Natural Philosophy Advancement of Learning Advancement of Learning

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Natural Philosophy Advancement of Learning Advancement of Learning Does the stability of empire encourage trade and an exchange of ideas? Astronomy and Math originally Babylonian Greeks in contact with Eastern cultures learned pragmatic approach Literature Cadmus Phoenician Founder of Thebes Brought the Phoenician Alphabet Palamedes Mythical inventor Letters, written laws, weights and measures The Seven Sages: Thales of Miletus (624-547 BC.) Solon of Athens (c.624-560) Pittacus of Mitylene (650-570) Bias of Priene (flourit ca. 570) Chilon of Sparta (Ephor in 556) Cleobulus of Lindus (6th. cent.) Myson of Chen (6th. cent.) Or: Periander of Corinth (late 7th. Cent) The Greek World Myson Pittacus Solon Bias Thales Chilon Cleobulus Tripods etc. Golden tripod offered to “the wisest.” Golden bowl “who has done the most with his wisdom” Golden goblet All of the Sages refused the award… is the point. The Presocratics: Kosmos (order) Chaos (disorder) Nature (physis) Sought the origin (arche) of all things Milesians: Thales Anaximander Anaximenes Essence, Arché Thales Of Miletus A descendant of Cadmus 624 - 547 Learned Geometry in Egypt Five Theorems of Elementary Geometry Foretold of the eclipse of 28 May, 585 Water is the arche. Anaximander The earth floats free in space Celestial bodies circle the earth. Anaximenes Student of Anaximander B. ca. 526 BC Air is the ‘arche’ "Being made finer it [air] becomes fire, being made thicker it become wind, then cloud, then (when thicker still more) water, then earth, then stones; and the rest come into being through these" (Phys. 24. 26). Air is arche, ergo eternal, ergo divine Parapegma Ancient Star charts Used to predict the change of seasons Used to schedule religious observations Stone versions at Miletus and Athens Parapegma of Euctemon: Extant written version The Pleiades Atlas = Pleione Alcyone Merope Celaeno Electra Sterope Taygete Maia = Zeus Hermes When the sisters died, they were placed amongst the stars Visible in Greece from May to November Signal the farming and sailing seasons Pleidades Pleiades Natural Philosophy Pythagoras of Samos 569 – 476 Captive in Babylon Philo (love) sophia (wisdom) Lovers of wisdom – but no man can be wise Harmonic ratios 2:1, 3:2 and 4:3 used in music. "Golden Mean" 1:1:2:3:5:8:13:21:34:55:89 Ration of 1 to 1.618 Earth rotates around the sun Transmigration of the soul b = 89 a = 55 a Relativism: Xenophanes of Colophon ca. 550 BC “Mortals made their gods, and furnished them with their own body, voice and garments. Our gods have flat noses and black skin, say the Ethiopians. The Thracians say, our gods have red hair and hazel eyes”.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues
The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Samuel Ortencio Flores, M.A. Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Bruce Heiden, Advisor Anthony Kaldellis Richard Fletcher Greg Anderson Copyrighy by Samuel Ortencio Flores 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a study of Plato’s use and adaptation of an earlier model and tradition of wisdom based on the thought and legacy of the sixth-century archon, legislator, and poet Solon. Solon is cited and/or quoted thirty-four times in Plato’s dialogues, and alluded to many more times. My study shows that these references and allusions have deeper meaning when contextualized within the reception of Solon in the classical period. For Plato, Solon is a rhetorically powerful figure in advancing the relatively new practice of philosophy in Athens. While Solon himself did not adequately establish justice in the city, his legacy provided a model upon which Platonic philosophy could improve. Chapter One surveys the passing references to Solon in the dialogues as an introduction to my chapters on the dialogues in which Solon is a very prominent figure, Timaeus- Critias, Republic, and Laws. Chapter Two examines Critias’ use of his ancestor Solon to establish his own philosophic credentials. Chapter Three suggests that Socrates re- appropriates the aims and themes of Solon’s political poetry for Socratic philosophy. Chapter Four suggests that Solon provides a legislative model which Plato reconstructs in the Laws for the philosopher to supplant the role of legislator in Greek thought.
[Show full text]
Herakleitos (121.6Kb)
The Reign of the Whirlwind 122 Chapter 7 Herakleitos ----------- 1. Life and book We have very little reliable information about the life of Herakleitos son of Bloson, of Ephesos. It is clear from the biographical accounts that survive, that the Alexandrian scholars could find little, even though they were not fussy about reliability. They made up anecdotes to fit some of the more striking sayings of this paradox-loving writer; and as a result, “Herakleitos the Dark” became even more obscure. We have to guess, first, at his dates. He knows something about Pythagoras and Xenophanes; and Parmenides seems to know something about him. We can hazard the conjecture that his book was written by 500 BCE (when Xenophanes had still the last quarter of his long life to live, and Pythagoras was in his last years). This would make 545 BCE a reasonable guess for his birth date. He probably died before 480.i Herakleitos belonged to the ancient royal clan of Ephesos. He is said to have deposited his book in the great temple of Artemis for which his native city was famous (22 A 1).ii We can fairly suppose that it was in his eyes the worthy trophy of a greater victory than any triumph in arms. Whether he was actually melancholic (“the weeping philosopher” as he came to be called)iii we cannot say. He was certainly both an angry man, and an intellectual aristocrat. There are some The Reign of the Whirlwind 123 “sayings” of his that were not in the book. In one plausible story, he “upbraids the Ephesians .
[Show full text]
Historical Fiction, Brachylogy, and Plutarch's Banquet of Th E Seven
Historical fiction, brachylogy, and Plutarch’s Banquet of th e Seven Sages Autor(es): Kim, Lawrence Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra; Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Publicado por: Humanísticos URL persistente: URI:http://hdl.handle.net/10316.2/32038 DOI: DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/978-989-8281-17-3_44 Accessed : 29-Sep-2021 07:33:07 A navegação consulta e descarregamento dos títulos inseridos nas Bibliotecas Digitais UC Digitalis, UC Pombalina e UC Impactum, pressupõem a aceitação plena e sem reservas dos Termos e Condições de Uso destas Bibliotecas Digitais, disponíveis em https://digitalis.uc.pt/pt-pt/termos. Conforme exposto nos referidos Termos e Condições de Uso, o descarregamento de títulos de acesso restrito requer uma licença válida de autorização devendo o utilizador aceder ao(s) documento(s) a partir de um endereço de IP da instituição detentora da supramencionada licença. Ao utilizador é apenas permitido o descarregamento para uso pessoal, pelo que o emprego do(s) título(s) descarregado(s) para outro fim, designadamente comercial, carece de autorização do respetivo autor ou editor da obra. Na medida em que todas as obras da UC Digitalis se encontram protegidas pelo Código do Direito de Autor e Direitos Conexos e demais legislação aplicável, toda a cópia, parcial ou total, deste documento, nos casos em que é legalmente admitida, deverá conter ou fazer-se acompanhar por este aviso. pombalina.uc.pt digitalis.uc.pt Symposion and Philanthropia in Plutarch Manuel Troster e Paula Barata Dias (eds.) IMPRENSA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA COIMBRA UNIVERSITY PRESS ANNABLUME Historical Fiction, Brachylogy, and Plutarch’s Banquet of the Seven Sages HIS T ORICAL FIC T ION , BRACHYLOGY , AND PLU T ARCH ’S BAN Q UE T OF th E SEVEN SAGE S Lawrence Kim University of Texas, Austin Abstract In this paper I examine the ways in which the weaknesses and strengths of Plutarch’s Banquet of the Seven Sages are tied to Plutarch’s attempt to recreate the world of the sixth century BCE in fictional form.
[Show full text]
Thales of Miletus Sources and Interpretations Miletli Thales Kaynaklar Ve Yorumlar
Thales of Miletus Sources and Interpretations Miletli Thales Kaynaklar ve Yorumlar David Pierce October , Matematics Department Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul http://mat.msgsu.edu.tr/~dpierce/ Preface Here are notes of what I have been able to find or figure out about Thales of Miletus. They may be useful for anybody interested in Thales. They are not an essay, though they may lead to one. I focus mainly on the ancient sources that we have, and on the mathematics of Thales. I began this work in preparation to give one of several - minute talks at the Thales Meeting (Thales Buluşması) at the ruins of Miletus, now Milet, September , . The talks were in Turkish; the audience were from the general popu- lation. I chose for my title “Thales as the originator of the concept of proof” (Kanıt kavramının öncüsü olarak Thales). An English draft is in an appendix. The Thales Meeting was arranged by the Tourism Research Society (Turizm Araştırmaları Derneği, TURAD) and the office of the mayor of Didim. Part of Aydın province, the district of Didim encompasses the ancient cities of Priene and Miletus, along with the temple of Didyma. The temple was linked to Miletus, and Herodotus refers to it under the name of the family of priests, the Branchidae. I first visited Priene, Didyma, and Miletus in , when teaching at the Nesin Mathematics Village in Şirince, Selçuk, İzmir. The district of Selçuk contains also the ruins of Eph- esus, home town of Heraclitus. In , I drafted my Miletus talk in the Math Village. Since then, I have edited and added to these notes.
[Show full text]
Waiting for Solon: Audience Expectations in Herodotus ∗
Histos () – WAITING FOR SOLON: AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS IN HERODOTUS ∗ Abstract: In this article, I focus not so much on what Solon actually says and does in his conversation with Croesus, but on what Herodotus’ readers, as well as Croesus himself, think Solon might say or do. I argue that Herodotus uses analogous episodes, those of Gyges, Candaules, and Candaules’ wife, of Arion and Periander, and of Bias/Pittacus and Croesus, to shape readers’ expectations of Solon’s conversation with Croesus, but he then subverts many of those expectations within the conversation itself. In so doing, Herodotus emphasises the programmatic function for the Histories of much of what Solon tells Croesus. Keywords: Herodotus, Arion, artistic patronage, audience expectations, Candaules, Croesus, Seven Sages, Solon cholars have long recognised the programmatic quality that the encounter between Solon and Croesus (.– ) has for Herodotus’ S Histories .1 Croesus’ importance alone for Herodotus’ work cannot be underestimated. In a sense, Herodotus begins the Histories with Croesus; he follows the story of Croesus and the Lydian Mermnad dynasty from its beginning with Gyges’ murder of Candaules all the way to its conclusion with Croesus’ defeat by the Persian king Cyrus. Croesus also occupies a primary position in the Histories as the first in the line of great eastern imperialists that culminates with the Persian Xerxes. On the one hand, the Solon–Croesus episode foreshadows Croesus’ impending downfall. On the other hand, the episode reflects many of Herodotus’ chief thematic concerns: the conflict between East and West and the clash between different cultures in general; the mutability of human fortune and the gods’ jealousy of human excess; the wise advisor motif and the challenge of acquiring knowledge.
[Show full text]
The Seven Sages.Pdf
Document belonging to the Greek Mythology Link, a web site created by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Characters • Places • Topics • Images • Bibliography • PDF Editions About • Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. The Seven Sages of Greece Search the GML advanced Sections in this Page Introduction: The Labyrinth of Wisdom The Seven Sages of Greece Thales Solon Chilon Pittacus Bias "… wisdom is a form of goodness, and is not scientific knowledge but Cleobulus another kind of cognition." (Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics 1246b, 35). Periander Anacharsis Myson Epimenides Pherecydes Table: Lists of the Seven Sages Notes and Sources of Quotations Introduction: The Labyrinth of Wisdom For a god wisdom is perhaps a divine meal to be swallowed at one gulp without need of mastication, and that would be the end of the story. The deities are known for their simplicity. The matter of human wisdom, however, could fill all archives on earth without ever exhausting itself. Humanity is notorious for its complexity. And men proudly say "Good things are difficult." But is wisdom a labyrinth, or "thinking makes it so"? And when did the saga of human wisdom begin and with whom? The Poet When humans contemplated Dawn for the first time, wisdom was the treasure of the poet alone. Of all men he was the wisest, for the gods had chosen his soul as receptacle of their confidences. Thus filled with inspiration divine, the poet knew better than any other man the secrets of the world. And since Apollo found more pleasure in leading the Muses than in warming his tripod, neither the inspiration of the Pythia nor that of seers could match the poet's wisdom.
[Show full text]
Natural Philosophy the Seven Sages
Natural Philosophy The Seven Sages: Thales of Miletus (624-547 BC.) Solon of Athens (c.624-560) Pittacus of Mitylene (650-570) Bias of Priene (flourit ca. 570) Chilon of Sparta (Ephor in 556) Cleobulus of Lindus (6th. cent.) Myson of Chen (6th. cent.) Or: Periander of Corinth (late 7th. Cent) Myson Pittacus Solon Bias Thales Chilon Cleobulus The Presocratics: Kosmos (order) Chaos (disorder) Nature (physis) Sought the origin (arche) of all things Milesians: Thales Anaximander Anaximenes Essence, Arché Thales Of Miletus A descendant of Cadmus 624 - 547 Learned Geometry in Egypt Five Theorems of Elementary Geometry Foretold of the eclipse of 28 May, 585 Water is the arche. Anaximander The earth floats free in space Celestial bodies circle the earth. Anaximenes Student of Anaximander B. ca. 526 BC Air is the ‘arche’ "Being made finer it [air] becomes fire, being made thicker it become wind, then cloud, then (when thicker still more) water, then earth, then stones; and the rest come into being through these" (Phys. 24. 26). Air is arche, ergo eternal, ergo divine Natural Philosophy Pythagoras of Samos 569 – 476 Captive in Babylon Philo (love) sophia (wisdom) Lovers of wisdom – but no man can be wise Harmonic ratios 2:1, 3:2 and 4:3 used in music. "Golden Mean" 1:1:2:3:5:8:13:21:34:55:89 Ration of 1 to 1.618 Earth rotates around the sun Transmigration of the soul b = 89 a = 55 a Chilon Ephor of Sparta 556 Engraved the three maxims at Delphi Know thyself Nothing overmuch A pledge, and ruin is nigh.
[Show full text]
Thales of Miletus Sources and Interpretations Miletli Thales Kaynaklar Ve Yorumlar
Thales of Miletus Sources and Interpretations Miletli Thales Kaynaklar ve Yorumlar David Pierce September , Matematics Department Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul http://mat.msgsu.edu.tr/~dpierce/ This is a collection of what I have been able to find or figure out about Thales of Miletus. It may be useful for anybody interested in Thales. I focus directly on the ancient sources that we have. ¶ I began collecting these notes in preparation to give one of several -minute talks at the Thales Meeting (Thales Buluşması) at the ruins of Miletus, now Milet, Septem- ber , . Talks at the meeting were in Turkish; the au- dience, members of the general population. I chose for my title “Thales as the originator of the concept of proof” (Kanıt kavramının öncüsü olarak Thales). ¶ The Thales Meeting was arranged by the office of the mayor of Didim. Part of Aydın province, the district of Didim encompasses the ancient cities of Priene and Miletus, along with the temple of Didyma, which was linked to Miletus. Herodotus refers to Didyma under the name of the family of priests there, the Branchidae. ¶ One can visit all three of Priene, Didyma, and Miletus in a day. I did this in , while teaching at the Nesin Mathematics Village in Şirince, in the district of Selçuk, which contains also the ruins of Ephesus, home town of Heraclitus. My excellent guide was George Bean, Aegean Turkey []. Contents . Sources .. AlegendfromDiogenesLaertius . .. Kirk, Raven, and Schofield . .. DielsandKranz. .. Collingwood. .. .. .. Herodotus ..................... ... Solareclipse . ... CrossingoftheHalys . ... BouleuterionatTeos . .. Proclus....................... ... Originofgeometry . ... Bisectionofcircle . ... Isosceles triangles . ... Verticalangles. ... Congruenttriangles. .. Diogenes Laertius: The angle in a semicircle .
[Show full text]
Aristotle and the Classical Paradigm of Wisdom
Philosophy International Journal ISSN: 2641-9130 MEDWIN PUBLISHERS Committed to Create Value for Researchers Aristotle and the Classical Paradigm of Wisdom Costanzo J* Research Article Conception Seminary College, United States Volume 4 Issue 3 Received Date: June 07, 2021 *Corresponding author: Jason Costanzo, Conception Seminary College, 3514 Bel nor Drive Published Date: July 09, 2021 Saint Joseph, MO 64506, United States, Tel: 16313716565; Email: [email protected] DOI: 10.23880/phij-16000191 Abstract considered. The sage is one who is deemed wise in his or her performances. But what is ‘wise’ about such performances? The The essay examines the ancient Greek origin of philosophy relative to the concept of wisdom. The nature of the sage is first Socratic denial of sage status is considered in reference to this. Socrates concludes that he is not wise as the gods are wise, but that he is wise insofar as he knows that he is not wise. The apparent contradiction is resolved through the distinction between human (finite) and divine (infinite) wisdom. The latter notion is further examined in the works of Aristotle who articulates the “classical paradigm” of philosophy in pursuit of infinite wisdom. The attributes of infinite wisdom are identified, and the example. essay concludes with a discussion of the sagely performance of infinite wisdom, Aristotle himself serving as the representative Keywords: Wisdom; Classical Paradigm; Aristotle The Sage as Wise Performer Many other memorable stories are recorded in this work of which I could speak, but it is not the point of this Lives of the essay to examine such stories here.
[Show full text]
Collection of Hesiod Homer and Homerica
COLLECTION OF HESIOD HOMER AND HOMERICA Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica This file contains translations of the following works: Hesiod: "Works and Days", "The Theogony", fragments of "The Catalogues of Women and the Eoiae", "The Shield of Heracles" (attributed to Hesiod), and fragments of various works attributed to Hesiod. Homer: "The Homeric Hymns", "The Epigrams of Homer" (both attributed to Homer). Various: Fragments of the Epic Cycle (parts of which are sometimes attributed to Homer), fragments of other epic poems attributed to Homer, "The Battle of Frogs and Mice", and "The Contest of Homer and Hesiod". This file contains only that portion of the book in English; Greek texts are excluded. Where Greek characters appear in the original English text, transcription in CAPITALS is substituted. PREPARER'S NOTE: In order to make this file more accessable to the average computer user, the preparer has found it necessary to re-arrange some of the material. The preparer takes full responsibility for his choice of arrangement. A few endnotes have been added by the preparer, and some additions have been supplied to the original endnotes of Mr. Evelyn-White's. Where this occurs I have noted the addition with my initials "DBK". Some endnotes, particularly those concerning textual variations in the ancient Greek text, are here ommitted. PREFACE This volume contains practically all that remains of the post- Homeric and pre-academic epic poetry. I have for the most part formed my own text. In the case of Hesiod I have been able to use independent collations of several MSS. by Dr.
[Show full text]
Pyrrhonian Skepticism in Diogenes Laertius
SAPERE Scripta Antiquitatis Posterioris ad Ethicam REligionemque pertinentia Schriften der späteren Antike zu ethischen und religiösen Fragen Herausgegeben von Rainer Hirsch-Luipold, Reinhard Feldmeier und Heinz-Günther Nesselrath unter der Mitarbeit von Natalia Pedrique und Andrea Villani Band XXV Pyrrhonian Skepticism in Diogenes Laertius Introduction, Text, Translation, Commentary and Interpretative Essays by Katja Maria Vogt, Richard Bett, Lorenzo Corti, Tiziano Dorandi, Christiana M. M. Olfert, Elisabeth Scharffenberger, David Sedley, and James Warren edited by Katja Maria Vogt Mohr Siebeck SAPERE is a Project of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities within the programme of the Union of the German Academies funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Lower Saxony. e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-156430-7 ISBN 978-3-16-153336-5 The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Natio nal- bibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http:// dnb.dnb.de. © 2015 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. www.mohr.de This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This ap- plies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and pro- cessing in electronic systems. This book was supervised by Heinz-Günther Nesselrath (representing the SAPERE Editors) and typeset by Magdalena Albrecht, Janjenka Szillat and Andrea Villani at the SAPERE Research Institute, Göttingen. Printed by Gulde Druck in Tübin- gen on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. SAPERE Greek and Latin texts of Later Antiquity (1st–4th centuries AD) have for a long time been overshadowed by those dating back to so-called ‘classi- cal’ times.
[Show full text]
Chilo of Sparta
CHILO “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project Chilon of Sparta HDT WHAT? INDEX CHILO CHILON OF SPARTA 600-500 BCE During the 6th Century BCE (we actually don’t have any dating more specific than this) Bias (Βίας ο Πριηνεὺς) was born, a son of Teutamus of Priene. Bias would come to be regarded as one of the wisest of men and one example that has been offered of his wisdom is that, having taken some Messinian women as prisoners, he had them educated as if they were his own daughters and then sent them home to their fathers. ... PER DIOGENES LAËRTIUS Also alive during this century was the poet Cleobulus (Κλεόβουλος), a son of Evagoras of Lindos in Rhodes. ... PER DIOGENES LAËRTIUS Chilon (Χείλων) the son of Damagetus of Sparta lived at some point toward the beginning of this century. ... PER DIOGENES LAËRTIUS North Indian philosophers would introduce the idea of omnipotent male gods who occasionally would manifest themselves on earth, during times of turmoil. A Danubian cult of bread and wine known as Orphism (after Orphis, a Mycenaean poet who rowed through the Dardanelles with Jason and the Argonauts) or Dionysianism (after its principal deity) was spreading through Greece and Italy. As commonly practiced, Orphism was less a religion than a cult of sociability. Male pipers and female percussionists were widely associated its festivities, which were known as Bacchanalias. While its fetishes of bread and wine would survive in the Christian communion rites, and its revelries would become “Carnival,” its association with drunken orgies would be causing pipes and drums to become taboo at most orthodox Christian services.
[Show full text]