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Life
Credited as the original founder of atomism, though he stands so far back in his own student's shadow that one later philosopher denied he ever existed at all.
Atoms and void. The universe is particles in motion, and cheerfulness is the goal.
Connection
Leucippus atomism founded and completed Democritus — Leucippus proposed atoms and the void; Democritus worked the idea into a system so thoroughly that ancient writers already struggled to say which parts belonged to which man.
Ideas
Words
“Nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity.”
“The All is unlimited, and some things are full and some empty. These are the elements. From these arise innumerable worlds and into these they are dissolved.”
“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.”
“Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold. Happiness dwells in the soul.”
Key Moments
c. 440s BCE
Proposes void as a form of non-being
c. 460 BCE
Born in Abdera
c. 460 BCE
Born in Abdera
c. 440 BCE
Years of Travel
c. 440 BCE
Travels East, Spends Inheritance
Works
On Mind
On Mind
Fragments on Atoms and the Void
Ethical Fragments