PHI 1104 Lecture Notes - Pythagoreanism
Document Summary
Everything else is built up out of that: minimalist philosophy. Appearance vs reality: appears to be sticks and stones, but it"s really just forms. Pythagoreanism refers to a greek religious-philosophical movement that originated with pythagoras in the sixth century b. c. Although pythagoreanism in its historical development embraced a wide range of interests in politics, mysticism, music, mathematics and astronomy, the common denominator remained a general adherence among pythagoreans to the name of the founder and his religious beliefs. Pythagoras taught the immortality and transmigration of the soul (reincarnation) and recommended a way of life that through ascetic practices, dietary rules and ethical conduct promised to purify the soul and bring it into harmony with the surrounding universe. Thereby the soul would become godlike since pythagoras believed that the cosmos, in view of its orderly and harmonious workings and structure, was divine. Pythagoreanism thus has from its beginnings a cosmological context that saw further evolution along.