Leucippus

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/leucippus

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is Leucippus known for?Founder of the philosophical school of Atomism
2. What is the period of philosophical activity?Circa 5th century BCE
3. What is the core tenets of atomism?Reality consists of indivisible particles (atoms) and infinite empty space (void)
4. What did Leucippus think atoms were like?Leucippus believed atoms were tiny, indivisible, and unchanging. They were eternal and came in endless shapes and sizes, always moving inside the void.
5. Why did Leucippus believe there is a void?He said the void is absolute nothingness, an infinite space that lets atoms move and interact. This idea challenged the idea that empty space cannot exist.

Pre-Socratic Philosophy: Ancient Greek philosophy preceding Socrates, characterized by inquiries into cosmology, metaphysics, and the fundamental nature of reality.
Atomism: The metaphysical theory that the universe is composed of fundamental, indivisible particles (atoms) moving in empty space (void).
Void: In Leucippus's system, the infinite, non-being space that is essential for the motion and interaction of atoms.
Determinism: The philosophical stance that all events, including human cognition, decision, and action, are causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences.