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Aristotle and Democritus:The Atomic Theory
By: Sam Berman and Emilee Williams
Born: 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece Death: 322 B.C.
Aristotle
Born: 460 B.C. in Greece Death: 370 B.C.
Democritus
Aristotle
• Taught by Plato in Greece
• Tutored Alexander the Great in Macedonia
• Taught and created some of his most famous works at Lyceum
Democritus
• Studied in Persia, Ethiopia, Egypt and India
Institutions and Countries of Study
Aristotle
• Democritus and Plato were his rivals
• Xenocrates and Theophrastus were his colleges
Democritus
• Aristotle, Theophrastus and Diogenes were his rivals
• Worked with Leucippus
Colleagues and Rivals
Aristotle
• Orginon
• Metaphisics
• Nicomacheanfx
• Poetics
• Rheotorics
Democritus
• Great World System
• Little World System
• Theory of Knowledge
Important Works
Syllogism was a categorical logic (form of logic that involves identifying rules of which categories of things can be put together to produce valid deductions.)
Syllogism is a pattern, which helped him discover rules by combining and transforming them.
Example: Whales are mammals Mammals are warm blooded Therefore whales are warm blooded
Aristotle: Syllogism
Thought and sensation are influenced by images impacting the outside of the body.
Thought and perception are created through the change of the body.
Knowledge is based on the visible world
Democritus: Theory of Knowledge
The scientific theory of nature of matter
States that everything is made up of atoms
Atom means invisible
Atomic Theory
Democritus thought atoms are small quantities of matter
His theory states atoms cannot be destroyed, differ in shape, size or temperature.
He thought atoms moved in an infinite void, colliding into each other
Democritus: Atomic Theory
Aristotle did not believe in Democritus’ theory
He thought all materials on earth were not made of atoms
Aristotle thought all materials were made of small amounts of the four elements of matter (earth, fire, water and air)
His theory was later proved wrong, all matter is made up of atoms
Aristotle: Atomic Theory
http://www.nobeliefs.com/atom.htmhttp://plato
.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/ http://
people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/democ.htm http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle
/
Sources: