Mathematician

[Going Merry]

There is a common theme with many of the great philosophers in history, they are all mathematicians!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

I know this is a philosophy forum so.. let me ask. Do you think knowing math well helped these people be who they are? I know Euclid (father of geometry) wrote "the elements" which Abraham Lincoln said something about using to become a good law student! He read such a math book in other words to learn what "demonstrate" was. Demonstrate meaning something like "proven without a doubt".

Right now I am just teaching my self a bunch of math and all of this stuff is fresh in my mind

 

[Gadarene]

Probably chicken or egg to a degree. Mutually reinforcing. I'm sure being good at maths helped them develop explicitly as a mathematician, but I'm also sure they had a certain kind of mind for it to begin with.

 

[Paradoxum]

It would make sense that maths might help, but it is probably also that the type of person who would become a great philosopher would be involved in science and mathematics because they too are ways of understanding the world.

But is it true many/most were mathematicians? Can you name a few? Because I know some where were, but I don't know enough to know how much maths Kant, Hume, Locke, Hobbes, etc, knew.

 

[Standing_Ultraviolet]

I think that it's more correlation than causation. Up until fairly recently in history, different branches of study were less specialized (honestly due to a lower amount of knowledge in most of them) and so you had the phenomenon of the so-called "Renaissance Man", although it really went back farther than the Renaissance. A person was pretty much expected to be good at multiple things if they wanted to be an accepted member of the upper echelons of society. Generally speaking, they would be trained in the classics and in mathematics, probably with some science thrown in for good measure.

 

[Nanopants]

Hi Baam.

I studied computer science in college, which is a branch of mathematics, and yes I think it helps quite a bit. It trains the mind to think much more concisely.

 

[Going Merry]

Hi Baam.

I studied computer science in college, which is a branch of mathematics, and yes I think it helps quite a bit. It trains the mind to think much more concisely.

haha yes
I been trying to teach my self stuff (history/biology/math etc) lately; and i am seeing how math can be used in more than just number crunching, its logic it self really In theology it's why i am stubborn too >_> people offer a lot of assumptions. What i see in you though is different and is probably the case since you are also good at it (i would suppose)

and i didnt know you came to this forum :o I just post randomly everywhere

 

[Going Merry]

Probably chicken or egg to a degree. Mutually reinforcing. I'm sure being good at maths helped them develop explicitly as a mathematician, but I'm also sure they had a certain kind of mind for it to begin with.

The chicken always came first.

I understand this, I am just saying perhaps there is a link between the people who were good at math and being automathically good at philosphy

 

[Going Merry]

It would make sense that maths might help, but it is probably also that the type of person who would become a great philosopher would be involved in science and mathematics because they too are ways of understanding the world.

But is it true many/most were mathematicians? Can you name a few? Because I know some where were, but I don't know enough to know how much maths Kant, Hume, Locke, Hobbes, etc, knew.

MANY are...
but to say most would be a lie. I have not looked into it a awful lot, I just noticed the similarity and commented on it. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression, I do that at times

 

[Going Merry]

I think that it's more correlation than causation. Up until fairly recently in history, different branches of study were less specialized (honestly due to a lower amount of knowledge in most of them) and so you had the phenomenon of the so-called "Renaissance Man", although it really went back farther than the Renaissance. A person was pretty much expected to be good at multiple things if they wanted to be an accepted member of the upper echelons of society. Generally speaking, they would be trained in the classics and in mathematics, probably with some science thrown in for good measure.

Perhaps, I may look into it.

 

[Nanopants]

haha yes
I been trying to teach my self stuff (history/biology/math etc) lately; and i am seeing how math can be used in more than just number crunching, its logic it self really In theology it's why i am stubborn too >_> people offer a lot of assumptions. What i see in you though is different and is probably the case since you are also good at it (i would suppose)

and i didnt know you came to this forum :o I just post randomly everywhere

Thanks but, tbh, I'm horrible at that high-minded, mostly intellectual theology. I'm sort of random myself, but this was my favorite forum a few years ago. The threads here aren't as interesting as they used to be, and I still have a subscription to it in case one pops up.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Mathematics helps people to think abstractly, and that can help indirectly with philosophical thinking. I doubt that there is a direct relationship.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Going Merry]

Mathematics helps people to think abstractly, and that can help indirectly with philosophical thinking. I doubt that there is a direct relationship.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Mm I was meaning something like this in the first place

 

[Going Merry]

Thanks but, tbh, I'm horrible at that high-minded, mostly intellectual theology. I'm sort of random myself, but this was my favorite forum a few years ago. The threads here aren't as interesting as they used to be, and I still have a subscription to it in case one pops up.

The threads here are ok. I don't come in that often because of it though. It moves really slow and well it seems to be a atheist playground so they ask more questions like "how do you know god exists" where as I am used to questions like "Well TRADITION IS Like sooo reliable and stuff yo, lets ignore the many christians that were persecuted during this time, yo !" Ok yes I was totally making fun of tradition. I am bad

 

[Nanopants]

The threads here are ok. I don't come in that often because of it though. It moves really slow and well it seems to be a atheist playground so they ask more questions like "how do you know god exists" where as I am used to questions like "Well TRADITION IS Like sooo reliable and stuff yo, lets ignore the many christians that were persecuted during this time, yo !" Ok yes I was totally making fun of tradition. I am bad

Hah. Ah, well, in all fairness I wish there were more open discussions about tradition, just because I want to learn more about it, but in GT they all devolve into boring replays of the reformation.

 

[Going Merry]

Hah. Ah, well, in all fairness I wish there were more open discussions about tradition, just because I want to learn more about it, but in GT they all devolve into boring replays of the reformation.

everyone there is technically insane. they keep trying things and expecting different results =p