The Place of Mysticism in Pythagoras' Theorem
Francis Ating, Iniobong Umotong
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Pythagoras did not study mathematics merely for its own sake but used it to interpret religious and mystical issues, with his philosophy centering on the theory of numbers and his mystical thought on the transmigration of the soul. |
Abstract
Pythagoras is a mathematician as well as a mystical philosopher. Pythagoreanism is a philosophical school that describes the philosophy of Pythagoras and his followers. His philosophical ingress centred on the theory of numbers and his mystical philosophy centred on transmigration of the soul. The question now is how we can justify him as either a mathematician or mystic? The task of this paper therefore is to attempt clarifications on such question but with special attention to the mystical aspect of his philosophical postulations. To do this we shall employ the expository and analytic methods of philosophical research. Finally, the paper shall end with the proposal that Pythagoras did not just pick up the study of mathematics for the fun of it but that he used it to interpret issues in religious and mystical circles.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |