The ancient period of philosophy is called Pre-Socratic, around 624 BCE. Some Pre-Socratic philosphers are: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Hippocrates etc.
In this article I would like to share some interesting facts about Pythagoras, as he is my favorite Pre-Socratis Philosopher, and I will tell you why... shortly... keep reading :)
Pythagoras is often described as a very important mathematician, yet we have nothing written by him, so we don't know much about his work. What we DO know is that he was both a mathematician and a mystic.
As a mathematician, he is well known for the Pytagorean Theorem.
"The sum of the squares of the sides of a right angle triangle are equal to the square of the hypotenuse".
Pythagoras was a mysterious figure. He created a secret society, half scientific and half philosophical, called ‘mathematikoi’. This society contributed enormously to the understanding of mathematics.
Pythagoras believed that the world is created from numbers and numbers are the essence of reality. Numbers rule the Universe and numbers are present in all things.
Pythagoras is also known as the father of astronomy. He was the first to speak about the spherical shape of Earth and the planetary motion. He believed that Earth evolves around a central fire!!!
Besides being a mathematician and an astronomer, Pythagoras was a great philosopher.
He believed that the body is the tomb of the soul. He believed that the soul has 3 parts - the love of gain, honor and wisdom. So, in his concept, there were three types of men: those who love gain, those who love honor and those who love wisdom.
His most common questions were:
What is reality? How does one come to know the truth? How shall I live my life?
Pythagoras and his followers believed that the soul is immortal. All living things are related and the soul migrates from a being to another, from people to animals or plants and back. I find this very interesting.
Pythagoras were vegetarians, with no personal possessions. They related morality to the harmony of the soul. They praised friendship, altruism and integrity. At the end of each day they asked themselves what good they have done. Quite remarkable, isn't it?
But what I like most about Pythagoras is the fact that he is the first person on record who believed in equality between men and women. He accepted women in his school! He provided humane treatments to his slaves. That is admirable!
So now you know why Pythagoras is my favorite ancient philosopher. I hope I brought some interesting information in this article. There is so much to learn out there!
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