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Single Idea 17858

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 4. Mathematical Nature ]

Full Idea

For Pythagoreans the entire universe is constructed from numbers.

Gist of Idea

Pythagoreans say the whole universe is made of numbers

Source

Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1080b16)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Metaphysics', ed/tr. Lawson-Tancred,Hugh [Penguin 1998], p.409

A Reaction

The original view seems to have been more extreme than the mere idea that mathematics is the guide to nature, or the language of God. Stones are made of numbers. Aristotle was unimpressed.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [mathematics is the essence of reality]:

554 Pythagoreans say things imitate numbers, but Plato says things participate in numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
644 For Pythagoreans the entire universe is made of numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
375 When musical harmony and rhythm were discovered, similar features were seen in bodily movement [Pythagoras, by Plato]
638 Pythagoreans define timeliness, justice and marriage in terms of numbers [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
553 Pythagoreans think mathematical principles are the principles of all of nature [Pythagoras, by Aristotle]
1518 Everything must involve numbers, or it couldn't be thought about or known [Philolaus]
1519 Harmony must pre-exist the cosmos, to bring the dissimilar sources together [Philolaus]
473 There is no falsehood in harmony and number, only in irrational things [Philolaus]
17858 Pythagoreans say the whole universe is made of numbers [Aristotle]
1517 The tektraktys (1+2+3+4=10) is the 'fount of ever-flowing nature' [Sext.Empiricus]
3645 To understand the universe mathematics is essential [Galileo]
24023 All the sciences searching for order and measure are related to mathematics [Descartes]
19356 Minds unconsciously count vibration beats in music, and enjoy it when they coincide [Leibniz]
19592 The basic relations of nature are musical [Novalis]