When a body--a tree or an animal, for instance--died and disintegrated, the atoms dispersed and could be used again in new bodies. Atoms moved around in space, but because they had "hooks" and "barbs," they could join together to form all the things we see around us.
So now you see what I meant about Lego blocks. They have more or less the same properties as those which Democritus ascribed to atoms. And that is what makes them so much fun to build with. They are first and foremost indivisible. Then they have different shapes and sizes. They are solid and impermeable. They also have "hooks" and "barbs" so that they can be connected to form every conceivable figure. These connections can later be broken again so that new figures can be constructed from the same blocks.
The fact that they can be used over and over is what has made Lego so popular. Each single Lego block can be part of a truck one day and part of a castle the day after. We could also say that lego blocks are "eternal." Children of today can play with the same blocks their parents played with when they were little.
We can form things out of clay too, but clay cannot be used over and over, because it can be broken up into smaller and smaller pieces. These tiny pieces can never be joined together again to make something else.
Today we can establish that Democritus' atom theory was more or less correct. Nature really is built up of different "atoms" that join and separate again. A hydrogen atom in a cell at the end of my nose was once part of an elephant's trunk. A carbon atom in my cardiac muscle was once in the tail of a dinosaur.
In our own time, however, scientists have discovered that atoms can be broken into smaller "elemental particles." We call these elemental particles protons, neutrons, and electrons. These will possibly some day be broken into even lesser particles. But physicists agree that somewhere along the line there has to be a limit. There has to be a "minimal part" of which nature consists.
Democritus did not have access to modern electronic apparatus. His only proper equipment was his mind. But reason left him no real choice. Once it is accepted that nothing can change, that nothing can come out of nothing, and that nothing is ever lost, then nature must consist of infinitesimal blocks that can join and separate again.
Democritus did not believe in any "force" or "soul" that could intervene in natural processes. The only things that existed, he believed, were atoms and the void. Since he believed in nothing but material things, we call him a materialist.
According to Democritus, there is no conscious "design" in the movement of atoms. In nature, everything happens quite mechanically. This does not mean that everything happens randomly, for everything obeys the inevitable laws of necessity. Everything that happens has a natural cause, a cause that is inherent in the thing itself. Democritus once said that he would rather discover a new cause of nature than be the King of Persia.
The atom theory also explains our sense perception, thought Democritus. When we sense something, it is due to the movement of atoms in space. When I see the moon, it is because "moon atoms" penetrate my eye.
But what about the "soul," then? Surely that could not consist of atoms, of material things? Indeed it could. Democritus believed that the soul was made up of special round, smooth "soul atoms." When a human being died, the soul atoms flew in all directions, and could then become part of a new soul formation.
This meant that human beings had no immortal soul, another belief that many people share today. They believe, like Democritus, that "soul" is connected with brain, and that we cannot have any form of consciousness once the brain disintegrates.
Democritus's atom theory marked the end of Greek natural philosophy for the time being. He agreed with ,Her-aclitus that everything in nature "flowed," since Torms come and go. But behind everything that flowed there were some eternal and immutable things that did not flow. Democritus called them atoms.
During her reading Sophie glanced out of the window several times to see whether her mysterious correspondent had turned up at the mailbox. Now she just sat staring down the road, thinking about what she had read. She felt that Democritus's ideas had been so simple and yet so ingenious. He had discovered the real solution to the problem of "basic substance" and "transformation." This problem had been so complicated that philosophers had gone around puzzling over it for generations. And in the end Democritus had solved it on his own by using his common sense.
Sophie could hardly help smiling. It had to be true that nature was built up of small parts that never changed. At the same time Heraclitus was obviously right in thinking that all forms in nature "flow." Because everybody dies, animals die, even a mountain range slowly disintegrates. The point was that the mountain range is made up of tiny indivisible parts that never break up.
At the same time Democritus had raised some new questions. For example, he had said that everything happened mechanically. He did not accept that there was any spiritual force in life--unlike Empedocles and An-axagoras. Democritus also believed that man had no immortal soul.
Could she be sure of that?
She didn't know. But then she had only just begun the philosophy course.
德谟克里特斯
苏菲将信纸放回饼干盒，盖上盖子。她爬出密洞，并在花园里站了一会，看着整座园子，想到昨天发生的事。今天吃早饭时，妈妈又拿情书这件事情来取笑她。于是她很快走向信箱，以免又发生类似昨天的事。连续两天接到情书将会使她更难为情。
信箱里又有一个小小的白色信封1她开始察觉哲学家送信的时间有一定的模式：每天下午她会接到一个棕色的大信封。趁着她看信时，哲学家又会神不知鬼不觉地把另一个白色小信封放在她的信箱内。
因此，现在苏菲有办法查出他的身分了。说不定，他还是个女人呢!她可以从楼上的房间清楚看到信箱。如果她站在窗前，就可以看到这位神秘的哲学家了。白信封总不会是从空气里变出来的吧?苏菲决定明天要密切观察。明天是星期五，她有一整个周末可以做这件事。她上楼回到自己的房间，并打开信封。今天只有一个问题，但这个问题，却比她的“情书”里的那三个问题更蠢。
积木为何是世界上最巧妙的玩具首先，苏菲并不认为积木是世界上最巧妙的玩具。她已经有好些年没玩过它了。再说，她实在看不出积木和哲学有什么关联。
不过，她是一个很守本分的学生。于是，她在橱柜的上层翻寻了一遍，找出一个装满各种形状、尺寸的积木的塑胶袋。
她开始玩起积木来，她好久好久没有这样做了。当她动手时，脑中开始出现了一些关于积木的想法。
她想，这些积木很容易组合。虽然它们每一块各不相同，但都可以互相衔接。此外，这些积木也摔不破。印象中她好像没有看过破掉的积木。她手中的这些积木看来就像许多年前刚买时一样，新得发亮。最棒的是她可以用积木组合任何东西，然后又可以把它们拆开，再组合别的东西。
对于这样的玩具你还能有什么要求呢?现在苏菲开始认为积木的确是世界上最巧妙的玩具了。不过她还是不明白这跟哲学有什么关系。她几乎盖好一栋很大的娃娃屋。她虽然不愿意承认，但事实上她很久很久没有玩得这么开心了。
为什么人们长大后就不再玩耍了呢?当妈妈进门时，看到苏菲正在玩积木，忍不住脱口而出：“多好玩哪!我很高兴你还没有长大到不能玩的年纪。”“我不是在玩!”苏菲生气地说。“我在做一项非常复杂的哲学实验。”妈妈深深叹了口气，苏菲大概又在想白兔与帽子的事了。
第二天苏菲放学回家后，放着好几页信纸的棕色大信封已经在等着她了。她把信拿到楼上的房间内，迫不及待要看信，但同时她也告诉自己必须要注意信箱附近的动静才行。
原子理论
苏菲，我又来了!今天我们将谈到最后一位伟大的自然派哲学他的名字叫德谟克里特斯(约公元前四六O～公元前三七O）来自爱琴海北部海岸一个叫阿布德拉的小镇。
如果你能够毫无困难地回答有关积木的问题，你将可以了解这位哲学家的课题。
德谟克里特斯同意前面几位哲学家的看法，认为自然界的转变不是因为任何事物真的有所“改变”。他相信每一种事物都是由微小的积木所组成，而每一块积木都是永恒不变的。德谟克里特斯把这些最小的单位称为原予。
原子(atom)这个字的本意是“不可分割的”。德谟克里特斯认为，证明组成各种事物的单位不可能被无限制分割咸更小的单位是很重要的。因为如果每一个组成各种事物的单位都可以被分割咸更小的单位，则大自然将开始像不断被稀释的汤一般消失了。
更重要的是，大自然的积木必须是永恒的，因为没有一件事物会来自虚无。在这方面，他同意帕梅尼德斯与伊利亚地区那些哲学家的看法，也认为所有的原予都是坚硬结实的，但却非完全一样。
他说，如果所有原予都一模一样，则我们将无法圆满解释它们何以能够聚合成像罂粟花、橄榄树、羊皮、人发等各种不同的东西。
德谟克里特斯相信，大自然是由无数形状各异的原子组成的。
其中有些是平滑的圆形，有些是不规则的锯齿形。正因为它们形状如此不同，才可以组合在一起，成为各种不同的物体。然而，无论它们的数量和形状多么无穷无尽，它们都是永恒不变、不可被分割的。
当一个物体——如一棵树或一只动物——死亡并分解时，原子就分散各处并可用来组成新的物体。这些原予在空间中到处移动，但因为它们有“钩”与“刺”，因此可以组成我们周遭所见的事物。
因此，现在你明白我问你积木问题的用意了吧?积木的性质多少与德谟克里特斯所说的原子相似’，这也是为何积木如此好玩的原因。首先它们是不可分割的，其次它们有各种不同的形状与尺寸，它们是硬而且不可渗透的。它们也有“钩”与“刺”，使得它们可以组合在一起，形成任何你想象得到的形状。组合完成后，你也可以将它们拆掉，用同一批积木再组成新的东西。
它们可以一再重复使用，这也是积木为何如此受到欢迎的原因。同一块积木今天可以用来造卡车，明天可以用来造城堡。我们也可以说积木是“永恒”的玩具，因为父母小时玩的积木可以拿给下一代玩。
我们也可以用黏土来做东西，不过黏土不可以重复使用，因为它可以不断被分割成更小的单位。这些微小的单位不能够再度组合，做成别的东西。
今天我们可以确定，德谟克里特斯的原子理论或多或少是A确的。大自然的确是由聚散不定的不同“原子”所组成。我鼻头细胞里的一个氢原子以前可能属于某只大象的鼻子；我d脏肌肉里的一个碳原子从前可能在恐龙的尾巴上。
不过，现代科学家已经发现原子可以分裂为更小的“基本粒子”。我们称之为质子、中子与电子。也许这些粒子有一天也可以被分裂成更小的粒子。但物理学家一致认为这样分裂下去，一定会有一个极限。一定有一个组成大自然的“最小单位”。
德谟克里特斯当年并没有现代的电子设备可以利用。他唯一的工具就是他的心灵。不过在运用他的理性思考之后，他其实也只能提出这样的答案。他既然接受没有任何事物会改变、没有任何事物来自虚无、没有任何事物会消失的说法，那么大自然必定是由可以一再聚散的无限小单位组成的。
德谟克里特斯并不相信有任何“力量”或“灵魂”介入大自然的变化过程。他认为世间唯一存在的东西就只有原子与虚空。由于只相信物质的东西，因此我们称他为唯物论者。
根据德谟克里特斯的说法，原子的移动并没有任何刻意的“设计”。在自然界中，每一件事物的发生都是相当机械化的。这并不是说每一件事都是偶然发生的，因为万事万物都遵从必要的“必然法则”。每一件事之所以发生都有一个自然的原因，这个原因原本即存在于事物的本身。德谟克里特斯曾经说过，他对发现新的自然法则比当波斯国王更有兴趣。•德谟克里特斯认为，原予理论同时也解释了我们的感官何以会有知觉。我们之所以会感觉到某样东西，是因为原子在空间中移动的缘故，我们之所以能看到月亮，是因为“月亮原子”穿透了我们的眼睛。
然而，有关“灵魂”这档事又怎么说呢?它一定不可能是由原子、由物质组成的吧?事实上，那是可能的。德谟克里特斯认为，灵魂是由一种既圆又平滑的特别的“灵魂原子”组成。人死时，灵魂原子四处飞散，然后可能变成另一个新灵魂的一部分。
这表示人类并没有不朽的灵魂。今天许多人都持有这种想法。
他们像德谟克里特斯一样，相信“灵魂”与脑子连在一起，脑子分解之后，我们就没有任何知觉意识了。
关于希腊的自然派哲学，我们暂时就讨论到德谟克里特斯的原子理论为止。他赞成赫拉克里特斯的看法，认为各种物体出现、消失、出现、消失，因此自然界的一切事物都是“流动”的。不过每一件“流动”的事物背后，有某种永恒不变、不会流动的东西，德谟克里特斯称之为原子。
在看信的当儿，苏非向窗外瞥过好几眼，想看那位神秘的哲学家是否会出现在信箱旁。现在她却只是坐着，看着路的那一头，想着刚才信里的内容。
她觉得德谟克里特斯的概念虽然简单，但却非常巧妙。他发现了“基本物质”与“变化”这个问题的真正答案。这个问题非常复杂，历代的哲学家都为它绞尽脑汁。最后德谟克里特斯却单凭常识就解决了这个问题。
苏菲忍不住要微笑起来。大自然必定是由许多不变的微小单位组成的。另外一方面，赫拉克里特斯认为自然界所有形体都在“流动”的想法显然也是对的，因为每一个人都会死，动物也会死，就连山脉也会慢慢瓦解。重点是山脉是由微小的、不可分割的单位组成的，而这些单位永远不会分解。
同时，德谟克里特斯也提出了一些新的问题。例如，他说每一件事物的发生都是机械化的。就像恩培窦可里斯与安纳萨哥拉斯一样，他并不认为生命中有任何精神力量存在。他也相信人没有不朽的灵魂。
她是否赞成这种想法呢?她不知道。不过毕竟她才开始上这门哲学课呀!
Fate
the "fortune-teller" is trying to foresee something that is really quite unforeseeable ...
Sophie had been keeping her eye on the mailbox while she read about Democritus. But just in case, she decided nevertheless to take a stroll down to the garden gate.
When she opened the front door she saw a small envelope on the front step. And sure enough--it was addressed to Sophie Amundsen.
So he had tricked her! Today of all days, when she had kept such careful watch on the mailbox, the mystery man had sneaked up to the house from a different angle and just laid the letter on the step before making off into the woods again. Drat!
How did he know that Sophie was watching the mailbox today? Had he seen her at the window? Anyway, she was glad to find the letter before her mother arrived.
Sophie went back to her room and opened the letter. The white envelope was a bit wet around the edges, and had two little holes in it. Why was that? It had not rained for several days.
The little note inside read:
Do you believe in Fate?
Is sickness the punishment of the gods?
What forces govern the course of history?
Did she believe in Fate? She was not at all sure. But she knew a lot of people who did. There was a girl in her class who read horoscopes in magazines. But if they believed in astrology, they probably believed in Fate as well, because astrologers claimed that the position of the stars influenced people's lives on Earth.
If you believed that a black cat crossing your path meant bad luck--well, then you believed in Fate, didn't you? As she thought about it, several more examples of fatalism occurred to her. Why do so many people knock on wood, for example? And why was Friday the thirteenth an unlucky day? Sophie had heard that lots of hotels had no room number 13. It had to be because so many people were superstitious.
"Superstitious." What a strange word. If you believed in Christianity or Islam, it was called "faith." But if you believed in astrology or Friday the thirteenth it was superstition! Who had the right to call other people's belief superstition?
Sophie was sure of one thing, though. Democritus had not believed in fate. He was a materialist. He had only believed in atoms and empty space.
Sophie tried to think about the other questions on the note.
"Is sickness the punishment of the gods?" Surely nobody believed that nowadays? But it occurred to her that many people thought it helped to pray for recovery, so at any rate they must believe that God had some power over people's health.
The last question was harder to answer. Sophie had never given much thought to what governed the course of history. It had to be people, surely? If it was God or Fate, people had no free will.
The idea of free will made Sophie think of something else. Why should she put up with this mysterious philosopher playing cat and mouse with her? Why couldn't she write a letter to him. He (or she) would quite probably put another big envelope in the mailbox during the night or sometime tomorrow morning. She would see to it that there was a letter ready for this person.
Sophie began right away. It was difficult to write to someone she had never seen. She didn't even know if it was a man or a woman. Or if he or she was old or young. For that matter, the mysterious philosopher could even be someone she already knew. She wrote:
Most respected philosopher, Your generous correspondence course in philosophy is greatly appreciated by us here. But it bothers us not to know who you are. We therefore request you to use your full name. In return we would like to extend our hospitality should you care to corne and have coffee with us, but preferably when my mother is at home. She is at work from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day from Monday to Friday. I am at school during these days, but I am always home by 2:15 p.m., except on Thursdays. I am also very good at making coffee.
Thanking you in advance, I remainYour attentive student,Sophie Amundsen (aged 14)
At the bottom of the page she wrote RSVP.
Sophie felt that the letter had turned out much too formal. But it was hard to know which words to choose when writing to a person without a face. She put the letter in a pink envelope and addressed it "To the philosopher."
The problem was where to put it so her mother didn't find it. She would have to wait for her to get home before putting it in the mailbox. And she would also have to remember to look in the mailbox early the next morning before the newspaper arrived. If no new letter came for her this evening or during the night, she would have to take the pink envelope in again.
Why did it all have to be so complicated?
That evening Sophie went up to her room early, even though it was Friday. Her mother tried to tempt her with pizza and a thriller on TV, but Sophie said she was tired and wanted to go to bed and read. While her mother sat watching TV, she sneaked out to the mailbox with her letter.
Her mother was clearly worried. She had started speaking to Sophie in a different tone since the business with the white rabbit and the top hat. Sophie hated to be a worry to her mother, but she just had to go upstairs and keep an eye on the mailbox.
When her mother came up at about eleven o'clock, Sophie was sitting at the window staring down the road.
"You're not still sitting there staring at the mailbox!" she said.
"I can look at whatever I like."
"I really think you must be in love, Sophie. But if he is going to bring you another letter, he certainly won't come in the middle of the night."
Yuck! Sophie loathed all that soppy talk about love. But she had to let her mother go on believing it was true.
"Is he the one who told you about the rabbit and the top hat?" her mother asked.
