Assignment: write a 3-page essay on the life and legacy of Pythagoras and give a presentation thereof to the class - Fall 2011

Pythagoras: When Histories Collide - Draft Version Alpha (+ Minor Web Revisions)

For my topic, I will be exploring the philosophy and legacy of Pythagoras. Born on the Greek island of Samos, some 570 years before the Common Era, he ultimately founded a school of philosophy that would greatly influence not only other philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, but also a number of prominent figures throughout history. Although he is most well-known for the theorem bearing his name, his overall legacy consists of a contemplative and mystical exploration of number, space, time, music, and thus the cosmos itself. But to understand his cosmology, it is necessary to review a few important facts. Similar to other figures from antiquity, little is known about the historical man. Not only did he not leave behind any written texts himself, but many of the earliest texts, written by his more immediate followers, have been lost to history. As such, most of what we know comes from commentators writing several centuries after the life and times of Pythagoras himself. And by this time, mythical legends had already accumulated around his legacy, thus resulting in some biographical inconsistencies.

By way of example, there is a wide variety of sources attributed to where he received his training or education. Some commentators have Pythagoras being trained mostly in Greece, but others have him studying in Egypt, Persia, or even India. It is important, however, to keep in mind the mystical nature of his teachings as contemplation of the mysteries of life makes such questions (such as where he was trained and educated) irrelevant to those schooled in his name. Universal or cosmic truths should be true regardless as to whether one lives in Greece, Egypt, Persia, or anywhere else, as eternal truths are not subject to time as we might suppose them to be. So, the divergence of opinion is to be expected, especially as his underlying message is adapted and assimilated by larger groups of people. If little is thus known about the historical man, then what are we to make of the mythical man as he is known to us? One strategy would be to de-mythologize his image in such a way as to know facts and details about his life in history, even as many have attempted to do with various prominent names located throughout the biblical canon. While I leave it to others to discern the folly of that strategy, I instead will assume the role of an aspiring disciple seeking to introduce a more esoteric cosmology shared by those following in the footsteps of Pythagoras and the philosophical schools upon which he left a lasting impact.

While there are a number of important lessons to learn, I would like to start with the importance of thinking in terms of three. One of the classic examples, attributed to Pythagoras, is that of the Olympic Games, which he divided into three groups of people. One group includes all those buying and selling things, another group includes those participating in the games, and the third group includes those watching from the stands. To make this point a bit more explicit, think of the first group as being those who are sleep-walking through their lives unaware, following a sort of herd-mentality. Think of the second group as being those who have partially awakened to some semblance of independence from the group mindset, but are otherwise unaware of the invisible chains which compel them to perpetuate the status quo. Finally, think of the third group as being those who have awakened to an ability to guide the multitudes or otherwise exert some level of influence over them, such as compelling them to buy, sell, and entertain on their behalf. In the previous lesson, one is introduced to an important reality about life in this world. But to really understand the importance of thinking in terms of three, one must first acquire a foundational understanding of dualistic world into which one has been immersed. And this brings us to another classic example, attributed to Pythagoras, wherein several dualistic pairs are highlighted: limit and unlimited, odd and even, one and plurality, right and left, male and female, moving and resting, straight and curved, light and darkness, good and bad, square and oblong. By examining the interplay between these pairs, a common relationship can be discerned. Just as one divides to become two, the two are united to become one in three. In the two previous lessons, one is introduced to the importance of the numbers two and three. Time and space do not permit me to explore the importance of other numbers, but these examples should have illustrated some of the reasons why Pythagoras and his disciples so highly regarded the study of numbers, and their relationships to space, time, and cosmos.

For the remainder of this report, I would like to briefly highlight a few other aspects of Pythagorean cosmology and philosophy. Pythagoras is said to have been a strict vegetarian, partially on compassionate grounds but mostly due to a belief in soul transmigration or reincarnation. If one where to conceptualize the world as being a great cosmic schoolhouse wherein the offspring of god are learning lessons through life experiences, then it is not a far leap to the conceptualize a world inhabited by souls at varying levels of development ranging from rocks, to plants, to animals, to humans, and to everything in between. From here, it is not difficult to see how logic and reason would lead one to conclude that mature or advanced souls would abstain from bloodshed and violence, especially when it comes to the more innocent and defenseless among us, whereas immature souls have yet to develop beyond such carnal instincts. The image of Pythagoras, in some sense, is thus an evangel appealing to the inherent goodness or divinity in humanity, or else a form of propaganda put forth by those who fashioned his image. I will leave it to others to decide this for themselves, however, as this brings me to two classical distinctions made between students of Pythagoras. In having been exposed to this report, one has begun to be exposed to the outer teachings of listeners. But being exposed is not enough to be granted access to the inner teachings of learners, as not every thing is to be told to every body, lest pearls should be cast before swine.

Pythagoras: When Histories Collide - Final Version Beta (+ Minor Web Revisions)

For my topic, I will be exploring the philosophy and legacy of Pythagoras. Although he is most well-known for the theorem bearing his name, his overall legacy consists of a mystical and contemplative exploration of number, space, time, music, and thus the cosmos itself, and has been carried across the centuries through a school of philosophy which would influence many other philosophers and prominent figures through them.

With respect to the life and philosophy of Pythagoras, it is necessary for me to start off with a sort of disclaimer. Similar to other figures from antiquity, very little is actually known about the historical man. Not only did he not leave behind any written texts himself, but many of the earliest texts have been lost to history. As such, most of what we know comes from commentators writing several centuries after his death. And by this time, a number of legends had already accumulated around his legacy, thus resulting in biographical and philosophical inconsistencies. Many of these make up what is sometimes called the Pythagorean Question, since the historical man has become almost inseparable from the legends and myths surrounding him. So, what follows is a generic consensus account of his life, philosophy, and school: weighted towards earliest sources.

With respect to his life, Pythagoras is believed to have been born some 570 years prior to the Common Era, or about 2600 years ago, on the Greek island of Samos, which is near Miletus, on the coast of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. Various accounts suggest that he may have traveled to Babylonia, Phoenicia, and Egypt as a younger man, so as to learn from the elders of a diverse cultural background, but some accounts have him being trained primarily in Greece. We learn from Aristoxenus, a Greek philosopher and pupil of Aristotle, that he left Samos at the age of forty to escape the tyranny of Polycrates, and that he fled to the Greek city of Croton in southern Italy where he began to attract a large number of followers to his way of life. Accounts differ with respect to his death, as Aristoxeneus and Dicaecharus have him dying in Croton around 510 BCE from a violent attack directed at him and his followers on account of their exclusive way of life, and other commentators have him fleeing to Metapontum another city in southern Italy where he survives for another twenty years or so. Either way, it appears that Pythagoras lived well into old age and had thus acquired a great amount of wisdom from which he could share and pass along to others.

With respect to his philosophy, some commentators picture him as a strict vegetarian that refuses to even communicate with those who slay animals or consume meat, whereas others suggest that he was a bit more practical when it came to dietary standards. Whether dogmatic or practical, his aversion to meat-consumption was based partially on compassionate grounds, but the primary driving force seems to have been a religious conviction concerning transmigration of souls or reincarnation. Not only was he reportedly aware of his own past lives, but those of his closest followers, as well as others which came seeking admittance to his school. Several explanations could perhaps be offered for these peculiar beliefs, but given the mathematical context of his teachings, it would seem probable that vibrational harmony would have been a concern to him, as much of Pythagorean mysticism seems to be heavily rooted in contemplation of numbers, shapes, and frequencies. But speculation aside, a key aspect of his philosophy seems to have been the conviction that the soul is able to pass from one body into that of another, even if we ourselves are perhaps unfamiliar with the actual details. What is clear, however, is that he placed a great deal of importance upon the necessity to not only refrain from meat-consumption, but to also build up the mind by means of contemplation and inquiry into the various forms of mathematical sciences. By embracing this philosophical way of life, students of Pythagoras undoubtedly understood the philosophy of their teacher much better than those who commented apart from having themselves embraced the lifestyle, as one informs the other and vice versa.

With respect to his school, Pythagoras is said to have first examined the physical traits and characteristics of those aspiring to be his disciples. Then, he would determine a period of time by which the aspiring disciple was to keep or maintain silence, which was regarded to be one of the most difficult lessons. During this period of time, the aspirants were called auditors or hearers. The prescribed period of time was different for each one, but lasted at least two years in length. During this period of silence, they were forbidden to ask questions or make remarks upon whatever they heard, regardless as to whether they fully understood or not. But once they had completed their allotted period of testing, they were then allowed to speak, ask questions, write down what they heard, and comment accordingly. At this point, they became known as students of the sciences, wherein they started to investigate the laws of nature, and to become natural philosophers. But as mentioned earlier, the philosophy of Pythagoras was inseparable from the way of life which he advocated, so his disciples were expected to embrace a lifestyle modeled in some way after his own. This included such things as holding all things in common as a sort of universal brotherhood and women in high regard. Each individual member was considered to be equal to one another, but a distinction was made between those who knew the inner teachings and those who knew only the outer teachings, as not everybody needed to know everything. This separation, between those in the know and those who do not, had more to do with each individual member’s ability to embrace the way of life advocated by Pythagoras, than such trivial things as race, gender, and ethnicity. In this sense, the Pythagoreans were considerably ahead of their times, and advocated a call to conscience wherein the inherent goodness and divinity of every man, woman, and child could be recognized and celebrated by all.

Bibliography

Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, Fragments and Commentary
Arthur Fairbanks, ed. and trans. The First Philosophers of Greece
(London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1898), 132-156.
Online: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/presoc/pythagor.htm (9/2011)

The Complete Pythagoras: edited by Patrick Rousell for the World Wide Web.
Online: http://www.completepythagoras.net (9/2011)

Huffman, Carl, "Pythagoras", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2011 Edition),
Online: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2011/entries/pythagoras/ (9/2011)

Allen, Don “Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans”
Online: http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/pythag/pythag.html (9/2011)