Media Archaeography, Ernst numbers as embedded in nature
Pythagoras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras
father was a gem engraver; different geometric shapes for different gems; combined interest in mathematics and science
sees the nature of reality as mathematical
math is the basis of everything, like music, fate of our souls after death
the concept of number at the heart of his philosophy
verticies, faces, edges, ratios
much was influenced by astrology (from Babylon) each zodiac sign linked to a stone
believed earth was spherical and revolved around an unseen fire along with the sun, moon, and planets
mathematical relationship between the length of air/string and the pitch ratio
the theory that the universe was controlled by rational numbers was challenged by the introduction of irrational numbers
square root of two caused big problems--can’t be expressed in terms of whole numbers--source of scandal and shock
Pythagoras had a sort of religious sect
one who revealed irrational numbers gets drowned (myth)
scale of reward and punishment after death
took ideas from an ancient religious sect associated with Orpheus
MT: this rational accounting must explain some sort of justice (reward and punishment)
Orphics first developed soul and its relation to the body; transmigration of souls
Plato describes reincarnations
Dr. Jimmy Doyle University of Bristol
soul as sthg that can travel between bodies: immaterial, can inhabit one body or another
others (Democratus) the soul is an interior part of the body; soul as material aspect of the body made up of superfine particles
5th c BC