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Ideas of Democritus, by Text
[Greek, 460 - 370 BCE, Born at Abdera in northern Greece. Probably taught by Leucippus.]
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p.13
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23314
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Greeks explained regularity by intellectual design, not by laws [Frede,M]
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p.16
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13551
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Democritus says wealth is a burden to the virtuous mind [Seneca]
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p.29
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5882
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Democritus says soul consists of smooth round bodies brought together in accidental collision [Cicero]
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p.38
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6033
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Democritus said everything happens of necessity, by natural motion of atoms [Cicero]
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p.42
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5088
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Some say there is a determinate cause for every apparently spontaneous event [Aristotle]
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p.53
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17542
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'Full' and 'Void' secularised Parmenides's Being and Not-being [Heisenberg]
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p.62
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6034
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Atomists say soul has a rational part in the chest, and a diffused non-rational part [Aetius]
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p.95
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5101
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Movement is impossible in a void, because nothing can decide the direction of movement [Aristotle]
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p.158
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5947
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If only atoms are real and the rest is convention, we wouldn't bother to avoid pain [Diogenes of Oen.]
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p.193
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3357
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Democritus denies reality to large objects, because atomic entities can't combine to produce new ones [Benardete,JA]
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p.218
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598
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Democritus said that substances could never be mixed, so atoms are the substances [Aristotle]
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p.218
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16146
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Two can't be a self-contained unit, because it would need to be one to do that [Aristotle]
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p.219
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21670
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Democritus said atoms only move by their natural motions, which are therefore necessary [Cicero]
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p.229
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20916
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Animals have a share of reason [Porphyry]
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p.501
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13219
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When atoms touch, why don't they coalesce, like water drops? [Aristotle]
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A001
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p.75
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20893
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Nothing comes from non-existence, or passes into it [Diog. Laertius]
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A006
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p.93
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20903
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The only distinctions are Configuration (shape), Disposition (order) and Turning (position) [Aristotle]
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A006
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p.93
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20902
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Being does not exist more than non-being [Aristotle]
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A006
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p.172
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1525
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Atomists say there are only three differences - in shape, arrangement and position [Aristotle]
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A007
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p.91
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20901
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True Being only occurs when it is completely full, with atoms and no void [Aristotle]
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A008
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p.95
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20904
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The non-existent exists as much as the existent, because it has causal powers
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A009
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p.182
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1533
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Because appearance is infinitely varied, atomists assume infinitely many shapes of atom [Aristotle]
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A010, A040
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p.149
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20911
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There are unlimited worlds of varying sizes, some without life or water [Hippolytus]
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A019
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p.101
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20905
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Growth and movement would not exist if there were no void to receive them
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A037
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p.89
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20899
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Atoms cling together, until a stronger necessity disperses them [Aristotle]
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A037
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p.89
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20898
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Atoms are irregular, hooked, concave, convex, and many other shapes [Aristotle]
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A047
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p.117
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20908
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There could be an atom the size of the world [Ps-Plutarch]
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A048b
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p.175
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1527
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There must be atoms, to avoid the absurdity of infinite division down to nothing [Aristotle]
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A049
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p.117
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20909
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The basic atoms are without qualities - which only arise from encounters between atoms [Galen]
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A075
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p.187
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1535
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Democritus said people imagined gods as the source of what awed or frightened them [Sext.Empiricus]
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A101
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p.191
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20912
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The soul is the same as the mind [Aristotle]
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A105
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p.195
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20914
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The directive centre is located in the whole head [Ps-Plutarch]
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A109
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p.197
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20915
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The soul is destroyed with the body [Ps-Plutarch]
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A112
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p.100
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577
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Democritus says there is either no truth, or it is concealed from us [Aristotle]
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A135
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p.179
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1532
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Sensible qualities can't be real if they appear different to different creatures [Theophrastus]
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A135
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p.195
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20913
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Democritus says the soul is the body, and thinking is thus the mixture of the body [Theophrastus]
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A167
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p.189
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1537
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Happiness is identifying and separating the pleasures [Stobaeus]
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B002
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p.139
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20910
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Everything happens necessarily, and for a reason
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B006
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p.77
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20894
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Man is separated from reality
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B007
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p.77
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20895
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We actually know nothing, and opinions are mere flux
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B007
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p.176
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1528
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We in fact know nothing, but we each restructure our reality with beliefs
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B008
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p.79
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20896
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It is not possible to know what sort each thing is
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B008
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p.93
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492
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It is obviously impossible to understand the reality of each thing
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B009
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p.93
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493
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Experiences are merely convention; only atoms and the void are real
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B011
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p.79
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20897
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Obscure knowledge belongs to the five senses, and genuine knowledge is the other type
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B031
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p.99
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495
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Wisdom creates a healthy passion-free soul
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B117
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p.104
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515
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We know nothing in reality; for truth lies in an abyss
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B118
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p.43
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20892
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Democritus was devoted to discovering causal explanations [Eusebius]
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B125
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p.104
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517
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All evidence comes from senses, so they are indispensable to the mind
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B155
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p.188
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1536
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If a cone is horizontally sliced the surfaces can't be equal, so it goes up in steps
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B188
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p.191
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1540
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Pleasure and pain guide our choices of good and bad
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B191
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p.261
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20917
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Contentment comes from moderation and proportion in life [Stobaeus]
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