Quiz
- What did Pythagoras say the three classes of people are?
- What term that we use today was coined by Pythagoras?
- How can you explain Pythagoras' "Perfect Triangle?"
- Using his theorem, What is the lentgh of a right-angled triangle if the two shortest sides are 6cm and 8cm
- Some may refer to Pythagoras as "Pythagoras of ____ "
- Pythagoras is credited for many mathematic and geometric advances, most famously, what?
Discussion Questions
- Do you agree with Pythagoras that music, like mathematics, can enable people to see into the structure of nature?
- Pythagoras believed that music could purify the mind and heal the body. Do you agree with this? If yes, then what are some ways that we can credit music for this?
- Do you believe that goodness is rooted in harmony? Can you find goodness is chaos?
- Does everything relate to mathematics and numbers, in your opinion? Can everything be explained using mathematics?
- Pythagoras thereom states that in a right angled triangle the square of the long side is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. How can this be explained with a metaphor that is not mathematic?
Christian Nash
ReplyDeletePhilosophy 1030
Professor Oliver
October 25 2017
Pythagoras Biography
Pythagoras was born in Samos, Greece. He was born between 600 and 590 BC. Multiple sources report different causes of deaths at different times. Some say he reached 100 years, most sources say he lived to about age 75. He didn’t write anything, and nothing was written about him for about 200 years. Pythagoras was seen as a divine figure, and his early life strangely parallels the life of Jesus. Pythagoras was famous for many reasons, one being for his views on life and death. He believed in reincarnation and that the soul is immortal (“The Life”). “According to legend, in a past life Pythagoras had been a son of Hermes, named Aethalides. Hermes promised him any gift (except immortality), and Aethalides/Pythagoras wished to remember everything, even after death” (“Jesus”). He was said to have a thigh of gold and to be present in two places at once. The Pythagorean way of life also included becoming vegetarian and following strict religious and self-discipline (Huffman). This lifestyle was thought to be enhanced by purity, and the soul could not be contaminated to continue the “wheel of rebirth.” There is also a story about Pythagoras arriving in Croton, in the outskirts of the city. After running into some fishermen, he guessed how many fish were in a bag (the same miracle Jesus performs in Luke and John). The number he guessed was 153, which is considered a sacred number to Pythagoreans, and is called “the ratio of fish” which creates a symbol of Pisces (“Jesus”). There is also this idea about the riddle of Jesus Christ. A famous painting portraying Jesus shows his hands propped up in the shape of a right-angle triangle. “Jesus and Christ are two of the three sides of a right triangle, and to solve the riddle you must find the third word, the lost word, that represents geometrically the third side of the triangle.” The solution is Greek word which means “you have known” which finishes the riddle, making the symbolic meaning of the right-angle triangle “you have known Jesus Christ” (Kadmon). “Pythagoras was also the one to coin the term of “philosopher.” The word they used before was “sage” which meant “those who know.” “Philosopher” was more modest meaning: “one who is attempting to find out” (“Life”).
Works Cited:
Huffman, Carl. “Pythagoras.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 23 Feb. 2005, plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras.
“Jesus and Pythagoras Similarities.” Holy Blasphemy, 17 Nov. 2010, www.holyblasphemy.net/jesus-and-pythagoras-similarities.
Kadmon, Adam. “Jesus the Sacred Triangle.” Esoteric Online, 8 Feb. 2013, www.esotericonline.net/group/christianity/forum/topics/jesus-the-sacred-triangle.
“The Life and Philosophy of Pythagoras.” Secret Teachings of All Ages: The Life and Philosophy of Pythagoras, www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta15.htm.