Philosopher File: Pythagoras
The first lover of wisdom
Pythagoras was the first philosopher to talk about ‘philosophia’, or ‘the love of wisdom.’ He set up a philosophical community where he taught the transmigration of souls, and the centrality of mathematics for an understanding of the universe.
Life
Pythagoras was born some time after 570 BCE on the island of Samos. Some accounts say he travelled widely during his early life, as far as Egypt, Babylonia and Persia, and this may have had an influence on his philosophical development. Other stories say that he visited both Thales and Anaximander in Miletus whilst in his twenties. All these stories may be true, but we know little about his early life for certain.
What we do know is that around 530 BCE, he travelled to Kroton, a Greek city that is in present-day Italy; and there he settled and founded his own philosophical school. Pythagoras quickly gained a large following in Kroton, and became a significant influence on the life of the city.
Secrecy and silence
The Pythagorean school functioned like a religious community, bound by strict rules and by secrecy. Entry into the Pythagorean community was arduous, and may have involved undertaking a five-year vow of silence, where new initiates listened to the teachings…
