WI: Atomism

What if Democritus's Atomism prevailed over the Four Elements model? How would Western (and Middle-Eastern, for that matter) thought be affected?
 
Are they in opposition to each other? :confused:

Today we have both in our basic view of the world - molecules that are solid/fluid/gas according to their temperature.
 
Actualy we still doing both. We just call the four elements the four states of matter :) Earth <-> solid, Water <-> liquid, air <-> gas, fire <-> energy.
 
Well, the idea that everything consists of atoms only regained prominence in the 19th century. What I'm asking is what if the worldview of Democritus won out over Aristotle's.
 
Atomism was quite popular among Islamic intellectuals in the middle ages. They did not see it in opposition to Aristotle. Of course, they were not exactly Democriteans, just atomists.
 
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