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Pre-Socratic Philosophers

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Submitted By SCrystalM
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Pre-Socratic Philosophers I believe many of the pre-Socratic philosophers had some interesting ideas about how life has come to be. The philosopher that I found the most compelling was the Atomist. The Atomist believed that all things were composed of atoms which are tiny, microscopic, and unbreakable and are composed of the same matter but different sizes, shapes and weight (Moore & Bruder, 2008). The Atomist thought that the atoms movements were pre-determined and physical was the reason why. They believed that the fate of an atom was already planned and would not change based on its experiences.
Compelling Ideas What I found to be the most compelling was that in an age before science started progressing and with no telescopes, the Atomist believed in something that was yet to be discovered. They had the right area of thought in mind and later through science atoms were discovered. The thing that interests me the most is that the Atomist almost hit it spot on. However, I do not believe that an atoms motion has been pre-determined, rather I believe that they move freely based on change and influence. An example would be if atoms make up an animal then when that animal evolves and changes throughout the years then its movements are not pre-determined. The atoms that make up the animal would be constantly changing meaning that their “fate” would also change. The movement would have to be free forming. The Atomist had some great ideas and some were proven right by science.

Reference:

Moore, B. N. & Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: The power of ideas (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

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