School of Thought
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism is the philosophical and mathematical tradition founded by Pythagoras, holding that number and mathematical harmony underlie the structure of reality.
Blending mathematics, music, mysticism and ethics, Pythagoreanism taught that the cosmos is ordered by numerical relationships, an idea that profoundly influenced Plato and the Western scientific imagination.
Pythagoreanism, founded by Pythagoras in the 6th century BC, fused mathematics, music and mysticism into a vision of a cosmos ordered by number. Its followers believed that mathematical harmony — heard in musical intervals and seen in the heavens — was the key to reality itself.
This conviction that the universe is fundamentally mathematical deeply shaped Plato and, through him, the entire Western scientific tradition — a thread running all the way to modern physics.
Core Ideas
- Number as the basis of reality
- Harmony and proportion in the cosmos
- The transmigration of the soul
- Mathematics as a path to truth
Founders
Key Figures of Pythagoreanism
Pythagoras
90Pythagoras was an ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher who founded the Pythagorean school and is remembered for the Pythagorean theorem and the idea that number underlies the cosmos.
Pythagoras
90Pythagoras was an ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher who founded the Pythagorean school and is remembered for the Pythagorean theorem and the idea that number underlies the cosmos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pythagoreanism?
Pythagoreanism is the tradition founded by Pythagoras holding that numbers and mathematical harmony underlie reality, blending mathematics with mysticism and ethics.