Pythagoras, a figure shrouded in both legend and profound influence, stands as one of history’s most intellectually significant individuals. Flourishing around 532 B.C. in Croton, Southern Italy, he was a complex blend of religious prophet and pure mathematician. His legacy is perplexing because the traditions surrounding him are an almost inextricable mix of fact and myth. He founded a religious society whose tenets included the transmigration of souls and the peculiar sinfulness of eating beans, yet he also laid the very foundations of demonstrative deductive argument in mathematics. This intimate connection between rigorous intellect and profound mysticism is a defining characteristic of his influence on philosophy, which, ever since his time, has been both profound and, at times, unfortunate.
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The Pythagorean society was not merely a philosophical school but a way of life, akin to a religious order. Members, including men and women on equal terms, held property in common and adhered to strict rules, some of which were based on primitive taboos (like abstaining from beans or not touching a white cock). This ascetic lifestyle was intertwined with a deep ethical belief in the contemplative life. For Pythagoras, the ultimate purification was disinterested science, particularly mathematics. The true philosopher, by dedicating himself to pure knowledge, could effectively release himself from the “wheel of birth” and achieve a state of ecstatic revelation through intellectual contemplation. This concept of “theory” (originally an Orphic word meaning “passionate sympathetic contemplation”) gradually evolved into its modern meaning through his influence, retaining for his followers an element of divine insight.
📐 How Did Pythagoras Unwittingly Challenge His Own Philosophy?
Pythagoras famously declared that “all things are numbers.” This statement, while seemingly nonsensical in a modern context, reflected his profound discovery of numerical relationships in music (leading to terms like “harmonic mean”) and his conception of numbers as shapes (squares, cubes, etc.). He envisioned the world as atomic, with bodies built from atoms arranged in geometric forms, hoping to make arithmetic the fundamental study in both physics and aesthetics. His greatest discovery, or that of his immediate disciples, was the Pythagorean theorem concerning right-angled triangles ($a^2 + b^2 = c^2$). This theorem, however, inadvertently led to the discovery of incommensurables (like $\sqrt{2}$), which challenged his entire philosophy. The realization that there were lengths that could not be expressed as exact ratios of integers forced Greek mathematicians to establish geometry independently of arithmetic, a development perfected in Euclid’s rigorous system.
✨ What Was the Lasting Impact of Pythagorean Mysticism?
The blend of mathematics and theology initiated by Pythagoras profoundly shaped religious philosophy in Greece, the Middle Ages, and even modern times until Kant. His influence is evident in Plato’s philosophy, particularly in the Orphic elements: the belief in immortality, other-worldliness, and the reverence for mathematics. The entire conception of an eternal, super-sensible world, revealed to the intellect rather than the senses, is largely derived from him. Even Christian theology, in its intellectualized forms, owes a significant debt to Pythagoras through Plato, as it sought logical proofs for God and immortality. His unique synthesis of intellectual rigor and mystical aspiration, despite its inherent contradictions, left an indelible mark on the landscape of Western thought, proving that even a “muddle-headed” notion can be immensely influential if it connects with deeper human aspirations.
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Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. Simon and Schuster, 1945.
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