Atomism

Atomism is a doctrine originated by the pre-Socratic philosophers Democritus and/or Leucippus. The main theses of Atomism are that an Atom is indivisible, that any two Atoms are independent of one another, and, that everything that exists is composed of Atoms, and nothing else. The doctrine was first advanced as a Cosmological theory, and its forerunning of modern Chemistry is obvious. But it has had a profound influence in other areas, as well. Many Epistemologies are Atomistic, such as the British Empiricism which holds that all knowledge is constituted by irreducible sensory data. Capitalism is Atomistic Economics, and it is perhaps no coincidence that in his formative years, Karl Marx studied Democritus. The Soul is treated as an Atom in some Psychological and some Theological theories--the notion of a Soul that travels through life independently of other Souls is Atomistic. And, there are methodological Atomisms, such as 'Analytic Philosophy', which proceeds by breaking down any assertion to its constituent elements. The influence of Atomism endures, despite the fact that Chemistry, which keeps discovering smaller and smaller particles, has cast serious doubt on the premise of the existence of some indivisible ultimate particle. Furthermore, from the other direction, wholist, gestaltist, structuralist, and constructivist theories have all persuasively demonstrated that pattern is as fundamental as the Atoms which are patterned, and that everything that exists is context-bound. Still, Atomism, in one form or another, will always have its appeal in a quest for simplicity.