Iamblichus : on the general science of mathematics /
On the General Science of Mathematics is the third of four surviving works out of ten by Iamblichus (c. 245 CE-early 320s) on the Pythagoreans. He thought the Pythagoreans had treated mathematics as essential for drawing the human soul upwards to higher realms described by Plato, and downwards to un...
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| Other Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Language Notes: | Translated from the Ancient Greek. |
| Published: |
London ; New York :
Bloomsbury Academic,
2020.
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| Series: | Ancient commentators on Aristotle.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | On the General Science of Mathematics is the third of four surviving works out of ten by Iamblichus (c. 245 CE-early 320s) on the Pythagoreans. He thought the Pythagoreans had treated mathematics as essential for drawing the human soul upwards to higher realms described by Plato, and downwards to understand the physical cosmos, the products of arts and crafts and the order required for an ethical life. His Pythagorean treatises use edited quotation to retell the history of philosophy, presenting Plato and Aristotle as passing on the ideas invented by Pythagoras and his early followers. Although his quotations tend to come instead from Plato and later Pythagoreanising Platonists, this reinterpretation had a huge impact on the Neoplatonist commentators in Athens. Iamblichus' cleverness, if not to the same extent his reinterpretation, was appreciated by the commentators in Alexandria. |
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| Physical Description: | vi, 164 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 9781350127647 1350127647 9781350127661 1350127663 |