Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmokritos, "chosen of the people") (ca. 460 BCE – ca. 370 BCE) was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera in the north of Greece. He was the most prolific, and ultimately the most influential, of the pre-Socratic philosophers; his atomic theory may be regarded as the culmination of early Greek thought.
His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned t...
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Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmokritos, "chosen of the people") (ca. 460 BCE – ca. 370 BCE) was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera in the north of Greece. He was the most prolific, and ultimately the most influential, of the pre-Socratic philosophers; his atomic theory may be regarded as the culmination of early Greek thought.
His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in texts. Their hypothesis on atoms is remarkably similar to modern science, and avoided many of the errors found in their contemporaries. Largely ignored in Athens, Democritus was nevertheless well-known to his fellow northern-born philosopher Aristotle. Plato is said to have disliked him so much that he wished all his books burnt. Many consider Democritus to be the "father of modern science".
Democritus was born in the city of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony of Teos, although some called him a Milesian. His year of birth was 460...
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