Pythagoras and the Early Pythagoreans (Hardcover)

Pythagoras (c. 570 - c. 495 BC), arguably the most influential thinker among the Presocratics, emerges in ancient tradition as a wise teacher, an outstanding mathematician, an influential politician, and as a religious and ethical reformer. He claimed to possess supernatural powers and was the kind of personality who attracted legends. In contrast to his controversial and elusive nature, the early Pythagoreans, such as the doctors Democedes and Alcmaeon, the Olympic victors Milon and Iccus, the botanist Menestor, the natural philosopher Hippon, and the mathematicians Hippasus and Theodorus, all appear in our sources as 'rational' as they can possibly be. It was this 'normality' that ensured the continued existence of Pythagoreanism as a philosophical and scientific school till c. 350 BC. This volume offers a comprehensive study of Pythagoras and the early Pythagoreans through an analysis of the many representations of the Teacher and his followers, allowing the representations to complement and critique each other. Relying predominantly on sources dating back to before 300 BC, Zhmud portrays a more historical picture of Pythagoras, of the society founded by him, and of its religion than is known from the late antique biographies. In chapters devoted to mathematical and natural sciences cultivated by the Pythagoreans and to their philosophies, a critical distinction is made between the theories of individual figures and a generalized 'all-Pythagorean teaching', which is known from Aristotle.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	May 2012
First published:	September 2012
Authors:	Leonid Zhmud
Translators:	Kevin Windle • Rosh Ireland
Dimensions:	227 x 161 x 34mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	516
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-928931-8
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > General > Philosophy of religion > General Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > Philosophy of religion > General
LSN:	0-19-928931-X
Barcode:	9780199289318

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