Leucippus

Leucippus (/luːˈsɪpəs/; Greek: Λεύκιππος, Leukippos; fl. 5th century BCE) is reported in some ancient sources to have been a philosopher who was the earliest Greek to develop the theory of atomism — the idea that everything is composed entirely of various imperishable, indivisible elements called atoms. The name Leucippus is often associated as master to pupil with that of Democritus, the philosopher who was also touted as the originator of the atomic theory. However, a brief notice in Diogenes Laertius’s life of Epicurus says that on the testimony of Epicurus, Leucippus never existed. As the philosophical heir of Democritus, Epicurus's word has some weight, and indeed a controversy over this matter raged in German scholarship for many years at the close of the 19th century. Furthermore, in his Corpus Democriteum,Thrasyllus of Alexandria, an astrologer and writer living under the emperor Tiberius (14–37 CE) compiled a list of writings on atomism that he attributed to Democritus to the exclusion of Leucippus. The present consensus among the world's historians of philosophy is that this Leucippus is historical. The matter must remain moot unless more information is forthcoming from the record.

Leucippus (disambiguation)

Leucippus may refer to:

Leucippus (crater)

Leucippus is a crater on the Moon's far side. It is relatively isolated from other named craters, although it is located just over one crater diameter to the south-southeast of the huge walled plain Landau. To the southwest of Leucippus is the larger satellite crater Leucippus Q.

The rim of Leucippus is eroded, with a smaller crater laid across the southern end. A small craterlet lies along the western inner wall. The edge and inner wall is generally lacking in detail, forming a relatively smooth, gentle slope down to the interior floor. This interior is offset slightly to the southeast, where the inner wall is narrower. The floor is about half the diameter of the crater. There is a small craterlet on the floor along the southern edge, and a few tiny craterlets mark the otherwise relatively level surface.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Leucippus.

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