Pythagoras

More than just a theorem (well…a little more)

Biography Between 580 BC and 500 BC Founded the religion Pythagoreanism Studied: Metaphysics, Music, Mathematics,

Ethics, Politics Ideas: Musica universalis, Golden ratio,

Pythagorean tuning, Pythagorean theorem

What we know about Pythagoras He never recorded any of his theories or thoughts All information was recorded by students or

students of students (Works not as well recorded as Plato recorded Socrates)

Many records have contradicting views of Pythagoras

Aristotle wrote many of the ideas of Pythagoras, though they lived in different periods. His collection of Pythagorean maxims is called: “acusmata”

Some Ideas Observed blacksmiths hitting anvils and

wondered why one sounded different than another, then observed that an anvil half the size of another made a note of proportional difference.

This idea was extrapolated onto applications in music and mathematics and led to his doctrine of a universe aligned by numbers.

Numbers Pythagorean theorem He and his followers believed that the universe

was guided by numbers and that everything was predictable in rhythmic patterns.

To him, understanding the soul was understanding the numbers of balanced living

“number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons”

Metempsychosis Pythagoras believed that the human soul passed

from one form to another after death A Greek take on reincarnation Once stopped someone from beating a puppy

because he recognized the puppy’s yelp as a friend from a past lifetime

Claims to remember his past lives including one as a Trojan hero

Doctrine : “All animate beings are of the same family”

Pythagorean Way of Life Still practiced by followers over 100 years after

his death Strict specifications of religious rituals (enter the

temple barefoot before sacrifice) Consensus is that Pythagoreans lived life to

ensure the best possible reincarnations Since all animate beings are equal, many believe

Pythagoreans were vegetarians or that they would only eat certain parts of animals.

Society In the myth revering, Greek god praising society,

the Pythagoreans believed that numbers controlled the universe, and the set of beliefs derived from this idea conflicted with the beliefs taken from the myths of the Ancient gods.

Example: The will of the gods are unpredictable, yet the Pythagoreans used numbers to give the universe the ability to be predicted.