Essay on Pythagoras' orders

Submitted By YunjiaG
Words: 925
Pages: 4
Open Document
Phil 210
Prof. Aikin
Sept 8 2014
What sense can be made of Pythagoras’ orders to his followers in F13 and F14 (C6, C3)? To Pythagoreans, the state of harmony is the “most beautiful”(27). Pythagoras considers people should live according to the law of the kosmos, which is the law that governs the system of universe and preserves the internal harmony. Pythagoras’ life orders are supposed to be the law of real life derived from the law of the kosmos to protect his followers’ harmony and help them achieve more happiness. Throughout his orders, Pythagoras is passing out three messages to his followers: to preserve the natural, to avoid chaos, and to respect the law of harmony. Before interpreting his orders, it is essential to understand the notion of the law of the kosmos. According to Pythagoras that “numbers, as I have said, constitute the whole universe”, he contends that mathematics “are the principles of all things that are”(29). The entire universe, the kosmos, is run by the law of mathematics and contains the harmony in its self-governed system. After finding resemblance with mathematics in music and plants, i.e. the golden ratio, Pythagoreans are further convinced that the law of the kosmos, i.e. mathematics and numbers, is the nature of everything. Since the law of the kosmos both creates harmony and runs the nature, world, the most natural thing is supposed to be the most harmonic and “beautiful”. Hence, Pythagoras’ followers are eager to preserve the natural and original state of being in order to achieve their state of harmony. The first message that Pythagoras presents is to preserve the original and natural state of being, because to stay in harmony is the core to building a perfect life. The notion of preserving the original state has been fully elaborated in fragment 13. Pythagoras asks his followers not to break bread because “friends long ago used to meet over a single loaf just as foreigners still do, and not to divide what brings them together.”(27) Since the law of the kosmos causes friends to reunite, “what brings them together” is purely natural and harmonic. However, breaking the bread is destroying the nature. To protect the harmony, people should leave the bread the way it originally was. Pythagoras also warns people against wearing rings in Fragment 14. Like the world, an intact and harmonic human body is created by the law of the kosmos. Wearing a ring is putting pressure on a finger. Due to the pressure, blood will not flow as fluidly as it is supposed to. The harmony of a body, which is sustained by the circulating blood, is impaired. Moreover, it leaves an imprint on the finger and taints the integrity of a body. Thus, there is no reason a Pythagorean can wear a ring. Also, a Pythagorean should not have a swallow in his house (27). Though swallows love to live under house roofs, they make noises that destroy the natural harmonic voices of a family. Pythagoras’ second message warns followers to keep away from disorder that destroys the harmony and disrespects the law of the kosmos. If cleanness should be an original state, dirtiness should be what Pythagoreans’ resent. For this reason, fallen things cannot be eaten for their dirtiness is against the natural state and harms the harmony. Also, stirring the fire with a knife (27) is doubling the sin because it is breaking the harmony with deliberate violence. How evil would a Pythagorean be to commit this? Though Pythagoras gives no specific explanations for the result of breaking the harmony, we infer from his warnings that it may lead to total ruin. Given that the law
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Pythagoras' orders

Essay about Sine and Cosine Rules and 3D Trigonometry

and angles in triangles; * to use the formula for the area of a triangles; * to solve problems involving the sine and cosine rules; * to solve problems involving trigonometry in 3 dimensions. Brief recap of Grade B and C material: Pythagoras’ Theorem: This theorem, which connects the lengths of the sides in right-angled triangles, states that: where c is the length of the hypotenuse (i.e. the side opposite the right-angle) and a and b are the lengths of the other…

Words 2534 - Pages 11

book of nod Essay

Nine Angles by Michael A. Aquino VI° GME.Tr. Generally speaking, some of these angles were taken from Pythagoras, who talked in terms of the significance of 'numbers" rather than "angles. From my readings on the subject, I am convinced that Plato's discourses upon geometry and the significance of the various "Platonic solids" are essentially taken from Pythagoras' work, just as Pythagoras came up with these notions following his lengthy stay in Egypt as a priesthood initiate. Fascinating how…

Words 1324 - Pages 6

Ancient Greece and Its Influence on Western Society Essay

Ancient Greek culture had major influences on today’s culture; some of these influences include mathematics, government, art and architecture; they even did research in the field of medicine. Many cultures and religions have adapted their ideas from the ancient Greeks. Without the influences of the ancient Greeks our society wouldn’t be the way it is today. The Greek culture lasted from around 776 BCE to 146 BCE (though it is argued to have begun around 1000 BCE), during this time they invented…

Words 919 - Pages 4

History Of Greek Civilization

"enthusiasm," of union with the god. They believed themselves, in this way, to acquire mystic knowledge not obtainable by ordinary means. This mystical element entered into Greek philosophy with Pythagoras, who was a reformer of Orphism, as Orpheus was a reformer of the religion of Bacchus. From Pythagoras Orphic elements entered into the philosophy of Plato, and from Plato into most later philosophy that was in any degree religious. The Orphics, according to the author was a really popular belief…

Words 4314 - Pages 18

Nonconformity: Sociology and somewhat Cautious Manner Essay

invertebrates are nonconformists. Sometimes considered outcasts, they tend to question everything that is put before them, not so trusting of its legitimacy or value. Nonconformity is a concept that exists now and existed even back in the earlier days of Pythagoras. ** Aristotle once said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Is it not okay to be completely open-minded about any and every concept that is presented to you? Not only this, but is it not…

Words 334 - Pages 2

the great greece Essay

Parthenon - temple of Athena Parthenos ("Virgin"), Greek goddess of wisdom, on the Acropolis in Athens. The Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC, and despite the enormous damage it has sustained over the centuries, it still communicates the ideals of order and harmony for which Greek architecture is known. Erechtheum - temple from the middle classical period of Greek art and architecture, built on the Acropolis of Athens between 421 and 405BC. The Erechtheum contained sanctuaries to Athena Polias…

Words 1897 - Pages 8

Mathematic paper draft

fashion. Observe that no computer could ever answer the question, because it is a question about infinity. Only the mind could. Here is Euclid’s proof. Suppose that on the contrary the set of prime numbers is finite, so we can count them in increasing order, omiting unity: p1, p2, · · ·, pn Consider then the number: M = _ + 1 were _ is the product p1p2 · · · pn 1 This number being larger than the last prime, pn, must be composite. Then M must have a prime factor, say q. So q must be one of of the p1…

Words 2718 - Pages 11

Borrges Short Stories

Borges’ Short Stories Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius Metafiction – Narrator talks about how he was discussing how one might write a book in the first person and omit/distort/contradict things “so that a very few readers might divine the horrifying or banal truth”  this in itself is a contradiction Mirror At the end of the hallway, mirrors distort things (they flip the image) “Mirrors and copulation are abominable, for they multiply the number of mankind” – The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia When checked…

Words 646 - Pages 3

Essay Two Idealists

do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us”. This means that some things which we believe make our lives simpler actually make it more complicated. Both these men believe that in order to understand the meaning of life you must live simply. In summary, both these wise men would tell me to live a simpler life in order to develop my mind, soul, and imagination, “Nothing is more sacred than the integrity of your own mind.”- Emerson. Not only would they ask me to live a simpler life, but they would…

Words 660 - Pages 3

In Progress Essay

stage in their development of mathematics and science. In their study of matter they realized the fundamental question: can one continue to divide matter into smaller and smaller pieces or will one reach a tiny piece which cannot be divided further. Pythagoras had argued that "all is number" and his universe was made up of finite natural numbers. Then there were Atomists who believed that matter was composed of an infinite number of…

Words 1704 - Pages 7