Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism
Walter Burkert author Edwin L Minar, Jr translator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Harvard University Press
Published:31st Jan '72
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
For this first English edition of his distinguished study of Pythagoreanism, Weisheit und Wissenschajt: Studien zu Pythagoras, Philolaos, und Platon, Walter Burkert has carefully revised text and notes, taking account of additional literature on the subject which appeared between 1962 and 1969.
By a thorough critical sifting of all the available evidence, the author lays a new foundation for the understanding of ancient Pythagoreanism and in particular of the relationship within it of “lore” and “science.” He shows that in the twilight zone when the Greeks were discovering the rational interpretation of the world and quantitative natural science, Pythagoras represented not the origin of the new, but the survival or revival of ancient, pre-scientific lore or wisdom, based on superhuman authority and expressed in ritual obligation.
ISBN: 9780674539181
Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 38mm
Weight: 1701g
544 pages