Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy in Late Antiquity (Clarendon Paperbacks)

## Abstract The Pythagorean idea that number is the key to understanding reality inspired Neoplatonist philosophers in Late Antiquity to develop theories in physics and metaphysics based on mathematical models. This book examines this theme, describing first the Pythagorean interests of Platonists in the second and third centuries and then Iamblichus's programme to Pythagoreanize Platonism in the fourth century in his work On Pythagoreanism (whose unity of conception is shown and parts of which are reconstructed for the first time). The impact of Iamblichus's programme is examined as regards Hierocles of Alexandria and Syrianus and Proclus in Athens: their conceptions of the figure of Pythagoras and of mathematics and its relation to physics and metaphysics are examined and compared with those of Iamblichus. This provides insight into Iamblichus's contribution to the evolution of Neoplatonism, to the revival of interest in mathematics, and to the development of a philosophy of mathematics and a mathematizing physics and metaphysics. The Pythagorean idea that number is the key to understanding reality inspired philosophers in the fourth and fifth centuries to develop theories in physics and metaphysics using mathematical models. These theories were to become influential in medieval and early modern philosophy, yet until now, they have not received the serious attention they deserve. This book marks a breakthrough in our understanding of the subject by examining two themes in conjunction for the first time: the figure of Pythagoras as interpreted by the Neoplatonist philosophers of the period, and the use of mathematical ideas in physics and metaphysics.

The Pythagorean idea that numbers are the key to understanding reality inspired philosophers in late Antiquity (4th and 5th centuries A.D.) to develop theories in physics and metaphysics based on mathematical models. This book draws on some newly discovered evidence, including fragments of Iamblichus's On Pythagoreanism, to examine these early theories and trace their influence on later Neoplatonists (particularly Proclus and Syrianus) and on medieval and early modern philosophy.

The Pythagorean idea that number is the key to understanding reality inspired Neoplatonist philosophers in the fourth and fifth centuries to develop theories in physics and metaphysics based on mathematical models. The theories produced by this revived interest in Pythagoreanism were to become influential in medieval and early modern philosophy, and this book makes use of some newly-discovered evidence to examine for the first time the development of those theories. This title examines the Pythagorean idea that number is the key to understanding reality, describing first the Pythagorean interests of Platonists in the second and third centuries and then Iamblichus's programme to Pythagoreanize Platonism in the fourth century in his work 'On Pythagoreanism' Pythagorean theory inspired philosophers in the 4th and 5th centuries AD to develop theories in physics and metaphysics based on mathematical models. This book uses newly discovered evidence to examine these theories.