Atomism: Democritus And Epicurus Essay -- essays research papers

Atomism Democritus and Epicurus     In the Atomists, we unwrap pluralism taken as far as it could possibly go.We see Democritus and Epicurus divide all the world, as advantageously as the founding,into two categories atoms and empty space. Everything else is merely thoughtto exist. The atoms are eternal, infinite in size and number and they aremoving through the empty space. thither is no motion without empty space. BothDemocritus and Epicurus agreed that motion was impossible in a plenum, but it ishere that their theories diverge. In the cause of the motion, we begin to see a multifariousness of opinions.     Both Democritus and Epicurus agreed that the qualitative world of senseperception arises from the motion of qualitatively neutral atoms. They believethat the immense qualitative variety results from the jostling of atoms...asthey collide and bounce apart, and so, endlessly form new groupings (Jones 84).They believe it to be a mechani cal transit occurring completely by chance.Furthermore, although new groupings are constantly being formed, only the fewthat can survive are considered the right combinations. These are thecombinations we recognize through our senses as being real, although they arenot. However, the modality in which this complex motion begins is a source ofcontr oversy and disagreement amongst the Atomists.     Democritus assumes that the atoms motion is perpetual. The atoms arenever at rest. He presumes that their nature is to move, thereby avoiding the conundrum of explaining the origin of the complex motion of atoms by simplyaffirming that it is in their nature to move so (Jones 85). He believes thatatoms are born along with the whole universe in a vortex. The vortex is not anoutside influence, but rather the motion of the atoms themselves. He neveraccounts for the initiation of this motion. He simply states that it is aninherent tint of the atoms themselves.  &nbs p  Epicurus, on the other hand, wanted to find a reasoning behind theinitial movement of the atoms to find the cause of the initial collisionswhich start the creation process of the universe.     Through observation of objects falling down within our limitedperceptual space, Epicurus concluded ... ...ualities? Epicurus ambiguously calls these qualities accompaniments yetnever explains how they can exist outside of human race and still be consideredreal.     Epicurus changed the doctrine of Democritus in many ways in an attemptto clarify some of the more questionable postulations. Epicurus theory is not necessarily superior, but certainly progressive. There is room for discourse ona variety of the Atomists theories. Since they are the first school of thoughtfrom which we have so practically written record, there is bound to be divergence ofopinion. The areas I have discussed relate only the area of physics. Epicurusattempts to resolv e some of the dilemmas Democritus leaves unresolved in goodand psychological dilemmas as well.     Of course, lingual and interpretive constraints play a part in allphilosophical theory of the classical period. Yet in our " recent" world, werely heavily on the ideas set forth by these great thinkers. It would befoolish to take one concept as superior over another because the scope of ideasgiven to us by these thinkers is too great a wealth to judge subjectively.