Atanasijević on the Divisibility of the Atom in Epicurus And The Early Atomists
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Abstract
In 1927, Ksenija Atanasijević published her book L’Atomisme d’Épicure in Paris. It offered a systematic and insightful analysis of Epicurus’ philosophy. Among its original contributions was the claim that the origins of Epicurus’ theory of ‘the minimum’ (τό ἐλάχιστον) can be found already in the views of the earlier atomists, Leucippus and Democritus. At the time, this was a bold, rare, and controversial claim. Indeed, one of the early critics of Atanasijević’s interpretation was Branislav Petronijević, her former professor and mentor. The task here will be to explore Atanasijević’s thesis and the arguments she used to support it, as well as to evaluate Petronijević’s criticism. My analysis will aim to show that Petronijević’s objections fail to present a serious challenge to Atanasijević’s thesis. On the other hand, it will also reveal certain weaknesses in the way Atanasijević formulated and defended her thesis.
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References
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