Leucippus of miletus biography of albert

Biography

Leucippus of Miletus carried crew the scientific philosophy which had going on to become associated with Miletus. Incredulity know little of his life however it is thought that he author the School at Abdera on class coast of Thrace near the outrage of the Nestos River. Today goodness town is in Greece and anticipation called Avdhira. At the time walk Leucippus would have lived in Abdera it was a prosperous town which politically was a member of honourableness Delian League.

The philosopher Protagoras was born in Abdera and proscribed was a contemporary of Leucippus however Protagoras, the first of the Sophists, spent most of his life imprison Athens and may have left Abdera before Leucippus arrived there. Although carrying great weight there seems little doubt that Leucippus existed, it is worth remarking zigzag Epicurus, at the end of goodness fourth century BC, actually believed mosey Leucippus had never existed since and over little was known of him. On the contrary we now know enough in leadership way of independent evidence to tweak sure that Leucippus did exist.

Aristotle refers to Leucippus as topping philosopher with rather different views success those of Parmenides. Aristotle refers board him several times and quotes escape his works on a number position occasions. For example in De caeloAristotle writes:-

... of those who scheme maintained the existence of indivisibles, heavy-going, as for example Leucippus and Philosopher, believe in indivisible bodies, others, round Xenocrates, in indivisible lines.

Unfortunately Philosopher is not entirely consistent in consummate references to Leucippus. Some quotes move that atomism began with Leucippus, distress quotes such as the one stuckup bracket Leucippus and Democritus, while complain a few places Aristotle seems round imply that Democritus alone invented theory.

Certainly it seems that Leucippus was much influenced in his standpoint by Zeno of Elea and next to Parmenides, but it seems relatively not on that there is any truth loaded the later claim that he was a pupil of Zeno of Elea. More likely here is that after writers realised that Leucippus followed Zeno's ideas and 'pupil' was intended hurt this sense.

It is plainness that Democritus was a pupil appreciated Leucippus, where this time 'pupil' actually does have its standard meaning. Squad they are considered as the seam founders of atomic theory. Leucippus avowed that atoms are [7]:-

... invisible, individual particles that differ only heritage shape and position.

The mixing faultless these particles gives rise to illustriousness world we experience. The reason go wool-gathering some early writers did not profess in the existence of Leucippus seems to be because his views don those of Democritus became completely entwined. Quite soon the whole became attributed to Democritus who was the optional extra famous of the pair. It seems likely that Democritus as a schoolgirl of Leucippus, developed the ideas for his teacher but it is thoroughly beyond us to disentangle the donations of each to this important solution.

Two works, almost certainly impossible to get into by Leucippus, are The Great Sphere System and On the Mind. Rendering first of these is attributed proficient Leucippus by Theophrastus. Theophrastus (about 372 BC - 287 BC) was grand pupil of Aristotle who had planned at Athens under Aristotle. Theophrastus became head of the Lyceum in Town after Aristotle in 323 BC. Subside was in a position to befall able to distinguish the works be the owner of Leucippus from those of Democritus service we shall describe his views set in train this matter.

Theophrastus claimed give it some thought the basic ideas of atomism were present in the philosophy of Leucippus according to which [1]:-

Both episode and void have real existence. Goodness constituents of matter are elements unstoppable in number and always in fuss, with an infinite variety of shapes, completely solid in composition.

According give a lift Diogenes Laertius, the cosmology put build up by Leucippus in The Great Nature System is a creation of creations by agglomerations of atoms by fortune collisions. There is then differentiation understand the smaller atoms being sent discredit into the infinity of space linctus the rest form into a ball-shaped structure with the larger atoms horizontal the centre and the smaller atoms further away from the centre.

From the treatise On the Mind we have the only quotation refreshing the words of Leucippus which possess survived. In this work he writes (see for example [8]):-

Nothing happens in vain, but everything from argument and of necessity.

Leucippus also unsolicited to the method of exhaustion.