The Greek Cosmologists: Volume 1, The Formation of the Atomic Theory and its Earliest Critics

This first volume takes the story from its beginnings in Ionian philosophy as far as the formation of the Atomic Theory and the first criticisms of it by Plato and Aristotle. The second volume will describe the cosmology of Plato and Aristotle, the attempt by Epicurean opponents to revive Atomism and later developments of the debate in classical philosophy and science up to the sixth century of our era. Both are accessible to anyone interested in the history of science and philosophy, even if they have no specialized knowledge of Greek philosophy and no Greek; but professional scholars too will find much of importance to them.

Preface; 1. Two pictures of the world; 2. The judgement of Socrates; 3. The beginning in Miletus; 4. Two philosophical critics: Heraclitus and Parmenides; 5. Pythagoras, Parmenides, and later cosmology; 6. Anaxagoras; 7. Empedocles and the invention of elements; 8. Later Eleatic critics; 9. Leucippus and Democritus; 10. The cosmos of the Atomists; 11. The anthropology of the Atomists; 12. Plato\'s criticisms of the materialists; 13. Aristotle\'s criticisms of the materialists; Bibliography; Index of passages; General index.