atomism

[at-uh-miz-uhm]

noun

1. Also called atomic theory. Philosophy.,  the theory that minute, discrete, finite, and indivisible elements are the ultimate constituents of all matter.

2. Psychology.,  a method or theory that reduces all psychological phenomena to simple elements.

atomism

/ ˈætəˌmɪzəm /

noun

1. an ancient philosophical theory, developed by Democritus and expounded by Lucretius, that the ultimate constituents of the universe are atoms See atom

2. 1. 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

   2. any theory that holds that an understanding of the parts is logically prior to an understanding of the whole Compare holism

3. psychol the theory that experiences and mental states are composed of elementary units

Other Word Forms

• atomistically adverb
• atomist noun
• atomistic adjective
• atomistical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of atomism¹

First recorded in 1670–80

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.

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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.

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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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French natural philosopher and priest Pierre Gassendi sought to revive ancient atomism in a Christian framework, whereas philosopher René Descartes proposed an entirely mechanistic universe based on contiguous point particles.

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Newton was explicit about his debt to ancient philosophy, Democritus in particular, for ideas that arose originally from philosophical motivations, such as the notions of empty space, atomism and natural rectilinear motion.

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