Plato and Pythagoreanism
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 320
ISBN-13: 9780199898220
Subjects: Pythagorean theorem; Pythagoras and pythagorean school; Mathematics, ancient; Plato
Description: This work argues that a specific type of Pythagorean philosophy, called "mathematical" Pythagoreanism, exercised a decisive influence on fundamental aspects of Plato's philosophy. Specifically, innovations of mathematical Pythagoreans such as Hippasus of Metapontum, Empedocles of Agrigentum, Epicharmus of Syracuse, Philolaus of Croton, and Archytas of Tarentum presented philosophers like Plato with novel ways to reconcile empirical knowledge with abstract mathematical theories.