Midnight Musings

inthenoosphere:

GROUND OF TRANSCENDENCE

POSTER DESIGN
AHMED - 2011

abcsoupdot:

aminotes:

(Pythagoras reading the book, Hypatia and Parmenides? to the right of her - fragment of The School of Athens by Raffaello Santi (Raphael), 1509-1510)

Hypatia (Greek: Ὑπατία, Hypatía, pronounced /haɪˈpeɪʃə/ in English; born between AD 350 and 370; died March 415) was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt, is the earliest woman scientist whose life is well documented; she was also the last scientist of the Golden Age of Pericles, considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught philosophy and astronomy. She lived in Roman Egypt, and was killed by a Christian mob who falsely blamed her for religious turmoil. Some suggest that her murder marked the end of what is traditionally known as Classical antiquity, although others such as Christian Wildberg observe that Hellenistic philosophy continued to flourish until the age of Justinian in the sixth century.

A Neoplatonist philosopher, she belonged to the mathematical tradition of the Academy of Athens represented by Eudoxus of Cnidus; she followed the school of the 3rd century thinker Plotinus, discouraging empirical enquiry and encouraging logical and mathematical studies. The name Hypatia derives from the adjective ὑπάτη, the feminine form of ὕπατος (upatos), meaning “highest, uppermost, supremest”.

Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was her teacher and the last known mathematician associated with the Museum of Alexandria. She traveled to both Athens and Italy to study, before becoming head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in approximately 400. According to the 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia the Suda, she worked as teacher of philosophy, teaching the works of Plato and Aristotle. It is believed that there were both Christians and foreigners among her students. Although Hypatia was herself a pagan, she was respected by a number of Christians, and later held up by Christian authors as a symbol of virtue. The Suda controversially declared her “the wife of Isidore the Philosopher” but agreed she had remained a virgin. Hypatia rebuffed a suitor by showing him her menstrual rags, claiming they demonstrated that there was “nothing beautiful” about carnal desires. Hypatia maintained correspondence with her former pupil Synesius of Cyrene, who in AD 410 became bishop of Ptolemais. Together with the references by Damascius, these are the only writings with descriptions or information from her pupils that survive. The contemporary Christian historiographer Socrates Scholasticus described her in his Ecclesiastical History:

“There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self-possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more.”

(More: Hypatia, daughter of Theron, Librarian of Alexandria)

This particular fragment of “The School of Athens” is too awesome not only because it highlights Hypathia, but it also includes Averroes (Ibn Rushd); an Andalusian (Spanish) Muslim who was the very definition of a Polymath (a master of many disciplines, namely of Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Islamic (Maliki) law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics and celestial mechanics to name a few)

I remember when I first saw this painting I was so intrigued by the Arab-looking figure surrounded by the greatest philosophers, thinkers, and mathematicians of the Greek era. When I found later that he was actually a Muslim philosopher, not to mention one the most influential ones as well, advancing theories of secular thought that some call the cornerstone of Western secular theory, and that he would go on to influence religious theologians like Aquinas and Maimondes, I could barely contain myself. Here is a Muslim THINKER who most definitely changed the world by seeking and spreading knowledge, ultimately displaying there need not be any conflict in faith, namely Islam, between Religion and Philosophy.

On the topic of Averroes and Islamic philosophers & thinkers, the Golden Era of Islam must be mentioned. It is a shame that this period roughly between 8th and 13th century is characterized largely as a bloody, chaotic time of conflict and war. This period was certainly not a dark age in the slightest, this forgotten era is a triumphant moment in history that saw the establishment and realization of the higher pursuit and perfection of knowledge. Further, this period was responsible for many modern advancements in religious and philosophical theory and practices (hospitals, optometry, mathematical formulas & theories to name a few) that are a direct result of the work coming out of the Middle East at this point in time. In fact, the later European Renaissance could not have and only occurred as a result of all the efforts of the individuals of this Golden Age. This is further exemplified by the establishment of Baghdad in Iraq during the Golden Age of Islamic rule, where the city became a center for learning and commerce, which attracted the greatest minds of the world to flock to Baghdad to seek and refine their knowledge. The House of Wisdom, in particular, was an establishment dedicated to the translation of Greek, Middle Persian, and Syriac works. These translations would later prove invaluable as they would later go on to be cornerstones in the later Renaissance, as i mentioned above. 

It’s an outright shame that the history and achievements of Muslim & Arab philosophers, scientists, and thinkers don’t recieve any credit or due, not to mention the Golden Era of Islam and the period of time between the 8th and 13th century as a whole, for changing history in many ways for the better. That these individuals and this era are to be forever allocated to the dark and dusty corner of history, to be mentioned crudely, brushed aside, and ultimately forgotten. Truly a tragedy; historical homocide.

The School of Athens by Raffaello Santi (Raphael) (1509-1510)

The School of Athens, or Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511 as a part of Raphael’s commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The title “School of Athens” is actually one of a group on the four walls of the Stanza (those on either side centrally interrupted by windows) that depict distinct themes of knowledge. Each theme is identified above by a separate tondo containing a majestic female figure seated in the clouds, with putti bearing the phrases: “Seek Knowledge of Causes”, “Divine Inspiration”, “Knowledge of Things Divine” (Disputa), “To Each What Is Due”. Accordingly, the figures on the walls below exemplify Philosophy, Poetry (including Music), Theology, Law. The “School” is therefore actually “Philosophy”, and its overhead tondo-label, “Causarum Cognitio” tells us what kind, as it appears to echo Aristotle’s emphasis on wisdom as knowing why, hence knowing the causes, in Metaphysics Book I and Metaphysics Book II. Indeed, Aristotle appears to be the central figure in the scene below. However all the philosophers depicted sought to understand through knowledge of first causes. Many lived before Plato and Aristotle, hardly a third were Athenians, and the architecture is Roman, not Greek.

The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια) was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for nineteen years before founding his own school at the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. Although philosophers continued to teach Plato’s philosophy in Athens during the Roman era, it was not until AD 410 that a revived Academy was re-established as a center for Neoplatonism, persisting until 529 AD when it was finally closed down by Justinian I.

[via aminotes]