WHAT MAKES A PYTHAGOREAN PYTHAGOREAN?

Authors

  • John A. Fossa jfossa@oi.com.br
    PPGECNM e PPGEd- UFRN

DOI:

10.47976/RBHM2010v10n20165-172

Keywords:

Mathematics and Philosophy, Pythagoreanism, Theory of Proportion, Doctrine of the Divided Line

Abstract

The present paper characterizes the Pythagoreans as those thinkers that maintain that the lógos of the universe is revealed by a mathematical theory of proportion. Part of what is thereby revealed, according to the Pythagoreans, is the transmigration of the soul and the need to organize the mesocosm (society) in a manner isomorphic to the macrocosm (universe). It is also suggested that the organization of Pythagorean societies may have been the inspiration for Plato’s doctrine of the Divided Line.

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References

CORNFORD, F. M. 1922. “Mysticism and Science in the Pythagorean Tradition”. The Classical Quarterly, v. 16, n. 3/4, p. 137-150.

ERICKSON, Glenn W. & John A. FOSSA. 2006. A Linha Dividida: Uma Abordagem Matemática à Filosofia Platônica. Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumará.

FOSSA, John A. 2010. Os Primórdios da Teoria dos Números. [2 vols.] Natal: Editora da UFRN.

______. 2007. “A Linha Dupla e os Elementos Materiais”. O Que Nos Faz Pensar, n. 21, p. 203-217.

______. 2006. “On the Pentagram as a Pythagorean Emblem”. Revista Brasileira de História da Matemática v. 6, n. 12, p. 127-137.

FOSSA, John A. e Glenn W. ERICKSON. 2005. “The Divided Line and the Golden Mean”. Revista Brasileira de História da Matemática v. 5, n. 9, p. 59-77.

HEATH, T. L. 1981. A History of Greek Mathematics. [2 vols.] New York: Dover.

HUFFMAN, Carl A. 1993. Philolaus of Croton: Pythagorean and Presocratic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

IAMBLICHUS OF CHALCIS. 1987. The Life of Pythagoras. In K. S. Guthrie (Ed.) The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library. Grand Rapids: Phanes Press.

Published

2020-10-31

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How to Cite

FOSSA, John A. WHAT MAKES A PYTHAGOREAN PYTHAGOREAN?. Brazilian Journal on the History of Mathematics, São Paulo, vol. 10, no. 20, p. 165–172, 2020. DOI: 10.47976/RBHM2010v10n20165-172. Disponível em: https://rbhm.org.br/index.php/RBHM/article/view/142. Acesso em: 22 nov. 2024.

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