The Greek word atomos (the negative term “a-” and “τομή,” the term for “cut”) means “uncuttable or indivisible. Ancient Atomism, proposed by Leucippus and his pupil Democritus in the 5th century BC, is a natural philosophy proposing that the universe is composed of indivisible components known as atoms.
Leucippus
- Early 5th century BCE ~
Democritus
- c. 460 BC ~ c. 370 BC
- Abdera, Thrace
Atomism
- Nature could not actually change because everything is built up of tiny elements – atoms – that are indestructible and eternal.
- There are unlimited numbers of atoms of various kinds.
- Everything in nature is the result of how these atoms are grouped.
Scriptorium 