Democritus: The Great Philosopher and Creator of the Earliest Atomic Theory

A scientist is defined as a human being who is studying and/or expert knowledge of one or more of the natural or physical sciences. Democritus was not only a scientist but also a Greek Philosopher during the time of 460 B. C to 370 B. C. Ever heard of the atomic theory? Well he happened to be the one to start it all up. Democritus discovered and revealed an abundance amount of information about atoms. From this information other scientist corrected his initial theory and added onto it to eventually create the atomic structure we use today in class.

For starters, Democritus was a very well known philosopher who many scientists respected for creating the most accurate early atomic theory that sparked the theory to evolve over time. After his discovery, no other scientist came up with anything new things about the atomic theory until years and years to come. He was influenced by Leucippus of Miletus and had proposed revolutionary ideas. These ideas were in conflict with philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Democritus had visited many distant countries during his early life and shared ideas with people from all around the world. His traveling experience might explain his rationalism, humanism, and love of freedom.

Much of his work has been lost or available only by pieces and never complete, which resulted in his knowledge might never to be known. He wrote over seventy books on natural philosophy. Many other scientist and viewers many consider him the father of modern science. In continuation, Democritus remained unmarried his entire life because he was devoted and dedicated to his studies. His first major conclusion of his studies was that there were bits of immutable things that he later named atoms. He then continued to say that atoms continue to join together to make more atoms which meant that all materials of life were made up by atoms. Democritus proposed that atoms affected our human senses. In my online research it states, “He describes the process of perception as follows: a human being is stimulated by the movement of the atoms, he/she draws conclusions based on observation and understanding and forms a realization of the cause of the stimulation.”

Discovering more and more information about atoms played a vital role in Democritus life because it is basically what he lives for. Democritus was extremely outspoken and was always excited to share his new experiences with the people that surrounded him. He also believed that the goodness in people is not a biological feature, but a psychological trait that develops with practices, teachings and discipline.