Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Back Again · 12-11-2009, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApostateAbe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

It is a serious proposition made in by academics. Other academics reported it in the Radio programme.

OK, personally, do you think it is more likely that Pythagoras existed or that he didn't exist?

I would give roughly equal probability to the historical existences of Pythagoras and Ned Ludd.

Iskander · 12-11-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

It is a serious proposition made in by academics. Other academics reported it in the Radio programme.

Hi Clive

Has a man now known to us by the name of Pythagoras ever lived? What a wonderful opportunity for the pompous academics to prance around on the stage like peacocks spouting tongue twisters in the languages of the Babel tower!

Not much is known about Pythagoras, which is a good thing because it should keep lots of learned people busy patting each other on the back and give plenty of blank cartridges for the excitable monkeys to fire at will..

The HP is a most senseless proposition and mathematics is a myth: freethinkers, atheists, and all those with a chip on the shoulder should know that.

Quote:

5. The Pythagoreans
The torch was picked up by Pythagoras who, supposedly having learned from Thales, founded his own school in Croton, a Greek settlement in southern Italy. There are no written works by the Pythagoreans; we know about them through the writings of others, including Plato and Herodotus. In particular we are hazy about the personal life of Pythagoras and his followers; nor can we be sure of what is to be credited to him personally or to his followers. Hence when one speaks of the work of Pythagoras one really refers to the work done by the group between 585 B.C., the reputed date of his birth, and roughly 400 B.C. Philolaus (5th cent. B.C.) and Archytas (428-347 B.C.) were prominent members of this school. Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos, just off the coast of Asia Minor. After spending some time with Thales in Miletus, he traveled to other places, including Egypt and Babylon, where he may have picked up some mathematics and mystical doctrines. He then settled in Croton. There he..

Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times
Volume 1
Morris Kline
OUP--1972
ISBN 9780195061352
Page 28

Clivedurdle · 12-11-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApostateAbe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

It is a serious proposition made in by academics. Other academics reported it in the Radio programme.

OK, personally, do you think it is more likely that Pythagoras existed or that he didn't exist?

No Idea! I was surprised to find him being questioned, and thought, hang on, do we have a trend?

andrewcriddle · 12-11-2009, 01:33 PM

IMO we have enough early fragments about Pythagoras to make it highly probable that there was a religious guru called Pythagoras, a believer in reincarnation, who founded the sect of the Pythagoreans.

What is very doubtful is whether the historical Pythagoras had any interest in Mathematics and/or Numerology. Some of his later followers had such concerns but that is another matter.

Andrew Criddle

aa5874 · 12-11-2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewcriddle

IMO we have enough early fragments about Pythagoras to make it highly probable that there was a religious guru called Pythagoras, a believer in reincarnation, who founded the sect of the Pythagoreans.

What is very doubtful is whether the historical Pythagoras had any interest in Mathematics and/or Numerology. Some of his later followers had such concerns but that is another matter.

Andrew Criddle

There is really insufficient evidence to claim it is VERY doubtful that the historical Pythagoras had any interest in Mathematics and/or Numerology when you cannot find any confirmed writing of Pythagoras claiming that he was not interested in Mathematics and/or Numerology.

It is actually the reverse. If Pythagoras did exist it is very likely that he was a mathematician since there is a geometrical theory, the Pythagorean theory, named after him.

mountainman · 12-11-2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gurugeorge

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

Xianity is obviously an evolutionary result of this wondrous marinade.

.... because the Romans wanted a universal religion to help unite the empire.

Why a Jewish-based religion?

The Roman Empire was not Italian it was Greek in its culture. A Jewish based religion was NOT GREEK. The 4th century Christian state revolution was Anti-Hellenistic. (And of course, Anti-Jewish)

Iskander · 12-12-2009, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewcriddle

IMO we have enough early fragments about Pythagoras to make it highly probable that there was a religious guru called Pythagoras, a believer in reincarnation, who founded the sect of the Pythagoreans.

What is very doubtful is whether the historical Pythagoras had any interest in Mathematics and/or Numerology. Some of his later followers had such concerns but that is another matter.

Andrew Criddle

This article about Pythagoras

Quote:

The popular modern image of Pythagoras is that of a master mathematician and scientist. The early evidence shows, however, that, while Pythagoras was famous in his own day and even 150 years later in the time of Plato and Aristotle, it was not mathematics or science upon which his fame rested. Pythagoras was famous (1) as an expert on the fate of the soul after death, who thought that the soul was immortal and went through a series of reincarnations; (2) as an expert on religious ritual; (3) as a wonder-worker who had a thigh of gold and who could be two places at the same time; (4) as the founder of a strict way of life that emphasized dietary restrictions, religious ritual and rigorous self discipline.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras/

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

12-11-2009, 01:33 PM	#14
andrewcriddle Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Birmingham UK Posts: 4,876	IMO we have enough early fragments about Pythagoras to make it highly probable that there was a religious guru called Pythagoras, a believer in reincarnation, who founded the sect of the Pythagoreans. What is very doubtful is whether the historical Pythagoras had any interest in Mathematics and/or Numerology. Some of his later followers had such concerns but that is another matter. Andrew Criddle

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.