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Professor Niccolò Guicciardini,
Università degli Studi di Bergamo: Newton and the Neo-Pythagorean Tradition (preliminary report) Neo-Pythagoreanism is an important component of seventeenth-century mathematics and natural philosophy. Most famously, Kepler conceived of the macrocosm as designed according to geometrical and musical proportions. References to Pythagoras are frequent in Newton's writings. In the so-called Classical Scholia, Newton referred to Pythagoras as an ancient sage who had expressed his knowledge of natural laws in musical terms. Newton also drew an analogy between the colour spectrum and the musical scale. Therefore, some scholars have recently maintained that Newton was influenced by Neo-Pythagoreanism. The purpose of this talk is to re-examine the extent of Newton's involvement with the Neo-Pythagorean tradition. tirsdag, den 8. november 2011, kl. 17.00 |
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