During the 19th-century atomism was a controversial issue in chemistry. It is an oversimplification to dismiss the critics’ arguments as all falling under the general positivist view that what can’t be seen can’t be. The more interesting lines of argument, at any rate, either questioned whether any coherent notion of an atom had ever been formulated, or questioned whether atoms were ever really...

Abstract What is Leucippus and Democritus’ theory of the beginning life? How, if at all, did Democritus distinguish different kinds living things? These questions are challenging in part because these Atomists claim that all beings – including plants have a share reason understanding. We answer by examining extant evidence concerning their views on embryology, soul respiration, sense perception...