Democritus

Democritus
Hellenic bust of a philosopher, possibly Democritus. Villa of the Papyri.[1]
Born	c. 460 BC Abdera, Thrace
Died	c. 370 BC (aged approximately 90)
Era	Pre-Socratic philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Atomism
Main interests	Nature
Notable ideas	Atoms and the void as the fundamental constituents of the physical world[a]

Democritus (/dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs/, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe.^[2]

None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy.^[3] He was known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of cheerfulness.^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).