In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Democritus of Abdera. He is one of my favorite early Greek philosophers, mainly because of his wisdom/ethical sayings. He barely made the Presocratic cut, being just 1 - 10 years before Socrates. However, his ideas, way ahead of their time, were picked up by Aristotle and Epicurus and have influenced humankind to our time. A true Renaissance Man before it was popular 😉, Democritus is worthy of study. His First Principle(s) of Atoms and the Void are revolutionary and are great responses to the ideas of earlier philosophers.
Books Referenced:
Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics
The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Classical Library
