Atomism in Philosophy: A History from Antiquity to the Present

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The nature of matter and the idea of indivisible parts has fascinated philosophers, historians, scientists and physicists from antiquity to the present day. This collection covers the richness of its history, starting with how the Ancient Greeks came to assume the existence of atoms and concluding with contemporary metaphysical debates about structure, time and reality. Focusing on important moments in the history of human thought when the debate about atomism was particularly flourishing and transformative for the scientific and philosophical spirit of the time, this collection covers: - The discovery of atomism in ancient philosophy - Ancient non-Western, Arabic and late Medieval thought - The Renaissance, when along with the re-discovery of ancient thought, atomism became once again an important doctrine to be fully debated - Logical atomism in early analytic philosophy, with Russell and Wittgenstein - Atomism in Liberalism and Marxism - Atomism and the philosophy of time - Atomism in contemporary metaphysics - Atomism and the sciences Featuring 28 chapters by leading and younger scholars, this valuable collection reveals the development of one of philosophy's central doctrines across 2,500 years and within a broad range of philosophical traditions.

Reviews

This landmark collection treats the complex problem of atomism with the sophistication it deserves, providing ample resources for studying its historical and systematic aspects. I am particularly glad to see that pertinent mereological discussions from the Indian and Islamic traditions are covered as well. * Jan Westerhoff, Professor of Buddhist Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK *
An indispensable collection for all interested in metaphysics. The essays are remarkably lucid, providing any interested reader with deft summaries and clear signposts. This comprehensive collection works as compelling history of how a fundamental idea in classical Greek philosophy travelled through epochs and across disciplines, finding reverberations in classical Asian philosophy, while inspiring insight to problems and continuing to cause questions and provoke debate in this global millennium. * Katherine O'Donnell, Associate Professor of History of Ideas, University College Dublin, Ireland *
This inspiring collection begins with a series of important and original studies of atomism as a philosophical and scientific theory in Latin and Greek antiquity. But it goes on to offer an intellectual journey through a web of historical parallels to the ancient Western theories, and receptions and reinventions of atomism through to contemporary metaphysics. It is rare for such a wide-ranging collection to cohere so well, or to offer so much to seduce the reader into broadening the horizons of their interest in the subject. * George Boys-Stones, Professor of Classics and Philosophy, University of Toronto, Canada *
This is an original and unprecedented collection. It is not just a history of atomism, from antiquity to the present day, but also and perhaps more significantly an exploration of what it means to be an atomist in different philosophical areas and so of what atomism ultimately is. * Gabriele Galluzzo, Senior Lecturer in Ancient Philosophy, University of Exeter, UK *

Author Bio

Ugo Zilioli is Leverhulme Researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and Associate Member of Lady Margaret Hall, UK. He is author of Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism: Plato's Subtlest Enemy (2007; 2nd edition 2016), The Cyrenaics (2014) and editor of From the Socratics to the Socratic Schools: Classical Ethics, Metaphysics and Epistemology (2015).