The Illustrated to Think Like God: Pythagoras and Parmenides, the Origins of Philosophy PDF
Preview The Illustrated to Think Like God: Pythagoras and Parmenides, the Origins of Philosophy
TO THINK LIKE GOD This page has been intentionally left blank. TO THINK LIKE GOD Pythagoras and Parmenides The Origins Of Philosophy ARNOLD HERMANN PARMENIDES PUBLISHING PARMENIDESPUBLISHING LasVegas89109 2004byParmenidesPublishing Allrightsreserved.Published2004 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica ISBN:1-930972-00-8 Publisher’sCataloging-In-PublicationData Hermann,Arnold,1953– TothinklikeGod:PythagorasandParmenides: theoriginsofphilosophy/ArnoldHermann. p.:ill.;cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN:1-930972-00-8 1. Philosophy,Ancient. 2. Parmenides—Influence. 3. Pythagoras—Influence. 4. Xenophanes,ca. 580-ca.478B.C.—Influence. 5. Evidence. I. Title. B188.H47 2004 182 ExcerptsfromLOREANDSCIENCEINANCIENTPYTHAGOREANISMbyWalter Burkert, translated by Edwin L. Minar, Jr., are reprinted throughout this work by permissionofthepublisher,HarvardUniversityPress,Cambridge,Mass.,Copyright 1972bythePresidentandFellowsofHarvardCollege.Englisheditiontranslated, withrevisions,fromWEISHEITUNDWISSENSCHAFT:STUDIENZUPYTHAGORAS, PHILOLAOSUNDPLATON,Copyright1962byVerlagHansCarl,Nu¨rnberg. www.tothinklikegod.com www.parmenides.com Onlyaphilosopher’smindgrowswings, sinceitsmemoryalwayskeepsitascloseaspossible tothoserealitiesbybeingclosetowhich thegodsaredivine. —Plato,Phaedrus249c This page has been intentionally left blank. Contents Preface xiii Acknowledgments xxi ANoteonReferences,Translations,Citations,Notes, Bibliography,andSomeIdiosyncrasies xxv Abbreviations xxix INTRODUCTION 1 I. PYTHAGORAS 15 TheSearchforaWayOut 15 OneoftheOldestQuestions:WhatDoAllThingsHave inCommon? 15 TheSeekerofWisdom 17 SeparatingPythagoreanismintoEarly,Middle, andLatePeriods 21 TheSearchforProof 25 Euphorbus’Shield 25 RelyingonReasoning 27 ASciencefortheIntangible,Abstract 29 II. THEPYTHAGOREANS 31 TraditionVersustheHistoricalAccount 31 ConflictingReportsandForgeries 31 AlmostNoMentionofPythagorasinPlatoandAristotle 33 TheMainSourcesofPythagoreanLore 34 ThePythagoreanAgenda 41 CrotonbeforePythagoras 41 TheLecturerandMiracle-Worker 42 TheFourSpeeches 44 EarthasaPrison 47 viii Contents ThePoliticsofPythagoreanism 50 TheMakingofaReligiousPoliticalConspiracy 50 BecomingaMemberinthePythagoreanSociety 52 SecrecyandAnti-Democracy 55 TheGods;andtheRulingoftheManybytheFew 56 SignsofaPythagoreanPoliceState? 58 BeansandPolitics 59 AReligious-Political-EconomicDictatorship? 60 WarandLuxury 63 Sybaris—theAntipodeofPythagoreanism 63 TheWar 65 WhywasSybarisDestroyed? 67 TheRevoltsAgainstthePythagoreanPoliticalElite 71 TheGrowingHatredoftheNon-Pythagoreans 71 TheFirstRevolt 73 Pythagoras’Death 75 AReturntoPowerandtheSecondRevolt 77 TheGradualEndoftheMovement 78 ThoseWhoListenandThoseWhoLearn 80 ASplitintheOrder 80 TheListeners:TeachingbyPasswords,Tokens,andMaxims 82 TheEmergenceofScientistPythagoreans 86 Hippasus,theAll-aroundThinker 88 Aristotle’s“ThoseCalledPythagoreans” 90 III. INWANTOFAMATHEMATICSFORTHESOUL 93 TheSourceCodeoftheUniverse 93 TheMusicoftheSpheres 99 ConqueringtheUnlimited 99 TheSoundofOrder 101 OrderandProportion 102 HarmonyandtheSoul 104 Numerology—DerivingPhilosophyfromNumber? 107 ConfusingNumberswithThingsandThingswithNumbers 107 NumberSymbolism 110 TheCounter-Earth 112 Contents ix IV. PYTHAGORIZINGVERSUSPHILOSOPHIZING 115 TruthAfterDeath? 115 AnExerciseinApprehendingtheTrueNatureofThings 117 PurificationorReasoningasaWaytoTruth? 118 CalibratingtheAbilitytoReason 121 V. PARMENIDES 127 TheLawmaker 127 ThePoet’sChallengeandtheLawgiver’sResponse 132 XenophanesandtheTruthAvailabletoMortals 132 TheNeedforReliableCriteria 139 TheSenses,Reason,andProof 141 EarlyLawmakingandAnalyticProblemSolving 144 TheWaysofProofandDisproof 147 VI. THEPOEMOFPARMENIDES 151 AQuickGuidetothePoem’sOrdering 151 ThePoem,aTranslation 155 TheProem 155 TheWaysofInquiryforThinking 156 TheReliableorEvidentialAccount 158 DOXA—TheDeceptiveOrderofWords, orthePlausibleOrdering 160 VII. THEPOEM’SMOSTDIFFICULTPOINTSEXPLAINED 163 WhatIstheSignificanceoftheProem? 163 TheRealmoftheNamelessGoddess 163 TheCurriculum 167 HowOpinionWouldBeJudgedIfTruthDidNotExist 168 Dokimos—WhatisGenuinelyReliableBecauseProvenasSuch 170 Doxa:thePositiveVersustheNegativeRead 172 ACallforaUnifiedApproach? 174 TheProblemofContradictoryFormulas 178 AUnityofFormula 181 “Esti”or”IS”:TheParmenideanObject 184 VerborSubject? 184
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