The Orgins Of Atomic Theory

The Orgins of Atomic Theory

There is an eternal human compulsion to unlock the mysteries of our lives and

our world. This search for knowledge has guided us to many beneficial new

understandings. It has lead us into this new age where information is its own

reward, an age where enlightenment is an end, not simply a means to an end.

Enlightenment has been the aim of many great people. It has inspired many

scientists and artists to construct articles of infinite beauty and value.

At times this quest for understanding has been embraced by entire civilizations,

and when an entire society commits to one noble cause only good can come from it.

In Ancient Greece there was such a civilization, and even today we use their

theories to initiate our scientific and artistic endeavors. All western thought

can find its roots in the philosophy and science of the Greeks, even the way we

see the world is influenced by the ideologies of Ancient Greece. The Greeks were

the first to seek a greater understanding of the world, to know "why" we are not

just "what" we are.

The Greeks invented science and explored it in its truest form, philosophy.

Through the years we have developed tools that we hope can prove or disprove

various hypothesizes, to further our understanding of any number of things. We

divide science into categories and then sub-divide it even farther, until we can

hide the connections and pretend that they really are separate. The difference

between psychology and physics is not as extreme as one would believe if they

were to read their definitions. Though the means are different the goal is the

same for all science: to increase our understanding of our earthly domain, and

to improve ourselves. The Greeks created this guiding principle more than two

thousand years ago.

Greek atomic theory was not the work of a single person, in fact it was a

product of many great minds. There were many fundamental ideas that formed the

basis for their theory on the make up of the universe. One-hundred and forty

years before Socrates there was a lesser-known scholar named Thales, and he was

the Father of Philosophy.

Thales was from a part of Greece called Miletus, and it was for his skill as an

engineer, not as a philosopher, that he was recognized during his life. Before

his time, the Greeks had no clear concept of matter, and did not use science to

broaden their understanding of the universe. Because of the focus on the

practical that was prevalent during that time, it was not until years later that