Ideas of Democritus, by Theme

[Greek, 460 - 370 BCE, Born at Abdera in northern Greece. Probably taught by Leucippus.]

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2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 2. Sufficient Reason
20910 Everything happens necessarily, and for a reason
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / a. Units
16146 Two can't be a self-contained unit, because it would need to be one to do that [Aristotle]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / a. Nature of Being
20901 True Being only occurs when it is completely full, with atoms and no void [Aristotle]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / d. Non-being
20902 Being does not exist more than non-being [Aristotle]
20904 The non-existent exists as much as the existent, because it has causal powers
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / g. Particular being
20903 The only distinctions are Configuration (shape), Disposition (order) and Turning (position) [Aristotle]
7. Existence / B. Change in Existence / 1. Nature of Change
20893 Nothing comes from non-existence, or passes into it [Diog. Laertius]
7. Existence / E. Categories / 5. Category Anti-Realism
20896 It is not possible to know what sort each thing is
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 1. Unifying an Object / b. Unifying aggregates
3357 Democritus denies reality to large objects, because atomic entities can't combine to produce new ones [Benardete,JA]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / d. Substance defined
598 Democritus said that substances could never be mixed, so atoms are the substances [Aristotle]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / a. Qualities in perception
1532 Sensible qualities can't be real if they appear different to different creatures [Theophrastus]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 3. Representation
20894 Man is separated from reality
12. Knowledge Sources / C. Rationalism / 1. Rationalism
517 All evidence comes from senses, so they are indispensable to the mind
20897 Obscure knowledge belongs to the five senses, and genuine knowledge is the other type
13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 1. Scepticism
577 Democritus says there is either no truth, or it is concealed from us [Aristotle]
20895 We actually know nothing, and opinions are mere flux
1528 We in fact know nothing, but we each restructure our reality with beliefs
492 It is obviously impossible to understand the reality of each thing
515 We know nothing in reality; for truth lies in an abyss
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations
20892 Democritus was devoted to discovering causal explanations [Eusebius]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 2. Psuche
5882 Democritus says soul consists of smooth round bodies brought together in accidental collision [Cicero]
6034 Atomists say soul has a rational part in the chest, and a diffused non-rational part [Aetius]
20912 The soul is the same as the mind [Aristotle]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds
20916 Animals have a share of reason [Porphyry]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 8. Brain
20914 The directive centre is located in the whole head [Ps-Plutarch]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 6. Determinism / a. Determinism
6033 Democritus said everything happens of necessity, by natural motion of atoms [Cicero]
5088 Some say there is a determinate cause for every apparently spontaneous event [Aristotle]
21670 Democritus said atoms only move by their natural motions, which are therefore necessary [Cicero]
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 1. Physical Mind
20913 Democritus says the soul is the body, and thinking is thus the mixture of the body [Theophrastus]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 1. Acting on Desires
1540 Pleasure and pain guide our choices of good and bad
22. Metaethics / A. Value / 2. Values / c. Health
495 Wisdom creates a healthy passion-free soul
22. Metaethics / B. The Good / 1. Goodness / f. Good as pleasure
1537 Happiness is identifying and separating the pleasures [Stobaeus]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / f. The Mean
20917 Contentment comes from moderation and proportion in life [Stobaeus]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / c. Wealth
13551 Democritus says wealth is a burden to the virtuous mind [Seneca]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / g. Atomism
17542 'Full' and 'Void' secularised Parmenides's Being and Not-being [Heisenberg]
1525 Atomists say there are only three differences - in shape, arrangement and position [Aristotle]
5947 If only atoms are real and the rest is convention, we wouldn't bother to avoid pain [Diogenes of Oen.]
13219 When atoms touch, why don't they coalesce, like water drops? [Aristotle]
1533 Because appearance is infinitely varied, atomists assume infinitely many shapes of atom [Aristotle]
20899 Atoms cling together, until a stronger necessity disperses them [Aristotle]
20898 Atoms are irregular, hooked, concave, convex, and many other shapes [Aristotle]
20908 There could be an atom the size of the world [Ps-Plutarch]
493 Experiences are merely convention; only atoms and the void are real
1527 There must be atoms, to avoid the absurdity of infinite division down to nothing [Aristotle]
20909 The basic atoms are without qualities - which only arise from encounters between atoms [Galen]
1536 If a cone is horizontally sliced the surfaces can't be equal, so it goes up in steps
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 1. Laws of Nature
23314 Greeks explained regularity by intellectual design, not by laws [Frede,M]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 1. Void
20905 Growth and movement would not exist if there were no void to receive them
5101 Movement is impossible in a void, because nothing can decide the direction of movement [Aristotle]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 1. Cosmology
20911 There are unlimited worlds of varying sizes, some without life or water [Hippolytus]
28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / c. Teleological Proof critique
1535 Democritus said people imagined gods as the source of what awed or frightened them [Sext.Empiricus]
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
20915 The soul is destroyed with the body [Ps-Plutarch]