A critical history of Greek philosophy — John Shaqi
A critical history of Greek philosophyStace, W. T. (Walter Terence)
Philosophy
A critical history of Greek philosophy
Stace, W. T. (Walter Terence)
Philosophy, Ancient
With the further development of the number-theory Pythagoreanism
becomes entirely arbitrary and without principle. We hear, for
example, that 1 is the point, 2 is the line, 3 is the plane, 4 is the
solid, 5 physical qualities, 6 animation, 7 intelligence, health,
love, wisdom. There is no principle in all this. Identification of the
different numbers with different things can only be left to the whim
and fancy of the individual. The Pythagoreans disagreed among
themselves as to what number is to be assigned to what thing. For
example, justice, they said, is that which returns equal for equal. If
I do a man an injury, justice ordains that injury should be done to
me, thus giving equal for equal. Justice must, therefore, be a number
which returns equal for equal. Now the only numbers which do this are
square numbers. Four equals two into two, and so returns equal for
equal. Four, then, must be justice. But nine is equally the square of
three. Hence other Pythagoreans identified justice with nine.
According to Philolaus, one of the most prominent Pythagoreans, the
quality of matter depends upon the number of sides of its smallest
particles. Of the five regular solids, three were known to the
Pythagoreans. That matter whose smallest particles are regular
tetrahedra, said Philolaus, is fire. Similarly earth is composed {38}
of cubes, and the universe is identified with the dodecahedron. This
idea was developed further by Plato in the "Timaeus," where we find
all the five regular solids brought into the theory.
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