DEMOKRITOS

Demokritus was brought up in Abdera, West Thrace. He tried to reconsile the doctrine of the Elea school with the philosophy of Heraklitus in the view known as "Atomic". (The Elea school supposed that change and formation were only outer apperances and tricks; real existence was an existence that never changes.) Demokritos got the idea of elementary particles from Parmenides and the idea of infinite movement from Heraklitus. According to the Atomic doctrine, the main substance was particles in infinite number, that is, atoms. Atoms can not be divided, they can not be subject to qualitative change. The abundance and variety in the universe can be explained via their shapes and order of arrangement. The soul is also made of atoms. It is accepted that Democritus is the most concious and consistent materyalist who lived in the ancient era.