Boethius' Contribution to Quadrivium. Annotated Bibliography
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Summer Professional Development for Classical Liberal Arts Teachers
Academy for Classical Teachers Summer Professional Development for Classical Liberal Arts Teachers 2020 Academy for Classical Teachers The Academy for Classical Teachers partners with the Institute for Classi- cal Education to offer online seminars and courses within the classical lib- eral arts tradition. If you are a certified teacher, course hours may be applicable toward re- quired professional development clock hours for recertification. ACT Summer Courses Online Seminars Plato’s Republic (June and July Offerings) Homer’s Iliad (July) Online Courses: Philosophy of Education: Classical Sources Symposium Follow Up: Thucydides’ Education in Virtuous Leadership The Enigma of Health: Natural Science and the Ensouled Body Quadrivium: Euclidean Geometry Questions? Reach out to [email protected] GreatHearts 4801 E. Washington Street, Suite 250 Phoenix, AZ 85034 www.greatheartsamerica.org Academy for Classical Teachers | 2020 Online Seminars Each year, the Academy for Classical Teachers offers leisurely summer seminars around classic philosophical and literary texts. This year, we are pleased to present online seminars on both Plato’s Republic and Homer’s Iliad. Cost: $125 Course Details Plato's Republic (June and July Offerings) June Seminar Plato’s Republic is without question one of the most important and influential books ever written, and it is difficult to understand Western civilization without engaging with The Re- June 8-26 public. It is beautifully written, very accessible, and it is a joy to read and discuss this book. Tues. & Thurs. This summer, members of the community will have a special opportunity for an in-depth 6 - 7:30 pm (CST) complete reading and 3-week series of Socratic seminar discussions on this seminal book. -
Fiboquadratic Sequences and Extensions of the Cassini Identity Raised from the Study of Rithmomachia
Fiboquadratic sequences and extensions of the Cassini identity raised from the study of rithmomachia Tom´asGuardia∗ Douglas Jim´enezy October 17, 2018 To David Eugene Smith, in memoriam. Mathematics Subject Classification: 01A20, 01A35, 11B39 and 97A20. Keywords: pythagoreanism, golden ratio, Boethius, Nicomachus, De Arithmetica, fiboquadratic sequences, Cassini's identity and rithmomachia. Abstract In this paper, we introduce fiboquadratic sequences as a consequence of an extension to infinity of the board of rithmomachia. Fiboquadratic sequences approach the golden ratio and provide extensions of Cassini's Identity. 1 Introduction Pythagoreanism was a philosophical tradition, that left a deep influence over the Greek mathematical thought. Its path can be traced until the Middle Ages, and even to present. Among medieval scholars, which expanded the practice of the pythagoreanism, we find Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480-524 A.D.) whom by a free translation of De Institutione Arithmetica by Nicomachus of Gerasa, preserved the pythagorean teaching inside the first universities. In fact, Boethius' book became the guide of study for excellence during quadriv- ium teaching, almost for 1000 years. The learning of arithmetic during the arXiv:1509.03177v3 [math.HO] 22 Nov 2016 quadrivium, made necessary the practice of calculation and handling of basic mathematical operations. Surely, with the mixing of leisure with this exercise, Boethius' followers thought up a strategy game in which, besides the training of mind calculation, it was used to preserve pythagorean traditions coming from the Greeks and medieval philosophers. Maybe this was the origin of the philoso- phers' game or rithmomachia. Rithmomachia (RM, henceforward) became the ∗Department of Mathematics. -
OUT of TOUCH: PHILOPONUS AS SOURCE for DEMOCRITUS Jaap
OUT OF TOUCH: PHILOPONUS AS SOURCE FOR DEMOCRITUS Jaap Mansfeld 1. Introduction The view that according to Democritus atoms cannot touch each other, or come into contact, has been argued by scholars, most recently and carefully by C.C.W. Taylor, especially in his very useful edition of the fragments of the early Atomists.1 I am not concerned here with the theoretical aspect of this issue, that is to say with the view that the early Atomists should have argued (or posthumously admitted) that atoms cannot touch each other because only the void that separates them prevents fusion. I wish to focus on the ancient evidence for this interpretation. Our only ancient source for this view happens to be Philoponus; to be more precise, one brief passage in his Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics (fr. 54c Taylor) and two brief passages in that on Aristotle’s On Generation and Corruption (54dand54eTaylor~67A7 DK). These commentaries, as is well known, are notes of Ammonius’ lectures, with additions by Philoponus himself. Bodnár has argued that this evidence is not good enough, because all other ancient sources, in the first place Aristotle, are eloquently silent on a ban on contact; what we have here therefore are ‘guesses of Philoponus, which are solely based on the text of Aristotle’.2 Taylor admits the force of this objection, but sticks to his guns: ‘perhaps’, 1 Taylor (1997) 222,(1999) 186–188, 192–193,(1999a) 184, cf. the discussion in Kline and Matheson (1987) and Godfrey (1990). On the problems related to the assumption that attraction plays an important part see further the cautious remarks of Morel (1996) 422–424, who however does not take into account the passages in Philoponus which suggest that atoms cannot touch each other. -
The Pythagoreans in the Light and Shadows of Recent Research
The Pythagoreans in the light and shadows of recent research PAPER PRESENTED AT THE DONNERIAN SYMPOSIUM ON MYSTICISM, SEPTEMBER 7th 1968 By HOLGER THESLEFF It has been said' that "Pythagoras casts a long shadow in the history of Greek thought". Indeed, the shadow both widens and deepens spectacularly in course of time. He has not only been considered—on disputable grounds, as we shall see as the first European mystic. No other personality of the Greco–Roman world (except Christ, and perhaps Alexander the Great) has been credited with such powers and all-round capacities. Since early Impe- rial times he has been represented as a man of divine origin, a saint, a sage, a prophet, and a great magician; a sportsman and an ascetic; a poet and prose- writer; a Dorian nationalist (though an Ionian by birth); an eminent mathe- matician, musician, astronomer, logician, rhetorician, and physician; a world-wide traveller; a founder of a religious sect, an ethical brotherhood, and a political community; a great metaphysician and teacher whose views of the universe, human society and the human soul deeply influenced not only Plato and Aristotle, but Herakleitos, Parmenides, Demokritos and, in short, all prominent thinkers; a preacher of universal tolerance, and—a good hus- band and father. There can be seen occasional signs of a revival of Pythagoreanism at least from the ist century A. D. onwards,2 and some authors of the Imperial age 1 Philip (below), p. 3. 2 If Pseudo-Pythagorica are left out of account, the activity of the Sextii in Rome during the reign of Augustus is the first manifest sign. -
An Introduction to Pythagorean Arithmetic
AN INTRODUCTION TO PYTHAGOREAN ARITHMETIC by JASON SCOTT NICHOLSON B.Sc. (Pure Mathematics), University of Calgary, 1993 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of Mathematics We accept this thesis as conforming tc^ the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA March 1996 © Jason S. Nicholson, 1996 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my i department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Dale //W 39, If96. DE-6 (2/88) Abstract This thesis provides a look at some aspects of Pythagorean Arithmetic. The topic is intro• duced by looking at the historical context in which the Pythagoreans nourished, that is at the arithmetic known to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. The view of mathematics that the Pythagoreans held is introduced via a look at the extraordinary life of Pythagoras and a description of the mystical mathematical doctrine that he taught. His disciples, the Pythagore• ans, and their school and history are briefly mentioned. Also, the lives and works of some of the authors of the main sources for Pythagorean arithmetic and thought, namely Euclid and the Neo-Pythagoreans Nicomachus of Gerasa, Theon of Smyrna, and Proclus of Lycia, are looked i at in more detail. -
Notes: Definition and Explanation of Trivium and Quadrivium
DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION OF TRIVIUM AND QUADRIVIUM (From the first time I taught the course--my notes) (Communication Education, Vol. 35,#2, April, 1986, 174, Teaching Critical Thinking Skills) In the Middle Ages university courses were divided into two areas, the Arts and the Sciences. These were a system of rules for generating knowledge. The seven Liberal Arts of Languages ( or Arts) and Sciences were complements, and obviously comprised a Liberal Arts education .. TRIVIUM The Languages (ARTS), or Trivium were composed of: Grammar (Latin) Logic Rhetoric These Arts were concerned with (and were to discover) the social significance of knowledge. These Arts were relatively subjective. Completion of this study led to a bachelor's degree. QUADRIVIUM The Sciences, the Quadrivium, was composed of: Arithmetic Geometry Astronomy Music The Sciences arranged knowledge into systematic bodies of information. The Sciences were relatively objective. Completion of the Quadrivium led to a master's degree (Continued Explanation of Trivium and Quadrivium) Rhetoric, chief among the courses of the Trivium, liberated students from a single view of a problem and led them to social autonomy. The divisions of classical rhetoric provide directions forteaching critical thinking skills. Peter Ramus, 1515-1572, redefined ancient discipliines: Beginning with the trivium, with the arts of discourse, Ramus defined grammar as the art of speaking well, that is of speaking correctly; dialectic as the art of reasoning well; and rhetoric as the art of the eloquent and ornate use of language. Skills arising from Invention/inventio/heuristic were insights from researched information and discovery of arguments to support the point of view espoused. -
Spring 2016 Volume 42 Issue 3
Spring 2016 Volume 42 Issue 3 341 David Foster Holbein and Plato on the Quadrivium 367 Nelson Lund A Woman’s Laws and a Man’s: Eros and Thumos in Rousseau’s Julie, or The New Heloise (1761) and The Deer Hunter (1978) 437 Thomas L. Pangle Socrates’s Argument for the Superiority of the Life Dedicated to Politics Review Essays: 463 Liu Xiaofeng How Philosophy Became Socratic: A Study of Plato’s “Protagoras,” “Charmides,” and “Republic” by Laurence Lampert 477 Matthew Post The Meanings of Rights: The Philosophy and Social Theory of Rights, ed. Costas Douzinas and Conor Gearty; Libertarian Philosophy in the Real World: The Politics of Natural Rights by Mark D. Friedman; The Cambridge Companion to Liberalism by Steven Wall An Exchange: 495 Tucker Landy Reply to Antoine Pageau St.-Hilaire’s Review of After Leo Strauss: New Directions in Platonic Political Philosophy 497 Antoine P. St-Hilaire Strauss’s Platonism and the Fate of Metaphysics: A Rejoinder to Tucker Landy’s Reply Book Reviews: 501 Rodrigo Chacón Arendtian Constitutionalism: Law, Politics and the Order of Freedom by Christian Volk 507 Ross J. Corbett Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls by Alex P. Jassen 513 Bernard J. Dobski On Sovereignty and other Political Delusions by Joan Cocks; Freedom Beyond Sovereignty: Reconstructing Liberal Individualism by Sharon Krause 521 Lewis Fallis On Plato’s “Euthyphro” by Ronna Burger 525 Hannes Kerber Political Philosophy: What It Is and Why It Matters by Ronald Beiner 531 Pavlos Leonidas Western Civilization and the Academy by Bradley C. S. Watson Papadopoulos 543 Antonio Sosa Democracy in Decline? by Larry Diamond and Marc F. -
The Liberal Arts
The Liberal Arts Philosophia et septem artes liberales, The seven liberal arts – Picture from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century) The liberal arts (Latin: artes liberales) are those subjects or skills that in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person (a citizen) to know in order to take an active part in civic life. In Ancient Greece this included participating in public debate, defending oneself in court, serving on juries, and most importantly, military service (slaves and resident aliens were by definition excluded from the duties and responsibilities of citizenship). The aim of these studies was to produce a virtuous, knowledgeable, and articulate person. Grammar, rhetoric, and logic were the core liberal arts. During medieval times, when learning came under the purview of the Church, these subjects (called the Trivium) were extended to include the four other classical subjects of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy (which included the study of astrology). This extension was called the Quadrivium, and these well defined subjects originated during classical times. Together the Trivium and Quadrivium constituted the seven liberal arts of the medieval university curriculum. In the Renaissance, the Italian humanists, who in many respects continued the grammatical and rhetorical traditions of the Middle Ages, rechristened the old Trivium with a new and more ambitious name: Studia humanitatis, and also increased its scope. They excluded logic and added to the traditional Latin grammar -
NCF Academic Catalog | Page 1
NCF Academic Catalog | Page 1 [intentionally blank] NCF Academic Catalog | Page 2 Academic Catalogue 2019 – 2020 Education is the food of youth, the delight of old age, the ornament of prosperity, the refuge and comfort of adversity, and the provocation to grace in the soul. ST. AUGUSTINE physical address 136 3rd Avenue South, Franklin, TN 37064 mailing address P.O. Box 1575, Franklin, TN 37065 615-815-8360 newcollegefranklin.org NCF Academic Catalog | Page 3 AUTHORIZATION New College Franklin is authorized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. This authorization must be renewed each year and is based on an evaluation by minimum standards concerning quality of education, ethical business practices, health and safety, and fiscal responsibility. NON-DISCRIMINATION New College Franklin admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at New College Franklin. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies or any other school-administered programs. FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) New College Franklin is committed to the privacy and confidentiality of student records. It may release financial, academic, and personal information to parents of dependent students seventeen years of age and younger without students’ consent. If students are eighteen or older and independent from their parents, they must provide written consent to the college before financial, academic, and personal information is released to the parents. College personnel may reveal generally observed public behavior to parents. -
The Origin of Life:Ahistory of Ancient Greek Theories
Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 1980 Volume V: Man and the Environment The Origin of Life:Ahistory of Ancient Greek Theories Curriculum Unit 80.05.11 by Joyce Puglia This unit presents a history of scientific thought relating to the origin of life as explained mainly by early Greek scientific philosophers. The unit begins with Greek science during the eighth century B.C. and proceeds quickly into the seventh century B.C., concluding with the fourth century B.C. Since the scope is limited to this time period the unit will end with information that is presently, for the most part, outdated. The teacher must constantly remind the students of this fact. The purpose of this unit is not to impart scientific knowledge for its own sake. Rather, it is to show how scientific thinkers came to their conclusions based upon how science was viewed in the scheme of history. There are various high school courses taught, yet no specific course has been designed to relate the development of the academic disciplines to each other. Many science textbooks include the names of scientists who contributed valuable information upon which specific ideas were developed. Yet, most textbooks provide a minimum amount of information relating to the scientists themselves. It is my feeling that students will better understand the development of scientific thought if an opportunity can be provided in which a connection can be made between science and history. There are four general objectives for this unit. Upon completing the unit students will: 1. be familiar with the ideas of early scientific minds, 2. -
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans1
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans1 Historically, the name Pythagoras meansmuchmorethanthe familiar namesake of the famous theorem about right triangles. The philosophy of Pythagoras and his school has become a part of the very fiber of mathematics, physics, and even the western tradition of liberal education, no matter what the discipline. The stamp above depicts a coin issued by Greece on August 20, 1955, to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the first school of philosophy by Pythagoras. Pythagorean philosophy was the prime source of inspiration for Plato and Aristotle whose influence on western thought is without question and is immeasurable. 1 c G. Donald Allen, 1999 ° Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans 2 1 Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans Of his life, little is known. Pythagoras (fl 580-500, BC) was born in Samos on the western coast of what is now Turkey. He was reportedly the son of a substantial citizen, Mnesarchos. He met Thales, likely as a young man, who recommended he travel to Egypt. It seems certain that he gained much of his knowledge from the Egyptians, as had Thales before him. He had a reputation of having a wide range of knowledge over many subjects, though to one author as having little wisdom (Her- aclitus) and to another as profoundly wise (Empedocles). Like Thales, there are no extant written works by Pythagoras or the Pythagoreans. Our knowledge about the Pythagoreans comes from others, including Aristotle, Theon of Smyrna, Plato, Herodotus, Philolaus of Tarentum, and others. Samos Miletus Cnidus Pythagoras lived on Samos for many years under the rule of the tyrant Polycrates, who had a tendency to switch alliances in times of conflict — which were frequent. -
Women in Early Pythagoreanism
Women in Early Pythagoreanism Caterina Pellò Faculty of Classics University of Cambridge Clare Hall February 2018 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Alla nonna Ninni, che mi ha insegnato a leggere e scrivere Abstract Women in Early Pythagoreanism Caterina Pellò The sixth-century-BCE Pythagorean communities included both male and female members. This thesis focuses on the Pythagorean women and aims to explore what reasons lie behind the prominence of women in Pythagoreanism and what roles women played in early Pythagorean societies and thought. In the first chapter, I analyse the social conditions of women in Southern Italy, where the first Pythagorean communities were founded. In the second chapter, I compare Pythagorean societies with ancient Greek political clubs and religious sects. Compared to mainland Greece, South Italian women enjoyed higher legal and socio-political status. Similarly, religious groups included female initiates, assigning them authoritative roles. Consequently, the fact that the Pythagoreans founded their communities in Croton and further afield, and that in some respects these communities resembled ancient sects helps to explain why they opened their doors to the female gender to begin with. The third chapter discusses Pythagoras’ teachings to and about women. Pythagorean doctrines did not exclusively affect the followers’ way of thinking and public activities, but also their private way of living. Thus, they also regulated key aspects of the female everyday life, such as marriage and motherhood. I argue that the Pythagorean women entered the communities as wives, mothers and daughters. Nonetheless, some of them were able to gain authority over their fellow Pythagoreans and engage in intellectual activities, thus overcoming the female traditional domestic roles.