В Древней Греции возникли многие философские schools, the study of which scientists pay attention today. Already in those distant times (and probably earlier), the most knowledgeable people thought about such categories as the dispensation of the world, the meaning of human existence, relationships with nature, and other issues that worry even now as much. Needless to say, the final answers to most of the questions posed thousands of years ago have not been found, and it is unlikely to ever happen, but the attempt itself is commendable. One of the outstanding philosophers of ancient Greece is Democritus. A brief biography of this scholar and his main ideas are offered to the readers of this article.
What is known about Democritus?
The years of life are supposedly inchronological framework from 460 (birth) to 370 (death) years. before Christ, the birthplace is the Thracian city of Abdera in the eastern part of modern Greece. In many cases concerning the biographies of famous philosophers, speakers and school representatives, the information is based on facts that cannot be verified today. Democritus, whose brief biography is based on scattered information from different sources, is not an exception. It is known, in particular, about his numerous wanderings, during which he visited many distant lands, including Iran, Babylonia, Egypt, Ethiopia and India. There is no doubt that he has a high intellect, a critical view of modern science, an enthusiasm for several disciplines and a common desire not only for knowledge, but also for understanding the information received. In addition, one can logically come to the conclusion that this scientist and thinker came from a noble and wealthy family, otherwise he would not have the opportunity and time for such long journeys and reflections. So who was Democritus? Interesting facts from his biographies came to us in retellings, stingy and probably distorted, but they also say a lot about this person.
Works and Treatises
Original manuscripts are not preserved, thereforeto judge their scientific content is possible only by retelling and references, in which later authors cited this philosopher. The ideas of Democritus in our time are of great interest due to the fact that the recent achievements of science paradoxically repeat what they argued in ancient Greece and that only recently caused only an ironic smirk. His other thoughts very much resemble modern ideas about the structure of the world. According to Diogenes Laertius, there were about seven dozen treatises in total (some researchers estimate the number at fifty). Perhaps some of the hypotheses belong to Leucippus, whose follower is Democritus. The brief biography of his teacher, however, is generally unknown to science. The works are devoted to a very wide range of disciplines, including mathematics, ethics, astronomy, physics, philology, medicine, music theory, engineering, and several other sciences considered the most important in ancient Hellas. In the retelling of preserved three hundred fragments.
Atomic theory
Атомная теория Демокрита поразительно напоминает modern ideas about the structure of matter, formed in the twentieth century. True, in those distant times, these elementary particles were considered the smallest in the Universe and therefore indivisible (hence the name), but the ability of an ancient scientist who lived nearly twenty-five centuries ago to penetrate the mind into the structure of a molecule in the absence of a material base, which allowed to check this hypothesis is empirical. Atoms are in constant and chaotic motion inside the void, forming vortex clouds and making material objects. They are different (in shape and size), and this explains the differences in the properties of substances - that is how Demokrit believed. Interesting facts, in his opinion, could be observed when exposed to radiation of the radiation emitted by atoms.
Atheist?
In ancient Greece, dominated by many godsthe theosophical theory, according to which a specific mythological character was responsible for each area of human activity. The philosophy of Democritus differed from the official state ideology in its almost complete materialism. Moreover, the scientist ruthlessly debunked the established ideas about deities, pointing out their similarity with living people and using this argument as proof of the artificiality of their image. All Olympic celestials, in his opinion, were simply invented by people who are powerless to explain the mysterious nature of the surrounding world.
Democritus and the soul
However, there is a certain philosophicala contradiction that allows you to ask the question: "Was Democritus really such an atheist?" His brief biography does not contain information about serious conflicts with the pagan clergy of that time, and besides, he acknowledged the existence of such a clearly non-material category as the soul. True, her philosopher imagined herself as some kind of a bunch of atoms, wandering around the body and leaving it at the moment of death or before it, when the forces gradually leave an aging or ill person. These tiny particles, in his opinion, wander in the universe forever, they are immortal and do not disappear anywhere. What is not the law of conservation of matter? And why not proof of the immortality of the soul?
Ataraxia
This phenomenon, known to modern medicineas a state of mind, manifested in complete fearlessness caused by a strong emotional shock, Democritus paid much attention. According to his theory, such a serenity of the spirit is a sign of deep wisdom. You need to strive for it, and it is achieved only by a great deal of self-improvement and comprehension of many of the sacraments of the world. The ataraxic philosophy of Democritus was developed in the achievements of many schools, mainly skeptical, stoic and epicurean. We have reached his aphorisms, in which the randomness of events is denied, the usefulness of the ability to be silent (not just speak) is declared, the priority of thinking over knowledge is affirmed, and contentment with what a person possesses is encouraged. It’s hard to disagree with all this.
What does a person think?
More recently, modern medical scienceput forward another revolutionary theory, according to which the human mind is concentrated not so much in the brain as in the heart. It looks, if not plagiarism, then at least a retelling of the meaning of the discovery of Democritus, made by him two and a half millennia ago. The ancient Greek scientist believed that the center of thought of each of the people is the chest cell and what is contained in it.
Who knows what modern scientists will come to? Perhaps they will largely overestimate the postulates of philosophical schools of centuries past. After all, everything develops in a spiral ...
