Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Pythagoras, Dorion Sagan and Anon (Par)

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17 ideas

1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 1. Nature of Wisdom
Speak the truth, for this alone deifies man [Pythagoras, by Porphyry]
     Full Idea: Pythagoras advised above all things to speak the truth, for this alone deifies man.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Porphyry - Life of Pythagoras §41
     A reaction: Idea 4421 (of Nietzsche) stands in contrast to this. I am not quite sure why speaking the truth has such a high value. I am inclined to a minimalist view, which is just that philosophy is an attempt to speak the truth, as fishermen try to catch fish.
1. Philosophy / B. History of Ideas / 2. Ancient Thought
Pythagoras discovered the numerical relation of sounds on a string [Pythagoras, by Diog. Laertius]
     Full Idea: Pythagoras discovered the numerical relation of sounds on a string.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 08.1.11
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 3. Scientism
Scientists know everything about nothing, philosophers nothing about everything [Sagan,D]
     Full Idea: The scientist learns more and more about less and less, until she knows everything about nothing, whereas a philosopher learns less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything.
     From: Dorion Sagan (Cosmic Apprentice [2013])
     A reaction: [Came via Twitter] Not sure if this is true, but it is too nice to miss.
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / m. One
For Pythagoreans 'one' is not a number, but the foundation of numbers [Pythagoras, by Watson]
     Full Idea: For Pythagoreans, one, 1, is not a true number but the 'essence' of number, out of which the number system emerges.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE], Ch.8) by Peter Watson - Ideas Ch.8
     A reaction: I think this is right! Counting and numbers only arise once the concept of individuality and identity have arisen. Counting to one is no more than observing the law of identity. 'Two' is the big adventure.
10. Modality / B. Possibility / 1. Possibility
In future, only logical limits can be placed on divine omnipotence [Anon (Par), by Boulter]
     Full Idea: The Condemnation stipulated that all portions of the ancient intellectual heritage that placed non-logical limits on divine omnipotence were no longer to be tolerated. ...Philosophers now had to entertain the wildest ideas with all seriousness.
     From: report of Anon (Par) (The Condemnation of 1277 [1277]) by Stephen Boulter - Why Medieval Philosophy Matters 3
     A reaction: Boulter identifies this as 'the ultimate source of Hume's philosophical delirium'. Presumably the angels-on-a-pinhead stuff originated with this. It is crazy to think that the only limit on possible existence is logic. Can God make a planet of uranium?
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 4. Foundationalism / f. Foundationalism critique
It is heresy to require self-evident foundational principles in order to be certain [Anon (Par)]
     Full Idea: Heresy 151: 'To have certainty regarding any conclusion, it must be founded on self-evident principles'.
     From: Anon (Par) (The Condemnation of 1277 [1277], 151), quoted by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 20.3
     A reaction: The correct view is obviously to found certainty on faith and authority. It is one thing to be told that foundationalism is a poor theory, but another to be told it is a heresy, and thus a potential capital crime!
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / d. Health
Pythagoras taught that virtue is harmony, and health, and universal good, and God [Pythagoras, by Diog. Laertius]
     Full Idea: Pythagoras taught that virtue is harmony, and health, and universal good, and God.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 08.1.19
     A reaction: I like the link with health, because I consider that a bridge over the supposed fact-value gap. Very Pythagorean to think that virtue is harmony. Plato liked that thought.
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / c. Justice
For Pythagoreans, justice is simply treating all people the same [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: Some even think that what is just is simple reciprocity, as the Pythagoreans maintained, because they defined justice simply as having done to one what one has done to another.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE], 28) by Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics 1132b22
     A reaction: One wonders what Pythagoreans made of slavery. Aristotle argues that officials, for example, have superior rights. The Pythagorean idea makes fairness the central aspect of justice, and that must at least be partly right.
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / d. Study of history
It is heresy to teach that history repeats every 36,000 years [Anon (Par)]
     Full Idea: It is heresy to teach that with all the heavenly bodies coming back to the same point after a period of thirty-six thousand years, the same effects as now exist will reappear.
     From: Anon (Par) (The Condemnation of 1277 [1277], §92)
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 4. Mathematical Nature
Pythagoreans define timeliness, justice and marriage in terms of numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: The Pythagoreans offered definitions of a limited range of things on the basis of numbers; examples are timeliness, justice and marriage.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Aristotle - Metaphysics 1078b
Pythagoreans think mathematical principles are the principles of all of nature [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: The Pythagoreans thought that the principles of mathematical entities were the principles of all entities.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Aristotle - Metaphysics 985b
When musical harmony and rhythm were discovered, similar features were seen in bodily movement [Pythagoras, by Plato]
     Full Idea: When our predecessors discovered musical scales, they also discovered similar features in bodily movement, which should also be measured numerically, and called 'tempos' and 'measures'.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Plato - Philebus 17d
Pythagoreans say things imitate numbers, but Plato says things participate in numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: Pythagoreans said that entities existed by imitation of the numbers, whereas Plato said that it was by participation.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Aristotle - Metaphysics 987b
For Pythagoreans the entire universe is made of numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: For Pythagoreans the entire universe is constructed of numbers.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Aristotle - Metaphysics 1080b
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 3. Divine Perfections
It is heresy to teach that natural impossibilities cannot even be achieved by God [Anon (Par)]
     Full Idea: It is heresy to teach that what is absolutely impossible according to nature cannot be brought about by God or another agent.
     From: Anon (Par) (The Condemnation of 1277 [1277], §17)
28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / b. Ontological Proof critique
It is heresy to teach that we can know God by his essence in this mortal life [Anon (Par)]
     Full Idea: It is heresy to teach that we can know God by his essence in this mortal life.
     From: Anon (Par) (The Condemnation of 1277 [1277], §9)
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
The modern idea of an immortal soul was largely created by Pythagoras [Pythagoras, by Watson]
     Full Idea: The modern concept of the immortal soul is a Greek idea, which owes much to Pythagoras.
     From: report of Pythagoras (reports [c.530 BCE]) by Peter Watson - Ideas Ch.5
     A reaction: You can see why it caught on - it is a very appealing idea. Watson connects the 'modern' view with the ideas of heaven and hell. Obviously the idea of an afterlife goes a long way back (judging from the contents of ancient graves).