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atomism
[ at-uh-miz-uhm ]
noun
- Also called atomic theory. Philosophy. the theory that minute, discrete, finite, and indivisible elements are the ultimate constituents of all matter.
- Psychology. a method or theory that reduces all psychological phenomena to simple elements.
atomism
/ ˈæəˌɪə /
noun
- an ancient philosophical theory, developed by Democritus and expounded by Lucretius, that the ultimate constituents of the universe are atoms See atom
- any of a number of theories that hold that some objects or phenomena can be explained as constructed out of a small number of distinct types of simple indivisible entities
- any theory that holds that an understanding of the parts is logically prior to an understanding of the whole Compare holism
- psychol the theory that experiences and mental states are composed of elementary units
Derived Forms
- ˌٴdzˈپ, adverb
- ˈٴdz, nounadjective
- ˌٴdzˈپ, adjective
Other yvlog Forms
- o· noun
- o·t o·t· adjective
- o·t··ly adverb
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of atomism1
Example Sentences
She begins in the 5th century B.C., when Democritus formulated his atomism, locating the ultimate nature of things in matter rather than divinity.
Thomas Bradwardine, who was to become archbishop of Canterbury, tried to disprove atomism, Aristotle’s old nemesis.
In England he may well have met Thomas Harriot, a great mathematician who was evidently attracted to atomism, and Gilbert too.
The “seeds of disease” were almost certainly influenced by Democritean atomism and took inspiration from the Roman poet Lucretius, whose work had been rediscovered in the 15th century.
But such a system, critics have long said, breeds not autonomy but atomism, not fairness but inequality, not fulfillment but emptiness, not culture but anarchy.
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