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Pythagoras Research Paper

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Was the Pythagorean view of the soul influenced by eastern sources? Pythagoras, who was born in Samos, never documented his ideas. Many interpret his views through others that knew him. Like Socrates, Pythagoras is perceived by the writings of his peers. The lack of certain authority creates an error in determining Pythagoras’ views and life. Most historians believe that he was born near 570 BC and the origin of his name is a topic of discussion. Igor Surikov, an author of a recently published biography of Pythagoras states that, “Pythagoras is a common Greek name” and “typically have some meaning that one can transfer to other languages” (Sudakov). “Pyth” means knowledge gained through questioning and “Agor” stood for public speaking; therefore, Pythagoras is loosely translated to “the man who talks about what he learned’. …show more content…

Early evidence which is confirmed in the fourth century by Dicaearchus comments on Pythagoras’ most recognized doctrine. This doctrine stated that the, “soul is immortal and that it transmigrates into other kinds of animals”. (Huffman). ‘The idea of reincarnation or metempsychosis is directly associated with Egyptian. The Egyptians view of life after death is that the soul is reborn through all animals, only to be returned to the human form after three thousand years. Herodotus, a Greek historian, also reports that this idea from the Egyptians was adopted by some Greeks. The Greeks that have adopted this Egyptian view are most likely Pythagoras and perhaps Empedocles.’ (Huffman). The Pythagorean view of the soul also includes not just the idea of reincarnation into animals, but plants as well. These similarities of the Pythagorean view of souls and other eastern views suggest an influence of the east on

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