The Nature of the Universe Pythagoras & The Pythagorians

Metropolitan Museum of Art Miniatures PYTHAGORAS The Pythagorians, a school founded by Pythagoras, were interested in how things were related in the universe. They noted the fact that many things which were related could be stated by numbers. For example the length of a string was related to it's sound on an instrument. So they reasoned that the 'stuff' for which philosophers were looking was numbers. Numbers became things and entities for them and they taught the universe was built by numbers. A point was one, and a line was two, a triangle was three, a square was four, and since the harmonious octave reached over eight notes, eight was friendship. They developed a most complex system of numbers in their efforts to show how everything was actually made of numbers. (1) Pythagoras was a prohet and a mystic born in Somas. He traveled to Egypt, Babylon, and India. The Pythagorians believed in transmigration of souls and were vegetarians. The very words "philosophy" (or love of wisdom) and "mathematics" ( 'that' which is learned) are supposed to have been coined by Pythagoras himself. With their group, mathematics was more close to a love of wisdom than was the exigencies of practical life and they had a rigorous dedication to keeping the soul pure while they attended their philosophical studies. (2) (1) Reference: Condensed from Ideas of the Great Philosophers Barnes & Noble, Inc. (2) Reference: Paraphrased from A History of Mathematics John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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