Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans
Historically, Pythagoras means much more that the familiar theorem about right triangles. The philosophy of Pythagoras and his school has impacted the very fiber of mathematics and physics, even the western tradition of liberal education no matter what the discipline.
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Pythagorean philosophy was the prime source of inspiration for Plato and Aristotle; the influence of these philosophers is without question and is immeasurable.
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans
Little is known of his life. Pythagoras (fl 580-500, BC) was born in Samos on the western coast of what is now Turkey. He was reportedly the son of a substantial citizen, Mnesarchos. There he lived for many years under the rule of the tyrant Polycrates, who had a tendency to switch alliances in times of conflict -- which were frequent.
He met Thales, likely as a young man, who recommended he travel to Egypt. It seems certain that he gained much of his knowledge from the Egyptians, as had Thales before him.
Probably because of continual conflicts and strife in Samos, Pythagoras settled in Croton, on the eastern coast of Italy, a place of relative peace and safety.
Even so, just as he arrived, Croton lost a war to neighboring city Locri, but soon thereafter defeated utterly the luxurious city of Sybaris.
This is where Pythagoras began his society.
The Pythagorean School
tex2html_wrap_inline492 The school of Pythagoras was every bit as much a religion as a school of mathematics. For example, here are some of the rules:
To abstain from beans.
Not to pick up what has fallen.
Not to touch a white cock.
Not to stir the fire with iron.
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Do not look in a mirror beside a light.
Vegetarianism was strictly practiced probably because Pythagoras preached the transmigration of soulsgif.
The school of Pythagoras represents the mystic tradition in contrast with the scientific!!
Indeed, Pythagoras regarded himself as a mystic and even semi-divine. Said Pythagoras
"There are men, gods, and men like Pythagoras."
It is likely that Pythagoras was a charasmatic.
Life in the Pythagorean society was more-or-less egalitarian.
The Pythagorean school regarded men and women equally.
They enjoyed a common way of life.
Property was communal.
Even mathematical discoveries were communal and by association attributed to Pythagoras himself -- even from the grave. Hence, exactly what Pythagoras discovered personally is difficult to ascertain.
The Pythagorean Philosophy
The basis of the Pythagorean philosophy is simply stated:
"There are three kinds of men and three sorts of people that attend the Olympic Games. The lowest class is made up of those who come to buy and sell, the next above them are those who compete. Best of all, however, are those who come simply to look on. The greatest purification of all is, therefore, disinterested science, and it is the man who devotes himself to that, the true philosopher, who has most effectually released himself from the 'wheel of birth.'"gif
The message of this passage is radically in conflict with modern values. We need only consider sports and politics.
tex2html_wrap_inline492 Is not reverence these days is bestowed only on the ``super-stars"?
tex2html_wrap_inline492 Are not there ubiquitous demands for accountability!!
The Pythagorean Philosophy
The gentlemangif, of this passage, has had a long run with this philosophy, because he was associated with the Greek genius, because the ``virtue of comtemplation" acquired theological endorsement, and because the ideal of disinterested truth dignified the academic life.
The Pythagorean Philosophy ála Bertrand Russell
From Bertrand Russellgif, we have
"It is to this gentleman that we owe pure mathematics. The comtemplative ideal -- since it led to pure mathematics -- was the source of a useful activity. This increased it's prestige and gave it a success in theology, in ethics, and in philosophy."
Mathematics, so honored, became the model for other sciences. Thought became superior to the senses; intuition became superior to observation.
The combination of mathematics and theology began with Pythagoras. It characterized the religious philosophy in Greece, in the Middle ages, and down through Kant. In Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza and Kant there is a blending of religion and reason, of moral aspiration with logical admiration of what is timeless.
Platonism was essentially Pythagorean ism. The whole concept of an eternal world revealed to intellect but not to the senses can be attributed from the teachings of Pythagoras.
The Pythagorean School gained considerable influence in Croton and became politically active -- on the side of the aristocrasy. Probably because of this, after a time the citizens turned against him and his followers, burning his house. Forced out, he moved to Metapontum, also in Southern Italy. Here he died at the ages of eighty. His school lived on, alternating between decline and re-emergence, for several hundred years.
Tradition holds that Pythagoras left no written works, but that his ideas were carried on by his eager disciples.
What is known of the Pythagorean school is from a book written by the Pythagorean, Philolaus of Tarentum. From this book Plato learned the philosophy of Pythagoras.
The dictum of the Pythagorean school was All is number.
What this meant was that all things of the universe had a numerical attribute that uniquely described them. For example,
The number one : the number of reason.
The number two: the first even or female number, the number of opinion.
The number three: the first true male number, the number of harmony.
The number four: the number of justice or retribution.
The number five: marriage.
The number six: creation
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The number ten: the tetractys, the number of the universe.
Pythagorean Mathematics
One point: generator of dimensions.
Two points: generator of a line of dimension one
Three points: generator of a triangle of dimension two
Four points: generator of a tetrahedron, of dimension three.
The sum of these is ten and represents all dimensions. Note the abstraction of concept. This is a distance from ``fingers and toes".
Pythagorean Mathematics
Classification of numbers. The distinction between even and odd numbers certainly dates to Pythagoras. From Philolaus, we learn that
"...number is of two special kinds, odd and even, with a third, even-odd, arising from a mixture of the two; and of each kind there are many forms."
And these, even and odd, correspond to the usual definitions. But even-odd means a product of an even and odd number. Note: orginally the number 2 was not considered even.
Prime or incomposite numbers and secondary or composite numbers are defined in Philolaus:
A prime number is rectilinear, meaning that it can only be set out in one dimension. The number 2 was not originally regarded as a prime number, or even as a number at all.
A composite number is that which is measured by some number. (Euclid)