Democritus, together with his teacher Leucippus, proposed that everything is made of tiny, indivisible particles, the atoms, moving in the void. He wrote on physics, ethics and many other subjects, and was remembered as the laughing philosopher. His materialist view intuitively anticipated central ideas of modern science.
Core ideas
Everything that exists is made of indivisible atoms moving in the void
Qualities like color and taste depend on us, not on things in themselves
The good life is made of serenity and moderate joy, not excess
The tradition: Atomist
An atomist explains the world through the combination of atoms and void, with no divine intervention. Democritus is the greatest name of this school, alongside his teacher Leucippus.
