Democritus · Philosophy

By Convention, By Reality

Democritus’ epochal distinction between the qualities things really have (the shapes and motions of atoms) and the qualities they only seem to have (colour, taste, warmth) - which exist not in the world but in us, ‘by convention.’

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Democritus distinguished the qualities atoms really have (shape, size, arrangement, motion) from the qualities that exist only ‘by convention’ in our experience (colour, taste, smell, warmth), which arise from how atoms strike our senses. Explain this distinction in your own words.

Leads to John Locke.

epoché — a humanities education that remembers you.