Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Se. M. Ed, Ph.D
Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India
Empedocles and Anaxagoras paved the way for the natural scientific view of the universe which, under the name of the atomic theory, has remained the most influential theory in science to this day. Their teachings, however, needed revision in several important respects, and this they received at the hands of the Atomists. The Atomists agree with their predecessors in the acceptance of original and changeless particles of reality, but they deny to them the qualities ascribed to them either by Empedocles or Anaxagoras, and reject the view that they are moved from without by gods or a mind. Earth, air, fire, and water are not the ” roots of all things, ” nor are there numberless ” seeds ” of different qualities. Such things are not real elements, but are themselves composed of simpler units, invisible, impenetrable, indivisible spatial entities (atoms), differing only in form, weight, and size; and these units or atoms have an inherent motion of their own.
Empedocles, tried to retain Parmenidean principle and also account for change or what we actually experience about reality. He studied with both Parmenides and Heraclitus, which may have lead him to this attempt. He discuss specifically on the following concepts:
- Objects of experience do change
- These apparent changes are due to the mixing and un-mixing of particles in various combinations.
- The basic elements of particles are Earth, Air, Fire, and Water and this mingling makes beings (objects) and changes.
- The forces that act upon the elements are Love and Strife/Hate to make change.
- These forces are impersonal because we cannot construe the as having any purpose or goal in their action.
Anaxagoras: attributes the introduction of the difference between Matter and Mind to him.His contribution can be summarized in the following areas :
- Introduced the idea in Pluralism of infinite divisibility.
- There are also infinite kinds of particles, and what distinguishes what something is, is the preponderance of one kind of particle as opposed to the others.
- Instead of 2 kinds of forces that caused motion, there is only one: Nous or “mind-reason.”
- Nous is unmixed and pure, it is everywhere and animates all things. Since it is not mixed, it contains no “matter” or particles itself.
- The formation of the cosmos resulted from the rotary motion of Nous and before this the cosmos was and infinite and undifferentiated mass.
- Mind does not create the particles or elements (book says matter), it only works upon them without purpose or objective.
- The particles are not physical particles (so be careful when the book calls them “matter” that you do not get confused.)
- They are infinitely divisible, and there are no smallest particles except as what we might call and “idealized limit” on an infinite process.
The Problem of Change
The Atomists agree with the Eleatics that absolute change is impossible ; reality is, in its essence, permanent, indestructible, unchangeable. At the same time, it cannot be denied that change is going on, that things are in constant motion. Now, motion and change would be unthinkable without empty space, or the void, without what Parmenides had called non-being. Hence, the Atomists insist, non-being, or empty space, exists; space is not real in the sense of being corporeal, but it exists: what is (bodies), is no more real than what is not (space). A thing can be real without being a body. Being, or the full, and nonbeing, or the void, both exist. That is, the real is not one continuous, undivided, immovable being, as the Eleatics held, but a plurality of beings,—an infinite number of beings, separated from one another by empty spaces.
The Atoms
Each of these beings is indivisible impenetrable, and simple, an atom. The atom is not a mathematical point, or a center of force, as some moderns conceive it, but has extension; it is not mathematically indivisible, but physically indivisible, i.e., it has no empty spaces in it. All atoms are alike in quality ; they are neither earth, air, fire, or water, nor are they germs of specific kinds. They are simply very small, compact, physical units, differing in shape, size, and weight, arrangement and position. They are un-derived, indestructible, and unchangeable. What they are, they have always been and ever shall be. In other words, atoms are the one indivisible Being of Parmenides broken up into small bits that cannot be further divided, and separated from each other by empty spaces.
Out of these atoms, as building stones of reality, and empty spaces, the different objects are formed, as comedies and tragedies are composed of the same letters of the alphabet. All bodies are combinations of atoms and spaces; origin means union; destruction, separation. Bodies differ because the atoms constituting them differ in the ways already mentioned. They act on one another by direct contact only, through pressure and impact, or by means of emanations moving from one body and striking the other, action in the distance being impossible. What causes atoms to unite and separate is the motion inherent in them. “Nothing happens without a ground, but everything for a reason and necessarily. ‘ ‘ The motion is uncaused, like the atoms themselves; they have never been at rest, but have been motion from the very beginning. Owing to the many different shapes of atoms, some having hooks, others eyes, or grooves, or humps, or depressions, they interlace and hook together.
This is explained as follows. Atoms are heavy and fall downward, but the larger ones fall faster, thus forcing the lighter upward. This action causes a whirling motion, which extends farther and farther, in consequence of which atoms of the same size and weight collect, the heavier ones at the center, forming air, then water, then solid earth ; the lighter ones at the periphery, forming the heavenly fires and the ether. Multitudes of worlds are produced in this way, each system having a center and forming a sphere ; some having neither sun nor moon, some with larger planets or a greater number of them.
There are 4 such elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Empedocles names these the “roots of all things.” These seeds of all things have no limits in their magnitude because each one is qualitatively unlimited and inexhaustible The qualities of these 4 root elements are qualitatively unchangeable, and these elements unite and separate in beings. How did these elements come together and separate? Through the opposing forces of Love and Hate or Friendship and Discord. What seems to be different here is specifically that we have a cosmic force that works upon the elements of which all beings are a mixture and a separation. Forces as well as the elements are seen as divine.
We still have the theme of alternating dominance of one then the other, and this is a constant cycle that is determined by Fate. (Fate is also a divine power – Moria. Our modern understanding of Fate does not really recreate what the ancients meant here.)
All these elements are equal and of the same age in their creation; but each presides over its own office, and each has its own character, and they prevail in turn in the course of Time. And besides these, nothing else comes into being, nor does anything cease. For if they had been perishing continuously, they would be no more; and what could increase the whole? And whence could it have come? In what directions could it perish, since nothing is empty of these things? No, but these become different things at different times, and are ever continuously the same.
Our cosmos is constituted by a prevalence of hate, for if Love predominated no one of the elements would be distinguished from the others. In absolute Love, all elements are gathered up together and united as a compact whole like a sphere similar to the description given by Parmenides.
If Hate were to absolutely prevail, all the elements would be absolutely separate, and the cosmos could not exist. On the other hand, Absolute Love would dissolve the cosmos into the wholly uniform sphere. Beings were generated by the movement produced by Nous or Mind. Other things all contain apart of everything, but mind is infinite and self-ruling, and is mixed with no thing, but is alone by itself. . . . For it is the finest of all things, and the purest, and has complete understanding less, are ruled by mind.
Here is an interesting development in that mind is perceived as a separate and greater the “seeds” of all things may be pointing toward the separation of mind from the world as become an important distinction for metaphysics later.
Concept of Death
Remember though that mind did not create the seeds but only acted upon it. We should not impose any thought of purpose or goal associated with Nous in Anaxagoras.
The earth is one of the bodies thus created. From the moist earth, or slime, life arose. Fieryatoms are distributed over the entire organism, which accounts for the heat of these bodies. They are especially abundant in the human soul. The soul is composed of the finest, roundest, most nimble, and fiery atoms, one soul atom between two other atoms,—and which produce the movements of the body. Certain organs of the body are the seat of particular mental functions: the brain, of thought; the heart, of anger; the liver, of desire. The resistance of every object, whether alive or not, to the pressure of surrounding forces is explained by the presence in it of such a soul. We inhale and exhale soul-atoms ; and life exists so long as this process continues. At death, the soul-atoms are scattered; when the vessel of the soul is shattered, the soul spill^ out. In an attempt to account for this and to also retain the perdurance of Being, Empedocles says that Birth and Death are “mixture and dissolution” of substances or elements that are not born and indestructible – they are eternally equal. That is, they always Are. Here, coming-into-being and passing-away understood as a coming into being from nothingness and a passing away into nothingness, are impossible because Being Is.” And I shall tell you another thing: there is no coming-into-being of substance in any one of mortal existences, nor any end in execrable death,but only mixing and exchange of what has been mixed; and the name nature is applied to the by human beings.”
And I shall tell you another thing: there is no coming-into-being of substance in any one of mortal existences, nor any end in execrable death, but only mixing and exchange of what has been mixed; and the name nature is applied to them by human beings.
Anaxagoras also thought that coming to be and passing away was accounted for by the mixture and separation of elements of some sort – some kind of existing things, but instead of just 4 they were infinite in number.
The Greeks have an incorrect belief on coming to being and passing away. No thing comes into being or passes away, but it is mixed together or separated from existing things. Thus they would be correct if they called coming to being “mixing” and passing away “separating.” We have here the crude beginnings of a physiological psychology on a materialistic basis.
Epistemological position
Knowledge is he extent to which we are earth allows us to know earth, and it is the same for all the other elements. Like recognizes like. We see earth by means of earth, water by means of water, divine air by means of air, and destructive fire by means of fire; love by means of love, hate by means of baneful hate.
Everything has a portion of thought. Thought in humans is the heart nourished by the blood that surrounds it. Sense-perception is explained as a change produced in the
soul by the action of emanations, or images, or idols ,resembling the perceived body. These images fly off from the body and give their stapes to the intervening air; that is, they modify the arrangement of the particles next to the object, which gives rise to a modification in those immediately adjoining it,and so on, until emanations coming from the sense-organs are reached. The like perceives the like, that is, perception is possible only when the images passing from a body are like those emanating from the sense-organ. This theory of perception resembles, in principle, the ether theories of modern science.
By means of such images, which pass from objects everywhere, Democritus explains dreams, prophetic visions, and the belief ia gods. Gods exist, but they are mortal like men, though longer-lived. There is a world-soul, which is composed of finer atoms than the souls of men.
The sensible qualities (color, sound, taste, smell, etc.) which we attribute to the different bodies are not in the things themselves, but merely effects of combinations of atoms on our sense organs. Atoms, as such, have no qualities other than those we have already mentioned, impenetrability, shape, and size. Hence, sense-perception does not yield us a true knowledge of things; it tells us merely how these affect us. (We have here the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, which is made in modem philosophy.) We cannot see atoms as they are; we can, however, think them. Sense-perception is obscure knowledge ; thought, which transcends our sense-perceptions and appearances, and reaches the atom, is the only genuine knowledge.
Atomists are rationalist, as, indeed, all the early Greek philosophers are. But thought is not, therefore, independent of sense-perception; indeed, ” the genuine way of knowing, which has a finer organ of thought,” begins when sense-experience can carry us no farther, ” when the investigation must be carried farther into that which is still finer ” than the limits placed against our sense-knowledge. Besides, it must be remembered that soul and reason are the same thing for Atomists’
The Axiological position
In the ethical fragments ascribed to Atomists can trace the outlines of a refined hedonistic ethics. The true end of life is happiness, which he describes as an inner state of satisfaction or pleasure, depending on the tranquility, harmony, and fearlessness of the soul. This does not depend on material goods, not on wealth or the pleasures of the body,—for these are short and productive of pains, and require repetition;—but on moderation in pleasure and symmetry of life. The less we desire, the less apt we are to be disappointed. The best way to seek the goal is to exercise the mental powers,—^by reflection and the contemplation of beautiful acts.
All virtues are valuable in so far as they realize the highest good, happiness; chief among them are justice and benevolence. Envy, jealousy, and bitterness of mind create discord and harm everybody. We should, however, do right, not from fear of punishment, but from a sense of duty. To be good, one must not merely refrain from doing wrong, but not even desire it.” You can tell the man who rings true from the man who rings false, not by his deeds alone, but also by his desires.” ” The right-minded man, ever inclined to righteous and lawful deeds, is joyous day and night, and strong, and free from care. ‘ ‘ We ought to serve the State because ” a well-administered State is our greatest safeguard. ” ” When the State is in a healthy condition, all things prosper; when it is corrupt, all things go to ruin. ‘