The Music of Pythagoras: How an Ancient Brotherhood Cracked the Code of the Universe and Lit the Path from Antiquity to Outer Space

by Kitty Ferguson

Book Overview

The enthralling story of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, whose insights transformed the ancient world and still inspire the realms of science, mathematics, philosophy, and the arts. "Pythagoras's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802716318
• ISBN13: 9780802716316
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Length: 365 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The Music of Pythagoras

Kitty Ferguson has written a fascinating and well-researched account of Pythagoras and his work. From a small amount of information, she has painted a picture of the man, his times, and most importantly, his incredible influence over the years. In a continuous flow of philosophers, mathematicians, and astronomers, Pythagoras seems to have lived through each one to usher his ideas into each succeeding period of history. Amazingly, even his detractors managed to further his ideas and the spirit behind them. The book reminds me that great ideas and creativity are never lost but continue through our selves and others.

Great corroborator with other books

For anyone who has an interest in how Pythagoras affected the Western World, this is definitely a book to have. I've been studying Pythagoras for a few years, and most of the information that Ferguson points out is information that I had to gather piece by piece from separate sources. So it's nice to have one consolidating source with which to corroborate my own research. The book also avoids any of the flighty influences that have been heaped on Pythagoras, choosing instead to take what usually is an even road right down the middle. Most of the time, at least. When Ferguson has to inevitably address the more controversial topics about The West and parity of credit with The Rest, she veers of the road, with her compass pointing her West. For instance, Pythagoras -- like the Egyptians -- has virtually no surviving records of his mathematics. He never wrote anything down, and forbid his followers to do otherwise. Our esteem for the phantom mathematics of both Pythagoras and the Egyptians, come from words written by later Greek enthusiasts. Ferguson, like most Western educators, seem to take these enthusiasts at their word when heaping praises upon Pythagoras, but lose confidence as the same enthusiasts credit the Egyptians with many of his ideas. Ferguson even attempts to build a historical case against claims that Pythagoras spent anytime abroad long enough to learn anything worthwhile. It's a feeble attempt since, any "historical evidence" is based on a man who is mostly myth and legend. To her credit she doesn't belabor any of her counter-points, choosing instead to side-step them and stay on the path of following the domino's as they fall forward in time. For readers who want to keep going in their study of Pythagoras, I'd strongly recommend "The Pythagorean Sourcebook." In this book you'll find many of the complete texts mentioned in Ferguson's book, including those of Philolaus and Iamblichus. The introduction is also very fair and balanced when looking at the plausible origins of Pythagoras' philsophies. Though Pythagoras preoccupied himself with the study of number, this book is an editorial walk through HISTORY. The review by "Barbara And Byron Skinner", which asks the author to "use math to illustrate your topics," apparently missed that Ferguson has written a historical narrative. This book is not a math book, and I'm not sure I ever got the impression that it claimed to be. Nor did I find any examples in any of the chapters that necessitate math demonstrations to supplement the narrative.

The Music of Pythagoras

As the title says, this is a book about the "Music" of Pythagoras; and is concerned with the biographical, musical, and philosophical aspects of the Pythagoreans. If one is looking for a more mathematical treatment, see Maor's "The Pythagorean Theorem." A few of the chapter subtitles reveal the tone of the book, "At the hinge of legend and history," "All things known have number," "Plato's Search for Pythagoras," "Wherein Nature shows herself most excellent and complete," "'While the morning stars sang together': Johannes Kepler," and "The Labyrinths of Simplicity." The reading was a little slow going midway, addressing the weight of previous scholarship. One senses an extra effort to be fair-minded, but the upside result of this deliberation was a more intense focus on what is essential and relevant about Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans today. This carries us far beyond the "series of facts" mentioned by the editorial review from Publishers Weekly. The last few chapters are the best, written with wit and insight. Pythagoras appears through the contrasting viewpoints, questions, and speculations by musician and author Kitty Ferguson. Arthur Koestler sums it up with a quote about the Pythagorean vision, "Cosmic wonder and aesthetic delight no longer live apart from the exercise of reason." Some mathematicians tend to write dismissive works such as Bell's "The Magic of Numbers" or Dudley's "Numerology: Or, What Pythagoras Wrought." And some philosophers tend to be overly critical, e.g. Bertrand Russell. It is among musicians where you generally find the true spirit of Pythagoras, and the in-depth research of the code mentioned in the subtitle. From the excellent references in Guthrie's "The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library" and Godwin's "The Harmony of the Spheres: A Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tradition in Music" one can find the work of Thimus, Kayser, Haase, and other musicians. Many scientists from Newton to Einstein have also embraced much of the Pythagorean legacy of an order and harmony in the foundational nature of the universe. The deeper mathematical code is perhaps too esoteric for general readership, see Bamford's "Homage to Pythagoras"; and from musicians Ernest McClain and William B. Conner, deeper explorations. And authors who go even further, Manly P. Hall and Franklin Merrell-Wolff.

...through the other end of the telescope

Rather than begin her investigation with a historicist assessment of the non-existent facts, Ferguson holds fast to the reality of Pythagoras, that is, his legacy. In a field where reasoned conjecture is unavoidable, Kitty Ferguson presents a balanced view of the evidence. She integrates the findings of recent classical scholarship, such as Kahn (2001) and Burkert (1972), and manages to escape the dogmatism that normally surrounds academic commnetary on Pythagoras. A remarkable aachievement.