The idea of ​​“eidols” as moving bodily “images” of things is directly related to Democritus’s explanation of the process of visual perception. The fact is that, according to Democritus, “eidols” constantly flow out of things, being something like their miniature copies. They are emitted by all things and plants. But most energetically they come from living beings due to their movement and warmth. In turn, the changed air comes into contact with the discharge of our eyes. Moreover, each kind of atom is perceived as homogeneous atoms in us. This means that the correct image of a thing, according to Democritus, arises where its “eidoles”, directly or indirectly, find within us a basis similar to themselves.

However, by and large, any perception, according to atomistic teaching, does not reach the true essence of the world. From this known position Democritus, of course, does not imply that he was a skeptic. After all, doubting the data of feelings, he is confident in the capabilities of the mind.

Atomism of Democritus became a summative doctrine pre-Socratic philosophy, which reflected the problems posed in Ionian natural philosophy, Eleatic ontology and Pythagorean numerical metaphysics. Democritus proposed a thoughtful version of the mechanistic explanation of the world: for him the whole is the sum of its parts, and the random movement of atoms, their random collisions are the cause of all things.

Thus, the main provisions of Democritus’ atomism can be reduced to the following: atomism Democritus natural science

1. Nothing comes from nothing: nothing that exists can be destroyed. Any change is only a connection and separation of parts.

2. Nothing happens by chance, but everything happens for some reason and necessity.

3. Nothing exists except atoms and empty space, everything else is opinion.

4. Atoms are invisible to the eye, infinite in number and infinitely different in shape.

5. The difference of all objects depends on the difference in their atoms in number, size, shape and order. There is no qualitative difference between atoms. Atoms have no "internal state"; they act on each other through pressure and impact.

6. The soul consists of small, smooth and round atoms, similar to the atoms of fire. These atoms are the most mobile; from their movement, penetrating through the entire body, all phenomena of life occur.

7. All bodies, according to Democritus, consist of any large, but finite number atoms.

We find an exact description of the basic principles of Democritus’ teaching about the essence of the world in Diogenes Laertius: “The principles of the universe are atoms and emptiness, everything else is only considered to exist. Worlds are infinite and subject to creation and destruction. Nothing arises from non-existence, and nothing is destroyed into non-existence. Atoms are also infinite in size and quantity, they rush through the universe like a whirlwind and thereby give rise to everything complex - fire, water, air, earth, for they are all compounds of some atoms that are not subject to influence and are unchangeable due to their hardness. The number of forms of atoms is infinite because there is more likely nothing like this than not.” Atomistic materialism, thus, represents a further and deeper stage in the “search” for the root causes of the development of the world.

Democritus's view of the existence of eternal, immutable and indivisible atoms as the basis of the sensory world was adopted by Epicurus (c. 342-271 BC), and then by the ancient Roman philosopher and poet Titus Lucretius Carus. His poem “On the Nature of Things” is essentially devoted to the development and defense of Epicurus’s doctrine of atoms. In modern times, atomism took shape as a natural science theory and is still, although in a transformed form, the most important integral part natural scientific picture of the world.

Conclusion

Democritus is an ancient Greek philosopher, the founder of atomistic teaching. According to Democritus, there are two principles of all things: atoms and emptiness. An atom (in Greek - “indivisible”) is an indivisible, completely dense, impenetrable particle of matter that does not contain any emptiness due to its small size.

Moreover, atoms, i.e., indivisible, according to Democritus, particles of matter, are unchangeable; they are eternal and in constant motion. They differ from each other only in shape, size, position and order. Other properties, such as sound, color, taste, etc., are not inherent in atoms. These properties exist, according to Democritus, only conditionally, “not by the nature of the things themselves.” From the combination of atoms bodies are formed; The disintegration of atoms leads to the death of bodies.

The atomic doctrine is extended by Democritus to the doctrine of life and soul. Life and death are organically reduced to the union and decomposition of atoms.

The soul also consists of atoms, namely fiery ones; spherical and easily movable. An infinite number of atoms are forever moving in an infinite void; moving in different directions, they sometimes collide with each other, forming vortices of atoms. From the vortex movement of atoms comes an infinite number of “born and dying” worlds, which were not created by gods, but arise and are destroyed naturally, according to the law of necessity.

Democritus bases his theory of knowledge on the assumption that thin shells (“idols” - images) of things flow out of bodies and separate, affecting the senses. Although all the material for knowledge is supplied by the senses, the latter provide only “dark” knowledge about objects; above this knowledge rises another, “lighter”, more subtle knowledge, knowledge through reason; in its analysis this knowledge reaches the discovery of atoms and emptiness.

Democritus introduces emptiness, believing that “motion is impossible without emptiness.” Atoms float in the void like specks of dust that we see in a sunbeam, colliding with each other and changing the direction of their movement. Movement is inherent in atoms by nature. It is eternal. Movement is an eternal property of eternal atoms. Atoms are devoid of any qualities. Qualities arise in the subject due to the interaction of atoms and sense organs. Qualities exist only by establishment, but by nature only atoms and emptiness exist, says the philosopher. Nothing arises from a non-existent and nothing goes into nothing. Atoms do not transform into each other. The creation and destruction of things is the result of the cohesion and separation of atoms. Everything arises on some basis and out of necessity.

Thus, in the teachings of Democritus the following main provisions can be distinguished: the entire material world consists of atoms; an atom is the smallest particle, the “first brick” of all things; the atom is indivisible (this position was refuted by science only in our days); atoms have different sizes (from smallest to large), different shape(round, oblong, curved, “with hooks”, etc.); between atoms there is 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 arise from the same atoms material world; atoms cannot be “seen” by sensory knowledge.

Democritus's atomism is ingenious precisely because of its simplicity: there is only one type of principles - small indivisible particles, they move in emptiness, and their movements are determined exclusively by mechanical reasons. Such a bold and revolutionary view of the essence of nature anticipated the development of science for many centuries.

Bibliography

Bakhtin M.V. History of philosophy in summary / M.V. Bakhtin. - St. Petersburg: Niva, 2004. - 100 p.

Vishnevsky M.I. Philosophy: textbook. allowance / M.I. Vishnevsky. - Mn.: Higher. Shk, 2008. - 479 p.

VitsB.B.Democritus/ B.B.Vits. -M.: Mysl, 1979. - 212 s.

Kasavin I.T. Encyclopedia of epistemology and philosophy of science/ I.T. Kasavin. - M.: Rehabilitation, 2009.- 1248 p.

Morgunov V.G. Philosophy. Tutorial/ V.G. Morgunov. -M.: Centrosoyuz RF, 2006. - 244 p.

Solopova M.A. Ancient atomism: on the question of the typology of teachings and the origins of genesis / M.A. Solopova // Questions of Philosophy. - 2011. - No. 8. - P. 157-168.

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The hypothesis of Leucippus and Democritus about the existence of indivisible particles of matter (atoms) and an infinite number of their forms. Ideas about necessity ruling over everything. Judgments of Democritus on chance, knowledge, gods and demons. Cosmological ideas of the atomists.

test, added 12/23/2012


Democritus of Abdera as the great ancient Greek philosopher, presumably a student of Leucippus, one of the founders of atomism and materialist philosophy, a brief biographical sketch of his life and creative development. Description of philosophical teachings.

abstract, added 05/19/2013


Life and works of Democritus. The task and principles of the atomists. The teaching of Democritus and his predecessor Leucippus is atomistic materialism. Philosophical origins of atomism. Atoms and emptiness. The universe is matter in motion. The concept of spatial infinity.

abstract, added 06/25/2014


The essence of atomistic materialism of Leucippus and Democritus. Features of the teachings of Socrates as an emerging philosophy of a new type. The main provisions of Plato's works on being, knowledge and the state. Distinctive features and maxims of the philosophy of the Hellenistic era.

presentation, added 09/26/2013


The concept of matter as a fundamental concept of philosophy and natural science. History of origin and development this concept. Religious-idealistic understanding of matter in ancient Greek philosophy. Lenin's understanding and definition of the essence of matter.

Introduction

Life and works of Democritus

The task and principles of the atomists

Philosophical origins of atomism

Atoms and emptiness

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The teachings of Democritus are considered together with the teachings of Leucippus.

This is the pinnacle of ancient materialism. The greatest form of ancient materialism is associated with the names of Democritus, as well as his teacher and predecessor Leucippus. - atomistic materialism. We attribute Democritus to Athenian philosophy because he gravitated toward Athens, although he was not successful there.

The real difficulty lies in the separation of the teachings of Leucippus and Democritus. It is not even known who owned the main atomistic work “On the Mind”, or “The Great World Construction”. Some ancient authors attributed this work to Democritus, others - Leucippu. The role of both philosophers in the creation of the atomistic doctrine is also unclear. The Herculanian papyrus No. 1788 contains an accusation against Democritus: supposedly Democritus, in his essay “The Small World-Building,” set out the contents of the “Great World-Building,” the author of which the papyrus definitely names Leucippus. But one way or another, little has survived from these two works, which does not allow us to judge their authors.

However, Leucippus - pre-Socratic, and Democritus is slightly older than Socrates. It can be assumed that Leucippus in his teaching focused on the universe, and Democritus on man. If Leucippus, as a Pre-Socratic, deals with a relatively small range of issues - the doctrine of atoms, cosmology and cosmogony, then Democritus’ range of questions expands. According to Aristotle, “Democritus reasoned about everything.” Democritus' philosophical interests were related to issues of epistemology, logic, ethics, politics, pedagogy, mathematics, physics, biology, anthropology, medicine, psychology, the history of human culture, philology, linguistics, etc.

The purpose of the work is to consider atomic doctrine Democritus.

1. Life and works of Democritus

The life of Democritus is instructive in his devotion to science. Democritus himself stated that he preferred one causal explanation to the possession of the Persian throne. Sources say that at night he locked himself in the cemetery in a hollow tombstone so that he would not be disturbed in his thoughts. There are three versions of the date of birth of Democritus. It is generally accepted that Democritus lived from 460 to 370 BC. He is forty years younger than Anaxagoras and thirty years older than Plato. Ancient authors most often name the city of Abdera as the birthplace of Democritus. - the distant northeastern periphery of Hellas, a Milesian colony on the Thracian coast. Democritus's father, a wealthy man, left a significant inheritance to his three sons, from which Democritus chose a smaller share, which consisted of money, which allowed him to go on a journey.

Ancient sources report on Democritus’s journey to the East: to Egypt, to the priests to learn geometry, to the Chaldeans in Babylon. Some say that he also communicated with gymnosophists in India and allegedly visited Ethiopia. Democritus himself proudly said about himself: “I have traveled more land than any of my contemporary people, exploring it in detail; I saw more men and lands than all others and talked with the greatest number of learned people.” He also reported that he “spent about eight years in a foreign land.” True, it is unclear what Democritus could have learned in the East. He himself states: “No one accused me of mistakes in adding lines, accompanied by proof, - even the so-called harpedonaptes among the Egyptians.” Philosophical, ethical and scientific views Democritus is entirely consistent with the ancient Western philosophical and scientific tradition. While in Athens, Democritus communicated with Socrates. True, Socrates himself did not know who was in front of him. Democritus put it this way: “I arrived in Athens, and no one recognized me here.” There is information that Anaxagoras did not accept Democritus as one of his students because of his ridicule of Anaxagoras’s teaching about Nous - cosmic mind.

Democritus returned home a poor man. According to the laws of Abder, a person who squandered his father's property was deprived of the right to burial in his homeland. However, Democritus regained the respect of his fellow citizens either by some successful prediction, or by reading them one of his works. The delighted Abderites allegedly rewarded Democritus with a large sum of money.

The legends about the marriage of Democritus, about his self-blinding, about the circumstances of his death speak of the philosopher’s devotion to science, his modesty and self-control. Unlike Heraclitus - The "crying philosopher", Democritus was known as the "laughing philosopher". Seneca writes about this as follows: “Every time Heraclitus left the house and saw around him so many people living badly and dying badly, he cried, feeling sorry for everyone... Democritus, as they say, on the contrary, never appeared on the people: everything that was done seriously seemed so frivolous to him.” Democritus's laughter was bitter: he "laughed, considering all human affairs worthy of laughter."

Democritus wrote about seventy works on moral, natural science, mathematical, musical, and technical topics, which speaks of the encyclopedic knowledge and interests of the Abderan philosopher. The essays are devoted to moral issues. “Pythagoras”, “On the spiritual mood of the sage”, “On what is in Hades”, “On courage, or On virtue”, “On the even mood of the spirit”; natural science - the aforementioned “Great World-Building” (if its author is not Leucippus), “Small World-Building”, “Cosmography”, “On the Planets”, “On Nature”, “On Human Nature”, “On Reason”, “On Feelings”; mathematical - “On the touch of a circle and a ball”, “On geometry”, “On numbers”; musical - “On rhythms and harmony”, “On poetry”, “On the beauty of words”, “On euphonious and dissonant letters”; technical - “Forecast”, “On nutrition, or Dietary instructions”, “Medical science”, “On agriculture, or Land surveying”, “On painting”, “Tactics”, “Military affairs”. None of these creations have reached us. This is the great tragedy of ancient materialism. It is unknown when the works of Democritus mostly perished: at the beginning of the Middle Ages or soon after the death of their author. It is possible that the idealists are to blame for the destruction of the works of the ancient materialist. Sources report that Plato already wanted to burn all the works of Democritus that he was able to collect, but the Pythagoreans Amycles and Cleinias prevented him, saying that it was useless: after all, the books were already in the hands of many. Having reported this, Aristoxenus continues: “Plato mentioned almost all the ancient philosophers, but does not mention only one Democritus, even in those cases where he should have contradicted him. Clearly, he knows that he will have to argue with the best of philosophers.”

The atomists set themselves the task of creating a teaching that corresponds to the picture of the world that is revealed to human senses, but at the same time preserving the rational in the Eleatic teaching about being in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the world, based not only on the testimony of the senses.

The beginnings of the atomists - atoms (being) and emptiness (non-being). The atomists, subjecting the Eleatic concept of nothingness to a physical interpretation, were the first to teach about emptiness as such.

The Eleatics, as is known, denied the existence of nothingness. Leucippus put forward the paradoxical thesis that “non-being exists no less than being,” and “being exists no more than non-being.” This was the first point of the anti-Eleatic thesis of the atomists - recognition of the existence of non-existence, which they interpret as empty space. Atomists were forced to admit the existence of emptiness by observations of everyday phenomena and reflection on them: condensation and rarefaction, permeability (a bucket of ash accepts a bucket of water), the difference in the weight of bodies of equal volume, movement, etc. All this is explainable, they decided, only with the assumption of emptiness. Emptiness is motionless and limitless. It has no influence on the bodies in it, on existence. Being - the antipode of emptiness. If emptiness has no density, then existence is absolutely dense. If emptiness is one, then existence is multiple. If emptiness is limitless and formless, then each member of the existential set is determined by its external form. Being absolutely dense, without containing emptiness that would divide it into parts, it is “indivisible”, or in Greek - "atomos", atom. The atom itself is very small. But, nevertheless, being is no less limitless than non-being. Being - the totality is infinite large number small atoms. Thus, atomists admit the reality of the multitude. This was the second point of their anti-Eleatic statement. Atomists were prompted to admit the existence of atoms by observation of everyday natural phenomena: the gradual and imperceptible abrasion of a gold coin and marble steps, the spread of odors, the drying out of moisture and other everyday phenomena indicate that bodies consist of tiny particles that are not accessible to sensory perception. These particles are indivisible either due to their Smallness, or due to the absence of emptiness in them.

Since atomists accept two principles in the universe: non-existence and being, irreducible to each other, - to that extent they are dualists. Since they interpret existence itself as an infinite number of atoms, they are superpluralists. What is important here is not only that atomists accept an infinite number of atoms, but also that they teach an infinite number of forms of atoms.

3. Philosophical origins of atomism

There were no powerful telescopes. Laser beams did not penetrate distances of billions of light years. Spectral analysis did not reveal the properties of incredibly distant cosmic bodies. But human thought has already traveled the Universe at the same distance as modern thought, - to infinity. And this was possible because in ancient philosophy dialectical thinking appeared in its original, natural simplicity, not disturbed by the obstacles that metaphysics created for itself in the 17th century. - XVIII centuries

The atomic theory of Democritus was a natural result of the development of previous philosophical thought. Already in the teachings of Anaximander of Miletus, a philosopher of the 6th century, there was a hint, a guess regarding the possibility of separating more than one world from the “infinite” (“apeiron”). According to Anaximander, the “apeiron” was in perpetual motion, and the reason for this movement - in himself. Already a student of Anaximander - Anaximenes of Miletus considered the basis of all things in the world to be thick (dense) and rarefied. All things arise, he taught, from the condensation and rarefaction of air. In the cosmogony of Anaximander, as well as Heraclitus of Ephesus (who also lived in the 6th century), all processes in nature occur according to the law of necessity, which Heraclitus called “logos”.

Already Pythagoras of Samos and his entire school drew attention to the enormous importance of quantitative relations in the world and geometric forms, rhythm and symmetry in things. They taught about the world as a world of universal harmony, which finds its expression in the harmony of numbers, and especially in the harmony of the opposites of the limit and the infinite. According to Philolaus, a student of Pythagoras with whom Democritus “met,” the fundamental number - this is a unit as a physical monad, a space designed in a certain way: a segment, a rectangle, a square, a triangle, a cube, a pyramid, etc. Already Parmenides, the founder of the Eleatic school (VI - V centuries), taught that being does not arise and does not perish; it is one, continuous, whole, indivisible and homogeneous, and this being is cognizable by reason. And the Elean Melissus of Samos (5th century) formulated the law of conservation of being: “Something can never arise from nothing.” Here, in the philosophy of the Eleans, the distinction between sensory and true reality first appeared.

Already Empedocles of Agrigentum (c. 490 - 430) considered the root elements to be the basis of things, and their combination or separation - the cause of the creation and destruction of things. Anaxagoras of Clazomenes (c. 500 - OK. 428) believed that the whole world consists of seeds of “homeomeries” (similarly partial), not only infinite in number, but also containing the entire infinity of parts of existing things; the smallest and invisible particles of substances were combined in his system into sensory things in all the diversity of their qualities.

Finally some ancient Greek teachings go back to ancient Eastern science. " Eastern science- the predecessor of Greek philosophy." Democritus studied with Egyptian geometers - "Harpedonapts". The origins of his ethical ideas can be found not only in the sayings of the “seven wise men” and the Pythagoreans, but also in the teachings of the Babylonian priests.

In the atomistic system we find all the teachings listed above, otherwise interpreted and supplemented. Even essential principles - the principle of preservation of being, the principle of attraction of like to like, understanding itself physical world as arising from a combination of principles, the beginnings of ethical teaching - all the ego was already embedded in philosophical systems, preceding atomism.

However, the prerequisites for the atomistic teaching and its philosophical origins were not only “ready-made” teachings and ideas that atomists found in their era. More higher value for the emergence of the atomic theory and the entire system of Democritus, questions posed by their predecessors had to do.

Ancient Greek philosophy grew and developed in favorable socio-economic conditions associated with the transition from early slave society to mature slave society. It was formed in the process of qualitative transformation of the mythological worldview under the influence of emerging science. Unlike mythology, philosophy did not recognize the primacy of the supernatural in relation to the natural; it subordinated or dissolved it in the natural and explained the world naturalistically. The contradiction between philosophical and mythological thinking contributed to the development of philosophical ideas of antiquity. This contradiction remained fundamental until philosophy itself (in Greece this happened in the 5th century) was divided into two camps: materialism and idealism.

New questions and “aporias” - difficulties and contradictions - arose within philosophy. The first philosophers tried to determine the first principle, the fundamental substance of the world. Then contradictions emerged between movement and rest, between the one and the many, between the essence of things and appearance, and finally, between the physical and the mental. Each philosophical school resolved these issues in its own way, while developing the rudiments of various fields of science and worldviews. The atomism of Democritus answered the questions posed by his time. This is what determined his great influence on the further development of philosophy.

Many researchers believe that the doctrine of atoms arose as an answer to the questions posed by the Eleans, and as a resolution to the emerging contradiction between sensory and intelligible reality? clearly expressed in the “aporias” of Zeno. For the first time, among the Eleatics, philosophy began to emerge from natural philosophy - a speculative interpretation of nature, considered in its integrity. This most important step in the history of thought was accompanied by the emergence of a negative attitude towards the first philosophers; rational knowledge, which gives a philosophical picture of the world as the intelligible essence of things, is declared to be the only true one, while sensual knowledge, which gives a natural-philosophical picture of the world as a world of phenomena, is declared untrue. In the philosophy of the Eleatics, questions about the relationship between being and non-being and about the relationship between being and thinking are clarified, that is, the main question of philosophy is resolved.

Parmenides (540-470) referred to being as the intelligible, and therefore true, world, that is, everything that exists. To the sensory world, and therefore the untrue, he attributed non-existence, i.e., that which does not exist. By non-existent, the Eleans understood emptiness as “nothing.”

Parmenides and the Eleans believed that being is one, whole, continuous, homogeneous, unchanging and motionless. There can be nothing else but being, and hence the wonderful conclusion: being does not arise and does not perish. But hence the denial of movement (being can only move into non-existence, but there is none), and the denial of the change of being in time (there could not be and will not be anything other than what is in the present).

Aristotle emphasized that Leucippus and Democritus built their theory “in the most methodical way,” “based on what is consistent with nature as it is.” In his testimony, the first atomists, like the Ionian natural philosophers, act as “physicists,” that is, researchers of nature, and nature was understood primarily as the “essence of things.” Following Empedocles and Anaxagoras, they carried out a synthesis of the Ionian and Western Greek lines of philosophy and, resolving the questions posed by the Eleans with their theory, made a radical change in the development of Greek philosophy.

Elean being was understood as the entire Universe, as the totality of all things, and as such it could not arise from a non-existent or turn into nothing. But this being has become from a single multiple, consisting of an infinite number of atoms, each of which is indivisible, homogeneous, integral, unchanging, complete, like the Eleatic “single being.” Atoms are constantly moving, and therefore existence began to be described as discontinuous, and this was the right decision. “We cannot imagine, express, measure, depict movements without interrupting the continuous, without simplifying, coarsening, dividing, without deadening the living.” But movement is, according to the Eleans, a transition into non-existence; Leucippus and Democritus admitted the existence of non-existence - emptiness.

4. Atoms and emptiness

The introduction by atomists of the concept of emptiness as non-existence had a profound philosophical meaning. The category of non-existence made it possible to explain the emergence and change of things. True, for Democritus, being and non-being coexisted side by side, separately: atoms were carriers of multiplicity, while emptiness embodied unity; This was the metaphysical nature of the theory. Aristotle tried to overcome it, pointing out that we see “the same continuous body, now liquid, now solidified,” therefore, a change in quality is not only a simple connection and separation. But at his contemporary level of science, he could not give a proper explanation for this, while Democritus convincingly argued that the reason for this phenomenon was a change in the amount of interatomic void.

The concept of emptiness led to the concept of spatial infinity. The metaphysical feature of ancient atomism also manifested itself in the understanding of this infinity as an endless quantitative accumulation or reduction, connection or separation of the constant “building blocks” of being. However, this does not mean that Democritus generally denied qualitative transformations; on the contrary, they played a huge role in his picture of the world. Entire worlds are transformed into others. Individual things also transform, because eternal atoms cannot disappear without a trace, they give rise to new things. Transformation occurs as a result of the destruction of the old whole, the separation of atoms, which then make up a new whole. According to Democritus, atoms are indivisible, they are absolutely dense and have no physical parts. But in all bodies they are combined in such a way that at least a minimal amount of emptiness remains between them; The consistency of bodies depends on these spaces between atoms.

In addition to the signs of Eleatic existence, atoms have the properties of the Pythagorean “limit”. Each atom is finite, limited to a specific surface and has an unchanging geometric shape. On the contrary, emptiness, as the “infinite,” is not limited by anything and is devoid of the most important sign of true existence - forms. Atoms are not perceptible to the senses. They look like specks of dust floating in the air, and are invisible due to their too small size until a ray of sun falls on them, penetrating through the window into the room. But atoms are much smaller than these grains of dust; only a ray of thought, of reason, can detect their existence. They are also imperceptible because they do not have ordinary sensory qualities. - color, smell, taste, etc.

Simplicius clearly tells us that “not without reason, the Pythagoreans and Democritus, searching for the causes of sensory qualities, came to forms (i.e., to atoms).” Reducing the structure of matter to more elementary and qualitatively homogeneous physical units than the “elements”, “four roots” and partly even the “seeds” of Anaxagoras was of great importance in the history of science.

Studying the testimony of Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, whose comments served as the primary source of many later reports on the philosophy of the Greek pre-Socrates, including Democritus, the English researcher Mac Diarmid noted a certain contradiction. In some places we are talking only about the difference in the shapes of atoms, in others - also about the difference in their order and position. However, it is not difficult to understand: it is not individual atoms that can differ in order and position (rotation), but composite bodies, or groups of atoms, in one composite body. Such groups of atoms can be located up or down (position), as well as in different orders (like the letters HA and AN), which modifies the body, making it different. And although Democritus could not predict the laws of modern biochemistry, it is from this science that we know that, indeed, the dissimilarity of two organic substances of identical composition, for example, two polysaccharides, depends on the order in which their molecules are arranged. The huge variety of protein substances depends primarily on the order of arrangement of amino acids in their molecules, and the number of possible combinations when combining them is almost infinite. The fundamental particles of matter, the existence of which was assumed by Democritus, combined to some extent the properties of an atom, molecule, microparticle, chemical element and some more complex compounds.

The atoms also differed in size, on which the severity in turn depended. As you know, the guess about atomic weight belongs to Epicurus. However, Democritus was already on the way to this concept, recognizing the relative weight of atoms, which, depending on their size, are heavier or lighter. So, for example, he considered the lightest atoms to be the smallest and smoothest spherical atoms of fire, which make up the air, as well as the human soul.

The shape and size of atoms is related to the question of the so-called amers, or “mathematical atomism” of Democritus. A number of ancient Greek philosophers (Pythagoreans, Eleans, Anaxagoras, Leucippus) were engaged in mathematical research. Democritus was undoubtedly an outstanding mathematical mind. However, Democritus' mathematics differed from the generally accepted one. According to Aristotle, it “shaken mathematics.” It was based on atomistic concepts. Agreeing with Zeno that the divisibility of space to infinity leads to absurdity, to transformation into zero quantities from which nothing can be built, Democritus discovered his indivisible atoms. But the physical atom did not coincide with the mathematical point. According to Democritus, atoms had different sizes and shapes, figures, some were larger, others were smaller. He admitted that there are atoms that are hook-shaped, anchor-shaped, rough, angular, curved - otherwise they would not adhere to each other. Democritus believed that atoms are physically indivisible, but mentally they can be divided into parts - points that, of course, cannot be rejected, they do not have their own weight, but they are also extended: This is not zero, but a minimum value, then the indivisible, mental part of the atom - “amera” (inpartial). According to some evidence (among them there is a description of the so-called “Democritus Square” by Giordano Bruno), in the smallest atom there were 7 amers: top, bottom, left, right, front, back, middle. It was math that agreed with the data sensory perception who said that no matter how small the physical body is - for example, an invisible atom, - Such parts (sides) in it can always be imagined, but it is impossible to divide ad infinitum even mentally.

Democritus drew up extended lines from extended points, of which - plane. A cone, for example, according to Democritus, consists of the thinnest circles that are not perceptible to the senses because of their thinness, parallel to the base. Thus, by adding lines, accompanied by proof, Democritus discovered a theorem about the volume of a cone, which is equal to a third of the volume of a cylinder with the same base and equal height; He also calculated the volume of the pyramid. Both discoveries were recognized (and justified differently) by Archimedes.

Authors reporting Democritus' views had little understanding of his mathematics. Aristotle and subsequent mathematicians sharply rejected it, so it was forgotten. Some modern researchers deny the difference between atoms and amers in Democritus or believe that Democritus considered atoms to be indivisible both physically and theoretically; but the latter point of view leads to too many contradictions. The atomic theory of mathematics existed, and it was later revived in the school of Epicurus.

Atoms are infinite in number, and the number of configurations of atoms is also infinite (varied), “since there is no reason why they should be one way rather than another.” This principle (“no more so than otherwise”), which is sometimes called in the literature the principle of indifference or heteroprobability, is characteristic of Democritus’s explanation of the Universe. With its help it was possible to justify the infinity of movement, space and time. According to Democritus, the existence of countless atomic forms determines the infinite variety of directions and speeds of the primary movements of atoms, and this in turn leads them to meetings and collisions. Thus, all world formation is determined and is a natural consequence of the eternal motion of matter.

Ionian philosophers already spoke about perpetual motion. However, this view was still associated with hylozoism. The world is in perpetual motion, for in their understanding it is - Living being. Democritus solves the question completely differently. Its atoms are not animated (the atoms of the soul are only in connection with the body of an animal or human). Perpetual motion - it is the collision, repulsion, cohesion, separation, movement and fall of atoms caused by the original vortex. Moreover, atoms have their own primary movement, not caused by shocks: “shake in all directions” or “vibrate”. The latter concept was not developed; Epicurus did not notice him when he corrected the Democritus theory of atomic motion by introducing an arbitrary deviation of atoms from a straight line.

In his picture of the structure of matter, Democritus also proceeded from the principle put forward by previous philosophy (formulated by Melissus and repeated by Anaxagoras), the principle of the preservation of being: “nothing arises from nothing.” He associated it with the eternity of time and movement, which meant a certain understanding of the unity of matter (atoms) and the forms of its existence. And if the Eleans believed that this principle applies only to the intelligible “truly existing”, then Democritus attributed it to the real, objective the existing world, nature.

The atomic picture of the world seems simple, but it is grandiose. The hypothesis about the atomic structure of matter was the most scientific in its principles and the most convincing of all previously created by philosophers. She rejected in the most decisive manner the bulk of religious and mythological ideas about the supernatural world, about the intervention of the gods. In addition, the picture of the movement of atoms in the world's emptiness, their collisions and coupling is the simplest model of causal interaction. The determinism of the atomists became the antipode of Platonic teleology. Democritus's picture of the world - This is already a pronounced materialism; such a philosophical explanation of the world was, in ancient times, as opposed to the mythological one as possible.

Leucippus and Democritus consistently taught about infinite worlds from the point of view of atomism. According to their views, many worlds exist simultaneously in space; they are different (some are the same), at very different distances from each other and at different stages of development. Each of them is born, blossoms and dies. The collision of these worlds can cause space catastrophe. S. Mugler explains this view interestingly: Democritus is not talking about the fall of entire worlds on top of each other - this, according to Mugler, is a misunderstanding of the sources, - but only about the fallout (as Plutarch and Hippolytus say) of individual atoms of one world into another (cosmic radiation, we would say) in the form of outflows that can have disastrous consequences. However, Hippolytus actually talks about the collision of worlds, not atoms. But Plutarch also talks about the fall of foreign bodies on Earth as a source of disease; Lucretius also has similar thoughts.

Based on the atomic theory, Democritus draws a grandiose cosmogonic hypothesis. The vortex-like movement, according to Democritus, was the cause of the formation of our world, and this world, now in its prime, is subject to the natural laws of the Universe. In the process of vortex motion, a qualitative differentiation of matter took place. As a result of the action of the law of attraction of like by like, atoms, more or less homogeneous in shape, united together, the Earth and heavenly bodies arose, heated from the speed of movement. But the same law also had the opposite effect; dissimilar atoms repel each other. Thus, the processes of attraction and repulsion led to the formation of the entire surrounding world. Here the words of F. Engels are especially appropriate that, in contrast to the metaphysical natural science of the 17th-18th centuries. “for the Greek philosophers, the world was essentially something that emerged from chaos, something that developed, something that became.”

Everything that happens in the world, according to Democritus, is not subject to supernatural force, but only to the law of necessity. Necessity was pestered by Democritus as an endless chain of cause-and-effect relationships. He did not look for the root cause of the world - he denied it. But he constantly searched for the causal basis of all temporary phenomena. This is evidenced by the titles of a whole cycle of his works: “Heavenly Reasons”; "Air reasons"; "Ground reasons"; “Causes of fire and what is on fire”; "Causes of sounds"; "Causes of seeds, plants and fruits"; "Causes of Living Beings"; "Mixed Causes" As part of technical essays - "Causes of favorable and unfavorable", and in ethical notes - "The Reasons for Laws".

Some scholars have attempted to dispute the authenticity of the Causes. However, these attempts have no serious basis. Although the Causes are listed separately from the tetralogies in Diogenes Laertius's list, Diogenes' concluding phrase clearly indicates that everything he listed was considered authentic in antiquity, and only the "other" works (not included in the list) were either partially altered or inauthentic. Find the causes of phenomena - this was, according to Democritus, one of the main tasks of science and the activity of the scientist (“sage”). Even if the titles of the "Causes" are not accurately conveyed, and even if the famous saying of Democritus that it was preferable for him to find one reason than to occupy the Persian throne, - legend, then the entire content of the natural science and philosophical passages of Democritus testifies that the main thing for the philosopher was the search for the causal pattern of phenomena. Social philosophy, the theory of sensations, the doctrine of the origin of living nature, questions of zoology, botany, psychology - such was the range of Democritus’ scientific interests, judging by the fragments that have come down to us. And his consideration of each question was full of causal explanations. Often these are imaginary explanations made from a meager supply of facts by analogy. But it's always - explanation of phenomena by natural causes, which is why Democritus has so many correct observations and brilliant guesses.

Beginning with Aristotle, who adhered to the teleological point of view, i.e., he looked for a “final cause” and purpose in nature, and ending with Christian writers who believed in “divine providence,” all opponents of materialistic determinism attacked Democritus.

In fact, Democritus was so fascinated by the possibility of a “end-to-end” causal explanation of the world that he declared all kinds of random events to be only a subjective illusion generated by ignorance of the true causes of what is happening. Knowledge of them, according to Democritus, turns any accident into necessity.

Democritus, widely using the principle of the analogy of microcosm and macrocosm, widespread in antiquity, cited examples in his writings mainly from human practice. Therefore, Simplicius, as well as the aforementioned Dionysius, believe that Democritus’s denial of chance did not apply to natural phenomena.

According to Epicurus, the necessity of Democritus' philosophy is fatal. Criticizing the “physicists,” Epicurus wrote that “it is better to follow the myth of the gods than to be a slave to predestination (revered) by natural scientists,” since inexorable necessity does not leave even such hope as prayer. Perhaps responding to criticism from Aristotle (who had a greater influence on him), Epicurus, in order to substantiate the free will of man, amended the doctrine of the movement of atoms and allowed an atom to deviate from a straight line when falling. After all, the atoms of the soul also move, and if they depend on a chain of causes and effects stretching to infinity, a person becomes a slave of necessity. K. Marx showed in his dissertation that this difference between the systems of Democritus and Epicurus is significant. Epicurus' amendment turned out to be an anticipation modern science, which discovered the uncertainty relation in the movement of microparticles.

However, if you think about the teachings of Democritus, it becomes clear that he was not a fatalist. He rejected the case only in direct meaning, i.e. he denied blind “fate”. He was a supporter of necessity as a natural course of phenomena. On the other hand, he denied the inevitable fate of the fatalists (and the fate of “Moira,” which, according to Greek religion, weighed heavily on man and, in reality, also turned out to be arbitrary, which was captured by the ancient Greek tragedians.

From the point of view of fatalism (which acquired its classical form in Stoicism), all events are predetermined from the immemorial past to the present and future by a chain of causes and effects. Only Pseudoplutarch interpreted Democritus’s view this way. However, the indicated fragment says that since the movement of atoms is eternal, then the reasons for the present are also contained in it. But for each phenomenon, Democritus looked for a specific cause, carrying out a selfless scientific search, which would not make any sense if he stood on the point of view of fatalism. The ethics of Democritus is also devoid of fatalism and presupposes the free will of man; This was fully recognized by Epicurus, who, however, saw inconsistency in this and believed that in Democritus “theory comes into conflict with practice.”

The question of the nature of Democritus’ determinism was studied by the Soviet scientist I. D. Rozhansky. In his book, he compared the cosmological views of Anaxagoras and Democritus. According to Anaxagoras, if cosmic formation could occur not only here, but also in another place, then this world would be in all respects similar to ours. This point of view was associated with Anaxagoras’s understanding of the cosmos as a living organism that reproduces itself. Democritus does not agree with this. Countless worlds can be completely different.

Conclusion

atomistic materialism democritus emptiness

Democritus wrote about seventy works on moral, natural science, mathematical, musical, and technical topics, which speaks of the encyclopedic knowledge and interests of the Abderan philosopher. None of these creations have reached us. It is unknown when the works of Democritus mostly died.

The atomic theory of Democritus was a natural result of the development of previous philosophical thought.

According to Democritus, the laws governing the movement of atoms leave an unlimited field of possibilities (due to the infinite variety of both the atoms themselves and their combinations) for the formation of very different worlds. The same variety of atoms creates different chains of cause and effect, which require investigation in each individual case. So, for Democritus, chance and necessity do not exclude, but presuppose each other. Epicurus accused Democritus of not sufficiently substantiating this view by the very movement of atoms.

Bibliography

1. Vits B.B. Democritus - M., 1979

History of philosophy in brief / translated from Czech. I.I. Boguta. - M., 1991

3. Radugin A.A. Philosophy. Lecture course. - M., 2001

4. Smirnov I.N., Titov V.F. Philosophy. - M., 1998.

5. Spirkin A.G. Philosophy. Textbook. - M., 2001

Branch of the federal state budgetary educational institution of higher professional education

"National Research University "MPEI" in Smolensk

Department of Humanities

ABSTRACT ON PHILOSOPHY

ATOMISTIC TEACHING OF DEMOCRITUS

2nd year student

groups: PE2-12

Kuzmina A.A.

Teacher:

Shcherov V.I.

Smolensk, 2013

Plan:

1. Introduction

2. Democritus as a historical figure. Biography.

3. Atomistic teaching of Democritus.

4. Works and teachings.

4.1. The principle of isonymy.

4.2.

Cosmology

5. Democritus on the essence of the human soul. Ethics.

6. Democritus on the gods.

7. Contribution to other sciences.

9. Conclusion.

10. List of references.

Antiquity is the era of the existence of two European societies, ancient Greek and ancient Roman, from the end of the 7th century. BC. until the 6th century AD According to some researchers, it was in antiquity that philosophy as a system of knowledge originated.

In the development of ancient philosophy, we can, with some degree of convention, distinguish four main stages. Of these, we will consider the first, covering the period from V-IIV BC. e. This period is usually called the Pre-Socratic period, and the philosophers, accordingly, the Pre-Socratics. The philosophers of the Milesian school, Heraclitus of Ephesus, the Eleatic school, Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, and the ancient Greek atomists (Leucippus and Democritus) belong to this stage.

V-IIV century BC e.

- This is the era of internal prosperity of the Greek states. The growing influence of new cities and the continued revival of public life in the Greek states brought with them the further flourishing of ancient science and materialist philosophy.

Philosophy finally emerged from a single, undivided knowledge, separating itself from religion, mythology, and specific sciences. At this time, the basic philosophical concepts and categories were formed, and the main philosophical directions arose.

The last and most perfect creation that the ancient Greek philosophy of nature produced was atomism. In antiquity, it was the main manifestation of the materialistic view of the world. The traditional emergence of ancient atomism is associated with the name of Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Leucippus, one of the founders of atomism. DEMOCRITES (lat. Demokritos

, Greek Dimokritos) was born in the city of Abdera in Thrace. The date of his birth was still a controversial issue in antiquity: according to Apollodorus - 460/57, according to the opinion of Thrasyllus, publisher of the works of Democritus, attested by doxography, - 470.

After long wanderings, Democritus returned to Abdera. Democritus's travels and his personal connections with philosophers and outstanding scientists from a number of countries to a certain extent contributed to the emergence of such a perfect materialistic system at that time, which was the teaching of Democritus. In Abdera there was a law according to which every citizen had to increase the property he inherited, and if a citizen violated this law, then such a citizen was expelled. Democritus spent all his inheritance during the trip and thus was subject to exile. According to Antisthenes, Democritus, in order to avoid punishment, read his most significant work, “The Great World-Building,” at the trial. It was valued at the same amount as the inheritance of Democritus, and according to some sources, five times more—500 talents. Democritus was honored with copper statues for his later activities, for useful tips the city gave him the honorary nickname “Wisdom”. It is not known exactly at what time, but it is possible that when his homeland was in danger, he was made an archon, and for his services he received the nickname “Patriot”.

The way of life of Democritus, however, seemed incomprehensible to the Abderites: he constantly left the city, hid in cemeteries, where, far from the bustle of the city, he indulged in reflection; sometimes Democritus burst into laughter for no apparent reason, human affairs seemed so funny to him against the backdrop of the great world order (hence his nickname “The Laughing Philosopher”).

Fellow citizens considered Democritus insane and even invited the famous doctor Hippocrates to examine him, who actually met with the philosopher, but ruled that Democritus was absolutely healthy, both physically and mentally, and in addition asserted that Democritus was one of the smartest people he had encountered communicate. Of the students of Democritus, the most famous is Bion of Abdera.

Democritus was buried in his hometown at public expense. The respect of his fellow citizens for Democritus is evidenced by the ancient Abdera coin with the city’s coat of arms and the inscription “Under Democritus.”

A number of authors report that Protagoras was Democritus’s youth companion and first listener. In his youth, Protagoras did not study, but worked as a porter of baskets and firewood, which, according to Helius, led to his acquaintance with Democritus: “... by chance Democritus... leaving the city limits, saw Protagoras as he walked easily and nimbly with a heavy and uncomfortable load. Democritus came closer to him, examined the arrangement and connection of the logs, made skillfully and with an experienced hand, and asked ... that Protagoras unravel the bundle and fold it again in this way.” This request was fulfilled. Democritus was delighted with the dexterity and wit of this uneducated man. Democritus immediately led Protagoras, took him to himself, assigned him a salary and taught him philosophy, and made him what he was later.”

Most likely this is a legend. Firstly, because Protagoras was 10-11 years older than Democritus. Secondly, Protagoras could not be “uneducated.” And yet this is not entirely fiction. Many sources point to Protagoras as a student and listener of Democritus, and his poverty is evidenced by the fact that he eventually turned to paid teaching; with this he laid the foundation for the activity of the sophists - professional teachers of Greece. There is no doubt that Protagoras borrowed a lot from Democritus.

Later, Protagoras and Democritus diverged. While Democritus was traveling around the East, accumulating more and more knowledge, Protagoras was already teaching. In the stories about Democritus and his listeners, one recurring detail attracts attention, which cannot be accidental: Democritus respected physical labor. He considered it quite acceptable that a poor man or a former slave could become an outstanding philosopher, and even actively contributed to this.

From his youth, Democritus studied Hellenic philosophy with concentration. If his naturally scientific views were formed under the influence of the Ionians, then the very first work in the list of his “moral” works is entitled “Pythagoras”. However, it is traditionally believed that the philosopher Leucippus had the greatest and most decisive influence on the formation of Democritus’s views. Democritus became his student, adopted from him and further developed the atomic system. The personality of Leucippus is mysterious and controversial - there is very little evidence left about him, and Epicurus, the direct successor of atomism, stated, according to the testimony of Diogenes Laertius, that the philosopher Leucippus did not exist. On this issue, at the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, a dispute broke out among classical philologists and historians of philosophy. In the “Leucippus Question,” scientists were divided into opponents and supporters of the existence of Leucippus. Currently, most researchers have fully accepted its reality. As you know, the most serious source on the history of Greek philosophy are the works of Aristotle. He and his closest student Theophrastus were the authors of books about Democritus, which, unfortunately, have not survived. Aristotle writes about the teaching of Leucippus-Democritus as a single teaching, but this does not apply either to the beginning of Leucippus’s philosophical path or to specific areas of science, where Leucippus was continued and surpassed by a student who eclipsed the glory of the teacher.

It is with the name of Democritus that the emergence of atomism as a universal philosophical doctrine, including physics and cosmology, epistemology, psychology and ethics, is associated; teachings that arose as a synthesis of the problems of three ancient philosophical schools Greece: Milesian, Eleatic and Pythagorean.

Atomistic doctrine.

Continuing the line of his predecessors - Leucippus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus created the doctrine of the “atom” - an indivisible particle of matter with true existence, neither destroyed nor created (atomistic materialism).

According to Democritus, the Universe is moving matter, atoms of substances (being - to on, to den) and emptiness (to unden, to meden); the latter is as real as being. Eternally moving atoms, connecting, create all things, their separation leads to death and destruction of the latter. The introduction by atomists of the concept of emptiness as non-existence had deep philosophical significance. The category of non-existence made it possible to explain the emergence and change of things. True, for Democritus, being and non-being coexisted side by side, separately: atoms were carriers of multiplicity, while emptiness embodied unity; This was the metaphysical nature of the theory. Aristotle tried to overcome it, pointing out that we see “the same continuous body, now liquid, now solidified,” therefore, a change in quality is not only a simple connection and separation. But at the contemporary level of science, he could not give this a proper explanation , while Democritus convincingly argued that the reason for this phenomenon is a change in the amount of interatomic emptiness. The concept of emptiness led to the concept of spatial infinity. The metaphysical feature of ancient atomism also manifested itself in the understanding of this infinity as an endless quantitative accumulation or reduction, connection or separation of permanent “bricks”. ”being . . An infinite number of atoms fills infinite space - emptiness.

However, this does not mean that Democritus generally denied qualitative transformations; on the contrary, they played a huge role in his picture of the world. Entire worlds are transformed into others. Individual things also transform, because eternal atoms cannot disappear without a trace, they give rise to new things. Transformation occurs as a result of the destruction of the old whole, the separation of atoms, which then make up a new whole.

According to Democritus, atoms are indivisible (atomos - “indivisible”). These are the smallest bodies, indivisible for the same reason that Parmenides’ “being” is indivisible: division presupposes the presence of emptiness, but by definition there is no emptiness inside atoms. Atoms are recognized as not having arisen, not perishing, not being destroyed, not subject to any external influence, they are absolutely dense and have no physical parts. But in all bodies they are combined in such a way that at least a minimal amount of emptiness remains between them; The consistency of bodies depends on these spaces between atoms. Atoms differ from each other only in shape, order of mutual succession and position in empty space, as well as in size and gravity depending on the size. As you know, the guess about atomic weight belongs to Epicurus. However, Democritus was already on the way to this concept, recognizing the relative weight of atoms, which, depending on their size, can be heavier or lighter. He considered the lightest atoms to be the smallest and smoothest spherical atoms of fire, which make up the air, as well as the human soul.

In addition to the signs of Eleatic existence, atoms have the properties of the Pythagorean “limit”. Each atom is finite, limited to a certain surface, has an unchanging geometric shape, turns into a simple geometric body, which is also indestructible, eternal and does not have any physical properties. . On the contrary, emptiness, as the “infinite,” is not limited by anything and is deprived of the most important sign of true existence - form. It acts as the principle of discreteness, multitude and movement of atoms, as well as their “container”. Calling emptiness “non-existence,” Democritus clearly abandoned the Eleatic postulate about the non-existence of non-existence, however, the concepts of being and non-being were included in him in the more general concept of “what really is,” thanks to which reality was also recognized for emptiness (non-being). The atom is thought of in the series: being, something (neologism of Democritus), body, completeness. The explication of the semantic series “atom” is thus: to be means to be something, to be something means to be a body, to be a body means to be complete (dense). Emptiness is correlated with the concepts: non-existence, nothing (“zero”), infinity. Atoms and emptiness exist on an equal basis, “no more “something” than “nothing”” - this principle of “isonomy” (equality) is universal in the system of Democritus.

Atoms are not perceptible to the senses. They look like specks of dust floating in the air, and are invisible due to their too small size until a ray of sun falls on them, penetrating through the window into the room. But atoms are much smaller than these grains of dust; only a ray of thought, of reason, can detect their existence. They are also imperceptible because they do not have the usual sensory qualities - smell, color, taste, etc.

Democritus also denied the infinite divisibility of matter. If there were no atoms, the process of division of any physical body would be endless, and we would get one finite thing consisting of an infinite number of parts, which is absurd.

Democritus believed that atoms move chaotically, 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 composing them and to the difference in the order of assembly, just as different words are formed from the same letters.

When atoms approach very small distances, repulsive forces begin to act between them. At the same time, mutual attraction is possible between atoms according to the principle “like attracts like.”

The various qualities of bodies are entirely determined by the properties of atoms and their combinations and the interaction of atoms with our senses. "Only in general opinion there is color, in opinion there is sweet, in opinion there is bitter, but in reality there are only atoms and emptiness.”

This is what Democritus says, believing that all sensible 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. All qualities, according to Democritus, are reducible to 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. The fact is that “in general opinion” for him means the same thing as “according to generally accepted opinion” and “for us,” and not by the nature of things themselves; he, in turn, denotes the nature of the things themselves by the expression “in reality,” having created the term from the word “actual,” which means “true.”

The whole meaning of this teaching itself should be this: Only among people is something recognized as white, black, sweet, bitter and everything else of this kind, but truly everything is “what” and “nothing”. And these are again his own expressions, namely, he called atoms “what”, and emptiness - “nothing”.

The shape and size of atoms is related to the question of the so-called amers, or “mathematical atomism of Democritus.” Democritus' mathematics differed from the generally accepted one. According to Aristotle, it “shaken mathematics.” It was based on anatomical concepts. Agreeing with Zeno that the divisibility of space to infinity leads to absurdity, to transformation into zero quantities from which nothing can be built, Democritus discovered his indivisible atoms. But the physical atom did not coincide with the mathematical point. According to Democritus, atoms had different sizes and shapes, figures, some were larger, others were smaller. He admitted that there are atoms that are hook-shaped, anchor-shaped, rough, angular, curved - otherwise they would not adhere to each other. Democritus believed that atoms are physically indivisible, but mentally parts can be distinguished in them - points that cannot be torn away, they do not have their own weight, but they are also extended. This is not zero, but the minimum value, then the indivisible, mental part of the atom - “amera”. According to some evidence, in the smallest atom there were seven amers: top, bottom, left, right, front, back, middle. It was mathematics that agreed with the data of sensory perception, which said that no matter how small a physical body is - for example, an invisible atom - such parts in it can always be imagined, but it is impossible to divide indefinitely even mentally. Democritus made extended lines from extended points, and planes from them. The cone, for example, according to Democritus, consists of the finest lace, which is not perceptible to the senses due to its thinness, parallel to the base. Thus, by adding lines, accompanied by proof, Democritus discovered a theorem about the volume of a cone, which is equal to a third of the volume of a cylinder with the same base and equal height, and he also calculated the volume of a pyramid. Both discoveries were recognized by Archimedes. Authors reporting Democritus' views had little understanding of his mathematics. Aristotle and subsequent mathematicians sharply rejected it, so it was forgotten. Some modern researchers deny the difference between atoms and amers in Democritus or believe that Democritus considered atoms to be indivisible both physically and theoretically, but the latter point of view leads to great contradictions. The atomic theory of mathematics existed; it was revived in the school of Epicurus.

The development of the universe, the order of the world, everything is essentially determined (determined) by the mechanical movement of atoms. Therefore, in Democritus’ system there is no place for the objective existence of “chance”. And the “accident” itself is explained by the absence of a causal explanation, ignorance of the causes of a certain phenomenon. For Democritus, as Diogenes Laertius says, “everything arises out of necessity: the cause of every occurrence is a whirlwind, and he calls this whirlwind necessity.” This concept of necessity is a consequence of a certain metaphysical absolutization of mechanically understood causality. (It was this point that was the main subject of criticism by one of the outstanding representatives of ancient atomism - Epicurus.) The Democritus understanding of causality as an absolute necessity has, however, as Aristotle emphasized, nothing in common with teleology and is directed precisely against the teleological interpretation of reality. "Democritus moves away from talking about purpose and transfers everything that nature uses to necessity."

The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that, unlike all the ideas of the first principle put forward so far, the idea of ​​the atom contains, among other things, the principle of the limit of divisibility of matter: the atom was thought of as the smallest particle, which acts as the initial one in creation and the last one in decomposition material element of existence. And this is a brilliant rise of thought to a fundamentally new level of philosophical comprehension of existence.

So, the essence of the teachings of Democritus boiled down to two main provisions: 1. Atoms are forever moving in the void surrounding them. In relation to the atom, the place it occupies is completely random. 2. All things are formed from a combination of atoms: all the diversity of the world stems from their combination and separation. Atoms that are in constant

movement, connecting, form things. When atoms are separated, things die.

The 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 is necessary to assume that in infinite time and in infinite space it either has already taken place, or will someday occur: 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 different forms, then all these types exist in reality. Democritus made several important conclusions from the principle of isonomy: 1) there are atoms of all shapes and sizes (including the size of the whole world); 2) all directions and all points in the Great Emptiness are equal; 3) atoms move in the Great Void in any direction at any speed. The last point is very important for the theory of Democritus. Essentially, it follows that movement in itself does not need to be explained; the reason must be sought only for a change in movement.

Essentially, 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 clear that the roots of this principle go back to ancient atomism.

Cosmology.

Democritus tried to give an answer to the structure of the Universe. He believed that the Great Void was spatially infinite. In the initial chaos of atomic movements in the Great Void, a vortex spontaneously forms. The symmetry of the Great Emptiness turns out to be broken inside the vortex, a center and periphery arise there. 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 alone constitutes significant progress.

Democritus explains the separation of matter inside the vortex as follows: in their rush to 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. On the outer surface of the world, something like a protective film is formed, separating space from the surrounding Great Void. Since the structure of the world is determined by the tendency of atoms to the center of the vortex, the world of Democritus has a spherically symmetrical structure.

Democritus is a proponent 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 others there is more than one of them, but a few."

The distances between the worlds are not the same; In addition, in one place there are more worlds, in another there are fewer. Some worlds are expanding, others have reached full bloom, and others are already declining. In one place worlds arise, in another they decline. They are destroyed when they collide 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 occur, then in infinite space somewhere someday it will certainly occur; what is happening in a given place in this moment time, must also occur in other places at certain points in time.

Thus, if in a given place in space a vortex-like movement of atoms arose, leading 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 exist worlds without any sun and moon, 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 simply a clump of matter).

Moreover, there is also no reason why, somewhere in infinite space, exactly the same world as ours would not form. All worlds move in different directions, since all directions and all states of motion are equal.

In this case, worlds can collide, collapsing. Similarly, all moments of time are equal: if the formation of the world occurs now, then somewhere it must occur both in the past and in the future; currently different worlds are at different stages of development. In the course of its movement, a world whose formation has not completed can accidentally penetrate into the confines of a fully formed world and find itself 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, 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 gave the following argument: if the Earth were a ball, then the sun, setting and rising, would be intersected by the horizon in an arc of a circle, and not in a straight line, as in reality. 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 only be noticed 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: Moon, Venus, Sun, other planets, stars (as the distance from the Earth increases). Moreover, the further away the light is from us, the slower (relative to the stars) it moves. Following Empedocles and Anaxagoras, Democritus believed that centrifugal force prevents the fall of celestial bodies to Earth.

Democritus had 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.

The human soul in the understanding of Democritus. Ethics.

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

During the natural philosophical period of the development of ancient philosophy, the first atomistic teachings of Democritus and Leucippus were created. Atomists believed that everything in the world consists of tiny, further indivisible particles - atoms.

Democritus was a student of the great physician and philosopher Ancient Greece-Hippocrates. He created the first most famous atomistic doctrine, in which he proposed his understanding of the structure of nature.

Democritus believed that there are atoms and emptiness. Democritus believed that all things consist of tiny, unchanging, eternally existing particles (atoms), which are unlimited in number. Atoms have a certain weight, shape, volume. Atoms move in different directions. Earth, water, air, fire are the primary groups of atoms. Combinations of atoms form entire worlds: in infinite space there are an infinite number of worlds. Atoms are homogeneous, indivisible and unchanging. There are atoms of matter, atoms of space (amers), atoms of time (chronons). Each body consists of a certain number of atoms, each of which has a finite volume, therefore the body has a finite volume. Man is also a collection of atoms. The human soul is made up of special atoms.

Democritus identifies the causality of phenomena and necessity, i.e. the reason is necessity. Not a single thing arises without a cause, but everything appears on some basis due to necessity. Chance is just an "unknown" to the human mind cause, and the ancients, in identifying the true causes of phenomena, attributed them either to fate or to the gods, when these phenomena seemed to them especially formidable and majestic. According to Democritus, everything is based on a natural beginning. An endless chain of causes and consequences creates an inevitable necessity. Everything happens according to this inevitable necessity; there is no chance.

The atomic theory of Democritus also extends to the interpretation of knowledge. According to Democritus, the process of cognition consists in a person’s perception of the impact of bodies on him through the corresponding sense organs. This influence manifests itself in the form of copies flowing from the surface of all things - the smallest and subtlest images of these things. Penetrating into the human body, images of things come into contact with the atoms of the soul and evoke in him a corresponding sensation of the external world. Democritus does not see the connection between the sensory level of knowledge and rational reasoning; he sharply separates and contrasts them to each other. True knowledge, according to Democritus, is achieved only by reason.

Ancient atomism was the result of reflection on certain philosophical questions. It absorbed earlier philosophical ideas. The new ideas that arose within the framework of atomic theory contained the merits of the old ones, and in such a way that the previous failures disappeared. Another philosophical achievement of the atomists is the discovery of the atomic, the elementary. Whatever we are dealing with - with physical phenomenon or theory - there is always an elementary element: an atom (in chemistry), a gene (in biology), a material point (in mechanics), etc. The elementary appears as unchangeable, not requiring explanation.

Thus, in the ancient Greek philosophy of the early, natural philosophical period, the sensory-material cosmos comes first, which is explored in the form of its material elements. The soul and the sphere of the spiritual are almost not considered; they are in the background of philosophical reflection.

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